Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Yapping about movies, tv shows, reality tv, pop culture moments, and anything else that I can't get off my mind.
Next Episode Ranking Some of Anne Hathaway's Movies Out 5/14/26!
Hello and welcome to the I Have to Say Podcast.
Today, I have to say…I’m watching Love Island and I have thoughts!
This will be a recurring podcast episode all about Love Island USA Season 8.
Some of these topics may seem like old news to you because I’m not able to live react with thorough discussions, but if you want real time thoughts from me you can check out my threads accounts @ihavetosaypod or @lyssa_post_, whichever you prefer.
I’m not a new Love Island watcher, I used to watch Love Island UK, and then like two of the earlier Love Island USA’s seasons, like I’m talking Season 1, but I did fall off somewhere and then get reinvested back into Season 6.
This chat is NOT an in-depth recap episode, more like an overview of some of the things that happened and a discussion about them and the conversations that are happening online.
This specific episode will be about Episode 1 through Episode 7.
So thank you for joining me. Thank you for being here. And let’s get started.
Episode 1
In the islanders first challenge, the men and women in the villa were separated by sets of doors. Ariana asked multiple choice questions, and islanders stood at the door with the answers they aligned with the most. The men and women revealed their choices to each other by opening the door and kissing whoever was on the other side of the door.
After that, the women stood behind the door of the person they wanted to couple up with, and ended up with KC alone and Sincere with two options: Melanie or Aniya.
KC opening the door and finding no one there was a big conversation online, and I also didn’t expect him to have no one on the other side of his door. He forreal is funny though because in a conversation later with Aniya he talks about how he thinks it’s because he said he was a plant person, which I think is just hilarious that that’s like what he took away from the whole thing. But he also admits that he was in his shell and had a hard time opening up, which I could see honestly.
People have also been talking about how he lit up after Aniya told him her dad was a basketball player, and I don’t know if they’re tryna play like he wasn’t interested in her until she said that, but I think any basketball fan would react the same way that he did if they heard that the person they’re talking to has a dad that plays basketball. I don’t think it was because he wasn’t interested and now he was and I don’t like that people were trying to like…insinuate that.
The first episode is always hard because first impressions are hard, but especially in this format when you’re being filmed on national tv and you’re searching for a connection that can lead you to winning 100,000 dollars.
And then you also don’t know how you’re being edited and what’s included and what you’re talking about and there’s cameras everywhere, it’s just a lot of pressure so I don’t blame him for being slow to open up. And if it was me, I would be sick that there was no one on the other side of the door, but he bounced back pretty well.
There’s been a lot of conversations about the kissing in this episodes too and just how freaked out the show is, and I do have to say that I think the more Love Island USA has continued to air and gained more popularity, they may have turned up the heat a little bit, but I don’t know if it’s 100% on the show because to a point it has always been something like this. It just…it does feel like they turned it up a bit in my opinion, or maybe it’s just because I’m older now, but I also think they’re also casting people who know what they signed up for and are more down and willing to do the most.
The editors DO need to lower those volumes on the mikes though ‘cause I feel like I’m in Fiji with them and I don’t like that, like, I don’t need to be there.
I also think there’s a lot of kissing this season outside of challenges. First episode and half of the people who are coupled up were kissing in greeting or during their chats and I know that the ice has already been broken since they’ve all made out with each other already, but kissing outside of challenges this season doesn’t feel like a good indicator of what people are thinking or how they’re feeling ‘cause they’re kissing just to kiss at this point.
I didn’t really have any first impressions on the cast before the episode. I’m always rooting for anybody Black and they look good obviously, that’s a requirement of Love Island. I do think they did the cast a bit dirty with their official cast pictures because they look even better on screen.
Kenzie and Aniya’s first meeting cracks me up when Kenzie was saying, “I’m a Gemini moon which makes sense because I’m emotional at night.”
And then Aniya was like, “Wait…I don’t think that’s what that means…”
I thought that was really funny.
Ariana at some point started talking to the women, and Kenzie says that she is not a roster type of girl and Ariana asking how she’s gonna handle being on this show, which that conversation was foreshadowing lowkey and I didn’t peep it my first watch, but I should’ve known how she was going to move through the villa after that happened because in this show you have to have a roster and keep your options open until you mutually decide to close off and this is like week 1, so they’re not even supposed to be closing it off. Coupling up keeps you safe, but the door is still open whether you want it to be or not until you’re both on the same page, which is supposed to be later in the journey.
People getting on Trinity for quitting her job at a hardware store to do the show are very unserious people. She is twenty two years old and I’m sure she didn’t envision working in a hardware store for the rest of her life and as the people defending her online have said, people have quit a job for less.
