This week’s Temptation Island brought about several twists that caused some big shake ups amongst the couples. First, we had another round of eliminations, where the couples had to make the hard or not so hard choice of which singles to send home. Would the boys who got cut behave themselves this time around? And regarding the girls, would they speak up, or quietly depart like the last group did?

The second twist was the dreaded thirty second video message. For the first time since they separated, the couples were allowed to send a thirty second video to each other where they could say anything they wanted. Or, they could choose not to send any message at all. And let’s be honest, that would be the most devastating. So, any takers on who didn’t get a message?

Before we get to all that drama, the episode started with the couples heading back to their villas after visiting Mark L. Walberg at bonfire. Thomas Gipson was still a right mess over seeing his girlfriend Chelsea Orcutt all over Blake Eyres in the pool. True to his word, Julian Allen sat by Thomas’ side for comfort, as the rest of the girls wondered what happened. Thomas broke down in his confessional, and admitted he felt helpless and couldn’t believe that Chelsea would cheat on him. Not yet, Thomas! That would officially happen later.

Alexcys Homan still held out hope that Kendal Kirkland would leave Erica Washington for her and hinted to Kendal as such. Kendal gave his typical nonresponse and said he was content with how he felt and Alexcys should trust him. Well, I’m sure we’re all relieved Kendal was content with himself. However, Alexcys’ optimism took a turn later in the episode, when she might have seen the light of day on what Kendal truly wanted from her, and it wasn’t a committed relationship. 

At the girls villa, Erin Smith realized the way she treated Corey Sobczyk was the same way she was treated in her past toxic relationships. Erin concluded that Corey was going to realize he could be treated better, and she would realize the grass wasn’t always greener. As Erin dished to the guys that she pushed Corey away because she loved him, Shaquille Urie hoped that Corey would screw up so he would finally have a chance with Erin. 

Chelsea lamented to Blake about Thomas rubbing lotion on Sophia Perez’s backside. She decided her love wasn’t enough for him and he was going to continue his playboy behavior. Not that it’s ok, but what Thomas did was not nearly as bad as Chelsea grinding up on Blake in the pool. Blake claimed this was a great moment for them to go to a “deeper level,” which really meant he knew now was the time to strike.

Back at the guys villa, an incident that I’ll call “chickengate” occurred between Maya Morsi and Amanda Spain-Butts. Just as Julian finished praising how mature and awesome Maya was, Maya went mental when Amanda and some of the girls decided they didn’t want to wait for her to finish cooking dinner, so they threw some chicken on the grill. This set Maya off on a rant about who could eat what and when, and Amanda and Maddy Brown retaliated by joking they wouldn’t argue with a thirty-two year old. This temper tantrum sent off red flags to Julian about Maya’s character. I don’t blame the girls at all, when you gotta eat, you gotta eat.

The next day, the couples spent more time connecting with the singles. Kendal continued to lead Alexcys on while still maintaining an emotional distance. He reasoned he would have a game time decision regarding his relationship once he saw Erica. But Erica had other plans. She was now going to put herself first (yay!). However, Erica was still worried that when she saw Kendal she might fold. Lex Lindquist wisely told her not to entertain the notion of taking back Kendal, who was manipulating her and doing whatever he wanted because he knew she’d come back to him. I guess we’ll see at game time!

Thomas and Sophia chilled on the beach as he thanked her for taking him out of his funk about Chelsea. Sophia then confessed to Thomas that he was the exact man she wanted. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I don’t see the chemistry between these two. And speaking of lack of chemistry, Chelsea believed that she and Blake were meant to be, and told him they brought value to each other’s lives. Blake continued to be Blake the fake and told her she already brought value to his. Gag. Then Blake made his move and made out with Chelsea. 

The next day, Mark stopped by an announced it was time to eliminate more singles. The guys went first, and decided on Grace Hagan and Maddy. Grace gave a tearful goodbye and thanked them for showing her not all guys were a**holes. Um, have you been watching Kendal at all? 

The girls also chose two singles. David Silvia, who was a leftover from the eliminated drama queen crew of Tom Triola, and Erin’s favorite in the house, Shaquille! However, David did not throw down like his bros did and was respectful during his sign off. Then Erin gave this weird fake cry, which somehow made Chelsea fake cry, as she told Shaquille she needed to focus on herself instead of others. The way Shaquille lost it when Erin went on a date without him had me wondering if he was going to pull another Shaq attack, but he just gave a fake sob as well and said goodbye.

Things lightened up that evening with a toga party. Kristen Ramos cheered to the girls, “Taking chances, taking risks, and to Chelsea’s first kiss.” Then the group had relay races, and Erin, the self proclaimed sportiest of the bunch, ended up having the biggest fall when she completely missed trying to jump on a guys back for a piggyback ride. I’ll blame that on the booze. Meanwhile, Chelsea was again agonizing over her feelings while she sat with Blake. But any thoughts of how much she loved Thomas were pushed out the window when they made out again. 

