RECAP: “Love Is Blind” Season 6 REUNION
BY Eric Rezsnyak
"Love Is Blind" Season 6 came to a close last night with a super-sized reunion -- not live, thank god; remember that train wreck? -- that somehow still left several big questions unanswered and some storylines unresolved.
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I'll go over my thoughts on each of the segments, in order of least interesting to most engaging. Share your thoughts in the comments!
The Alumni
I enjoy seeing cast members from previous seasons of the show, and I especially like seeing how some of the married couples are progressing. I just don't think they should have been stealing time and attention away from the Season 6 cast. Give the alumni their own reunion episode once a year, updating us on where all the still-married couples are with things. I would watch that. So while I'm delighted to hear that Alexa and Brennan are expecting, and that Kwame and Chelsea are doing well and, in fact, Chelsea is now working to cast future seasons of this show, I don't think this was the right venue.
I genuinely don't understand why S1's Giannina was there. She never got married on the show, she pulled out of the "Perfect Match" spinoff because she found love with some "Bachelorette" also-ran (sorry, I know nothing about "Bachelor" Nation), and is now pregnant -- what does that have to do with any of this? Also having Izzy and Micah there to promote being on the next season of "Perfect Match" is maybe not the selling point the producers thought it would be. I don't think either one of them left their seasons with particularly positive reputations. But at least Izzy's credit is allegedly improved!
Brittany & Kenneth
I literally thought the entire episode was going to go by without Brittany and Kenneth saying a word, which would have been fitting for their dud of a storyline on this show. They were finally given a few minutes toward the end, when Alexa asked a fan question about whether Brittany thought having sex with Kenneth might have produced the spark she felt was missing. Brittany sidestepped that fairly gross question as well as anyone could, and the two of them revealed that they are now very close friends, very involved in each others' lives, and they talk every day. I completely buy that. I think a close friendship was the only logical outcome for the two of them, because they had zero romantic or sexual chemistry based on what we saw.
I will again say that I don't know Kenneth, I don't know his life, but I think there's more going on with that situation than we got on screen. I did not in any way buy his explanation for his coldness to Brittany during the break-up scene as, "Everyone processes things differently." I mean, sure. That is true. But his total lack of emotion, and the way that he flipped that whole script right back on Brittany doesn't read like "processing differently," it came across as a lot more calculated than that. I thought Kenneth got off very easy on this reunion. Brittany seems lovely and I wish her the best.
Johnny & Amy
The downside to being the season's "stable" couple is that there isn't that much to talk about at the reunion. Johnny and Amy look happy in marriage, and Amy looked ABSOLUTELY SMOKIN' in that Jessica Rabbit style dress. Was it appropriate for this venue? Debatable! But she looked gorgeous. They showed some corny couple videos and a wild all-denim JC Penney photo shoot. Straight people! Y'all make choices.
The whole birth-control thing was brought up, and I still don't feel like I understand why this was such a struggle for them. Johnny admitted to being generally naive about birth control, which I can believe. If you've only dated people on the pill, I can see men being ignorant about this stuff. That said, ladies, I would encourage your men to be more active in their sexual health. I read a horrifying story about a straight man who had HIV for over a decade and unknowingly infected multiple women, never using condoms, never getting tested, because he didn't even think about it.
Anyway, Johnny and Amy are cute and I hope they have their happily ever after.
Jeramey/Laura/Sarah Ann
In a season of terrible men, I think we can all confidently say after this reunion that Jeramey is definitively the worst of them. In a segment that felt reminiscent of "The Jerry Springer Show," Jeramey started off by bringing out his "surprise" new girlfriend, Sarah Ann -- dressed like she was coming from the Pacoima High Senior Prom of 2003 -- who he has been dating since they rode off on jet skis together at the lake party. Well, kind of. Because aside from the spoilery and antagonistic social media videos the couple posted in the past few weeks, apparently they also have broken up and gotten back together during that time.
