Ah, Love Is Blind. We’ve been burned before! So much so that my best friend, who lives in Houston, declared season five a disgrace to her city. “I’m sick if this is the dating pool here,” she texted me. When I asked if she thought I should recap this season, she said, “If u can shit on it.” I was fully prepared to. Yet, despite all odds, I feel like Netflix has actually gotten us off to a pretty decent start! That’s not to say I love every cast member — in fact, this first week tries to kick off multiple unhinged villain edits — but there are a few people who seem to be earnestly trying to find love through the experiment, which gives me something to root for, even if that’s a breakup with someone who’s bad for them. After a six-episode drop, five couples from Charlotte, North Carolina, make it from pods to honeymoons in the Dominican Republic. Insecurities, immaturity, and distasteful choices have already started to test some relationship foundations. The question is less, Do I think they will figure out how to be happy together? and more, Do I think they’re going to convince themselves they’re happy together when they’re actually miserable? I might not be sure everyone should say “I do,” but I’m definitely invested in these journeys to the altar.
Let’s start by meeting our main characters and recapping ten days of pod drama, shall we?
Trevor/Chelsea/Jimmy/Jessica: Whew, this love square. Flight attendant Chelsea is used to guys being mean to her, and now she’s got two men in the pods telling her they love her. Muscly, mulleted Trevor makes her laugh. He also does not care at all that she was married for five years and is 100 percent sure about choosing her over anyone else. But she doesn’t seem to go for men who make her feel too secure — somehow, country boy Jimmy’s lukewarm reaction to her divorce makes her realize she likes him because she’s so upset about potentially losing him. She likes that he describes a simple life together. I suspect it helps that there’s a bit of competition: Jimmy is also dating Jessica, who is down horrendous for him. When Jessica reveals she has a 10-year-old daughter, Jimmy tells her it’s not a dealbreaker. But his body language tells us that it probably is. Jessica, who gets very vulnerable on pod dates, eventually feels played and presses him for answers. He argues that it’s not right for him to discuss any feelings before he’s 100 percent sure and unconvincingly insists that he didn’t make up his mind until the very end. At least their heated fallout gives us the most memorable line of the week — on her way out, Jessica promises that Jimmy will need an EpiPen to open up his airways when he sees her because he’ll be choking at what he fumbled.
Chelsea happily accepts Jimmy’s proposal. Poor Trevor, who has tapped a paired bracelet a hundred times a day to let her know he’s thinking about her while she seemingly hasn’t even worn it. When Trevor asks if they would have gotten engaged if he’d proposed first, she can’t answer, which, yikes. Jimmy then misspeaks in a confessional and says he’s sure about his feelings for Jessica. Double yikes. At the reveal, Jimmy and Chelsea share some squelchy kisses, and he reveals that he almost went home that morning. Chelsea — who has been twirling and running in place — looks worried that he’s regretting his choice.
In a confessional, Jimmy says she lied in the pods about looking like Megan Fox. Sure, maybe she shouldn’t have made the comparison during an experiment that’s supposed to transcend physical appearance … but it’s also off-putting that he has held onto that detail. There’s something oddly flat about how he talks about marriage and says he loves her — I believe he’s committed to this choice, but where’s the romance?
AD/Matthew/Clay: AD is a real-estate agent and former Patriots cheerleader who, I’d argue, is more fully committed to the experiment’s premise. But her options are two men who both have a lot of growing to do. Financial adviser Matthew comes off as a rude loner in both the pods and the men’s quarters. But his energy shifts with AD, who is a great active listener. Suddenly, he’s bashfully spilling random lore, like the fact that he once tore his hamstring trying to do the splits in a dance-off (???). AD has a much livelier connection with Clay, who is exactly the kind of smooth-talking baller that her friends and family want her to stop pursuing. She’s impressed because Clay is open about being a work in progress and struggling with his ego. But she’s turned off when he presses her to describe her physical appearance and describes wanting “lips, butt, and all that stuff.”
Matthew wants to ask for permission to marry her, prompting her to open up about her dad dying. But just as AD is feeling secure, we discover that Matthew has been saying some of the exact same things to Amber, one of AD’s friends. Netflix is smart for leaving out footage of Amber’s pod dates up to this point, because this feels as shocking to us as it does to AD.
