Love is Blind is the latest iteration of dating-reality-television to hit Netflix and is 100% worth the binge. The show is meant to answer the age old question: is true love truly blind? It follows fifteen men and fifteen women as they search for the answer. The couples are given a few days to chat through a wall in their respective “pods” as they speed date to find their potential forever partner. After this point, the couples either get engaged — still without meeting face to face — or go home; only after you become engaged can you meet your fiance face to face. Nothing says true love like knowing your fiance for 7 days! The show takes place on a 40 day timeline where the couples meet, get engaged, move in together and get married all within the 40 days. By the end of the dating phase, there are five engaged couples on a whirlwind vacation in Cancun where they get acquainted with each other.
The show is filled with absurd quotes, a love triangle or two, and all around high quality entertainment. My personal favorite couple, Jessica and Mark, have no chance of making it in the long run but they keep the viewers incredibly entertained. Jessica is thirty-four years old, and she originally wanted to be with Barnett, another suitor on this show, even going so far as to say she could see them getting married and going the distance. She, at multiple points throughout the show, expresses extreme regret that she ended up with Mark, the twenty-four year old puppy dog who has followed her around the entire season. Their ten year age gap poses quite a lot of concerns throughout the season, but Mark remains convinced that true love will prevail. Although the series is full of unrealistic expectations for love, it does pose an interesting concept. Can you truly fall in love with someone in 7 days? Let alone someone you’ve never laid eyes on? Any semi-rational person would say no.
Reality TV shows about love and dating are now a dime a dozen: The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, Love Island, Love Island Australia, Ninety Day Fiance, Dating Naked. However, Love is Blind feigns moral superiority by focusing on the central theme of how important or unimportant the exterior of your partner is. Whether or not the show will lead to long-lasting happiness remains to be seen, but it leaves its viewers wanting more!