Love Island UK winner overturned outdated script and producer’s wishes

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While every season of Love Island UK comes with fan reviews (although I think we can all agree: the supremacy of season five), season nine really landed with a thump. After 57 hour-long episodes, Monday’s episode scored the lowest ratings for a Love Island finale in seven years, and fans on Twitter and Reddit think they know why: It’s a combination of a outdated format running out of steam, producers pushing old narratives, and a peculiar cast that gave viewers almost no one to root for. All in all, the season felt more like an obligation than a hobby, even with his monumental win. “I really hope this is a game-changer when it comes to LI,” wrote one redditor. “We can all see the fake shit, play in front of the cameras, kiss a girl and then crawl. We need reality!!!”

In the final, winners Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan took a surprise victory with 44% of the vote, becoming the first POC couple to win the series. It could be because of their really sweet connection or their ability to stay out of drama, but either way, it flipped the typical Love Island storyline. (A teacher and social worker beating influencers and models? Pretty Little Thing found shaky.) But the victory felt against the wishes of the producers, who for the past two months had been positioning and sorely protecting seamless couples such as Tom Clare and Samie Elishi, who fit the more traditional Love Island mold (white), and individuals like Olivia Hawkins, a dedicated villainous figure. Aside from Will Young, a farmer who was already popular on TikTok for his unapologetically goofy, albeit slightly awkward attitude he became known for in the villa, no standout personalities emerged among the contestants. The girls’ unspoken but palpable hatred for each other, combined with the boys’ openly volatile friendships, created a generally unpleasant environment.

The actors themselves are also all too familiar with the Love Island playbook by now. Contestant Ron Hall literally spelled it out in episode 42 when he said that couples who face testing at the start of the season but go through the final weeks without drama tend to push through. But it’s not just that they know what works well on screen; they can also anticipate tests and twists and have learned (thanks to season seven winners Millie Court and Liam Reardon, who reconciled after a blatant betrayal by Liam) that no way to stray into Casa Amor ends. by being a deal-breaker, removing all stakes from the supposed ultimate test. Despite this, the producers seem determined to maintain the show’s traditional narratives, even if they go against the wishes of the audience.

Because Love Island is controlled in part by its viewers who vote on couples and dates during the season, it is very noticeable when the rules of the game are manipulated. This frustration culminated in episode 45 when the public took advantage of a compatibility vote to oust Olivia (entirely based on a desire to eliminate the candidate rather than pass a real judgment on the compatibility of her couple). However, the producers then empowered Olivia and Maxwell Samuda, allowing them to take another couple with them.

At every turn, it seemed like the audience’s ability to speak was thwarted by some sort of caveat. It wasn’t even the public who got to choose this year’s finalists, but the contestants, who eliminated Will and Jessie Wynter in favor of Shaq Muhammad and Tanya Manhenga – a couple despised by the public for misguiding Tanya to Casa Amor – which went on to the final only to receive 2% of the vote. Maybe it was their one-day-couple status, or something everyone in South Africa could see and we couldn’t, that kept them safe, but to what end? Their place in the final was wasted.

If it was up to us as a nation, shaq and Tanya would have been sent home instead of Will and Jessie. They don’t deserve to be there. #Loveisland pic.twitter.com/vN5lpoMYrm

— rev 🫶🏾 (@revxgws) March 13, 2023

i will never forgive the producers for letting tanya and shaq into the finale #loveisland pic.twitter.com/JlLJJMZArh

— T (@temi_fk) March 12, 2023

Yet despite the attempted disruption, the winners were good! Kai and Sanam’s victory broke the format in many ways, and their popularity with audiences should serve as a message to producers. In addition to being the first winners of the POC, Sanam was also the first islander of Casa Amor (most of whom, whether by timing or misfortune, fail to secure a more permanent place in this growing chamber). cramped) to claim victory. The couple never went out on each other under the guise of a ‘test’ or hit any of the villa dramas, even when the source of that drama was screaming directly in their faces. Indeed, much of the pair’s screen time has been spent in the background of more dramatic and malleable couple shots rather than being front and center of themselves.

The show is called Love Island for a reason, but you can still have fun while nurturing a genuine connection — we’ve all watched the frenemies to lovers Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti in season eight. The show succeeds when it plays to the personality strengths of individual islanders, not when it stirs up their emotional weaknesses through manipulation and fear (see Faye Winter and Teddy Soares in season seven).

Next season, back in familiar Espania territory, the show has a chance to throw away its original formula for real. Audiences have made their wishes known, and thanks to a less predictable cast and a more personality-driven playbook, producers can revive the show after its season nine meltdown. Love Island may have failed the test this winter, but as we all know, that doesn’t mean it can’t have its own redemption arc.

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