# IPartment 5

"IPartment 5" is the fifth and final season of the mainland Chinese urban romantic sitcom Love Apartment. The season was directed by Wei Zheng. The scriptwriters were Wei Zheng and Zou Jie. The actors are Lou Yixiao, Li Jiahang, Sun Yizhou, Li Jinming. Also featured were Zhang Yiduo, Cheng Guo, and Wan Zilin, with special appearances by Chen He and Zhao Wenqi.
"IPartment 5" started filming and production on April 11, 2019, and officially wrapped on August 24 of the same year.

## Platform

| broadcasting platform | location | broadcast date | time |
| IQIYI | China | January 12, 2020 | Two episodes are updated every Sunday to Tuesday at 20:00 |
| iQIYI（Stored in page archive backup） YouTube（Stored in page archive backup） | Hong Kong; Taiwan; Malaysia;Singapore; Myanmar;Malaysia; Thailand; Indonesia; Cambodia ; Philippines | January 12, 2020 | Two episodes are updated every Sunday to Tuesday at 20:00 |
| IQIYI频道300 | Malaysia | May 18, 2020 | Monday to Tuesday 22:00 - 00:00 (Two episodes consecutively) |

## Introduction

After many years in their search for love, all the old residents of iPartment have achieved their goals, some reinforcing their relationships and others getting married. Everyone's love stories continue to develop in surprising ways. Some couples have bumps in their relationships, and some are flying around, planning their weddings. The iPartment seems to be a magical place, where every couple who truly loves each other can get blessings and live happily ever after. As the romantic reputation of the apartment spreads, new residents arrive. The new residents bring along new lifestyles, which make the old residents, once the trendsetters, feel ashamed. Compared with the youthful vigor of the new residents, the old residents have a mature and stable attitude towards love and life after years of experience. New and old residents try their best to understand each other, help each other, and make up for their missteps. Flowing love stories and new romances are constantly being staged here.

## Actors
### Starring

| actor | role | role profile |
| Li Jiahang | Zhang Wei | A lawyer, nicknamed Zhang Yida. The kindest man in the iPartment and Zhuge Dali's boyfriend. Zhao Haitang's love rival. Born in an orphanage, he is quite frugal. His favorite cartoon character is SpongeBob SquarePants. He opened his own law firm this season. |
| Lou Yixiao | Hu Yi Fei | A post-doc and teacher. Wife of Zeng Xiaoxian, and teacher of Zhao Haitang and Zhuge Dali. She registered her marriage to Zeng Xiaoxian a year before the story begins. Her skill is "flicking a flash." |
| Sun Yizhou | Lu Ziqiao | Nicknamed Lui Siu Bou. He is the husband of Chen Meijia and the father of Lu Jiayi. He runs an online shop this season and sells "Hey Pineapple" cupcakes through a live-streaming platform. |
| Li Jinming | Chen Meijia | Lu Ziqiao's wife, and the mother of Lu Jiayi. She is not very good at math, but helps to run an online store this season. When she was pregnant, she suffered from prenatal depression. |

### Starring

| actor | role | role profile |
| Zhang Yiduo | Zhao Haitang | His real name is Zhao Lihua. A rich heir and the president of the university flash mob club. He likes to write novels and play guitar. He likes Zhuge Dali very much, and regards Zhang Wei as a rival and often mocks him. He is friends with Curry Paste. |
| Cheng Guo | Zhuge Dali | A graduate student, majoring in economics. Zhang Wei's girlfriend. She studies the theories of Max Planck. The last episode revealed that she will study abroad at the University of Berlin in Germany. |
| Wan Zilin | Curry Paste | Her real name is Scarlett, but she rarely reveals it. A foodie with a carefree personality, she likes charismatic, handsome guys. Her parents divorced when she was young. She worked as a live-streamer before she became Zhang Wei's assistant. She also worked in the convenience store and cafe downstairs. |

### Special Appearance

| actor | role | role profile |
| Chen He | Zeng Xiao Xian | The host of the radio show "Your Moon My Heart." Hu Yifei's husband. The vice-chairman of the Residential Committee of the apartment. He was dispatched to the Alxa Desert this season. |
| Zhao Wenqi | Qin Yumo | Hu Yifei's high school classmate and former tenant of the apartment. An intellectual, beautiful, sensitive and generous white-collar office worker in a cosmetics company. The last episode revealed that her career is improving. There is a relationship plotline with Du Jun. |