Also we’re also not gonna act like Love Island isn’t a job or at least an opportunity that can lead to a bigger bag than what she was making. Look at Olandria, Nic, Amaya (who won and was on a spinoff, regardless of how you feel about her), PPG, and even Rob.
Even if she wasn’t twenty two, I think going on the show would be a great decision.
The mayor getting mad at Sean is also super unserious, because you took time out of your day to comment your disappointment in him for what exactly??? Just to embarrass him? Or were you trying to get some clout? Like what was that about?
Regardless of how things turned out for Sean, his name is now out there and I’m sure he’ll have a following and he didn’t do anything that was too out of pocket or embarrassing on tv, I mean besides being proud of being a cop, but…wait he did also say, “I had got someone pregnant,” which is very blunt, but I didn’t think it was as crazy as everyone has been saying. He for sure could’ve worded it differently, and he should’ve, and I get people calling it out, but…and like it is…it is crazy, but he didn’t say anything that men don’t say or think so…
But regardless of all of that, he got a lot of sympathy, even after people were hating on him for being a cop, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.
But during the first episode and after it aired, I was rooting for Aniya and Bea. I liked both of their personalities and thought they would be good tv. There were men that looked good but I will NEVER go into a Love Island rooting for men.
My only thing with Trinity is that she is young, like 22, and I didn’t think they put anyone in the villa for her. I initially thought she was gonna be immature, though she actually doesn’t seem to be as the season is going on.
I didn’t feel one way or another about Melanie during the first episode. I was rooting for her, but I also had a feeling she would piss me off in some way. I felt like that about KC, Sincere, Zach, and Kayda.
There was something about Bryce, Kenzie, and Sean I didn’t like. Bryce just gives off f boy vibes in my opinion. Like there’s something about him that I’m just not vibing with through the screen and it’s the same with Sean. They didn’t do anything wild in the first episode, I was just skeptical of them.
Kenzie though, I think was being ridiculous. I think she expected to be the person everyone was going to be obsessing over and that wasn’t the case.
But it was her stressing that Zach had never been with a blonde before that really gave me the ick.
Like I knew white people had this thing with their hair color but it’s just wild how much weight it’s given into their aesthetics. Like Zach’s insistence for a brunette but also her shock that he had never been with a blonde. I know it’s a preference thing but I just can’t get behind how shocked and appalled Kenzie was and I can’t believe the girls entertained that conversation about that.
Kenzie says she feels mixed signals, and it’s possible that Zach gave them to her. We don’t know. We only see the edit and I think a lot of the conversations that Zach talked about not really feeling Kenzie had included people that weren’t Kenzie, but I also think even if he was being flip floppy, it was the first night being in the villa and way too soon to put all of your eggs in one basket or expect loyalty, even though I’m sure it’d be nice.
The big thing from this episode though was that Bea had a conversation with the girls who asked her how she felt about Sean having a kid. She told them she didn’t date people outside of the villa who had kids, but that and I quote “just because we’re talking in the villa doesn’t mean we’re getting married tomorrow so it’s worth getting…”
And then the other girls cut in and agree saying it’s worth being open.
I feel like people forget or don’t carry weight to the fact that the root of this show is social strategy competition and it just so happens that love or lust or whatever you want to call it is involved.
If you want to stay, you have to compromise and make things work so that you can stay. This is not a genuine dating show, even if it has led to people dating once the show is over and some engagements and marriages.
Love Island is a competition show first that just revolves around dating, so yeah people are gonna go for people who aren’t their usual types or who have attributes or qualities they may not go for in the real world because they only have so many options or else they’re forced to cut their journey short and say goodbye to the cash prize and the possibility of love, I guess, but love happens more so if you’re lucky in my opinion.
That being said, I don’t think Bea was wrong for stepping on red or for not having a conversation with Sean about him having a kid. I think if they were coupled up longer, I could see where people were coming from but it was night one and they moved super fast in there and if we want to break the fourth wall, I’m pretty sure production has to approve one on one conversations, so I think she didn’t have time and she wanted to feel things out before she talked to him.
I posted this on threads, but I also think there’s a double standard when it comes to women with children dating and men with children dating and if Sean was a woman in the villa, people would’ve been on his ass for not following up and having a serious conversation, one-on-one, with whoever he was interested in to make sure they were comfortable with him having a child. Just casually mentioning it to everybody would not have been enough if he was a woman.
But I also think the “are you ready to be a stepmom” conversation is a very unserious conversation because i don’t find this to be a serious dating show and it’s honestly more fun if you just enjoy the ride instead of treating it like it is a serious dating show that will lead to marriage and relationships outside of the villa, in my opinion but you know…do what you want…
Episode 2 & Episode 3
That being said, I think Kenzie’s beef with Zach maybe could’ve been avoided if he was more direct with how he was feeling, but I also get the feeling he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. And it’s just an awkward conversation to have lowkey because you never know what’s happening next or how much longer they had to be coupled up and I doubt they expected bombshells coming in on the first night.
