Baby, let the games begin… again!
‘Tis the cuffing season, as we say welcome back islanders! The fan-favorites of Love Island across the world returned for a highly competitive rendition of the show, Love Island Games. The show welcomed 26 all-stars, with representatives throughout the show appearing from the USA, the UK, Australia, France, Sweden, and Germany.
For the 12 ‘OG’ returners that entered the villa on the first of the 17 episodes this season, two words were on their tongues: love and power. Unlike a typical season of Love Island, these contestants had to weigh their options based on chemistry as well as competitiveness when coupling with each other. The challenges distributed throughout the show would appoint a duo as the “power couple” for the week, granting themselves a power that would give them a large portion of authority when it was time to dump someone from the villa. Between the return of exes, ‘bombshell’ returners, and an array of twists, there is a ton to unpack.
The Beginning
Let’s begin with a roster of the OG’s that nailed the slo-mo hot walk into the Fiji beach on day one.
The women all-stars consisted of:
- Justine Ndiba (USA Season 2)
- Cely Vazquez (USA Season 2)
- Imani Wheeler (USA Season 4)
- Liberty Poole (UK Season 7)
- Jess Losurdo (Australia Season 4)
- Lisa Celander (Sweden Season 3)
The men all-stars consisted of:
- Ray Gantt (USA Season 1)
- Jack Fowler (UK Season 4)
- Curtis Pritchard (UK Season 5)
- Toby Aromolaran (UK Season 7)
- Callum Hole (Australia Season 4)
- Steph Blackos (France Season 2)
With not much to choose from, the initial islanders competed in a challenge to determine the order in which the women would pick their partners. This pairing system led to power couple Lisa and Curtis, followed by Imani and Ray, Justine and Jack, Cely and Toby, Liberty and Callum, and Jess and Steph.
Though the first few episodes started off slow as the islanders got too comfortable in their pairs, some events set the tone for the season. ‘Bombshells’ Johnny Middlebrooks (USA Season 2) and Megan Barton Hanson (UK Season 4) prepared to stir the pot. Johnny began his takeover by kissing a blindfolded Cely, who just so happens to be his ex from season two —mind you, that season aired three years ago.
This season introduced duels in which bombshells or couples can leave others vulnerable. Often this meant putting others into duels to ensure safety from being dumped, some people were targeted much more than others. Johnny marked his reign as the season’s ‘troublemaker’ by stealing Imani in the first one versus one duel against Ray. Meanwhile, Megan chose to take Steph as her own.
The piping tea
Beginning with a USA All-Star, we have Queen Cely. She began the season admitting she was there for “the cute boys,” and never strayed from that logic. Though she didn’t want to commit early like she did in season two, her roster consists of two (and a half) men. While vulnerable in a couple with Toby, bombshells Eyal Booker and Georgia Steel (UK Season 4) saved them by taking them as their own. Now, if I could build a ship and plop myself in it, I would for Eyal and Cely. The respect and attention he served to her from beginning to end was impeccable. Toby, on the other hand, I am a firm believer that his jealousy of Eyal and attempt to mimic chemistry with Georgia was his downfall.
The couples that landed on top for a majority of challenges were Ray and Imani, followed by Justine and Jack. Both couples gravitated towards each other from the very beginning — Ray even told Imani right when she walked into the Villa that she was exactly what he wanted! While all four islanders appeared to be good friends, they had it out for each other on the DL. Justine and Jack’s true unbreakable loyalties lied with Eyal and Cely, which concerned a lot of the other couples. In an emotional episode towards the finale, Justine and Jack were single-handedly responsible for Ray and Imani’s dumping.
On the other end of the villa, we saw Johnny break hearts upon hearts. Beginning his trip by snatching Imani, he quickly realized Imani was already down bad for Ray. Taking a chance with Jess while crushing Liberty in a single swoop, he ultimately was prepared to drop both of them when Georgia walked in. In a post-Georgia world, we saw Johnny watching the door for any woman who walked through the door. In another bombshell drop of Carrington Rodriguez (USA Season 2), Mike Boateng (UK Season 6), and Courtney Boerner (USA Season 4), Johnny instantly was drawn towards Boerner. Dominant in challenges and such a strong physical connection, all you could ask for! Wrong. In another hefty bombshell came Aurelia Lamprecht (Germany Season 4), in which their connection was described as “indescribable.” This is all to say, Johnny couldn’t make up his mind, but it took him far enough.
Honorable mentions
There is far too much to go into, but let’s highlight some iconic moments and plots. First, Callum and Liberty were labeled as the “friend couple” from day one up until just before her elimination towards the end. This came just after the duo shuffled all of the couples after earning Power Couple status. Callum eventually made it to the finale with bombshell Deb Chubb (USA Season 4).
Megan revealed to her season four ex Eyal that she was still interested in him while she was coupled with Kyra Green (USA Season 1). Eyal was prompted on this during a challenge and exposed Megan, causing major problems for Kyra. Megan was taken from the villa due to medical reasons, so we never got to see what would have happened.
Jess dedicated her time in the villa towards exposing Johnny for being “a f*ck*ng snake” as she said when he recoupled with Courtney. Jess never had a solid thing in Fiji, besides being thrown into duels which I applaud for her persistence.
Finally, I feel that something should be said about LIG’s noted Swede, Lisa. She walked in the most real and left even realer. Being dumped alongside Curtis, the vote came down to Lisa’s threat level (they deserved better).
conclusion
I’ll be waiting patiently for season two of Love Island Games and frequently checking their social media to make sure they all are living happily ever after.