### Other Actors

| actor | role | role profile |
| Liu Yijun | Xiao Hei | Formerly known as Bai Kai. Lives in apartment 3502 (that is, downstairs). He is also known as "Downstairs Xiaohei" in the first four seasons. Xiao Hei speaks with a Shandong dialect accent. |
| Liu Hao | Ajie | The takeaway guy from Suning's shop, and Curry Paste's former crush. |
| Wang Yunfan | Du Jun | She has a sheep beard and speaks very slowly. The former tenant Guan Gu's magical elder brother was also a guest actor in the previous work. Have a relationship with Qin Yumo. |
| Banyan | Lisa Rong | Producer of the radio program "Your Moon, My Heart." Guest starred in the previous season as Zeng Xiaoxian and Nuo Lan's boss. Appears in Episodes 1, 7, 11, 29, and 36. |
| Wang Ziyi | Da Huilang | Appears in Episode 3. |
| Kenichi Miura | Kenjiro Sekiya | Sekiya's father, who runs a soba noodle shop. Appears in Episodes 1, 18, 19, and 36. |
| Liu Mengmeng | Nolan | Zeng Xiaoxian's colleague and ex-girlfriend. Appears in Episodes 1, 33, and 36. |
| Yu Li | Jason Yu | A psychologist. He starred in the episode "Inception" in the fourth season. Appears in Episode 25. |
| Li Sheng | Zhuge Dasheng | Zhuge Dali's mother, one of the top ten outstanding lawyers in the city. Appears in Episode 33. |
| Chen Ruoxuan | Jack | An interior designer. Designed the wedding decorations for Hu Yifei. Adept at underwater hide-and-seek. Appears in Episode 21. |
| Cheng Guo | Rose | Zhao Haitang's blind date, a lover of Hanfu, who looks exactly like Zhuge Dali. Appears in Episode 21. |
| Cui Yihan | little cloth | Her real name is Lu Jiayi, the daughter of Lu Ziqiao and Chen Meijia. Episode 24 is her first appearance. |

### Episode

On January 12, 2020, the episodes of the fifth season will be launched sequentially on iQiyi, and VIP members will be able to watch 6 episodes in advance, and will start to order in advance on January 28, 2020.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 89 | 1 | "Next Level in Life" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12) |
| 90 | 2 | "Vigorously Miracle" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12) |
| 91 | 3 | "Most Kind Man" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12) |
| 92 | 4 | "A Pear Blossom Pressed Begonia" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12) |
| 93 | 5 | "My Treasure" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12) |
| 94 | 6 | "Matchmaker's Curse" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12) |
| 95 | 7 | "Where is Mika" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12) |
| 96 | 8 | "Have Something to Say" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12) |
| 97 | 9 | "Shopping Colors" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 13, 2020 (2020-01-13) |
| 98 | 10 | "Leave the Grass on the Table" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 13, 2020 (2020-01-13) |
| 99 | 11 | "I Cheer for You" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 14, 2020 (2020-01-14) |
| 100 | 12 | "Average Looking Glasses" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 14, 2020 (2020-01-14) |
| 101 | 13 | "Barrage Space" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 19, 2020 (2020-01-19) |
| 102 | 14 | "Awaken, Super Power!" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 19, 2020 (2020-01-19) |
| 103 | 15 | "The Ultimate Survival Test" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 20, 2020 (2020-01-20) |
| 104 | 16 | "Pig Apartment" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 20, 2020 (2020-01-20) |
| 105 | 17 | "Decoration Master" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 21, 2020 (2020-01-21) |
| 106 | 18 | "My Best Friend's Wedding (Part 1)" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 21, 2020 (2020-01-21) |
| 107 | 19 | "My Best Friend's Wedding (Part 2)" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 26, 2020 (2020-01-26) |
| 108 | 20 | "Best Gift" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 26, 2020 (2020-01-26) |
| 109 | 21 | "New Dating Era" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 27, 2020 (2020-01-27) |
| 110 | 22 | "A Good Show" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 27, 2020 (2020-01-27) |
| 111 | 23 | "Desperate to Live" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 112 | 24 | "Desperate Express" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 113 | 25 | "Your Name" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 114 | 26 | "Legal Family" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 115 | 27 | "Win at the Starting Line" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 116 | 28 | "Plan B" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 117 | 29 | "League of Keepers" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 118 | 30 | "I Have a Date With AI" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 119 | 31 | "Simulated Family" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 120 | 32 | "True Love Travels Around" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 121 | 33 | "Meet My Mother-in-Law" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 122 | 34 | "Laughter in Heart" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 123 | 35 | "WeChat War" | Wei Zheng Ni Hongyi | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
| 124 | 36 | "Finally Married" | Wei Zheng | Wei Zheng Zou Jie | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) |
Some title sequences in this season are different from the usual one: the openings of the 15th episode "Ultimate Survival Test" and the 31st episode "Simulated Family" are 'set' in Zhao Haitang's imagination, where the typical introductions of the main characters are all replaced by Haitang and Dali; in the 34th episode "Laughter in the Heart", after learning that the apartment is about to be demolished, the opening theme changes to a somber tone, and the title song becomes "The Lonely Corner" sung by director Wei Zheng, and Chen He (Zeng Xiaoxian) was listed as a leading role, not a special performance; and the 35th episode "WeChat War" has no regular title sequence, only the episode name and the approval number of the radio and television.
All 13 leading actors from all five seasons are listed in the credits after the finale of Episode 36, "Finally Married."
Episode 13, "Pop-Up Space", is the first interactive episode in five seasons, where viewers choose different pop-ups that will correspond to different episodes.
In Episode 20, "The Best Gift", after Zhao Haitang and Curry Paste have a drink together on Valentine's Day, there is a scene where Curry Paste falls asleep on Zhao Haitang's shoulder; and in episode 24, "The Best Gift", there is a scene where Zhao Haitang, who was stuck in a delivery port when Chen Meijia's baby was born, is released and shouts "I'm finally out! " Although the scene was not aired, the cut footage from Episode 24 appeared at the end of the set clip released by director Wei Zheng, which some netizens speculated was a teaser for a new film to follow.