I feel like if they had more time together, Zach would have been honest with her, but again, because of the circumstances, he had to roll with it and hope something grew until someone came in who caught his eye.
Zach honestly just got lucky that he connected so well with Kayda and that she was feeling him more than Bryce and I do think Kenzie was being ridiculous for not wanting to have a conversation with Zach.
I can understand that the rejection stung and it also leads to more uncertainty about your position in the villa so that must be hard to deal with. I’m also not gonna invalidate how Kenzie was feeling because she was triggered, but I also think the way she approached it was immature because Zach was someone she just met, on a show known for open dating in front of each other, and he had been throwing out signs that he wasn’t interested. I don’t think he had a real opportunity to express how he was feeling directly, and he has to approach it delicately because you never know what the next day brings.
I side-eyed Aniya a little bit for saying he needed to express to her that he wanted to explore things but only because at this point it’s like the second night. Everyone should be open to exploring. And this is Love Island. It should be assumed that everyone is open to exploring until they say they’re closed off. Day 2 is not that day.
Sean, I think, was a little teensy bit more justified in being upset because he and Bea were vibing, but I think he took it well. At least in the edit, who knows what we didn’t see, but he acknowledged that it hurt and he felt a way about it, but also that he didn’t have to dwell on it and let it affect how he moved in the villa. The way he approached it was pretty mature of him.
Let me back up for a second though, ‘cause some of that was in the third episode.
The bombshells and the islanders who stood on those red dots went off to a separate area of the island to this room with a big bed.
I thought that the bombshells were giving. I was impressed even though I think some people weren’t.
It’s been said, but it’s true. It was giving Challengers, and I just don’t understand the point of it, to no fault to the bombshells, besides the obvious innuendo of a threesome.
I guess it was to let islanders at the villa spiral, but I just never want to see islanders share a big ass bed like this again because we didn’t just get one awkward moment, we got two! The bombshells were clearly feeling one of their options more than the other and they were not equally spreading the love.
Like Bea and Gabriel kissing right in front of Trinity, that was wild. And then Bryce trying to join in on Kayda and Zach’s kissing and cuddling session…so cringey, so unserious.
Why did they set this up like this?
But it was lowkey cute when Trinity and Bryce came back and were coupled up with each other. Bryce said, “And we’re back,” and everyone laughs and they hug and it was so lighthearted in the best way, especially compared to Kenzie being more upset than the crime is worth in my opinion and how somber Sean was after the coupling up. Bea and Gabe did have a hella long makeout session though in front of them so I get why he was a little down.
Back in Episode 3, Aniya tells Bea that she and Sean weren’t coupled up that long and when she talks to Sean she tells him that she didn’t see it as ending to their connection, she just saw it as being open to exploring, but Sean thought it meant that she was closing off the connection, like she was uninterested in pursuing anything further with him.
Someone on threads speculated producers were feeding different information to them, but I think it also could easily just be a miscommunication or misinterpretation too.
I thought Trinity and Bryce’s conversation was sweet when they discussed how they were building a foundation. I love a good friends-to-lovers story and I think the way they approached the whole thing is really what love island is about. No pressure, just vibes and seeing what’s out there.
The Kenzie and Sean kiss at breakfast was crazy, and I get that everyone was kissing at breakfast, and it was a way to keep up with the social norms they established there, but it was still random, though I do think them together makes sense.
In the episode, I would say the moment that started a domino effect on the way that this season goes and is going is when Sincere pulls Kayda for a chat. Mind you, this is after he told Melanie unprovoked in so many words that he was serious about his couple with her and that his head wasn’t going to turn.
Even, Iain says “It is possible Sincere wasn’t being entirely…sincere.”
Melanie’s overreaction got so much attention that it drowned out Sincere’s actions, but in that conversation with Kayda, he’s basically feeling her out for if she would be open to getting to know him and saying he’s open to exploring and this is Love Island. That’s the point, that’s encouraged, and it’s early, but it’s a red flag that he did that after basically telling Melanie unprovoked he was only about her.
And then in the confessional, he’s talking about how he wants two fish and when you catch two you don’t have to put one back. He also said he wanted to explore his connection with Melanie and was confident with her and I just have to ask…confident about what sir? That you could win with her? That she would choose you and you would be able to stay?
Sincere’s playing the game, but he’s intentionally lying and downplaying what he’s doing in the beginning and I don’t like that.
Melanie only found out because Aniya told her and I get why she was feeling a way because Sincere did go out of his way to tell her that he was all about her and then five seconds later started talking to someone else.
Melanie talks about how she’s used to guys being infatuated with her and then getting sick of her and because I think Sincere is waffling a bit on where his head is at, I can see why she’s triggered.
