Ahead of tonight’s Love Island USA reunion on Peacock at 9 PM EST, catch up on all the highlights from a very meme-worthy season six.
Love Island USA is not my usual type on paper. Love Island viewers, myself included, tend to keep up with the original U.K. iteration, which premiered season 11 on June 3 on ITV. But this year, something shifted. Suddenly I’m patriotic. Season six of Love Island USA on Peacock is uniting a fandom and a country, effectively distracting those willing to keep up with the near-daily release format from what’s actually going on in this country. Right now, I’m pledging allegiance to the troupe of hot 20-somethings.Â
This season is so successful thanks to the “personality hires†— self appointed defender of every Villa girl Liv; serial-dater Rob cleverly dodging eliminations; Miguel and his goofy accents;short-lived sweethearts like Casa Amor boy Ignacio, who fans are already hoping will be brought back in another season. The diabolical speed at which production churned through Islanders helped this along: A revolving door of bombshells, recouplings, and surprises will culminate in a final vote during the season finale with more desirable options than the country will find on our ballots come November. Plus, after years of memes, shady tweets, and genuine analysis of the series’ desirability and beauty politics, longtime fans of the franchise and all its iterations are treated to not one but two Black women in fan-favorite couples.
The cast’s wicked whims generated enough memes to make up for previous flop seasons. If you’re not ready to start watching yourself, then catch up on all the best drama from host Ariana Madix’s unsuspecting Sims.
Leah Calls Rob a Bitch
After Andrea arrives as a bombshell in episode six, Rob kisses her, keeps it from his partner, Leah, then loses it when confronted about his behavior. The internet was especially obsessed with one scene where he becomes emotional, hides in foliage, then breaks up with Leah after calling her an amazing woman (“Period. There’s no buts.â€) Then, he dips underwater to hide from cameras? It’s so indie girl, just like his music taste. Episode eight ends with Andrea and Rob’s recoupling and nine opens with Leah’s now-infamous rant in the makeup room. “Everybody should be scared,†Leah proclaims. “After I saw him crying like a bitch on the floor yesterday, I literally got the ick. You’re crying to me? I should be crying.â€
Who won the fight? Andrea (you know, for now)
Who won the internet over? Leah — in the spirit of Nicki’s verse, they need Islanders like her to make the bad guy.
Rob’s Eye Rolls
Drama-king Rob gives an exaggerated eye roll at Leah mouthing “Fuck you†during episode eight’s recoupling and, lucky for us, he doesn’t know it’s an instant meme yet. In the episode-12 firepit ceremony, the Islanders are forced to eliminate two of their own. The boys choose Hakeem (remember Hakeem? Quickly.) while the girls choose Andrea. Rob puts on an Emmy-nomination worthy performance: clutching his head in anguish, eyes rolling back, and his boy Aaron (he’s the British one in a serious relationship with Kaylor) standing to hold him and talk him down. “Now you’re sending three home,†Rob defiantly tells the Islanders, clutching a mascara-streaked Andrea. Except he stays. Right. Maybe this is one of those instances of his being an “onion†and the deeper layers to this act have to be revealed.
Who won the fight? Aaron — his boy, his right-hand man was hurting but ultimately stayed.
Who won the internet over? Leah — when she’s wrong it’s spectacular, and when she’s right it’s even better. Ultimately, she was vindicated for pointing out Rob’s empty dramatics
Kaylor’s Endless Tears
Together from the start, Kaylor and Aaron are this season’s long-lasting disaster couple that just won’t quit for better or worse. She was a people pleaser and he was a flirt — can I make it anymore obvious? Kaylor cries in episode one, so we should’ve been prepared for the works when Aaron leaves for Casa Amor in episode 19. For four episodes, Aaron acts a fool over new girl Daniela by having makeouts outside of challenges, pillow talk en Español, getting called out by Ariana Madix for using the same special handshake with both women, and of course, denying and downplaying once back in the Villa. Kaylor’s “Fuuuuck, man!†is heard all the way from Fiji, but the two became an official couple in episode 30 (just eight episodes after the end of Casa Amor).
Who won the fight? Apparently Aaron — a seashell necklace ended up being enough to reconcile. If you like it, Kaylor, I love it for you.
