So, I had considered that Nic and Olandria would be coupled, but the producers did something I hadn’t seriously considered, which was sending Nic and Olandria back into the Villa directly.
I hadn’t seriously considered it because it has several very obvious large downsides, and it seemed like the execution was pretty botched?
It reunites Olandria and Taylor right away. How do you expect Olandria to explore Nic, and Taylor to explore Clarke? You’re crippling both of these before they have a chance to get started.
Olandria being there can potentially interfere with everyone else’s explorations as well, since she is going to be loyal to the girls in terms of keeping secrets.
Alternatively, you could have made Taylor think Olandria was gone, and made Cierra think Nic was gone, and pushed both of those forward. Why not?
You’re creating an information asymmetry between Villa and Casa. You’re also creating an emotional asymmetry, as Villa is happy and Casa is still sad.
You’re ruining a bunch of reveals, such as Chelly dating a guy who is 6”8’.
You’re blowing the reveal that they are not eliminated when it won’t get maximum value.
You’re relieving all the narrative tension.
The idea of ‘choose to be a couple or go home’ is not a choice at all. Thus the honesty part is put into question, were they actually at any risk here? Tonight kind of needs to address this.
For so many reasons, I thought, no way, they wouldn’t do it like that.
They did it anyway.
And they look like they largely got away with it.
Because the producers know more than we do, and more tools than I was relying on—I was trying to produce a more hands-off version, that played more ‘fair,’ and that set up various outcomes so they all worked.
The producers instead gambled on dominoes falling, and they won.
The false choice to be a couple or go home is no choice at all, but it does psychologically make Nic and Olandria choose to be in a couple.
They got Taylor to continue exploring Clarke even with Olandria right there. It was far from obvious Taylor would be willing to play with fire like this.
They got Olandria to observe Taylor doing it, making her open to Nic.
They got Nic to really go for it, despite all the reasons not to do it, and they gambled on the chemistry actually being there or at least being credibly bluffed, and they got that too.
They essentially were playing all-or-nothing. The narrative eggs were all in the Nicolandria basket, and by putting Taylor and Olandria together the next morning they were gambling that about one day with Clarke would be enough to set this whole train in motion. And, well, wow, okay, that worked.
If it fizzles, and Taylor shuts down Clarke, which in turn makes Olandria not so willing to explore, then what?
It’s also hilarious that everyone gets so pumped for these kissing challenges with actual nothing on the line, but somehow it keeps working, so sure, why not?
Also note that Olandria played along with what the producers wanted in another way, by representing Elan as a genuine threat to Nic, which helps set all this in motion.
It sounds like tonight we are going to bring everyone together and find out what happens, although I intentionally skip all previews.
This seems like a repetition of the same major error to me. It is not enough time. If you give the story another day or two first, the chances of hell breaking loose go up substantially. You still might get it, especially if the producers are forcing it, but your chances are much better if you simply give it more time. Are they this confident? Or do they not actually want things that shaken up?
There certainly are plenty more stories left in Casa Amor. Even aside from the new main plot, about half the old cast was previously single or almost single and are with new partners and we’re essentially writing them out of the show because quickly, there’s no time. I don’t know why we need so much padding in some places and now we’re skipping over entire relationships. Are they that boring? I mean, maybe?
At this point, they could do any number of things after everyone comes back, in terms of how the recoupling will work. It all depends on where they want this to go.
The previous designs need modification, since you can’t hide Nic and Olandria, and also because you now definitely want them to be able to couple together, so they have to count as normal original islanders now. I’d be inclined to do a variant on the second design, although with lower dumping risk to the original islanders—you want to see the aftermath and everyone to get to movie night, so you want to let any originals choose again if they get rejected in stage one. There’s certainly precedent.
Alternatively, we could see a classic stick-or-twist or other similar method used, or something else entirely. They could even run the doors back (except, presumably, with the men behind the doors) and I’d be here for that, and then they can choose how many people to save and how based on what happens and who is in danger, and what they want to happen.
I can even see a strategy where they don’t dump anyone at all at the recoupling, and bombshells can match with each other as necessary, so that everyone’s backup plan is still there to challenge them, but with the understanding that popularity votes will start eating couples, so you’d be on borrowed time.
The producers are flying high. Careful, Icarus. But I am curious how you play it, and I’m much more invested in the producers at this point than I am in most of the couples.