Bea coaches Zach on how to have a conversation with Kenzie which doesn’t end up happening, but something about how Bea approached it rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t know if it was intentionally mocking women’s emotions but it felt like that. I’m gonna let it slide though because I really don’t know if she is trying to do that or not.
In the second challenge, they get secrets and have to guess who it’s about by pushing them in the pool before revealing the answer. I think these challenges really gave insight into what some of these islanders are capable of and how it could show up again in their time in the villa.
Because who is surprised Gabe slept with a 52 year old? Not me.
Who’s surprised that Sincere is guilty of texting other people while he was with someone else? Not me.
And he’s a hypocrite for saying it’s a red flag that Melanie has ghosted someone before
But what actually shocked me was Trinity saying she gave her boyfriend head while her mom was driving and then used daylight saving time as the reason.
I was shook. I really thought it was Kenzie that did that. I was not expecting a Black woman to say that at all.
The women talk after the challenge, and they all agree that Sincere’s answer was a red flag, but Melanie said it didn’t surprise her because they’ve talked about how he’s cheated before and she basically said if he cheats she’ll cheat back. She interrogates Kayda about the conversation she and Sincere had and Melanie explains that she’s frustrated that he sneak pulls people to the side and that he’s constantly hyping up their relationship when he is wanting to get to know other people.
Later, Sincere and Melanie chat and Sincere downplays his intentions about his chat with Kayda and the conversation basically ends with Melanie saying they should just do what they want. They’ll both explore and he can decide if he wants to be coupled up with her.
Kayda tells Zach and Bryce why Melanie is upset, which is basically that Sincere isn’t being completely honest and Kayda says she’s putting all her eggs in one basket, which she shouldn’t do.
Episode 4
I have to agree with Kayda. I think Melanie wanted to be locked in too soon, but I also think the main reason she was approaching it like that is because Sincere just says whatever shit he thinks sounds good and Melanie believes him.
I find a lot of what Melanie has done in this episode and as we go on to be reactionary and I sincerely think if Sincere was actually sincere and didn’t try to hype up their connection as much and was blunt and direct about wanting to explore and not hiding him wanting to explore behind the fact that he liked her and their connection, and if he didn’t act like no one would turn his head, then she would’ve approached it all differently.
When Sincere is talking to Bryce and Sean, he again downplays his talk with Kayda, trying to make it seem like it was a casual conversation when Sincere was actually interested in getting to know her, but they definitely spliced up this scene because later in the conversation Sincere admits he should’ve said it from the beginning and he understands where he fucked up.
And it’s a little unclear what “it” is, but I would assume he’s saying that he should’ve been straight up about wanting to get to know Kayda. And he should’ve been honest instead of acting like he was interested because Melanie and him actually sat down to have a conversation about Kayda.
This wasn’t like Kenzie and Zach who just met and maybe didn’t have time to talk. This was an active conversation that she and Sincere were having and Sincere lowkey lied about where his head was at.
Bea and Aniya chat and Bea makes a backhanded comment about how Kenzie is trying to squeeze her way into her situation with Gabriel and was annoyed about it but Aniya respectfully tells her to chill because Kenzie is talking to everyone. And I mean Anyia said it very respectfully, but it’s pretty clear that a part of Bea feels like Gabe will leave her for Kenzie because she knows aesthetically she’s his type. She and Gabe talk because she isn’t sure how he actually feels about her, and he says he likes her.
Sincere and Aniya have a conversation at the same time I think that KC and Melanie are having one, and Aniya is frustrated because she’s not really sure how KC feels and who he is wanting to explore in the villa. Sincere vents to her too, and says that navigating the villa is hard because of the title of being in a couple and the difficulty of balancing investing in his couple with exploring things with other people.
The challenge we get in this episode is the work one where they eventually go into the accounting department and secretly make out with the new bombshell Corbin and though I am not a fan of him, I don’t know why we’re lying about this man’s looks.
Kayda and Melanie throw shade at each other in the challenge, with Kayda answering Sincere needs a promotion form his partner after Melanie said Kayda needs to be fired.
It was messy but after the challenge they got over it, so it wasn’t really a big thing. Just amusing to watch.
I also want to point out that Bea said Kenzie will step on toes to climb her way to the top because she’s single and vulnerable because I’m gonna bring it up in a second. Kenzie was confused why she was chosen when there was a new bombshell, but I feel like the answer is obvious.
Oh, and another big moment in the challenge was Trinity picked Bryce, saying he’s the most likely to fake it for a promotion. Trinity has mentioned before Bryce puts on a good guy act in the other challenge they had with the pool, so I’m not really surprised she chose him and I lowkey see where she was coming from. They talked about it after and Bryce reminds her that they’re building a foundation and he receives it when Trinity says he needs to step it up a little bit. It seemed like it was a good conversation.
