Love is blind

The reunion

Season 1

Season 17 | Episode 12

Editor’s Rating

5 stars

*****

Photo: Netflix/Tom Dymond/Courtesy of Netflix

Friends, it is a big, emotional week in the UK. First there was that tantalizing, almost unbelievable promise of an Oasis reunion, and now we have a dramatic reunion of a different kind on Love is blind: Great Britain. That inaugural season was one for the history books, and fittingly, its send-off was a wine-soaked celebration of romance, couple montages, and heavy interpersonal tension that could make even the Gallagher brothers uncomfortable. (Okay, maybe not the Gallagher brothers, but definitely me!)

As someone who believes in the loud, powerful energy of Love is blind: USA Reunions, I first asked myself whether Love is blind: Great Britain could cause a stir, but hosts Matt and Emma Willis were clearly up to the challenge. For an hour, they prodded and urged our couples to unpack every awkward moment, running the drama back and forth and into the ‘Pod Squad’ audience backstage with charismatic ease. We laughed, we cried… and, perhaps most shockingly, we found out that Ollie is definitely, maybe, dating a cast member who isn’t his pod fiancée Demi. What on earth is going on here?!

Demi may have left Ollie at the altar with an “I don’t want to right now,” but apparently that turned into an “I don’t want to, period.” Still, vibes are still good between the two, and it was great to see Ollie push back against the narrative that Demi somehow wasn’t hot enough for him. As he put it, “Anyone who knows me, anyone who knows my dating history knows that I’ve always dated women who look like Demi and, respectfully, who don’t look like Cat.” Tell them, Ollie! I should probably take this up with my therapist and not the open internet, but the more these two talked amicably about why it didn’t work out, the more I wanted them to figure it out and get back together. That is, until Matt and Emma dropped one of the biggest bombshells LIB story and asked Ollie and Sharlotte if they were a couple.

Some of us may remember that Ollie Really Sharlotte at the reunion cocktail mixer and it seems they’ve kept the party going ever since. While Ollie clarified that he didn’t go out with Sharlotte right after the show, Sharlotte offered one of the strangest explanations ever to her hosts and a very curious but supportive Demi: “I don’t think I would have gotten through the last few weeks of having to watch what I’ve seen without him being the perfect support,” she said. “…It remains complicated but yes, we’re in a good place.” Huh?

What has Sharlotte seen that is so disturbing in recent weeks? Does she mean Ollie and Demi’s connection? Her own lack of screen time? The horror known as “Sam from London”? As if that non-answer wasn’t embarrassing enough, Ollie followed with a “Watch out!” I’m sorry to tell you, Brotherbut if Demi isn’t there, I don’t watch.

Now that I have mentioned “Sam from London”, let’s jump to The Chaos. I have to admit, I was surprised Nicole and Benaiah are still together, but after watching this heartwarming footage of their first date reactions, I understand why their costars got along so well all this time. Still, on stage, Ben couldn’t help but remember how Nicole chose Sam over him. Before our hosts inevitably brought Sam on stage, Ben made sure Nicole looked beautiful, “especially her eyes” – a reference to Sam’s “joke” during his one-on-one reveal with Nicole that her eyes were “boring brown.” Benaiah clearly blames himself for Nicole initially choosing Sam over him in the pods, and I just hope they never talk about him again after this reunion.

Matt and Emma offered Sam every opportunity to redeem himself, and he blew every one of them. When asked about his concern about not being able to pick up Nicole, Sam said he didn’t mean any “harm” by the comment, but he didn’t address the underlying fatphobic message. On the subject of telling Nicole, “I think I love you,” shortly after proposing, he said he Strictly speaking wanted to tell her that he thought he was fall in love with her, as if that were somehow better. “For me,” he said with the air of an honorable knight, “love is a big thing” – to which I say, okay, then Why would you propose marriage to someone you may not even love? Thank goodness Demi shouted out what we were all thinking: “Sam, say ‘I’m sorry’ to Nicole, please!” Every great reality show needs a Greek chorus. Sam’s massive ego may be bruised by this season, but if it’s any consolation, he will definitely go down as one of the best villains in history. LIB Story.

As satisfying as Demi’s attack on Sam may have been, this episode blew my mind when I found out that my OTP, Sabrina and Steven, are no longer together. Cue: GIF of Jennifer Lawrence breaking down in tears and asking, “What do you mean? mean?”

