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Hello and welcome back to the long-awaited reunion of Temptation Island. With us today are all eight of the lovely people who spent some of their best and worst moments with us. This is the first time they’re all back together in the same room, and there is still lots that was left to say. So without further ado, I will leave you with our lovely host, Pandora. The floor is yours, love.
“And a very warm welcome from me as well, to all of you here with me and out there. From heartbreak to new love and secrets uncovered, this season has had it all. A few months have passed since then, and we’re all curious to see how our contestants are doing now,” Pandora says.
The others clap politely.
“Let us not waste any more time and begin with our first and most wholesome couple, Frank and Alice. Thank you so much for coming.”
The couple gets up from their seats and walks forward to the sofa facing Pandora.
“Thank you for having us,” Alice smiles.
“First things first, how have you two been since you left Temptation Island?”
Frank takes Alice's hand and settles it on his lap before answering. “We’re really good. Still very happily engaged.”
Pandora smiles gently, “I’m very happy to hear that. I’d like to start with the topic that has been heavily discussed online, and that’s your pregnancy, Alice. Congratulations first off.”
“Thank you,” she says while gently rubbing her very pronounced belly.
“To summarize the situation for everyone who didn’t hear about it. Since filming wrapped up, Frank and Alice discovered that they are expecting a baby and that Alice was already pregnant while filming. You two have gotten a lot of hate online. Would you like to say something to that?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Alice starts. “I’d like to clarify that I did not, in any shape or form, know or suspect that I could be pregnant; if I had, we never would have taken part in this experiment. I understand that a lot of people thought in retrospect that must have been the reason why I never drank any alcohol, but as I stated many times, I just don’t drink in general. On top of that, I had zero symptoms before and only mild symptoms towards the end, which could have easily just been me reacting to some food or the heat. So, to all the people out there accusing me of endangering my child knowingly, shut their mouths.”
The others clap when she finishes.
“Well said, Alice, and on that note, I would like to stress that hate has no place online. Behind everything you see on screen sits a real person with feelings. I’m so sorry you had to go through that, and I hope that you can enjoy the rest of your pregnancy in peace,” Pandora says. “Let’s look at some of your time on the island again.”
The screen between them turns on and begins with James, Marlene, and Frank’s interview before the gender swap party: Marlene sits between the two men, her arms around their shoulders, dressed in clothes that are clearly a man’s size, with her hair hidden under a backwards cap. ‘My two boys have raided my closet for this very memorable occasion, and I think they look very, very beautiful in their current dress,’ she says and barely suppresses her laughter as they stand up and show their entire bodies.
Frank is dressed in a tight, pink, sparkly mini dress while James wears a lacy crop top that strains against his muscles and shows off his abs and a mini skirt. ’This was being done against my will, and I’m being held hostage, send help,’ Frank says when they sit back down. ‘Don’t fret, Frankie boy, you look very dashing, and I gotta say, maybe I should dress like this more often,’ James says, causing Marlene to lose her battle against her laughter.
Frank turns to James and Marlene, who are sitting with the others behind them, and they share a laugh.
“I have to agree with James, here, you looked very beautiful, darling,” Alice says, grinning.
Then it continues with Alice and Fabian’s interview before the beach yoga. ’Because this is yoga, I would normally not do this with anyone but Frank, since this is rather intimate. But we both said when we came here that we wanted to face the temptation and to take part in all of the activities and still stay faithful to our relationship, so that’s why I'm going to do it.’ ‘I honestly admire your relationship with Frank, and I’m honored that you chose to trust me to be your partner for this today,’ Fabian says. Alice smiles at him, ‘Fabian is a great guy, and I’m happy that he’s with me. And one day he’s gonna find what I have with Frank.’ It also shows Alice laughing with all the other girls of the villa while they are sunbathing.
Then there’s the other villa in their interview after the Barbie Party: James, Frank, and Marlene, still wet, and already slurring their words: ‘It was soooo great,’ James says, ‘Absolutely, so much fuuun. A great time, really, with amaaaaazing people,’ Marlene adds. ‘You guys are so right, but I miss my wife,’ Frank says with a pouty face. ‘Awwwwww,’ James and Marlene cooed. ‘But don’t worry, you have us,’ James says, and they all start hugging each other. After that, it shows the Waterfall Villa playing beerpong and Frank celebrating with Remus when they won.
