Reality dating show “Love is Blind” on Netflix needs a revamp after an underwhelming fourth season that concluded on April 16. The questionable relationships and delayed live reunion left many fans disappointed.
The reality show began on Netflix in 2020 where singles sign up and undergo a dating process in pods divided by a wall so they can’t see who they’re speaking to until they become engaged.
Once engaged, they go on a honeymoon with the other couples and move into brand new apartments to share with their partners while viewers follow their accelerated journey.
The first season’s couple Lauren and Cameron demonstrated the potential of successfully marrying through this unconventional process. They have been together since the season aired in 2020.
However, the recent season did not live up to the romanticized possibility of finding blind love. Although three of the five couples ended up married, the relationships lacked the charm that viewers hoped for.
One couple, Chelsea and Kwame, were depicted very differently during the show than they appeared on the reunion.
Chelsea appeared clueless to Kwame’s lack of interest in her. Clips included by the show depicted Kwame as hesitant and uncertain of the compromises he would have to make to be with Chelsea leaving many fans shocked when they got married.
There is understandable debate around the truthfulness of the way people in the show are portrayed, which is the case for most reality TV shows. “Love is Blind” is unique in the way that the marriages often confirm or deny fans’ ideas of the couples’ realities.
The faltered expectations this season were more confusing than they were exciting to many viewers. Fans are more interested in observing meaningful dynamics of the couples rather than surface-level interactions that may be misleading.
The live reunion was another area of disappointment for many fans.
Season Four’s reunion was organized to air live on April 16 at 8 p.m. However, the special episode did not begin until about an hour later due to technical difficulties.
The delay caused fans trouble as some of them planned their schedules around the event. It also caused skepticisms around the authenticity of the discussion after it started.
Some fans saw problems with the show’s hosts, Vanessa and Nick Lachey.
During the reunion, Vanessa Lachey tended to point blame toward certain cast members rather than provide engaging questions that would allow the cast members to develop engaging discussion on their own.
For instance, couple Jackie and Josh underwent a Zoom interview with Vanessa the day before, as they were not originally paired together, and it was played to the other couples during the reunion.
Vanessa targeted Jackie’s ex-fiance, Marshall, with many questions.
Marshall said many times that he tried to be as authentic and dedicated to the engagement process as possible, but Jackie was hard to read. Vanessa questioned Marshall’s actions with doubt and ignored a lot of Jackie’s visible flaws throughout the show.
The villain versus victim dynamic persisted throughout this season between almost all of the couples.
Micah, Irina and Paul had an unexpected love triangle. Jackie left Marshall for Josh, and Zack left Irina for Bliss.
In my opinion, Season Four’s relationships could have been displayed more transparently and the reunion could have been executed with more care.
The fan-favorite show would benefit greatly from some revisions for future seasons to maintain its success and credibility.