Spoilers for Love Is Blind Season 2 up to episode 5
There are four kinds of reality TV that I like to indulge in when I’m in need of something that allows me to turn my brain off and go “Oh shiiiiit” before the episode ends on a predictable cliffhanger. Those four kinds of shows are cooking, fashion, home remodeling, and dating.
I would call these guilty pleasures, but I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m a sucker for the varieties of Gordon Ramsey, the runway challenges, the “can you love someone for who they are, but yes, they’re also extremely attractive,” and the couples who want a five-bedroom ranch-style modern colonial house on the beach in the city center in L.A. for less than $200K.
We all got our vices and mine are full of Elimination Challenges.
New to the dating pool of reality TV is Netflix’s Love Is Blind. Released in February 2020, it, like other series that launched so close to what would end up being THE turning point of the century, got a lot of attention because we were all suddenly in our houses for a lot longer than we had planned. Now that the show is at the halfway point of its second season, I thought I’d take a look at our six couples and how I have no idea if anyone is even going to get married this time around.
Do I even WANT them to?
For reference, last season only saw two of the six couples getting married. One of the unmarried couples did get back together after the show but broke up in 2021.
What is Love Is Blind?
Love is Blind follows a group of single men and women who take part in a ten-day marathon of speed dating. Labeled as a social experiment, the hosts (Nick and Vanessa Lachey) inform the contestants that they will go on dates without ever seeing the person they’re talking to. If they make a connection with someone, they are able to propose marriage before being whisked away to a resort to spend time together, in person, to establish a physical connection, also known as, “Falling into bed together while the camera pans away to the whispery, sultry lyrics that Netflix provides.”
While at their getaway, they also get to meet the other couples, which is guaranteed to bring about some feelings of, “Oh damn the person I said no to is fine as HELL, did I make the right decision?!?!”
Once the romantic getaway is over (assuming things remain romantic between the couple), the two move in together in a designated city (for season 2 it’s Chicago) and get the chance to meet their partner’s families, plan for their wedding, and see if their love can stay true now that the “real world” is involved.
All of this happens in about a month and a half.
The first five episodes focus on the pod dates and the trip to the resort. The next four focus on the couples living together. The last episode is the big wedding. Will the couples make it to the altar? Is love blind???
As someone who basically did the same thing back in 2001 by connecting with someone online through our shared fandoms, the somewhat mystical way this process is talked about amuses me. My wife and I didn’t meet face to face for nearly an entire year and have been together ever since. So yes, you can absolutely make a connection with someone without seeing them face to face, as many an Internet user will tell you. That being said, like most relationships, you should probably take longer than a week and some change and stop being surprised that there are things to sort out when you move in together.
But hey, I do likes my popcorn-worthy dating trash so here we are!
Let’s talk about Nick & Danielle
Nick and Danielle were the first couple to get together. Their connection was pretty solid, which we all know isn’t allowed in reality TV, so the two end up having a big fight during their romantic getaway because Danielle is incredibly insecure about herself and is upset that Nick left her alone in their hotel room to go and party with the other contestants.
A few things.
Danielle was left in her room because she got sick. Nick had even told her that he didn’t have to go to the party and had spent the day in bed with her. When Nick came back from the party he, like a good significant other, shared ALL of the drama that went down.
Full disclosure: If I ever get so sick that I have to miss out on reality TV drama, you best believe I will appreciate my wife for going to get the details for me.
My point is that this couple was fine until the Danielle insecurity angst hit, and I get the feeling that is going to be their “thing” to “overcome” in order to make it to the altar.
Let’s talk about Abhishek “Shake” & Deepti
Shake is one of the male contestants you look at, roll your eyes, and go, “Ugh, THIS guy!” Shake makes an incredibly poor impression on us by being so superficial that he asks girls how heavy they are—in a roundabout way, but still very obvious.
Deepti is quick to put him in his place and I was SURE that Shake would end up alone, but it turns out he feels a connection with Deepti and she feels the same way because… I dunno, actually.
This is also the first time either person in the relationship has dated another Indian person as their preferences before were of the blond, white, attractive variety. The physical attraction between the two is immediate when they finally see each other, full of kissing and groping, and yeah, these two will be fine.
LOL JUST KIDDING!
Because now, according to Shake, he’s no longer feeling the animalistic urge to squeeze Deepti’s booty every five seconds. Why? I have NO idea, as Deepti is an absolute goddess, but Shake suddenly feels like he’s with his “aunt” instead of someone he can be romantic with. Still, he wants to try and make it work, and I guess I’m supposed to applaud him for that when, in reality, I want my girl Deepti to find something better.
Let’s talk about Kyle & Shaina
Yikes on a bike.
If you’re familiar with the first season of Love Is Blind and the “there’s no way in HELL they’re getting married” pairing of Jessica and Mark, meet the season two equivalent of that. Not only does Shaina insist on sleeping in separate rooms when they get to their resort in Mexico, claiming it’s because she wants to take things slow, but she just … leaves Kyle there? To go to Chicago? Without TELLING HIM?!
