As Temptation Island Season 5 inches closer to its finale, big decisions are being made. It’s hard to know if anybody is going to walk away still in their couples when all is said and done. Episode 8 certainly saw the definitive end for one pair. It was a tough and emotional watch. Here’s everything that happened in Temptation Island Season 5, Episode 8.
Kaitlin is forced to recognize her worth
It’s the moment we were all waiting for. Hall was forced to grow a pair of balls, and tell fiancée Kaitlin exactly where his head was at. Any hope that her video message had helped him see the light was soon dashed out. “I have never had a real, emotional connection with you,” he told Kaitlin. “I forced myself to go back to you and I have been lying to myself.”
Truthfully, this was some of the most painful reality TV I’ve watched in a long time. Kaitlin deserves SO much better than this cowardly cretin, and she’s now been forced to recognize that. She even claims that she’s always known it, deep down. As Hall skittered off back to the boys’ villa, the girls rallied around Kaitlin. A teary Vanessa spoke for us all, when she said, “I hate how selfish men can be sometimes.”
If Makayla and Hall do leave the island together, something tells me that Makayla has a reckoning with reality coming her way. Sadly, the two may stick together out of spite, in the hopes of proving the naysayers wrong. Because THAT always works out…
All the single ladies
Kaitlin officially declares herself single as the guys return to the girls’ villa. All the men have something to say about Hall. Christian declares “good riddance,” while Mike says he’s “inhumane,” and Sebastian calls him a “loser.” It’s safe to say, Kaitlin has options now.
Meanwhile, Marisela is “free to live life however I desire,” and will “never let anybody tell me what to do again.” She’s putting all of her eggs in Kristian’s basket, and their chemistry is undeniable. Whether or not that can translate to the outside world remains to be seen, but if this is simply a stepping stone in Marisela regaining her confidence, then that’s good too.
For her ex’s part, Christopher – he’s still happy he didn’t send Marisela a video message. In fact, he and the other guys – Roberto and Great – are wondering what’s happened to Hall. Makayla’s having a breakdown, feeling “guilty.” No, not because she’s helped destroy an engagement, but because Hall is “going through it.”
Hall makes his grand return
Upon his return to the boys’ villa, Hall pulls Makayla for a private conversation. He’s been through “every emotion,” and is exhausted. Makayla tells him she’s “never felt this way in my life,” and she’s scared. She should be. Look at this guy’s track record! Still, he says all the right things.
“You have shown me what I’ve been missing,” Hall tells her. “I need to learn to not feel guilty,” Makayla replies, as they look to the future. “We can now start building something special together,” Hall says. Good luck with that.
As the night beckons, the girls’ villa turns it up in a Pirates and Mermaids party. Kaitlin is “numb,” but thankful to have the distraction. She jumps in the swimming pool with Sebastian, and the two share a flirty kiss. Nothing major, but there are sparks flying. Over in the guys’ villa, Makayla agrees to join Hall in bed. Exactly what they get up to isn’t clear, but Hall’s nervous. He’s not invited another woman to share a bed with him for over four years. Thankfully, when we cut back to Kaitlin, she also has someone in her bed: Sebastian! Get it, Kaitlin. Though she says they only cuddled. Cute.
Dates go well, but Vanessa’s confused
It’s time for another round of dates, and Vanessa has “mixed emotions.” While she’s enjoying her connection with Bryce, as of right now, she would still leave the island with Rob. She appreciates how supportive Bryce has been, but can she see a future with him? The problem here may be that Rob doesn’t want to give Vanessa another shot. He seems quite happy baking vegan cookies with Desiree.
Tahjjic and Paris are painting on their date. He paints a Miami seafront home, that he would love to share with Paris one day. I’m not completely sold. The award for the best date goes to Great and Nafeesah. She appears almost completely nude, with just some leaves covering her bits and bobs. Great gets to work painting a portrait, and it’s … awful. But Nafeesah seems to like it!
Marisela and Kristian continue to get on like a house on fire. She teaches him some Spanish, and her best dance moves. It’s sweet, but it’s giving vacation summer fling. Chris and Alexius also get to dancing, and Chris notes that their “initial vibe was just beautiful.”
The final solo bonfires of Temptation Island Season 5
Host Mark Walberg arrives for the final solo bonfires of the season. The girls are up first, and Mark is immediately on top form. He really is awesome, and seems to care about the progress these people make, either as individuals, or in their relationships.
Vanessa cries after watching Rob express himself. Despite him saying that she is “sucking the soul” out of his life, she sees it as a positive. “He finally came through for me,” she says. Vanessa is “so proud of him,” and when Mark tells her that she now has to work on herself, she says she hears him. Hopefully, this has been the wakeup call Vanessa needs. She can still be a strong, confident woman, without keeping those walls up and hurting those who love her.
Paris is next, and watches Great get dirty with Nafeesah in a car during a date, before the two share a naked shower. “It’s the same bullsh*t again,” she fumes. I’ve honestly never been more confused. She doesn’t seem to realize that Great’s actions are all as a result of her comments all the way back at the start of the experiment, as soon as she was sent to the girls’ villa. The mind boggles…
Marisela laughs off Chris’ claims she’ll come “crawling back.” It’s not going to happen; she’s done pleasing others. Kaitlin, meanwhile, is disappointed to hear Hall say he’ll give Makayla all the time she needs to live her life before they commit to children. Mark tells her she should wait for someone who’s willing to “build you a throne.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.
The boys are up, and delusion strikes
It’s nothing new that boys on Temptation Island are delusional. Still, they seem even more delusional than ever this season. Marisela is talking about freedom, on her video clip, for example. Chris answers this by saying he has sacrificed so much to make their relationship work. He also makes some snide comments about her being “entitled to have the freedom that she likes.”
Then there’s Rob, who watches Vanessa on a date. She says she has no idea how to focus, and is working on being vulnerable. His response? “The audacity.” What? She’s admitting she has stuff to work on. How is that a bad thing? Thankfully, Mark allows Rob to reflect on the fact that the point may have gone right over his head.
“I saw a single girl doing single things,” says Great of Paris’ video. He may be the one closest to reality, right now. Not something I saw coming. “You have a lot to talk to Paris about,” Mark tells him.
Finally, there’s Hall. You would think he would take the comments about being “selfish.” NOPE. He is mad as all hell. In fact, he’s confused. “It makes me look like a bad person,” he whines in confessional. Yup. But remember Hall, you did that all by yourself, to yourself.
Temptation Island continues Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA.
TELL US – WERE YOU SHOCKED BY HALL’S DECISION? HAS KAITLIN HAD A LUCKY ESCAPE? WILL HE DO THE SAME TO MAKAYLA? COULD THERE BE HOPE FOR VANESSA AND ROB?