Bea and Kenzie talk too about the challenge and Kenzie apologizes for not letting Bea know she was going to talk to Gabe and Bea says she should just get first dibs on the bombshell. And I know there are people thinking that Bea wasn’t being strategic, but I think that she was, whether she was doing it consciously or not. If she was with Corbin, she wouldn’t be with Gabe and so to me, Bea was solving what she perceived to be a problem. Maybe Bea would feel the same way if Kenzie wasn’t exploring Gabriel, but because she was I think Bea really thought she should try to couple up with Corbin.
So after that, Corbin walks into the villa and I do think he was a good bombshell, but I think it’s more because of the setup of his entrance. The secret kisses with the ladies and then the reveal to the men, “You wanna tell them or should I?”
I was feeling it and he did shake some things up in the villa that night. The guys were feeling a type of way about it, especially Sincere because he knew he was Melanie’s type.
The big moment from this episode is when the ladies are talking and getting to know Corbin. Melanie was leaning in and it blocked Trinity’s and Kenzie’s view of him. In the moment, Kenzie moves Melanie with her hand and they joke about it, and then Melanie interrupts him mid answer to pull him for a one on one which turns the girls off. And I get why, because it was rude and lacked zero social awareness.
But then Bea brings up it, saying it should’ve been Kenzie, and I’m feeling like, says who? And maybe I’m biased because I’m not really a Kenzie fan and I don’t really care if she stays or not, even though I do think she makes entertaining tv.
Sincere is watching Melanie and Corbin walk off together and says that he feels like it was one thing after another with Melanie and that it’s a rollercoaster, but I’m confused on why he’s confused when he said he wanted to keep things open to explore and when they agreed in the edit that they would both be open to do that.
The girls talk about how Melanie kept leaning forward and interrupting conversations and Trinity feels like if someone acted that way with Sincere she would’ve been pissed.
And so after Corbin and Melanie talk, Melanie rejoins Bea, Trinity, and Aniya. Bea tells her she was being a little excessive and that she was being rude when Kenzie is the one who is single.
And Melanie says “My bad,” and turns to Trinity to let her know it wasn’t on purpose.
Trinity nods excusing, “You were probably so locked in.”
And Melanie agrees, but Bea comes in saying she gets it but…
And then Melanie cuts her off telling her to relax and reiterating that it wasn’t on purpose.
Bea said it’s happened before, but didn’t have any specific examples.
Melanie says again it wasn’t on purpose and Bea tells her not to get defensive and it’s something that she noticed and is bringing to to her attention so we can’t correct it, but Melanie is getting visibly upset saying it wasn’t on purpose and tells them she likes to make eye contact, but Bea says she just wants her to take accountability and Melanie said that she did.
It was awkward and Trinity tries to ease the tension asking how the talk went with Corbin but Melanie is upset and apologizes to Trinity again and Trinity says she gets both sides while Melanie walks off having a meltdown, saying give me ten and asking to chat with Kayda before Aniya goes after her to check in with her because she’s upset.
It’s a dramatic moment, and it’s caused a lot of commotion online and I think that both Melanie and Bea escalated the conversation and it’s lowkey spooky that people think Bea was justified in calling her out and that people think that was a healthy conversation and that Bea was mature about it because she is not.
The thing about how Bea is edited is that I think she fronts like she’s non-chalant, but those are usually the people who have big feelings and don’t know how to express them, which is just as emotionally unintelligent as someone who struggles with regulating their emotions.
Melanie telling Bea to relax did escalate it, AND if Bea was trying to have a healthy conversation, she would’ve pulled Melanie for a one on one chat. Bea wouldn’t have started the conversation saying Melanie was being excessive and she wouldn’t have continued pushing the issue. And that’s without bringing up the fact that it wasn’t even her problem in the first place. Bea made it her problem and I think she made it her problem because Kenzie was trying to get to know Gabriel.
People sayin’ that real friends call you out and hold you accountable but forget Bea and Melanie are not actually friends. They do not know each other like that, they just met a few days ago, they’re in a competition, and Bea didn’t approach it tactfully at all, even if her intentions were genuine.
Watching it made me feel like, who are you to make sure I correct my behavior? I can do whatever the hell I want.
So I get why Melanie was upset about it and I do think the give me ten line was editor magic because they didn’t show her actually saying it over and over again and they would’ve if she did say it that many times.
Episode 5
I’m with Trinity when she said she got both sides, and when Bea called her [Melanie] sensitive, I was like exactly Trinity when Trinity said something like, “Well no. You don't know her like that and it gives off you’re checking her.”
Bea wasn’t apologetic and says she said what she meant and she just wanted Melanie to correct her behavior which again, has my like, who are you to dictate her behavior though?
