Watching the fifth season of a reality show like Too Hot To Handle without having seen the first four parts tells you two things: that you are in the presence of something wildly popular, and secondly, that something about this scripting has worked. We have long stopped questioning why people come to find love on reality shows. But what we have noticed is that most of these people are in deeply insecure places personally, and in a lot of ways, that is what the reality show capitalizes on for its viewership numbers.
Coming to the show itself, we didn’t believe for one second that the participants did not know what they were signing up for. As we said, we haven’t seen the first four seasons of the show, but we could tell that this had to be a recurring thing. Did the makers not realize that it must be getting old? Either way, it takes time, but we understand that the USP of this show is the chaos it creates. The participants are supposed to stay away from each other; the rule is as simple as that. But they all want to find love and meaningful connections. Will they not get the money if they don’t have that? Finally, it might be an unpopular opinion, but the one thing desperately missing from the contestants is chemistry. The romantic tension between them has to be the driving force behind the concept of Too Hot To Handle. The attraction must be visible, not verbal, and we really don’t see that at all.
Other than the case of Isaac and Courtney or Elys and Alex, and that too marginally, it really isn’t there with anyone. It could have something to do with the fact that constant compliments about looks do not amount to relationship development. We bring this up because the better part of the first 2-3 episodes is dedicated to Louis and his ever-changing equation with Christine and Hannah. We can tell that being with Louis was not about the girls’ attraction for him but a matter of competition as to who could get what they wanted. Except that there was no point because either way, stress is incurred, and money is lost. While the participants were being introduced, we don’t think anyone said what they did for a living except Isaac, who was a “finance bro.” How can a bunch of jobless people afford to let go of good money simply because they “cannot resist the temptation”? Is poverty tempting for these people? And why is Dre such a terrible inspector? Isn’t he the one who needs the money the most, considering he said that he has ten siblings to take care of? Why is he doing such a bad job of things, then? And what was it with these people proclaiming that what happens on the boat stays on the boat? Weren’t they aware of the cameras surrounding them or the microphones that they were wearing?
Frankly, instead of making pacts like Louis and Isaac did with Courtney and Hannah, they should plot to keep other couples apart so that they can finally leave with the maximum amount of cash. The question to ask is: what’s hotter: the money they can leave with or the person in front of them? But it has been established that none of them can make good decisions.
This Louis and Hannah-Christine drama really dominated the first four episodes of Too Hot to Handle. It didn’t escape our notice that Louis only told Hannah that she was his number one girl while stringing along both women and right now, the million-dollar question is whether he can be Christine’s number one guy at all. He deserves what is coming for him, and frankly, we liked Christine as much as we disliked Louis. The latter reaction was intended by the reality show, so we really want Christine to once again bring out the sunscreen with Trey. Louis deserves to see that.
But on that note, we feel a little bad for Courtney. She was one of the people we liked, and she had a collected quality to her that could make sense of the absolutely nonsensical chaos around her. She deserved better than Isaac, even without the introduction of Yazmin; therefore, as much as we know that heartbreak is on the cards for her, we hope it leads to something better. As for Isaac and Yazmin, going by their sun signs (Scorpio and Pisces), they are either going to be very sappy and sweet, or it’s going to be a hellish ride. Isaac deserves the latter treatment. We are so sure that he is going to ditch Courtney, seeing as he is so staunchly by Yazmin’s side. But the main question here is about Christine. She has absolutely no reason to hold herself back from pursuing things with Trey. Sure, she fought for Louis and made all the needed adjustments to be with him, but then again, it was she who did the work, so she could just as easily choose to walk away from it.
Louis cannot really claim hurt feelings because he is only with Christine because Hannah wants nothing to do with him. The moment another one of the girls approaches him, he is going to claim, “irresistible temptation” and make the group lose money once again. It must be killing him to know that Christine could have used her free pass issued by Lana, or is he regretting that he is not the one who got the pass? He is definitely going to get that chance because this is certainly not the last free pass to come his way. While we are on this topic, we all wish we could do something like Elys, where she asked a guy to leave in the middle of a terrible date and invited a guy she actually liked. This is the kind of free pass we want more of. It turns out that Hunter’s ugly fish flip-flops don’t always work all the time. They are conversation starters at best, but neither Hunter nor Alex has any sort of capacity for good banter. Maybe Elys chose Alex because he was British?
We do feel bad for Meghan, whom the show is painting as the resident dim-witted person. We will cry if they end up pairing her with Hunter. The coming week is going to be about Elys, Alex, and Christine-Trey-Louis, and we hope the drama is a little better than it was.
