S08.E14: The Reunion

[HerkyJerky]

The reunion show where we get all(?) our questions answered.

[LuvMyShows]

My thoughts:

• I literally did not recognize Meg or Madison. They do not look anything like they did in the pods.
• Alex looked like a deer in the headlights. Maybe he kept expecting the producers to go into all those allegations?
• Awesome about AD and Ollie!
• Glad that Taylor and Daniel are still together.
• The musical number was a giant waste of time.
• In the montage of the successful couples giving 5-year show anniversary well-wishes, who was the second-to-last couple? Their name was never mentioned, and I didn't recognize them. I also wouldn't have recognized Tiffany, except that she was with Brett.
• Glad that Dave finally came to understand the truth about what Lauren had been saying the whole time. I hope his sister, and really all of his friends and family, feel like absolute sh*ts for how they handled the whole thing.
• I'm kind of sus about the upcoming Denver season, because the Denver season of Married at First Sight was a different kind of bust from the usual trainwreck, with the contestants being very, very conscious of optics and how things will play out on camera. And that gets in the way of letting things evolve organically.
• None of Madison's receipts were making any sense to me, and didn't seem to prove anything.

Edited March 10 by LuvMyShows

[HerkyJerky]

8 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

I literally did not recognize Meg or Madison. They do not look anything like they did in the pods.

Agreed! Meg looked way better and Madison looked way worse!

[HerkyJerky]

Interesting article on Vulture recapping the reunion. This was the funniest line in the whole thing, “Virginia, who is speaking with more bass in her voice than we’ve ever heard before”. I had to laugh at that because Virginia’s high-pitched voice through the whole show seemed very insincere.

32 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

the montage of the successful couples giving 5-year show anniversary well-wishes, who was the second-to-last couple?

According to the Vulture article, it was Amy and Johnny.

[sainte-chapelle]

This was pretty boring and the top 5 moments made zero sense. Did people really give a shit about some basic guys glow up? Two moments from Jimmy? There have been 5 seasons. Nothing from the mean girls or Zack reuniting with Bliss? 
 

Anyway…

• Madison is a narcissist who needs to constantly feel like she is the centre of all things. She is also very manipulative, I’m glad Meg told her off.
• Alex is a snake and I do believe he made fun of Mason behind his back and Mads gleefully joined in. The screenshots proved nothing though and Mads was careful to cover the portions that made her look bad with her hand.
• Joey turned out to be a piece of work but I do believe Mads flirted heavily with him like the pick me she is…she can’t help herself.
• Dave was never into Lauren. She was right about Dave having her number for a year and never reaching out.
• Daniel and Taylor seem happy. She even made a joke about Instagate. I’m happy for them.
• why did Sara ask Ben to live with her? At the altar she couldn’t get away fast enough.
• I am glad Virginia didn’t get married but these are core values that should have been discussed in the pods. 
• I laughed when Mason thanked Mads for thinking he was smart enough to be that manipulative. He made mistakes and isn’t perfect but I don’t think he is a bad guy. Even though it didn’t work out, the fact that Meg didn’t have a bad word to say about him was very telling.
   

Edited March 10 by sainte-chapelle

[snarts]

I really dislike that the season reunions dedicate so much time to the past. If Netflix wants a multi-year reunion then have one. If not, please dedicate the time to the current cast. I don't remember 99% of these people 30 days after the season ends.

The women all looked lovely while the men looked unwashed & sweaty. Yes, that was led by Joey. Man did he come off like a tool. Not sure how I missed that because I was rooting for them as a couple but hearing more, Monica definitely dodged a bullet & Joey fumbled the bag.

Speaking of, Lauren is amazing. She was gracious but firm & Dave is going to regret losing her for a long time. He looked terrible and still no sister appearance??? I think she's imaginary.

What was up with Alex's hair? He & Madison deserve each other. She's a 100% a pick me girl & obviously still butthurt that Mason didn't. He seems like a decent guy, I wish he & Meg could've made it work but glad they're friends.

I'm assuming it was a combination of Sara not wanting to completely end things/ Ben assuring her he was capable of growth that kept them dating after the broken engagement. Then, instead of being honest, he thought her moving was a good time to ghost. Bad enough, but to have the balls to reach out a week before the reunion to coordinate their responses? Pathetic. 

[SummerDreams]

The funniest time ever was that chick saying she looks like Megan Fox.

I'm glad I didn't pay attention to this season. They were all pathetic except from Meg and Lauren who are the sweetest girls.

[ichbin]

On 3/10/2025 at 1:31 PM, snarts said:

I really dislike that the season reunions dedicate so much time to the past. If Netflix wants a multi-year reunion then have one. If not, please dedicate the time to the current cast. I don't remember 99% of these people 30 days after the season ends.

 

100% At least they didn't have a bunch of them seated in the audience getting showcased like in the past.

 

On 3/10/2025 at 12:29 PM, sainte-chapelle said:

why did Sara ask Ben to live with her? At the altar she couldn’t get away fast enough.

This made absolutely no sense to me.  She said no because she realized he was not going all in on her core values which she claimed was so important.   What was the point of continuing on dating, let alone co-habiting? 

 

43 minutes ago, SummerDreams said:

The funniest time ever was that chick saying she looks like Megan Fox.

 I wasn't a fan of either Jimmy or Chelsea but I wish they would stop humiliating the girl by bringing this up.  She clearly said she doesn't look like her and it was just the hair and eye coloring that led people to make the comparison but most people continue to react as though she believed she looks like MF. I'm sure out of eight seasons they could have pulled a different "top 5" out of their butts to air during the reunion despite it being a dumb and unnecessary bit.

 

On 3/10/2025 at 1:31 PM, snarts said:

He & Madison deserve each other. She's a 100% a pick me girl & obviously still butthurt that Mason didn't.

I think this was the worst type of show for someone like her to have joined. Too many cameras catching too many interactions and allowing comparisons to be made by the home audience which left her vulnerable to valid criticism. 
 

[ichbin]

One more thing. Nick Lachey's new hair style looks like he used the Bob's Big Boy mascot for inspiration. 

[zenithwit]

On 3/9/2025 at 8:37 PM, LuvMyShows said:

Glad that Dave finally came to understand the truth about what Lauren had been saying the whole time. I hope his sister, and really all of his friends and family, feel like absolute sh*ts for how they handled the whole thing.

And it's funny how Dave (and I guess his sister) was so desperate not to look bad on the show and then ended up looking bad all on his own.  Glad that he realized that part as well.

On 3/10/2025 at 9:29 AM, sainte-chapelle said:

I am glad Virginia didn’t get married but these are core values that should have been discussed in the pods. 

Although Virginia didn't reveal Devin's "core values", from what she did say it's pretty clear that he is anti-abortion and has some anti-LGBT views.  Probably should have been discussed in the pods but if neither had a personal connection (like Sara did with her sister), I can see how it didn't come up.

[Racj82]

On 3/10/2025 at 1:31 PM, snarts said:

I really dislike that the season reunions dedicate so much time to the past. If Netflix wants a multi-year reunion then have one. If not, please dedicate the time to the current cast. I don't remember 99% of these people 30 days after the season ends.

What in the world is there to really talk about this season? They do it to pad things out. Also, to always be able to point the show as a success story, even if the season itself wasn't for the most part.

[SummerDreams]

On 3/11/2025 at 10:16 PM, ichbin said:

I wasn't a fan of either Jimmy or Chelsea but I wish they would stop humiliating the girl by bringing this up.  She clearly said she doesn't look like her and it was just the hair and eye coloring that led people to make the comparison but most people continue to react as though she believed she looks like MF. I'm sure out of eight seasons they could have pulled a different "top 5" out of their butts to air during the reunion despite it being a dumb and unnecessary bit.

I don't find it humiliating to be honest. She didn't say this in her privacy of her home after all, she said it in a place where there are cameras and she knew it would be broadcasted. It was an important part of Jimmy's decision because it was brought up right after the reveal and many times afterwards. In my country there is a saying that goes like "if you want the facial hair, you need to find the comb for them as well ". If she didn't want it to be aired, she could have not said it, but I think she did it on purpose so she would get chosen. I don't remember anyone in this show comparing themselves to someone famous, in fact I think it's forbidden to talk about looks, race, weight etc. It's the whole point of the show, that love is blind.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 3/13/2025 at 12:39 AM, SummerDreams said:

I don't find it humiliating to be honest. She didn't say this in her privacy of her home after all, she said it in a place where there are cameras and she knew it would be broadcasted. It was an important part of Jimmy's decision because it was brought up right after the reveal and many times afterwards. In my country there is a saying that goes like "if you want the facial hair, you need to find the comb for them as well ". If she didn't want it to be aired, she could have not said it, but I think she did it on purpose so she would get chosen. I don't remember anyone in this show comparing themselves to someone famous, in fact I think it's forbidden to talk about looks, race, weight etc. It's the whole point of the show, that love is blind.

While it's the alleged point of the show, the reality is that people do inevitably look for and/or get insights into looks, race, weight etc. 

Whether it's something not subtle like Shake's "If we went to a concert together could I lift you up and put you on my shoulders?" or just the fact that someone's name/voice/background is very clearly from a particular ethnicity, the "experiment" is not as blind as they try to put out there.

In 8 seasons, I think they have only cast maybe 4 overweight people, none with visible disabilities, no one who's below a 6 in terms of looks.

IIRC, Jimmy posed the question about whether anyone compared Chelsea to any celebrities, and her actual answer was essentially, 

[HerkyJerky]

4 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

While it's the alleged point of the show, the reality is that people do inevitably look for and/or get insights into looks, race, weight etc. 

and people also try to avoid attempts at divulging what they look like. Wasn’t there a woman last season who refused to tell the guy what her mom‘s name was because it would give a huge hint to her ethnicity?

[DearEvette]

40 minutes ago, HerkyJerky said:

and people also try to avoid attempts at divulging what they look like. Wasn’t there a woman last season who refused to tell the guy what her mom‘s name was because it would give a huge hint to her ethnicity?

Yeah that was Taylor from last season.

Yes, you can sometimes figure out race and ethnicity based on voice/accent etc. but that only helps if that race/ethnicity matters... which it sorta did for Garrett (Taylor's husband).  But that doesn't tell you if the person is thin (hi Shake!) or meets your own personal criteria of attractiveness/prettiness if race/ethnicity doesn't matter.

Anecdotally, and from what I've read over the years from the cast doing interviews etc., it always seemed like it was the guys who were trying to figure out how the women looked.  The women by and large tried to stick with the conceit of the experiment.