The guys had an “ABC” party, where they wore anything but clothes. Corey looked like a discount Justin Bieber wearing a crown and a potato sack for a shirt as he came out to strut his stuff. Thomas put a pointed party hat over his private area, which prompted Sophia to swoon over his “little cone.” Ouch! And speaking of ouch, all the girls wore neon tape which looked like it would have been extremely painful to take off. And the one person who couldn’t wait to take their tape off was Kendal.

Alexcys, Nickole Ciszak, and Kendal all sat in the hot tub as Nickole asked Alexcys what their game plan was for tonight. Alexcys looked confused, and then Kendal jumped in to clarify that it was going to go down again. Alexcys snapped back not expect that, but Kendal didn’t care and flatly stated that he expected it all the time. Now, this is what Kendal truly wanted from Alexcys, someone just to have a threesome with. Then in his confessional, Kendal first blamed the threesome idea on Nickole but then admitted he was trying his best to make another one happen. 

Kendal then tried to manipulate Nickole to get Alexcys on board for a threesome by telling her the ball was in her court. Luckily she didn’t fall for it and pushed back on him to talk to Alexcys. Alexcys also stood her ground and went straight up to bed. In one last act of desperation, Kendal literally followed them up the stairs to see if they would change their minds. This might have finally been the turning point for Alexcys to wake up to the fact that Kendal is a garbage human being. 

And now, the dreaded thirty second video messages have arrived! Erin went first and watched as Corey said he wasn’t confident in coming with her to the island, but the experience has made him a better man. When Corey failed to mention he loved her, Erin began to worry he was moving on without her. Erin’s message to Corey was essentially the same. Erin said she realized she needed to work on herself and become a better person. She also didn’t say “I love you.” But instead of feeling insecure, Corey was relieved that Erin was working on herself. If these two can be open and communicate with one another, I could definitely see them staying together.

Erica hoped Kendal didn’t send her a message, because not having him in her ear 24/7 has allowed her to focus on herself instead of having to babysit him and his feelings all day. Unfortunately for her, Kendal did leave a message. Predictably he began with his excuse of “no rules” and fully embracing the experience to cover for his actions. Then he flipped it back onto her and said he hoped she would turn into the woman he knew she could be, and they would leave stronger together. Again, pushing her to get his approval. Erica was dumbfounded that Kendal thought they would actually leave together, and noted she’s not the same person that came here. And she proved just that by not sending Kendal a video. Kendal showed mild surprise, as much as a narcissist could, and noted it would still be a game time decision for him at the end.

Kristen watched as Julian told her he wanted to be a better version of himself for her and their families. He ended his message mentioning he couldn’t wait to start his new journey with her and that he loved her. In Kristen’s message to Julian, she said she loved him as well, and was going to continue to work on herself to be a better person for him. Any takers that Julian will propose to Kristen at the final bonfire? I’ll be sure to have my tissues on stand by!

And finally, we have Chelsea and Thomas. Chelsea wanted to get clarity from Thomas if he was spending his time learning why he had a flirtatious personality. What she got instead was a message of desperation. I don’t know if it was nerves, or if he rushed because of the time limit, but Thomas word vomited how much he loved and missed Chelsea, and even though he was flirty he proved he was committed. Chelsea then used her favorite word, and said that Thomas’ video felt “fake” because it didn’t correlate with the behavior she’s seen from him so far. Again, he hasn’t made out with anyone, but ok.

Thomas hoped that Chelsea’s message would be similar to his, in that she loved him and wanted to be with him. But that’s not what he got. In her video, Chelsea blamed Thomas for putting their relationship on the line, and said she had no plans on going backwards, only forwards. Uh oh. Somehow Chelsea’s message came off even more unfeeling than Kendal’s. Thomas freaked out, and felt Chelsea was trying to break some bad news. He added it seemed like she was defending her actions without telling him what they were yet. And we all know that Thomas will see what Chelsea did with Blake at the next bonfire. Once that happens, it’s doubtful that these two will be able to repair their relationship and leave together at the final bonfire.

TELL US – WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT ERICA DIDN’T SEND KENDAL A MESSAGE? DO YOU THINK THOMAS WAS SINCERE IN HIS MESSAGE TO CHELSEA? DO YOU THINK BLAKE REALLY LIKES CHELSEA, OR IS HE BEING FAKE? ARE YOU SURPIRSED ALEXCYS TURNED KENDAL DOWN FOR ANOTHER THREESOME? 

[Photo Credit: USA Network] 

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