Who won the internet over? Kaylor’s liquid eyeliner. It won’t be moved and neither will she.
Nasty, Nasty Kendall
When will these men learn that being the too-vocal accomplice can be just as damaging as the ones doing the deeds? Though Kendall appears to be friends with all the women throughout the season, he giddily fans the flames while the boys explore other options in Casa.
Then, episode 26 brings back Movie Night. In one clip, Kendall tells Kordell “You should be pumped right now. You’re doing everything right.†In the next cut, he tells Daniela she and Aaron are “off to a hot start,†laughing. At the end of his clip show, Serena says her piece: “Kendall’s the bitch, clearly. You’re messy!â€
Who won the fight? Nicole — her man was too busy in everyone else’s drama to cheat. A win is a win.
Who won the internet over? The Casa Amor girls. They mind their business.
The Kordell-Daia-Serena-OBJ Square
Upon Kordell’s return from Casa Amor with Daia in tow, Serena makes it clear she wants no part of a love triangle after his Casa makeout sessions and alleged dry humping (he continued denying this one). Two episodes later, Daia pulls Serena aside to give her side of the situation, particularly denying the allegation that Kordell was “90 percent†on Serena and “10 percent†on Daia, that came about through a game of telephone from Kordell to Miguel to Leah. Serena, with a big hair bow and baby-blue two-piece, marches back and forth across the villa to hash it out.
It ends shakily for Kerena, until the social-media challenge the following day where Daia is accused of commenting on his brother Odell Beckham Jr.’s Instagram posts. (She later claims the screenshot “seemed Photoshopped.â€) Kordell pleads his case to a more-receptive Serena, Daia totally ends things with him before he can end it with her, and at the end of Movie Night, the day-one couple finally reconciles.
Who won the fight? Serena — in a beautiful tirade that left no Islander safe but while Kordell won the war.
Who won the internet over? Serena’s hair-braiding business, as soon as it became obvious she was not only touching up her own hair but the only thing standing between Kordell and a protective hairstyle. This is why you don’t cheat on your stylist.
JaNa + Kenny = KaNa
JaNa and Kenny lack screen time, but minimal scenes have yet to ever stop a fan-cam editor. Taking nothing seriously except matters of the heart, JaNa is the unexpected comedic gift that keeps on giving. She approaches the final days of Love Island USA with perhaps the best assortment of silly antics. There’s her “Andy’s coming†moment with Serena; her sunglasses bit, “Let me join the fucking partyâ€; and, famously, “It’s ghetto in here … I love it.†The couple’s one explosive moment occurred over Kenny bringing Casa Catherine back to the villa, while JaNa remind single. Kenny expresses genuine distress over the idea he may not end up with JaNa and ends up crying, whimpering, choking up in the arms of Serena and Leah. (Footage of Leah calling him a “bitch†not found.)
Who won the fight? JaNa — in the fight against being forgettable, JaNa wins everytime. Oh, not to mention she got her man, closed it off, and spent a private night in the Hideaway.
Who won the internet over? Kenny. Some male tears have a time and place
Liv, the Villa Bestie
Though she never quite hit it off in the romance department, every villa needs a ride-or-die like Liv. Liv arrived as the first bombshell of the season in episode one, stealing Rob only for him and Leah to keep their relationship going on the down-low. Her own relationships are relatively low-key. After Hakeem, she goes through bombshells Miguel (who twists on her in a challenge), Nigel (quickly eliminated), and Casa Amor’s Cain (who says it’s more of a friendship ting).
Movie Night rehashes Andrea’s dumping, prompting a Liv-Leah-Kaylor screaming match where Kaylor flinches and pleads to Leah to get her finger out of her face, when Leah gestures at the balcony. “You’re giving ‘white-woman scared,’†Leah says, one of the funniest moments of the season. The end of Movie Night brings an end to the tension between Leah and Liv: “We fight like sisters,†Liv notes in her confessional. Not a moment too soon, a surprise recoupling at the end of the episode sends Liv packing and a new bombshell right in.
Who won the fight? Rob
Who won the internet over? Liv. It’s not Friend Island, but someone willing to kick off is just as important to the experience as any romantic connection.
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