You don’t like it, that’s valid especially because Melanie was rude, but you cannot control other people. You cannot force people to take accountability and change how they act. And this goes back to that boundaries conversations I had during the Beyond The Villa chat, because having boundaries centers yourself because there’s an understanding built into it that you cannot control other people’s actions and you can’t force anyone to do anything.
Aniya comforts Melanie who is crying and says the way Bea talked to her threw her off and Melanie apologized which is really all she could do. And eventually Melanie talks to Sincere about it all and admits to him Corbin is her type which he says he knew.
It was actually a sweet conversation that Melanie and Sincere had to be honest of him comforting her and hugging her and my first watch, and it did make me forget the type of time that Sincere was on in the villa…is on in the villa.
Sean tells Bryce he wants to talk to Trinity and they do, but Trinity basically says she doesn’t want to get in between what he and Kenzie have going on and Sean mentions it’s hard to find a balance between exploring what you have and getting to know someone else, but he still wants to get to know her. And I think this is the theme of the season. In episode 5 it felt like couples were pretty much locked in and the only people exploring were those who are single…there’s not a lot of cross mingling going on people breaking out of their couples in hindsight.
But Corbin and Kenzie vibe and kiss, then Corbin tries to kiss Kayda multiple times, but she tells him not yet.
Aniya ends up telling Kenzie about it in the morning and Kenzie said she didn’t like that but is now in a better mood because she has options, and she ends up addressing it with Corbin. But all of Kenzie’s and Corbin’s conversations are like…sexually charged. And it is Love Island, but there’s never any depth between them that we’re shown, so I didn’t see them like lasting long as a couple.
Bea and Melanie also chat about what went down between them and Bea asks if it was how she said it and Melanie says it was and that she had already apologized to who it affected. Bea said she was just worried about Kenzie and Trinity, which I do believe, but it doesn’t mean that it also wasn’t self-serving in some ways.
And then Bea and Melanie have a pretty deep talk about their insecurities.
Melanie wishes she was more athletic and could connect to guys easier in that way. Bea says she feels like she has to be more feminine on the show and that it’s hard to be existing more masculine because guys just see her as one of them. And I felt for Bea because men get weird when they feel threatened by women and this show does highlight men as masculine and women as feminine, so I could see how that’s tough for her to navigate if she more naturally leans into her masculinity.
Bea also compliments her on being in tune with her emotions and crying and being comfortable expressing herself and says growing up she was taught not to cry and I take away from what she said that she was forced to kinda internalize things more and not feel them, which makes sense to me because of how she comes off in this edit.
I loved the conversation they had because people are so cruel to women they perceive to be emotional. People generally tend to think crying and sensitivity is a bad thing and a weakness, but feeling your emotions is emotional maturity. You just have to learn not to let it guide everything that you do.
They also talk about how easy it is to compare themselves to other people there.
Later, Aniya and Sincere have another chat about Melanie because Sincere is bothered that she is chatting with Corbin and feels like she’s being a hypocrite, but the difference is that she told Sincere she was going to pull Corbin for a chat after he [Sincere] set the tone.
I don’t know how I feel about these Aniya and Sincere chats…it’s nice that they can confide in each other like that but …something about it bothers me and I just don’t know what it is yet.
Eventually Sincere and Melanie talk and he makes it clear they aren’t friends, they’re in a connection, which was a miscommunication because she just meant she wanted him to be straightforward and he says it doesn’t feel good seeing her act like how she acts with him with someone else which is lowkey a phrase out of fuckboy 101 but whatever.
But Sincere says he wants to build trust between them.
Another big moment from this episode is when KC and Aniya talking and KC basically says that he understands darker skin women “get the short end of the stick and they put a negative connotation on you guys,” and he tells her she’s the blueprint and just hypes her up and says he feels like he has the best girl in the villa.
I think why people were turned off with the conversation was because it did lowkey feel like something someone would say when they’re aware they are on tv. Like it was breaking the fourth wall a little bit, him saying that, but I don’t think that means he didn’t mean it and that it wasn’t sincere. I think he wanted to reassure her and let her know that he sees her and just make her feel good.
This episode did end in a recoupling with Sean getting eliminated. People were coming for Trinity but like…Sean and Trinity barely had a conversation the entire time, from what was shown, and that should’ve made it clear who she was going to choose.
Episode 6 & Episode 7
Bryce was really happy Trinity picked him and in the confessional she says she likes talking to Bryce and he is sweet and she appreciated how he handled their miscommunication.
Now, Kenzie and Corbin are coupled up and it doesn’t move me! I’m sorry! They have chemistry, I get it, but ugh…I don’t like Corbin.
