Wow, “Love Island SA”. Wow. What was that?
Just when things were looking up, you go and pull an idiotic move.
That is the only way to explain the mess that happened in Tuesday night’s episode.
For context, viewers voted last week for their least favourite islanders, and were ready to dump the drifters.
However, the people who were boring came alive when new islanders arrived and were giving us the romance we sorely needed on the show.
Thiala was vibing with Ross when we thought all hope was lost for her, and Chris - who was being Mr Fickle - was finding every reason under the sun not to pair up with someone.
Then came the new Islanders Kitty, Tats and Tione and brought some life and love into the villa.
But whatever romance was blossoming and had us engaged - which was needed - was destroyed swiftly with the ill-timed dumping.
'What?!?' A newly-hopeful Thiala has been eliminated, and she can't deal. 💔
— Love Island SA (@LoveIsland_SA) March 30, 2021
And her new man Ross just can't believe. 😢
The #LoveIslandSA 💛🏝 dumping tonight is brutal and we're only halfway through... 😱
That aside, how are we also still sitting with single Summer and Ian, who are making the show increasing tedious to watch, but then breaking up an actual pairing of Thiala and Ross.
Summer is scratching in everyone else's relationship, and Ian is just working out in the gym and being a typical man with a severe case of toxic masculinity.
This was there chance to get rid of the dead weight, and yet were being punished with Friend Island.
Ian hasn't even had a proper relationship and because of his boredom, was creating drama with others. Summer is guilty of this too.
No Ian – you suck! 😝
Hasn't had sex for a year, probably needs some work in the kissing department. 💋
This and more in #LoveIslandSA 💛🏝 'action' on early access from @DStv happening now!
👉 https://t.co/fkSmT24FRX pic.twitter.com/oaWxcH1KGB
The dumping should have happened before all the new people came in because now producers have ended up creating more single people when we are close to the end of the show.
People are supposed to be at the stage where Thimna and Libho are - becoming girlfriend and boyfriend.
#Limna continues to flourish. 💐#LoveIslandSA 💛🏝 pic.twitter.com/jMkXKFRfkh
By ditching Thiala, this now means that the show lost what appeared to be another solid couple.
We might as well just hand the money over to Thimna and Libho since production is breaking up couples who could have potential to win it.
The show is not meant to be about one couple, though judging from how Thimna and Libho have been produced, it certainly seems like it.
@LoveIsland_SA switch off the lights PERMANENTLY & give these kids their MILLION. This show is DONE!!
— Libho&Thimna 😍 (@Yollzz_D) March 30, 2021
.....LIMNA is the Freaken show. Give them their accolades NOW! #LoveIslandSA pic.twitter.com/6ZMf4xnbqj
I repeat - this dumping should have happened before the bevy of new islanders came in.
How are you creating more single people when your show is named “Love Island”?
The show had been going from strength to strength after the dismal beginning and now this move just reminded us that clearly the production team don't know what they're doing.
No other version of “Love Island” has managed to time a dumping so poorly.
And for this, I blame production.
The reason why I am stating that this is a production issue is because they orchestrate the type of recouplings and dumpings that would happen throughout the show.
This type of dumping should have happened sooner because Ross and Thiala had all the building blocks to develop a solid relationship and now that was for nought.
It wasn’t a clever twist, it was cheap and infuriating and an obvious display of how production needs to watch “Love Island UK” because they clearly lack the understanding of the show they are producing.
Thiala is leaving instead of Summer!? What kak is this? #LoveIslandSA pic.twitter.com/FUF1Aoo7Su
— S’ne (@snelushaba) March 30, 2021
Why does summer get so much airtime #LoveIslandSA pic.twitter.com/4Vp8AahjNE
So they want Summer to stay only for friendship #LoveIslandSA pic.twitter.com/J0YoICWUzg
— Sharon (@GOPOZA1) March 31, 2021
So y’all really said Summer > Thiala #LoveIslandSA pic.twitter.com/djdgUEEoPj
— ke tla reng (@kakessssssssss) March 30, 2021
To all the people who constantly vote for Ian, Summer and Asad #LoveIslandSA pic.twitter.com/ZEMSGwfZTR
Y’all really let houseguests do the producing of the show? Every other franchise make sure that when they start doing these clicks..they break it up by viewers votes! Ian & Summer need to go! I’m over boring friendship island 🗑🗑🗑 #LoveIslandSA pic.twitter.com/w3543nyxHb
— Zoe Baby🇭🇹 (@lovemynappyfro) March 30, 2021
Love island SA is rigged. Summer gets to stay and Ian isn’t even in the bottom 3 #joke #LoveIslandSA Josh deserved better pic.twitter.com/6vxWhyBxjF
— Anna (@AnnajGoble) March 30, 2021
You cannot want to put the little goodwill you have earned from people after the horrible start and want to go through the social media dragging again.
Only people who don't care about their work would do that, and it's beginning to feel like production doesn't care.
Apparently, production couldn't even care enough to get the layout of the villa in Franschhoek correctly if an inside source is to be believed.
Nevermind the obvious lack of money for music because that has been catastrophic.
I'm disappointed, and that is putting it mildly.
Tonight, we find out if fledgling couples like Chris and Kitty get broken up or Xavier and Mischka get broken up or even Tania and Tats... and if that is the case then the production really doesn’t care for the show they are making.
Either way this shakes out, couples get broken up and it's due to idiotic timing from production more than viewer votes, because viewers were voting off old information we had, rather than new information.
So much had changed over the weekend, and this is an issue that has also arrived with every Monday episode - we are missing out on too much on what happens on the weekend.
Every Monday episode has to cram three days worth of story into one episode and it always feels rushed.
I was getting so excited about a possible second season even for the show, but if this is the type of nonsense to expect, M-Net might be better off cancelling the show and just re-running “Love Island UK”.
** Theolin Tembo is an avid “Love Island SA” watcher.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.