Lastly is the Sexy Sports Party where Regulus and Alice dance with each other for multiple songs and them talking while watching the others fondly. ‘You know,’ Alice says, ‘Being here with you all is one of the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. It just feels so special.’ ‘Yeah, me, too. The only thing that would make this better is if Frank and James were here,’ Regulus muses.
When the screen turns off, everyone is smiling.
“As we can see, you two made the most of your time, even though you missed each other a lot. And that’s also something I wanted to touch on. Despite never doubting yourself or your partner, you two always took part in all of the challenges and dates, and really took part in this experiment and faced the temptation and passed with flying colors.”
“And was what we set out to do, Pandora. What would be the reason for coming here if we then refused to actually participate? Alice and I discussed our boundaries at length before, and within that, we faced the challenges there,” Frank says.
“So what does your future look like?” Pandora asks.
“Well, first we’ll wait for our little nugget to come. After that, it’s probably going to be nothing but baby for a little while, but as soon as the worst is over, we’ll have the wedding,” Alice explains.
“And then who knows, maybe a few more babies,” Frank jokes. “But in any case, we’ll do it all together.”
“Once again, only the best from me. I’m sure you will have a very bright and happy future ahead of you,” Pandora concludes, and the others clap again. “And now for our next couple, they came here with seemingly no problems; however, a secret was uncovered that made them question the foundation of their relationship. It seems to only go downhill for the two of them, but in the end, they managed to fight for their love. Let’s see how they’re doing now. James and Regulus, if you could join me, please.”
The two men get up and walk forward, hand in hand, sitting down closely together.
“Hi, Pandora,” James greets.
“Hello, James, hello Regulus. How are you two doing since Temptation Island?”
“Hi. We’re really good, actually. It hasn’t always been easy; there was a lot of talking, and sometimes arguing, but I’d say our relationship is stronger now than it was before we came here,” Regulus answers.
“I’m very happy for you two. Most of your issues revolved around your brother, Regulus, and how you kept that a secret from James. Has that issue been resolved?”
“Again, there has been a lot of talking, and now I can understand why Regulus did it, and also why he could talk about that mess with the people in his villa when he couldn’t talk about it with me. It took a while, certainly, but it’s no longer something that stands between us,” James replies.
“Do the two of you still have contact with Sirius, after you, James, had seemed to develop a pretty good friendship with him during your time in the villa?”
“I wouldn’t say that everything is fixed, but yes, James and Sirius hang out sometimes, and I do have to tolerate that,” Regulus says drily, making James laugh. “But yeah, we’re all working on it, and who knows, maybe in the future he and I can move fully past what has happened.”
“I’m glad that you two managed to work on your sibling bond and that you and James don’t have that standing between you. But now, let’s look at some of the other things that troubled you while you two were here.”
It begins with the conversation between Regulus and Barty, ‘So he chased you for two months?’ Barty asks. Regulus smiles, ‘Yeah, it was kinda desperate of him. But at the same time, that made him endearing.’
“How nice to finally see the whole thing,” James remarks while shaking his head.
Next, it shows Regulus’ interview after the beach date, ‘To see him hug that red head bitch, was just too much. I can hardly tell what’s true anymore.’ Then it continues with James and Sirius, who are passing an ice cube between their lips several times, and how close he was to both Lily and Sirius while on the boat, especially how he hugged Lily after seeing Regulus. After that, it shows Toby sitting on James' back while he is attempting a push-up, until James' arms give out, and they lie on top of each other laughing. And lastly, how he cared for Lily after she cut her finger, and they exchanged some glances.
The screen turns off for now, and Pandora addresses James, “You allowed a lot of physical closeness with Lily, especially, why did you do that?”
“Well, to address that boat scene, it was an absolute emotional rollercoaster as everyone here can attest to.”
A bunch of ‘yes’s can be heard echoing from the others.