## Music

Compared with the previous work, this season uses more music and takes on the form of musical drama.
Among them, the songs with bold text are all included in NetEase Cloud Music: Parting Moment IPartment 5 TV Series Original Soundtrack.
In addition, the piano soundtrack features selections from: Qin Sifeng's album "To Petunia", "The Sky of Dun Morogh."

## Trivia

* Due to his work schedule, Chen He (Zeng Xiaoxian) has a reduced role, only making a special appearance this season.
* The actor Li Sheng (Zhuge Dasheng) is actually the spouse of Li Jiahang (Zhang Wei).
* Some of the leading actors in the previous four seasons did not participate in the show, including Wang Chuanjun (Guan Guwei), Jin Shijia (Lu Zhanbo), Zhao Ji (Lin Wanyu) and Deng Jiajia (Tang Youyou).
* The actor who played the big brother in the previous four seasons was replaced by Du Jun and Wang Yunfan this season.
* The youngest protagonist in the drama is Zhuge Dali, but none of the actors were born after 2000. The youngest lead actor is Wan Seilin, who plays Curry Paste.

## Evaluation and Controversy
### Douban score

After its launch, IPartment 5 had a rating of 4.6 out of 10 on Douban, making it the lowest rating in the history of the IPartment 5 TV series, while the previous four have all scored above a 7,0 on Douban, and even the extras have scored above 6. However, as the season progressed, the audience's praise for the episodes increased and they said they could understand the director's original intention for the musical form. The Douban rating has risen slightly over time. By mid-February 2020, the Douban rating for Season 5 had risen back to 6.7, and by early June, it had risen to 7.0 points.

### LEGO Controversy

iPartment was once accused of plagiarizing the American sitcom "Friends." In 2019, "Friends" and LEGO jointly launched the 25th anniversary building block set of "Friends." iPartment 5 also launched a commemorative building block kit, which was nearly identical to 25th anniversary building block set from "Friends."

### Prop sketches suspected of plagiarism

After the broadcast of iPartment 5, some netizens pointed out that the hand-painted manuscript in the 8th episode "Speak Well" (at 39:08) is very similar to an illustration in the video Becoming a Soul Painter (Part 1) by the well-known Bilibili UP creator "Old Tomato" posted in 2017. The crew of iPartment 5 apologized on Weibo, and made corrections to the relevant clips on January 15, 2020.
iPartment 5 has received mixed reviews, but the show has made attempts to improve with originality, innovating on the broadcast format by adding number of Broadway-style "songs and dances" and a lot of location filming, which was rare in previous episodes. At the same time, the series has plagiarized in a way that has not gone unnoticed.