Episode 21 Update
So, I had considered that Nic and Olandria would be coupled, but the producers did something I hadn’t seriously considered, which was sending Nic and Olandria back into the Villa directly.
I hadn’t seriously considered it because it has several very obvious large downsides, and it seemed like the execution was pretty botched?
It reunites Olandria and Taylor right away. How do you expect Olandria to explore Nic, and Taylor to explore Clarke? You’re crippling both of these before they have a chance to get started.
Olandria being there can potentially interfere with everyone else’s explorations as well, since she is going to be loyal to the girls in terms of keeping secrets.
Alternatively, you could have made Taylor think Olandria was gone, and made Cierra think Nic was gone, and pushed both of those forward. Why not?
You’re creating an information asymmetry between Villa and Casa. You’re also creating an emotional asymmetry, as Villa is happy and Casa is still sad.
You’re ruining a bunch of reveals, such as Chelly dating a guy who is 6”8’.
You’re blowing the reveal that they are not eliminated when it won’t get maximum value.
You’re relieving all the narrative tension.
The idea of ‘choose to be a couple or go home’ is not a choice at all. Thus the honesty part is put into question, were they actually at any risk here? Tonight kind of needs to address this.
For so many reasons, I thought, no way, they wouldn’t do it like that.
They did it anyway.
And they look like they largely got away with it.
Because the producers know more than we do, and more tools than I was relying on—I was trying to produce a more hands-off version, that played more ‘fair,’ and that set up various outcomes so they all worked.
The producers instead gambled on dominoes falling, and they won.
The false choice to be a couple or go home is no choice at all, but it does psychologically make Nic and Olandria choose to be in a couple.
They got Taylor to continue exploring Clarke even with Olandria right there. It was far from obvious Taylor would be willing to play with fire like this.
They got Olandria to observe Taylor doing it, making her open to Nic.
They got Nic to really go for it, despite all the reasons not to do it, and they gambled on the chemistry actually being there or at least being credibly bluffed, and they got that too.
They essentially were playing all-or-nothing. The narrative eggs were all in the Nicolandria basket, and by putting Taylor and Olandria together the next morning they were gambling that about one day with Clarke would be enough to set this whole train in motion. And, well, wow, okay, that worked.
If it fizzles, and Taylor shuts down Clarke, which in turn makes Olandria not so willing to explore, then what?
It’s also hilarious that everyone gets so pumped for these kissing challenges with actual nothing on the line, but somehow it keeps working, so sure, why not?
Also note that Olandria played along with what the producers wanted in another way, by representing Elan as a genuine threat to Nic, which helps set all this in motion.
It sounds like tonight we are going to bring everyone together and find out what happens, although I intentionally skip all previews.
This seems like a repetition of the same major error to me. It is not enough time. If you give the story another day or two first, the chances of hell breaking loose go up substantially. You still might get it, especially if the producers are forcing it, but your chances are much better if you simply give it more time. Are they this confident? Or do they not actually want things that shaken up?
There certainly are plenty more stories left in Casa Amor. Even aside from the new main plot, about half the old cast was previously single or almost single and are with new partners and we’re essentially writing them out of the show because quickly, there’s no time. I don’t know why we need so much padding in some places and now we’re skipping over entire relationships. Are they that boring? I mean, maybe?
At this point, they could do any number of things after everyone comes back, in terms of how the recoupling will work. It all depends on where they want this to go.
The previous designs need modification, since you can’t hide Nic and Olandria, and also because you now definitely want them to be able to couple together, so they have to count as normal original islanders now. I’d be inclined to do a variant on the second design, although with lower dumping risk to the original islanders—you want to see the aftermath and everyone to get to movie night, so you want to let any originals choose again if they get rejected in stage one. There’s certainly precedent.
Alternatively, we could see a classic stick-or-twist or other similar method used, or something else entirely. They could even run the doors back (except, presumably, with the men behind the doors) and I’d be here for that, and then they can choose how many people to save and how based on what happens and who is in danger, and what they want to happen.
I can even see a strategy where they don’t dump anyone at all at the recoupling, and bombshells can match with each other as necessary, so that everyone’s backup plan is still there to challenge them, but with the understanding that popularity votes will start eating couples, so you’d be on borrowed time.
The producers are flying high. Careful, Icarus. But I am curious how you play it, and I’m much more invested in the producers at this point than I am in most of the couples.