There was definitely a difference between this year’s Love Island to previous seasons and I put it down to the pandemic.

In this season of Love Island we got to see all the usual twists and turns of the sexy singletons entering the Villa however this year felt a bit strange and I think it’s because they couldn’t just add new people in on a whim.

We have been told before by past Love Island contestants that some of them were called up days before to go on the show and were thrust into the Villa last minute because they thought they be a good match for someone already in there, however due to restrictions and isolations and everything else that comes with a pandemic those ways of doing the show obviously couldn’t be followed and so they had to stick with the original narrative and characters that they had prepared, and unfortunately a lot of them fell flat. I’m mainly looking at Hugo and Danny.

I feel another issue that came with this was the toxicity of the Villa itself. Of course we’ve had issues in the past of gaslighting and villains and all that sort of stuff but this year just felt so much more prominent because there were multiple people doing it. Danny was a terrible gas lighter to Lucinda, Liam coming back from Cast Amor which I spoke about in this video that I found incredibly triggering and even the way that Jake dealt with Liberty in always using the girlfriend excuse and never really telling her how he felt or complimenting her in any way, as if being his girlfriend was the ultimate prize to win and she should just be happy with that crown.

But besides all of the downsides of Love Island this year I also thought there was a lot of upsides too. We saw couples leaving the other person and then coming back to them, especially with Chloe and Toby who became such a strong couple in the end because they went through so much, and I feel Toby needed to do all that growing to really understand what it was like to be in a relationship and committed to one person – something he’d never done before. The same for Liam and Millie, of course if it was me I would’ve never taken him back, but seeing the change and growth from the Casa Amor situation just shows that she was willing to give him a second chance and he was man enough to take that and not mess her about, but we will have to see what he’s like outside the Villa.

And finally looking at Liberty. Liberty was a fan favourite from the start because she seemed so genuine and sweet and nice. Her friendship with Kaz was a highlight from the season and everyone says that they should win the £50k together because they’re so pure and lovely to one another. But seeing her go through her turmoil with Jake and becoming his girlfriend but then not thinking that it’s right and how she even said herself that she didn’t find love in the villa but she found love with her own self was so wonderful to see, because I really do believe that to love someone else you have to love yourself first because otherwise how can you give yourself to them and be happy, and despite her leaving prematurely and without a partner I definitely see a bright future for her because she came across so well on TV and because she stayed true to herself and learnt to love herself in a way that I feel a lot of people in Love Island don’t.

Congrats to the winners Millie and Liam, I will try to hold too much judgement based on my thoughts above…But continuing with the review, of course they’re going to come out and get all the Boohoo brand deals and the Pretty Little Things and the haircare and everything else that comes with it, it’s a great business opportunity, we can’t deny that, but to be honest I’m most excited to see where all the finalists go after the Villa and whether they stay in their couples or they depart, and just see how long their 15 minutes of fame really lasts. We can all dream of going on Love Island and having a job that’s an influencer and never having to work a 9-to-5 again in our lives but how long does that really last for?

What do you think of Love Island 2021?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding