Wow… I can’t tell if I am surprised by this reunion or disappointed. Maybe a little bit of both? Going into this reunion, I was already nervous- a lot of the time, a reunion has the ability to make or break the islanders. If the islanders aren’t aware of this, then they might lose half of their fans from this one episode. I was hoping my favorites knew about this possibility so they didn’t embarrass themselves, but it seems like many islanders didn’t. Let’s dive in. I wanna say one thing first: Trinity and Bryce cleared. Always have and always will be my favorites. Thankfully, they were safe from the internet’s brutality (because they are perfect and can do no wrong). Aniya and Carl are once again safe, perfect and precious. But their fellow core four couples… ehhhh, not so much.Â
Kayda… girl. I can’t with her. She had one too many snarky comments for me. Like, I didn’t really mind her and Zach together, but she seemed too cocky about her situationship. I understand they were going to “wait until the real world” to make it official, but they still aren’t official, and baby, welcome to the real world. I don’t know; it seems weird to me to continue to give so much of yourself to… a guy you’re talking to? I don’t even know what to call them- they have no title! So to come from that situationship perspective and then judge Jaiden for sleeping with Caleb twice while she was unsure of their relationship was crazy. I was just recently reminded that Kayda is only 22 years old, so maybe I’ll show her some grace. I don’t know; I’m 20 and am not that rude, like…Â
Melanie also just rubbed me the wrong way the entire time. I really wasn’t worried about her but now I don’t know how to feel. She seemed to just push and push until her opponent broke, then proceeded to console whoever she hurt. At that point, why push so hard? If you don’t care while they are presently falling apart in front of you, then you don’t care at all. Melanie pushed Kenzie to her breaking point, and then ran over to help calm her down- even though she was the one who made her cry! It just seemed really off-putting, and almost manipulative. She seemed to ignore every question about Sincere, but had a problem with absolutely everyone who had something to say about her actions. I do understand Melanie’s current situation and where she is coming from; it can feel impossible to get out of a relationship that is obviously destroying you. But hurting others because of the situation you put yourself in is immature and honestly annoying. I want to move on to Kenzie. I still love her, controversial? She definitely had her moments during the season, but I enjoyed her during the reunion. I also didn’t love Dylan during the season but he showed up and showed out for the reunion. I think Kenzie truly cares for her female friendships, so it sucked to watch Melanie basically come for her. But Dylan was right there, ready to defend and care for Kenzie. I think Melanie notices when Kenzie is vulnerable, and she uses that to paint whatever picture she wants. At the reunion, she wanted to portray the narrative that Kenzie was bad-mouthing her and attacking her online, when in reality Kenzie never truly said anything negative about Melanie. Melanie just saw it as an opportunity to mold Kenzie’s thoughts and feelings into something that fits Melanie’s narrative. She had expected
Kenzie to act like her best friend, when in reality Melanie had said to her face, “I think I’m your best friend, but you aren’t mine”. Once Kenzie had broken down and begun to cry, that’s when Melanie swooped in to comfort and console her, claiming it is “not that deep,” like what? Baby, you made it that deep.Â
I found Titi to be really mature- I think she’s growing on me. I still love Jen; once again, she didn’t really add anything, but I love her for it. Beatrice, I can’t seem to form an opinion on her. Sol… mama’s a mess. Oh, and Corbin, love that guy.Â
Overall, I think the reunion was good enough. I didn’t love all the questions about their personal sex lives; awkward. They are grown individuals and grown couples, no longer on a reality TV show. I just didn’t get that. But other than a few rough questions and random video clips, I think it was okay. What are your thoughts? Are you unfollowing anyone? Have any new favorite islanders?