And Kyle, for some reason, thinks that their love will conquer all?!
Kyle and Shaina don’t see eye to eye because of their religious backgrounds, as Kyle is an atheist and Shaina is Christian. Still, Kyle is determined to make it work, willing to do whatever it takes while Shaina is, well, let’s be honest, Shaina wants to get with Shayne. (More on “ugh, THIS GUY” in a bit)
I’ll admit, Shaina had me in the first half with her talk about their differing beliefs (or lack thereof) being a huge hurdle, but then she goes on tangents about still having feelings for Shayne, so much so that she walked into the pod to tell him how she felt while he was planning on proposing to Natalie!
AFTER she said yes to Kyle!
Be honest with yourself, Shaina. You don’t want to be with Kyle. Don’t be out here acting like Jessica did with Barnett after he got engaged to Amber in season one.
Let’s talk about Shayne & Natalie
Not as much yikes because Natalie doesn’t put up with Shayne’s shit.
Still, this couple almost didn’t make it, and still might not make it in the end.
Shayne exudes “bro” energy and gets defensive, real quick, if he gets called out for his nonsense. At one point during the pod dating process, he mistakes Natalie for Shaina and even says that he wanted to talk to Shaina more. Natalie is, understandably, upset, and Shayne proceeds to stick his entire foot, ankle, and kneecap in his mouth.
Despite that, the two end up being engaged, as Shayne told Shaina it was too late when she tried to speak her peace during his planned engagement to Natalie. This will, most definitely, come up again.
I will admit that Shayne and Natalie do have some cute moments, but he seems to have a problem with the fact that she doesn’t gas him up all the time. That’s not how she shows her love, though, and doesn’t see why she has to praise him 24/7 to get her feelings across. He’s frustrated that she jokes around and pokes fun at him, but it’s the EXACT same thing he does, so he really has no ground to stand on.
This was kinda foreshadowed at the beginning of the show when Natalie talked about going on dates and being told that she wasn’t what they expected because they thought they’d get a quiet, mousy girl.
Much like Deepti, I want SO much better for Natalie. That being said, I’m waiting for the inevitable moment when Shayne and Shaina flub things up and stumble into each other.
Let’s talk about Salvador & Mallory
How about TWO love triangles this season instead of just one? Because the solution is never an OT3, for some reason, and is instead a rift between the couples so they can question their loyalty toward each other.
Sigh, let me grab my popcorn.
The love triangle is because Mallory also felt a connection with Jarrette (I’ll get to him), but when Jarrette proposed, Mallory said no, because she felt a deeper connection with Salvador.
I mean Salvador did write her a song, so…
The conflict should’ve ended back in the pods, but of course, when Mallory and Jarrette saw each other in person they were drawn to each other. It also doesn’t help that Mallory’s been questioning her physical attraction to Salvador.
All of this has, understandably, hurt Salvador, and he revealed as much when the two moved in together in Chicago. Mallory was upset that he was bringing it up because he claimed to be okay back in Mexico, but like, girl, you were flirting with Jarrette hardcore as he made comments about how he would’ve gotten you a ring you actually liked.
That’s messy af!
Speaking of Jarrette…
Let’s talk about Jarrette & Iyanna
PROTECT IYANNA AT ALL COSTS!
Iyanna is too cute and too funny and too wholesome to be ANYONE’S second pick, like, HOW DARE YOU!
I adore Iyanna and feel like she deserves the entire world, but I’m not sure if Jarrette’s gonna be the one to give it to her. While we all know that everyone is on the show to go on several dates and weigh out their options, there’s no shaking the feeling of being “second best” when Jarrette proposed to someone else first.
That’s gonna be a major cloud on the relationship, even if Jarrette and Iyanna, arguably, have the most fun scenes to watch.
I’d love to say that it’s clear that Jarrette is all in, but when he went and talked to Mallory (note: an interaction instigated by Nick who is, clearly, there to sip mimosas and start drama during brunch) he definitely made it sound like he was still into her.
Sir. WHY are you telling her that you would’ve gotten her the perfect ring?!
Both Iyanna and Jarrette revealed some deeply personal life moments to one another, establishing a strong bond right from the start. However, with Jarrette proposing to Mallory first AND saying out-of-pocket shit about how he would’ve done it better than Jarrette, I’m ready to go to Chicago and tell Iyanna to leave him.
If you want her to feel more secure about your relationship, maybe, um, DON’T do that?!
Where do we go from here?
On Friday, February 18, the next four episodes of Love Is Blind Season 2 will be available on Netflix. These episodes will focus on the couples living together and, from the clip above, the group will be coming together to talk about some … things.
On February 25, we’ll see all of the weddings and find out who actually ends up getting married. At this point, I’m pretty skeptical about everyone. There isn’t exactly a season darling like last season’s Lauren and Cameron to root for here.
Either way, I know I’ll be tuning in this weekend and inevitably screaming at Shaina or Shake or anyone else who proves one thing about Nick and Vanessa Lachey’s experiment: it sure does make for perfect trash television.
(Image: Netflix)
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