OLLA MOKHTAR
campus editor
olla.mokhtar@my.tccd.edu

“Is love truly blind?” Is being asked yet again for the fourth season of Netflix’s hit show “Love is Blind,” and the drama could not have given 2023 a better show.

Roses scattered on an aisle, loved ones beaming with happiness, and an “I do” is what each cohort of participants is chasing, and this one is no different.

Like the other seasons, it introduces the male and female participants and how their dates in the pods go as they court one another in an untraditional way–through a wall. However,          with the release of the first five episodes this cohort proves to be slightly different than the rest.

This is particularly seen when one of the male participants, Zack, jokingly says that he is a stripper that goes by the name “Zack Attack.” The female participant responds with an “ew” subsequently attacking the entire premise of the show, which is to not judge others and only judge their true character. Even though his true occupation is being a criminal defense attorney, showing disgust towards his fake one showed viewers what kind of character the female participant had.

In fact, many of the female participants were very rude and “Regina George-y” towards the others because of insecurities and their interest in the same person.

One that is worth highlighting is Micah and Irina’s friendship and how they were rude to Amber since she was interested in the same person Micah was. In one particular instance, Micah and Irina mocked Amber and Paul and said “That seems like something they would do,” and even called her a “loser” behind her back.

Admittedly it made the entire show more entertaining to watch because that was just the beginning of the series of petty behaviors to come.

All of the participants who made connections also had moments where they realized that the person they listed first on their attraction list was not as attracted or as dedicated to them and had other people they liked more. The fact that someone was in a conundrum about choosing one person while that same person did as well was ironic, hilarious and hypocritical of them all. How is it fair to any person to reserve their feelings when they only have a set deadline to choose who their next spouse is?

It’s not.

The fact is that people are having multiple connections and have to decide if that’s the person they want to marry in four weeks. The dating would only last for a little more than a week and more than one couple was acting childish about this “new” fact, when in reality they weren’t being realistic with themselves.

After five couples advanced to being engaged, the couples met the other couples face to face. And the participants started becoming even more shallow and mean, compared to the previous graduates of the show. Sure, there were moments where the previous cohorts expressed their opinions on others but this was a step further than the behaviors exhibited by Sharpay and Regina George.

For instance, Irina and Zack had trouble with intimacy and light touching in both public and private because Irina couldn’t find the courage to say that she didn’t find him physically attractive even after connecting with him emotionally, the other participants did not respond kindly.

In hindsight, if one is only looking for a reality tv show filled with drama and suspense, then this is the perfect place for that but it seems like the participants want to be appreciated, which is a universal theme most can relate to. It is why many, including myself, love the show and hope that the next eight episodes give us even more drama than the first five.