AD tries to vent to Clay, who loses it just hearing that she’s dating another man — especially one he doesn’t think is on his level. He’s cursing and raising his voice, and suddenly AD is the one upset and apologizing. I hate it here! After a weird appeal to AD about being America’s underdog, Matthew leaves, leaving AD to make up with Clay. He admits he was wrong for bringing up looks and wins her over by saying he’s sensitive and wants to change. He even cried that morning! These crumbs are enough to get her in the hallways saying, “My man, my man.”
Clay’s eventual proposal includes the words “rock out with your boy,” but AD is delighted to accept. The amount of time they spend admiring the ring during the reveal does make it seem like a lot of excitement is about the idea of getting married instead of their individual relationship. There’s clearly physical attraction during the reveal, but Clay’s confessional assessment (“Beautiful face, crazy body. I’m gonna have some fun, you know?”) begs the question … will this self-described big baby ever grow up?
Jeramey/Laura/Sarah Ann: We don’t get enough time with this trio for me to feel super-invested. Honestly, the most impactful takeaway is the way Jeramey’s name is spelled. Beyond that, he’s a construction manager who fucks with Hawaiian shirts and bonds with Laura over [checks notes] liking to clean and wanting to have happy family Christmases one day. Jeramey calls self-described “patriot” Sarah Ann a “wild card” and acknowledges they have sexual tension. But he and Laura both say that they’re each other’s No. 1, and there’s no real sense of suspense leading up to his statistics-based proposal to her. Sarah Ann is confused because he talked to her about visiting his dad’s grave, which he said he didn’t tell anyone else about. Still, she calmly accepts his explanation that he’s trusting a feeling. It’s the first breakup without any tears! Laura even hugs Sarah Ann back in the women’s quarters. It’s almost too good to be true, no?
Kenneth/Brittany: Our youngest couple has a lot in common. They’ve both experienced traumatic early losses that made them feel like they matured quickly. Kenneth is a 25-year-old middle-school principal, while 24-year-old Brittany used to be a teacher. Their shared religious beliefs seem to really solidify their connection, and he understands her desire to be a “submissive” wife. They briefly talk about race, and she says it won’t be a problem for her to date a Black man. At their reveal, they exchange hugs and polite kisses, which isn’t surprising given that they’ve agreed to wait until marriage to have sex. They seem convinced that God prepared them for each other.
Johnny/Amy: The first couple to get engaged keeps the majority of their chats light and pleasant. Johnny likes Amy’s accent when she speaks Spanish; she doesn’t mind him serenading her with self-written lyrics about her being a “bad mamacita.” They share a deeper moment when talking about family — Johnny, who has three siblings, is understanding when Amy mentions that she would want to be a caretaker for her brother (who is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD) if anything ever happened to her dad. He accidentally lets it slip over sushi that he loves her; she says it back, and that’s pretty much a wrap. Even though Amy’s never dated a white man before, they both seem happy with what they see during the reveal. Still, I feel like I’d be more attached to this sugar-sweet pair if we got to hear them talk more about their day-to-day lives or even playfully disagree occasionally.
And we’re off to the honeymoons in the Dominican Republic, where it becomes more clear to me that AD is the main character of the season. I’m not just saying this because I think she’s hilarious and thoughtful. Unfortunately, a major theme of the sixth episode is other people creating problems because they’re sexualizing her or reducing her to her physical appearance.
When he sees AD in a bathing suit, Clay says in a confessional that he feels like her “superpower” comes through when she takes off her clothes and she should just have them off all the time. At the bar, he says he’d tell her to “get in that motherfucking gym” if she was getting out of shape, even if it was pregnancy related. Of course, Clay manages to assuage her by saying that he needs to work on his delivery and that he’s a little fucked up. (AD, always quick to forgive, finds this admission sexy.) Later, she tells him that she doesn’t feel deserving of love, which he thankfully quickly shoots down. He also does a good job comforting her about her late father not being at the wedding.