It seemed like Corbin would be choosing between Kayda or Kenzie but Kayda says that she’s happy he didn’t choose her and in the confessional she says that Zach is her first choice.
Bea checks in with Gabriel because she didn’t feel like he was that excited to be coupled up with her, but he tells her he’s happy and he likes her and it’s just hard for him to express in English.
They both agree the next day they want to have deeper conversations and they start talking about their exes. People say they don’t ever talk, and they admit they need to have deeper conversations, but I feel like there is something between them because they have similar backgrounds. I think there’s something comfortable between them and even if the conversations shown have been surface level, I just saw the potential for them to get deeper over time. They made out a lot, but they didn’t just talk about sex the way that Corbin and Kenzie do and the way Gabriel does with the other people that he’s talked to.
Bea in the confessional is worried about being so invested in the couple only for him to be taken by someone else or to choose someone else, which is a valid fear and I wish that more people in the villa felt like that because a lot of people are locked in. To a point, I blame production though because I did wonder in the beginning how the cast would mesh together since they’re all so different. And I mean, they’re making it work. For the most part I’m really enjoying this cast together, but when it comes to romantic interest, I don’t think a lot of them are each other’s type or they’re just like too worried about hurting their couple.
Did Kenzie set the tone for that?
There’s a lot of chats going on this episode that can help in getting to know the islanders, and see how their relationships are developing, but the big thing that happened was the challenge. The boys were handcuffed to the bed, the girls were blindfolded and they have to explore the bed using paint and look for their men. Once they find them, they handcuff themselves to them
.
They explore through straddling and kissing obviously and Trinity went down the line, stopping at Bryce. Melanie went down the line, ends up kissing Trinity, and then goes back and forth between Corbin and Sincere trying to figure out who was who and I love her for that honestly. Ariana’s reaction, her silent clap head tilt, was me. I’m like…you know what…hell yeah.
This is the energy the island needs to be honest and I hated how much shit the other men in the villa were giving her for it. I don’t know if I100% believe she didn’t know which one was Sincere or not. I don’t remember her feeling them up like that, like, she was focused on the kisses so it could be true.
But regardless, it was a challenge. Everyone wants to call Melanie a hypocrite, and she might be, but how I see it at the moment, Melanie is just matching Sincere’s energy and Sincere keeps focusing on and bringing up things that they resolved. At least in the edit.
During Kenzie’s turn the first bombshell comes in, Sol, and the guys jaws drop as they see her. She made an entrance and she looked good. I already knew it was either gonna be trouble for Sincere and Melanie or KC and Aniya based on their reactions.
Bea finds Gabriel pretty quickly and another bombshell, Jen, comes out during Kayda’s.
And then Aniya goes in and it stood out to me she didn’t kiss anyone until she found who she was looking for.
Melanie notices that there’s red paint on them and none of them were red, and then they all get introduced to the two new bombshells. KC said it was red because the colors were mixing which is hilarious and I’m gonna choose to believe he said it to be funny and knew it was a dumbass explanation. But KC also does a lot, saying he felt blessed which makes Aniya really upset.
And then the new male bombshell, Caleb, comes out and kisses all the girls which got some of the men in their feelings because they felt like they did too much with the kisses and the smiles got wiped off their faces.
It’s pretty clear they sent in Caleb to couple with Kenzie because he’s the southern boy she’s been talking about and the other ladies don’t even forreal forreal try to get to know him, instead hyping Kenzie up. Eventually they do talk and end up kissing and she says Corbin is going to be mad at her, but it’s clear she’s really happy to see him there.
That and another blonde and more white people because she tells Jen for a while she was the only blonde and I’m just about as annoyed with Kenzie mentioning she’s blonde as I am with Kenzie saying she’s a gazelle that wants a lion to chase after her. Girl I get it! Enough!
Jen and Sol chat with the guys, feeling out who wants to talk, but Zach tells them that he’s happy with his couple and Sincere says he and Melanie have an interesting dynamic and in the confessional he makes more analogies about how he wants to open up the state-of-the-art presents at his doors…which I wish he would stop trying to package the fact he’s a player and noncommittal like this. Like at least Corbin, who I really don’t like, I don’t like how he looked at Aniya in that challenge, but at least he says he was/is a player.
And I also don’t like that he and the guys made a big deal about Melanie jumping on the bed when Caleb walked in. Yes it was a little extra, but she was excited and it was obvious she was excited for Kenzie.
KC tells the guys Sol looks like his ex, which Sincere ends up telling Aniya and Aniya addresses it with KC, worried because she said Sincere said that’s his type and that KC thought Sol looked good and Aniya was just upset about how he reacted when the bombshells walked in because it made her feel a type of way, which I get cause KC was doing a lot. They hadn’t shown him that animated in the edit before.