Laura Zoom'd in from doing business in Spain, and I have to say, I thought Laura handled herself pretty well here. She remained calm and was direct and concise in her explanation of how fucked this whole situation was. She was effective in her explaining that Jeramey spending the entire day with her family and then literally that night going out to hang for hours with this other woman was a real slap in the face, and that this was her life he was playing with, not a show for her.
We also got new footage of Sarah Ann and Laura talking at the lake party. I understand why the producers didn't use this originally, because the women were civil and if anything, quite low energy given that one women had been jilted by her fiancee, and the other had basically beckoned him to her.
Both Sarah Ann and Jeramey came off terribly here. Sarah Ann was called out for her pursuit of Jeramey outside the pods, as well as her public comments that the show was all just entertainment -- which got a swift rebuke from Team Lachey. Jeramey meanwhile was hit from multiple sides and basically called a douchebag by everyone, and provided mealy-mouthed explanations to get out of allegedly having a fiancee when he was cast on this show, among other allegations. Surprise, there's even more awful shit about Jeramey out there, even now.
I ended this reunion thinking that Sarah Ann and Jeramey were both in it for the fame, they're together now primarily to prove everyone wrong ("See, I did find the 'right' girl"), and I suspect she'll be getting the pink slip -- and I don't mean that awful dress -- now that the season is officially over. But I kind of hope they stick together, because that way they're out of the dating pool for everyone else. They deserve each other.
AD & Clay
I had seen photos of Clay and AD together prior to the reunion, so I was prepared for the news that she took him back after he jilted her at the altar. I was glad to see that's apparently not the case. Listen, I like Clay. And I thought he handled himself as well as he possibly could in this reunion. He took accountability for hurting AD (and her family), he owned up to having a slew of issues that have led him to seek out therapy. All in all, I thought it was a solid showing for Clay. And I hope the two of them can be good friends, because I do think there is genuine love and admiration there.
But I thought the critical moment this episode came when AD was asked about watching that scene with Clay's Mom and Dad -- which is, in hindsight, one of the most interesting exchanges ever on this show, and it didn't even feature actual cast members -- and AD said that she had no intention of being Clay's mom, that's not her story. And we saw Clay forcing her into that role repeatedly throughout this season. Once Clay dropped the tough-guy act, he let AD take control. And that probably would have worked, had he actually followed through on the marriage. But it wasn't fair for AD to have to take all of that on. She deserves someone who is a fully formed person, her equal in a relationship, and that isn't Clay. Not now certainly. We'll see after a few years of intensive therapy. But regardless, I hope she finds someone else in the meantime. She deserves it.
Matthew
Speaking of AD, we also got a quasi-segment in which they finally showed us the footage of Matthew AKA Clark Kent allegedly saying the "same things" to another girl, Amber, that he was saying to AD in the pods. I'm...not convinced that's actually what the footage showed. He was definitely talking about asking both of them about their father's permission to propose, which...if he was serious about both of them, I could realistically see him doing. And most of the men on those couches were seemingly that serious about more than one woman in the pods. He also seemed to ask both of them to run away with him. Which, again, not great. But I don't think Matthew was enjoying that experience AT ALL, and I do think he wanted out. Ideally with one of the women, so it wouldn't have been totally pointless, in addition to publicly humiliating.
But I also agree that he wanted to be on television. He's a weird one. One of the most inscrutable cast members I've ever seen on this show. Apparently he and AD did go out on a few dates after Clay ditched her, but it quickly fizzled. I can believe that, too. He's hot but very straight laced; I don't see how he and AD would have made sense long-term. Matthew declined to come back for the reunion, which flies in the face of the "wants to be on TV" narrative. So I guess he'll remain a mystery.
Jimmy & Chelsea
In what should have been the most electric segment of the night, these two phoned it in and were -- from what we saw -- largely given a pass. Jimmy pretty clearly came in feeling the heat, and was on the defensive from the jump. Chelsea also seemed beaten down. She also looked stunning. I actually DID see the Megan Fox resemblance, for all the shit she took for it. (The dress was...a choice. Ladies, unless you are an actual drag queen, avoid feathers on your gowns.)
