Perhaps I have been mean to Ari and Steven this season, but at least I’m actually interested in their stories. When it comes to Corey and Evelin, I’ve been tired of them since their first season on the franchise. I mostly tend to ignore their story because it’s so clear they shouldn’t be together. “Fish or Cut Bait†forces us to pay attention to them by bringing them to the fore. Corey has moved into his own place and is still trying to fix things with Evelin. Evelin still enjoys torturing Corey, so she continues to lead him on.
Sadly, the pair doesn’t make for the most engaging plot, and the episode’s best moments happen on the periphery. I know it should be a big moment when Evelin reveals at therapy that she isn’t sure she wants to make things work. Except it’s just not! These two are beyond therapy, and the only good part is when Evelin tells Corey he’s definitely paying for it. This supports my theory that she’s just trying to hit him in his wallet, not fix things.
This season started with Evelin telling us they got back together only because they were stuck together in quarantine. This isn’t the end of a grand love story! Their families dislike each other. They dislike each other. I have no idea why Corey thinks dressing up and making struggle burgers for a fancy dinner with Evelin is going to change that. Sadly, they’re a 90 Day couple who has overstayed its welcome. If we see either one of them again in the franchise, I hope it’s on The Single Life. Or Corey and Jenny could make their debut.
I can’t believe we wasted so much time on Corey and Evelin this week when every other couple is blowing up. Steven and Alina say goodbye to Alina’s mother, and the producers use it as an opportunity to show us once again how frustrating Steven is. I have to credit this season’s camera crew and producers because they’ve really found a way to capture Steven in a truly spine-tingling way. When Alina’s mom is trying to leave for the airport and he’s packing snacks like he’s a toddler? It made my shoulders tense. When Steven offers cookies to everyone in the car and starts pouring the bag directly into his mouth while talking to Alina’s mom? The worst! Asking Alina to pour water on him? It’s somehow incredibly annoying when Steven does it!
I wish I could see what Alina sees in him, but it’s hard when he continues to lie to her. She asked him to delete his social media and he thought she’d just … forget? He’s like, Oh, I thought she was just kidding about that! This is a pattern with him: Alina asks him to do something, and he just doesn’t do it. As he says, he thought “saying it would be enough.†He regrets making that promise. I think he regrets everything he’s said to Alina because he clearly didn’t mean any of it.
Ari shares this trait with Steven. I think she wants to believe she loves Bini and is giving her family a chance, but her “family promise†ring was clearly an empty gesture. Only a few weeks into her trip back to America, Ari decided to extend her vacation. She’s getting frustrated with Bini because he’s living his life without her. I guess she thought he’d stay at home alone, crying over her while she was gone, but Bini spends time with his friends and family. Look, whether or not Bini has cheated in the past, I don’t think he is now. I really don’t believe he’d risk losing Avi. Also his every move is being filmed while Ari is away.
If Ari really trusted him, she wouldn’t be picking passive-aggressive fights. They essentially have a blowup because Ari asks Bini to “name one nice thing he’s ever done for her.†If anyone needs couples counseling, it’s these two. Obviously, Bini has done a lot to make Ari happy and comfortable. He let her bring her ex-husband into their home. Either Ari is too selfish to see that or she’s just looking for an excuse to end the relationship. Ari’s family called her out last week for living in a fantasy, and I think she just doesn’t want to look like the bad guy. If she can tell her family it was Bini’s fault things didn’t work out, she’ll feel less guilty.
I said last week Sumit’s family moving in would pay off, and it absolutely does. Between Sumit’s mother taking advantage of the language difference to insult Jenny and Sumit finally revealing he does want to live with his parents, it’s harsh. Sadly, though, it’s the wake-up call Jenny needs! Jenny doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life being the perfect Indian daughter-in-law. She thought she was flying off to India to live her dream retirement life with her boy toy. Clearly, these two have been through a lot and really love each other. Jenny wouldn’t put up with all the insults about her age if she didn’t really have feelings for Sumit. Sumit does care about Jenny, but I think he’s known for a while they want different things, and that’s why he’s pushed off their wedding. He’s not brave enough to end things.
90 Day Notes
• Evelin constantly calling Corey’s ex-girlfriend a whore is pretty funny. Especially since Corey is the one who lied to both of them. Anyway, I really don’t care about the details of who Corey was with a year ago.
• Jenny said, “I’m old enough to be his mother, not his grandmother, okay?!†Like, get it right, please!!!!
• Alina revealed her honey trap this week, and Steven tries to turn it around on her. Yes, Alina set the whole thing up, but Steven fell for it. Steven also didn’t say anything about the girl visiting “us†— it was all about Steven! Steven’s “Come on, baby†felt so robotic.
• Kenny and Armando had some brief drama. Kenny is homesick because his daughter is pregnant and he can’t be there. This isn’t enough to break up their relationship, but we do get some great scenes of Kenny and Armando crying. I don’t think Kenny is “keeping†feelings from Armando as much as he’s just dealing with new feelings he didn’t know would pop up.
• It has been a month and Avi still hasn’t had surgery, yet Ari acted like she had to rush off to the U.S. immediately to get the surgery done!? She’s scheming.