Okay, yes, we knew this was coming. It seemed odd that last week, while Sabrina was praising Steven’s openness to the idea of ​​living in Belfast, Steven was telling producers that they would probably live in London for the first few years. Still, it’s notable how strongly the two disagree on almost every aspect of their breakup. She’s kept a detailed list of every unrequited gesture and concession she’s made to him, right down to a £70 grocery shop, and despite insisting she’s lying, he refuses to give any specifics. It seems pretty damning that she visited him seven times and he only came to see her twice, but what’s worse is that he apparently cancelled a Christmas visit to Belfast just two days in advance. He tried to (vaguely) explain why this happened, but even as someone who once adored him, I found it hard to care about the reasons, because To, It is Christmas. I will say this, though – it is a testament to British politeness that Matt and Emma ended the conversation before the two could get into a real argument. We can’t be that way in the U.S.

Still, Steven blew me away when he admitted that he watched the first four episodes of this season three times and cried each time. The love these two shared was clearly real, even if it didn’t last.

Steven and Sabrina may have delivered the shock of the season, but I guess no one is surprised that Freddie and Cat are broken. Ladies, it’s time to crawl into a coffin and try your luck with the hot undertaker! All kidding aside, it’s nice to see these two have found peace with each other as friends. Cat apparently returned the earrings Freddie gave her as a pre-wedding (and breakup) gift, and while I agree it was the right thing to do, I’m also not sure I would have been so feminine. Maybe it’s revenge for all the times she snapped at him during their time as a couple? Although these two weren’t together long, they seem to have learned from each other, and that’s not nothing. Plus, seeing Cat cry over a montage of herself crying was hilarious. Maybe a tissue spon-con is on the way?

In a similarly expected turn of events, Maria and Tom’s differing values ​​actually drove them apart for good. It turns out that endless chemistry and adorable lipstick stains do not a marriage make. To his credit, though, Tom regrets the “ugly” way in which he voiced his concerns about Maria, particularly his remark about wanting to raise independent daughters who can “contribute” to a marriage — which implied that Maria and the more traditional women in her Muslim family somehow don’t. Maria was understandably angry to see these comments, saying onstage that it felt like Tom was “indirectly insulting my family.” Honestly, I think the insult was pretty direct! Maria also emphasized that she doesn’t expect a man to pay her bills and never hinted at that, which made me wonder if the show may have sullied her a little with her edit. I would say “justice for Maria,” but honestly I think she fought for that for herself on stage.

And finally, at the risk of shortchanging Jasmine and Bobby again, what can you say? They were perfect, they are perfect and they will remain perfect. He says their marriage was the best year of his life, and I believe him — especially because his bachelor pad looked like a loud cry for help, from the Murphy bed to the pool table that doubled as a dining room table. I love that she gave him a T-shirt with her face on it for Christmas, and I’m glad her mom now gives him her “110 percent” approval. They’re trying to have kids, and if they succeed, those kids will have an extraordinary example of true TV love. Future Love is blind: Great Britain Seasons can only hope to produce a couple as hot, as captivating, as well-suited to each other.

In total, Love is blind: Great Britain feels like the best this franchise has to offer. With very few exceptions, the cast was the perfect blend of maturity and sincerity, which made their messy breakups and tense reunions all the more meaningful. Like all LIB Hosts, Emma and Matt were able to get by for most of the season, but this reunion proved their worth as nimble, efficient troublemakers. Unlike Love is blind: Mexico, where our couples were sent to the middle of the stage to wait for a colored light to reveal their relationship status, this episode was free of gimmicks – perhaps because the producers saw that their couples already had what it takes. Most international Love makes you blindIn the end, only one season will be broadcast — Love is blind: Brazil is the only exception so far – but with a bit of luck, this is just the beginning.

• Is there anything sweeter than Demi keeping a photo of her parents in her notebook? Reader, I cried heartily inside.

• We will never know what really happened between Steven and Sabrina, but Sabrina was a real lucky man when she told Steven, “You are a man of many words, but not a man from your word.” That’s a line that would be appropriate for an Etsy cross stitch.

• You Netflix gods, if you are reading this, PLEASE put Freddie on Perfect match! (And while we’re at it, let’s include Maria too – she’s way too funny to never see again, and something tells me she could really cause trouble at the villa.)