Both of them readily admitted to mistakes. Chelsea copped to completely fucking up by divulging Jimmy's fling with his friend on air, and Jimmy admitted that was pretty much the moment he gave up on her, and was just going through the motions thereafter. You could totally see that in the footage. No surprise at all.
But I don't think either one of them were made to address some of the larger issues. Chelsea acknowledged she has major jealousy issues and insecurities -- is she working on addressing those? Did she apologize to Jimmy for trying to gaslight him on several many occasions about things she just made up or inflated? On the opposite hand, Jimmy was never asked if he dropped Jessica because of her daughter, which I still believe to be the case. He was very, very into her up until the moment that bomb was dropped, and then the energy switched VERY quickly. It's weird to me that was never asked head on. I think their whole segment was the biggest fail of the episode, even though it had the most potential for juice.
Trevor
I think most people knew that Trevor had been exposed as a liar and cheat as the season was airing. Producers knew people would want to see that play out, so they teased Trevor sitting alone backstage before the reunion even began. When he came out, he initially tried the tactic of being stunned after Team Lachey presented their own "Masterpiece Theater" rendition of Trevor's texts to the long-term girlfriend he had at the time of filming, which had been released to social media weeks ago. He literally just sat there in silence with a dippy look on his face, before making the absolutely wrong call to try to dismiss the significance of that relationship and claim he absolutely went on the show for love, not fame.
Trevor. Babe. "Pumpkin." The texts they read on air were bad enough. He was telling this woman he loved her as he was landing to shoot the show. But the other texts that were put out there, that they didn't read? They're even worse. In those, he tells this other woman about Chelsea specifically, and says something along the lines of, "it came down to me and another guy, but she chose him; I never would have married her anyway." Like, they are DAMNING. When you are caught in a lie as blatant as this one, your best move is to own it and beg for forgiveness. He tried to have it both ways, and absolutely nobody on that stage (or in America) was buying it.
Team Lachey specifically drubbed him for using the show to further his career. "What career?" Trevor asked. "I'm sure I don't know," Vanessa replied. Take a look at his social media and you'll see exactly what's going on there. He's been posting thirst-trap videos and gay-baiting content for weeks now. He wants to be an influencer. He wants the attention and the money that comes with it. And he would have gotten all of it and more had his ex not outed him publicly. (And then he made it worse here by disavowing her, so I have a sneaking suspicion even more shit will be coming out about him in the future).
Another critical misstep from Trevor, who is not the sharpest tool in the shed. But he is growing that mullet out, because he's smart enough to understand the basics of branding.
Jessica
I would argue Jessica won this reunion, and did so pretty easily. She gathered more than one of the people on those couches -- especially Sarah Ann and Jimmy -- and had great answers to almost every question. When the wine-bar convo between her and Laura was brought up, she did EXACTLY what she should have done: own up to her bad behavior, and apologize. She showed vulnerability but also strength.
The segment with Jimmy and Chelsea was probably her biggest success. Anyone who was criticizing her for still showing interest in Jimmy after he was engaged to Chelsea was probably put at ease when it was revealed that she and Chelsea are close, and all has been forgiven. Meanwhile, she took Jimmy to task for an interview in which he tried to make her sound like a total maniac in the pods, which was gloriously backed up by actual footage that revealed that Jimmy's accusation that she "stormed out of the room 10 minutes into our next-to-last date" was completely wrong; that she was right when she said they talked for nearly 90 minutes and that when it DID end, Jimmy agreed to it. I still think Jimmy got off pretty easy in this reunion, but at least he got grilled in that moment.
Weirdly, I think Jessica is the break-out star of this cast. I was surprised when they announced that she's going on the next season of "Perfect Match," because I think the real opportunity here is a dating show exclusively for single parents. Have we seen that before? Because it feels like a whole new franchise just waiting to be born. Same with "Love Is Blind: Golden Years," featuring single seniors. If the show really is having trouble casting sexy 20/30somethings who are actually invested in this experiment -- which is allegedly why we ended up with the string of loser guys we had this season -- these seem like pretty obvious ways around it.