OLLA MOKHTAR
campus editor
olla.mokhtar@my.tccd.edu
For five seasons I have watched “Love is Blind” participate in an experiment where people date through a wall. The entire premise is that “Love is Blind,” like the title suggests.
And after watching the fifth season, I am even more grounded in the fact that love isn’t blind and the people on the show are hilarious for thinking so.
I started reading romance books at the age of 12. I noticed liking them in the Harry Potter series when I would skip the pages to find a Ginny and Harry scene, so I have high standards when it comes to media and romance.
The first thing I noticed is that overall, the couples this season were very disingenuous. Though there were other couples, I primarily saw this with Stacy, Johnie and Izzy.
The experiment involves people dating multiple people, and usually they have more than one connection, which is fair. Personally, I think human emotions are more complex than being able to connect with just one person. In other words, a person can have multiple soulmates. Whether that is romantic or platonic depends on the connection.
Izzy had a romantic connection to both Stacy and Johnie, but he was, for lack of better words, undeniably unrealistic and selfish for a myriad of reasons. The first was that he didn’t like that she had been in a relationship with someone who died from drug abuse seven years ago. He didn’t appreciate that she waited until the second date to tell him.
The dating process lasts 10 days. Ten days, people. How is anyone supposed to be comfortable enough to open up about trauma when she doesn’t really know you?
She felt it was appropriate to tell him since she was falling in love.
His response was to say that he was overwhelmed, and eventually they stopped seeing each other. I didn’t respect the fact that he didn’t acknowledge that everyone has baggage, including him.
He, more or less, stripped her of her humanity, and it was very disingenuous when he claimed to believe that everyone deserves love but ended the connection based on her experiences.
He is old enough to know better. Izzy, you’re 31. Start acting like it.
There were many instances and situations like these where people either lied, cheated, stalked or had heated arguments about the intentions and integrity of other cast members, namely Johnie because she ended up with someone she previously rejected.
Another drama filled scenario was that of Lydia, Milton, Uche and Aaliyah’s. In the experiment, the men and women live together in a large condo-like apartment. This is where Lydia and Aaliyah became close friends, however Aaliyah didn’t know that Uche and Lydia previously dated.
Because Uche was dating Aaliyah he decided to tell her, and all hell broke loose. Lydia started talking to her about how he looked, how his house looked, what it was like dating him and more. All the things Aaliyah didn’t want to know since the point of the show was to fall in love without knowing any of those things.
And her obvious jealousy seeped in.
The director really knew how to position and portray the cast in a way that engaged the audience, which I really appreciated. Most people watch reality TV for its intrigue and insight into other people’s lives.
I noticed that this season was more intimate as well. Shower and sex scenes were included, and even though they blurred out the nudity and sex scenes, I abhorred that part.
Sure, glancing into other people’s lives was interesting, but trust me when I say I do not want to see what you do in the bedroom or bathroom. I’m not joking.
It was weird and made me uncomfortable, but I understand they did it for the views. It was a change from the previous seasons I thought was unnecessary.
If you find watching TV shows about a bunch of adults being hypocritical, immature and rude to each other entertaining, then please watch “Love is Blind” Season 5.
It’s a show that I will probably be rewatching because it was interesting, intriguing and peculiar. However, it wasn’t enough to convince me that love is actually blind.
