Although there were no new bombshells this week, don’t worry, plenty of bombs were still dropped. Let’s start from the beginning: Tuesday’s late–night escapade. What the hell happened in that G–Wagon? Why did Olandria Carthen pick Nicolas Vansteenberghe up from the villa after their dumpings? Ride–share to the Fiji airport? Better. Heads–up trip to a secret, romantic garden date.
After 48 hours of pure anxiety, we finally learn what is going on with Nic and Olandria. The two are whisked off to a secluded location and offered a lifeline—something that has never happened in Love Island USA history. They can either leave the villa, love lost, and head back to the States, or they can return (but only if they agree to couple up with each other). Of course, nobody with a brain would choose exile. So after a dreamy dinner date, monogrammed suitcases in hand, they head back to the villa, guided by the headlights of the same grim–reaper–esque G–Wagon.
What would you do if you were saved by the Love Island gods and forced to couple up with your best friend's strongest connection? Stay in a couple long enough to reunite with your original connection? That’s one way to go. Nic and Olandria decide on a different approach and play tonsil hockey with each other in Soul Ties, their first night back in the villa! But don’t sweat it, Cierra Ortega is such a chill, cool girl, she won’t even mind. Besides, Taylor Williams has consistently admitted all season that he doesn’t feel any physical attraction to Olandria … right?
Friday’s episode wrapped up Casa Amor with a fresh spin on recoupling. All 24 islanders make their way to the firepit where host Ariana Madix greets them with her devilish grin and asks them to scribble secret names on cards. Contestants write down who they’d most like to couple up with. Mutual matches became new couples, while mismatches were left standing solo and exposed.
So, after just four days of Casa Amor, the new pairings read:
Chelley Bissainthe and Ace Greene
Huda Mustafa and Chris Seeley
Amaya Espinal and Zak Srakaew
Iris Kendall and TJ Palma
Cierra Ortega and Nic
Andreina Santos and Bryan Arenales
Austin Shepard and Jaden Duggar
Pepe Garcia and Gracyn Blackmore
Taylor and Clarke Carraway
That leaves six islanders single and vulnerable: Olandria, Elan Bibas, Coco Lodge, Vanna Einerson, JD Dodard, and Zac Woodworth.
To decide who goes home, the islanders who spent Casa Amor in the villa choose a girl to save, and the Casa crew saves one boy. After some hush–hush deliberation (I assume since the producers rarely show viewers any deliberations unless we throw a fit and force them to air it at the reunion), Olandria and Elan earn another week.
Sunday finally unleashed the long–anticipated Heart Race challenge—and all of the islanders were ready to bring the heat. As the name suggests, participants wear heart monitors and perform routines in an attempt to make the hearts of the other Islanders beat faster. This year though, instead of an individual challenge, it was scored and played in couples. Standouts include Huda (rumored ex–dancer, if you catch my drift), Cierra, and Olandria—who uses the challenge to strong–arm Taylor into choosing her over Clarke. Meanwhile, Chelley declared that “Huda took it too far” (as if shaking some ass was a crime). The echo chamber that is Cierra and Olandria nodded along in fierce agreement, as if any line could be crossed in a game literally called Heart Race.
Monday at last brought calm with our second official date of the summer. Nic and Cierra are taken on a bike ride leading to a picnic with a stunning beach view. Finally, quite late in the game, our first couple closes off. They bring the good news back to the villa, which sends everyone spiraling with joy … mostly. We all know joy doesn’t last long in the villa.
The week ends with a challenge we haven’t seen before. Normally around this point in the season we’d get some kind of tossed–to–the–audience social media stunt, but this time, they’re keeping our opinions out and letting the islanders run free in the villa. The challenge is pretty much a tell–all: each islander scribbles their honest thoughts on vintage postcards (signed or anonymous), then watches as every barbed message is read aloud in front of the entire villa.
Predictably, chaos ensues. There are several big blowouts that result from the challenge, the most heartbreaking from Amaya. Card after card reads that she’s too affectionate, emotional, and moves too fast in couples. It ends with Ace, Austin, and even Zak, her current couple practically screaming at her because of this. The only person who dares to stand up for her is Bryan—none of her so–called besties even murmur a defense.
Next up is Huda, caught in a crossfire of girl–code drama. Chelley fires off a snarky postcard, chiding Huda for neglecting “girl’s girl solidarity” for her connection with Chris and those booty–shaking moves on Ace during the Heart Race Challenge. To add to it all, Olandria even exposes that Huda and Chris shared a kiss in the speakeasy. Now, correct me if I'm mistaken, but I really can’t see where Huda misstepped. She felt a connection with Chris and he reciprocated. The two have been coupled up for a few days now, so they decided to share a kiss. What’s the harm in that? Huda ends her portion of the challenge in tears (go figure), with only Chris’s quiet hand on her shoulder for comfort.
Finally, Taylor reads his cards. Of course, dozens plead “Make up your mind! You can’t have two women at once.” Miss I–don’t–crash–out Olandria does exactly what she preaches not to … she crashes out. As her sass melts into stunned silence, Taylor, in front of everyone, finally decides that Clarke is the girl for him.
It’s been a whirlwind wrap–up to a week already overflowing with twists—and after Tuesday’s bombshell dumping, America’s latest vote for favorite boy and girl is now open again. Tune in Thursday to find out who claims that crown.