Meanwhile, Chelsea has been seeking reassurance that Jimmy loves her almost nonstop since arriving in the DR. I get why — in one of their first conversations in their room, Jimmy is complaining about Jessica and doubling down on the fact that his mind was not made up on the day he told Chelsea he loved her. How does he not realize how bad this sounds? Add a verbal fumble about big boobs and the fact that he keeps emphasizing that looks don’t matter and I think it’s understandable that she’s got some doubts. But she’s now asked so many variations of the same question that it’s testing his patience.
When the couples eventually meet up for a beach soiree, Chelsea has fun for like two seconds, cackling while hinting at the size of Jimmy’s dick. But as drinks keep flowing, Jimmy makes a comment about AD — “that woman” — being “stacked.” Chelsea repeats this for everyone to hear and adds on by comparing AD to a bookshelf. Embarrassed, Jimmy tries to personally clarify that he was being “respectful.” AD assures Jimmy it’s fine and she’s used to it, which is heartbreaking. She shouldn’t have to be! A couple of his other actions make Chelsea feel unloved during the night, but this chat with AD seems to be the “uncomfy” moment she’s most keen to tearfully revisit when she and Jimmy start fighting in their room that night. She thinks he was admiring AD’s body and questions how much he loves her. Jimmy manages to insist he’s the happiest man in the world while looking pissed. They both keep cutting each other off, and the fight ends shortly after Chelsea snaps that he should just “take it” when her feelings are hurt. They appear to reach a tense truce by saying they love each other, which Jimmy has always said is all he needs.
Also on the beach, Jeramey shares that Laura told him to bean dip AD (slang for smacking her breasts unprompted, which it sounds like Laura has done). AD and Clay are both weirded out. AD tries to gently explain to Laura that it doesn’t come across as a joke, but Laura is focusing her energy on being angry at Jeramey for embarrassing her by bringing it up. (The alcohol must be really hitting because she’s forgotten that she was the one who brought up telling Jeramey to do it — he only said she taught him what it meant.) Now, Laura and Jeramey have been developing a bickering dynamic outside of the pods, with her playfully calling him an idiot or telling him to ditch his Hawaiian shirts in between kisses. But it turns out he doesn’t enjoy being reprimanded for real, and he actually says he wants to go home — as in North Carolina, not the hotel.
AD, ever the social butterfly, still finds time to check in on Kenneth, who has never dated a white woman before Brittany. AD wants to know if he’s confident that Brittany’s strong enough to raise Black children. The Christian couple has been exceedingly attentive to each other on this trip so far and appears very happy during nighttime check-ins. But Kenneth seems to really be pondering AD’s question, and I expect it’ll be a topic he wants to revisit with Brittany. Meanwhile, Amy and Johnny are mainly off in their own little bubble. I don’t know if it’s the edit or their actual conversations, but I feel like we still haven’t gotten much deeper than surface level with this pair.
The episode preview promises difficult conversations for every couple. Jeramey apparently met up with Sarah Ann to talk until 5 a.m., which I’m sure is a decision Laura will be very normal about. Plus, some of the most engaging people who didn’t get engaged are headed back for a mini-reunion. Could that have anything to do with Chelsea yelling that she knows Jimmy fucked someone? Oh, I’m sat … see y’all next week!
Pod Goss
• The casting department does not have these women’s best interests at heart. Matthew is out here admitting he can get uncomfortable even saying the word “love,” and Clay — who forgets that men wear wedding rings — is telling women he thinks he’s not a good person and can’t provide emotional security. And that screams marriage material?
• Amber’s deadpan delivery of “I’m gonna live out my worst fears. Slay” when she finds out about Matthew … she’s the voice of a generation. I admire her for apologizing to AD and leaving the experiment, but I wish she’d connected with someone else so we could’ve seen more of her!
• It’s very weird when Laura tries to tell Jessica to leave in the pods and refuses to explain that it’s because she knows Jimmy told Chelsea he loved her. If you’re going to stir the pot, use the whole spoon, ma’am.
• My thoughts go out to Mackenzie, whose friends will probably never let her live down the fact that her most substantial chunk of screen time was when she confessed to peeing in pools, prompting AD’s incredible response: “I will never judge you. Pee on your man. But don’t pee in a pool that I’m in.” Go piss, girl!