It’s clear that Aniya’s feelings have deepened and she admits it to him and asks him to be upfront, which he says he has been and he thinks Sol is attractive but he isn’t going to throw what they’ve built away over it.
Bea is worried that she’s going to be out because Jen is Gabriel’s type and she said she doesn’t have big boobs or blonde hair and only has one leg, which makes Trinity laugh but she says she hates when she does that. Bea does make a lot of jokes about her leg but it’s within her right to honestly.
Sincere tells Melanie again that he felt disrespected because of the kissing back and forth between him and Corbin and her excitement when Kaleb came in, but she insists she didn’t know who it was and even tells KC later that she didn’t know it was Corbin, but KC said she knows she was playing too much and she eventually says that she was. I don’t think she was though, argue with someone else!
Melanie reassures him that she’s not interested in anyone else and apologizes for disrespecting him and Sincere is really playing with her and I think he keeps bringing things like this to justify what he wants to do.
Zach tells Kayda there are feelings involved and he was hurt about what she did with Caleb, wrapping her legs around him, and that he told the bombshells he was closed off, only to walk that back the next day. Very unserious, but I saw someone speculate that that was production interference because it’s week one and they’re not allowed to be closed off this early. And at this point I believe it because the switch up was genuinely so crazy and out of nowhere. He said it was because if someone did come in that he wanted to get to know, he didn’t want to lie to Kayda, but I just…something about that was weird.
The episode is really everyone feeling a type of way after the bombshells came in and telling each other about their feelings which i think means these bombshells were successful.
Because this season we’re really focusing on the Sincere and Melanie drama, the biggest things that happened was Sincere pulling Sol for a chat twice and them kissing during both of those chats outside of the challenges. Sincere wants to keep exploring Sol and says she gives him butterflies and near the end of the episode Melanie walks in right as Sol and Sincere end their kiss and Sol walks out.
Sincere admits they kissed when she asked, but doesn’t mention that it happened twice already. Melanie tells him that she likes him a lot and wants to date outside of this and it’s hard because they have to explore and she has to accept it but she realized she’s scared of how she feels. And then Sincere tells her no one compares to her whether it’s the good and the bad, and that he likes her a lot and he wants their connection to work which is crazy because of what he was just telling Sol.
He’s really serious when he says that he wants both, but the problem is that he’s not honest about it. He could just be like, “look I like both of you and want to get to know both of you,” instead of what he did.
Sincere said it’s either gonna be the greatest story between us or…
And melanie says or you end up with sol,
And he says no…
And she tells him to do what's best for him. She told him how she felt already.
And he told her how he felt too, I think it was a bait into an argument that she didn’t take honestly.
And then they walk off in separate directions. You can tell Melanie is upset and she makes a comment to herself or to production that I can’t remember. But yeah…
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts on the first seven episodes of Love Island USA Season 8.
Majority of these couples being this locked in is crazy. It feels like I’m missing something and I don’t know how we got here. The fact that we got here in one week is just not adding up to me…I have to, like, think about it. It’s only been a week. That’s crazy. It feels like it’s been months.
The bombshells have been doing the damn thing so far.
I need more Aniya on my screen, that’s not her talking about other islanders or comforting and giving advice. That meditation she led was cute and it made me laugh and I need more of things like that. And I need more scenes with Aniya and KC together.
I don’t think Bea is as emotionally mature as people are making her out to be, but she’s cool.
I like Melanie, I don't care. I think she’s good tv and though she can do a little much at times, I really think everything she’s done has been an overreaction to Sincere. I think Sincere brings that side out of her.
Sincere is a menace (derogatory).
Trinity lowkey is making me like Bryce, and I haven’t watched past seven yet, but I know he does something so I’m mad at myself for letting Trinity sway me.
With the islanders remaining at the end of Episode 7, I would say my favorites are Trinity, Aniya, and Kayda.
I really like KC but I just…you know…hold off on men because they be disappointing on these shows.
I like Melanie, Bryce (for now) and Bea.
I tolerate Kenzie because she is good tv and I tolerate Zach because Zach undoing being closed off pissed me off, even if it was because of production intervention.
I tolerate Sincere because this is really his show at this point even though I think he’s a menace.
I think Gabriel is fine, which I know I’m an outlier because he is very unserious about this process, but I do think you need someone who is like that to balance out the vibes in the villa.
I don’t have any opinions on the new bombshells because we just got introduced them , except I think Sol is the bombshelliest bombshell of the season so far.
Oh, and I would have loved to see Corbin go.
That’s all I got for you today. I’ll pull you for another chat in two weeks!
You can visit my blog www.ihavetosay.blog. I’m on instagram @ihavetosaypod. I’m on threads @lyssa_posts_ or @ihavetosaypod and I hope you’ll subscribe.
Okay. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for being here. Bye bye.