James continues, “And in that moment, Lily was the person I was closest to that could give me even a small bit of comfort, and I was overall just hurt by Regulus. But even beyond that, Lily is a great woman, and if I didn’t love Regulus as much as I do, something might have happened with her, who knows? But as soon as I got over the worst of my hurt feelings, I cut off any connection with her beyond friendship that could have developed.”
“How does it feel for you, Regulus, to hear James admit that?”
Regulus shrugs, “It’s not great, for sure, but it’s nothing we haven’t already talked about and resolved.”
“Then let’s look at the rest.”
‘I have to say I’m surprised by myself that I’m able to be open with the people here. Normally, it takes me ages,’ Regulus says. ‘Is that why you came here with James?’ Dorcas asks. ‘No, actually, it was really just because of James. I won’t lie, there were some doubts on my part because of his past, and then he suggested this here. But now that we’re here, I think that this might be good for both of us individually as well as for our relationship.’ Then there’s Regulus sitting on a chair while Evan and Barty give him lap dances, laughing, with him looking visibly overwhelmed by the situation.
“So, you two, after looking at all of that again, how are you feeling?” Pandora asks.
It’s James who answers, “We both did some thoughtless shit here, and sometimes maybe even on purpose to hurt the other, but all in all, we also grew individually, beyond just our relationship. So I’d say it was a good thing, we came, but we’ll definitely keep it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“Absolutely on that,” Regulus adds, “We learned from everything we did, the good and the bad, so nothing like that can ever happen again.”
“That’s a very healthy outlook, that will hopefully only strengthen your relationship as time goes on. Only the best from me. Thank you two for sharing your love with all of us here.”
“Thank you for having us,” James smiles, and they go back to their seats, as the others clap.
“As for the next couple, they came to Temptation Island to find their spark again, and one of them certainly did… elsewhere. Let’s see what the two of them have been up to in the time since their early exit from the show. Welcome, Bonnie and Remus,” Pandora says.
“Hi there,” Bonnie greets as she sits down, some space between her and Remus on the couch.
“Hey,” Remus echoes.
“You two left the island early because you, Remus, broke up with Bonnie during the third campfire. Are you two still broken up, or has there been a comeback?” She asks.
“Oh, no. No comeback,” Bonnie replies immediately.
“I’m sorry to hear that. You two lived together before this. How did you two solve that after your breakup?”
“When we flew back to London after filming, Bonnie stayed with friends for a few nights, which was when I packed everything up and moved out. She didn’t want to see me at all, which I completely understood. After that, I stayed with some family for a while until I found a new place, so all in all that wasn’t really a big issue,” Remus says.
“So it seems like things were obviously pretty bad between you in the immediate aftermath, but looking at you two here, it seems like you could resolve at least some of that. Is that true or can you just mask that really well, Bonnie?”
The other woman sighs before answering, “As Remus said, I couldn’t even look at him in the beginning, but a lot of time has passed since then, we’re both adults, and because of the friends we made here, our paths are bound to cross in the future. It would have just made it unnecessarily uncomfortable for everyone involved if we hadn’t at least managed to resolve some of that. So I’d say things between us are…okay, not fine but okay.”
“Then let’s recap some of the things that led up to your breakup.”
First up on the screen is truth or dare, how Bonnie sits in Kinglsey’s lap and runs her hands all over him, followed by Kingsley and Bonnie dancing, and then him carrying her to bed after the Red-Light Party. Next, Kingsley is putting his arm around Bonnie, and she leans into him. It switches to Remus as he says, ‘Bonnie and I came here because our relationship has stagnated and to find what we used to have, but now I just feel like our fire is dying completely.’
After that, it cuts to Bonnie breaking down in Regulus and Alice’s arms after the encounter on the beach, where she cries into Alice’s shoulder, ‘He didn’t even care.’ Followed by the interview she did with Kingsley afterwards, ‘I could have never imagined something like this happening to us. I could feel my heart breaking in that moment.’
The last thing is a conversation between James and Remus, ‘I mean, I’ve stated my and Bonnie’s reason for coming here multiple times, but the more I think about it, the more I believe our entire relationship was rushed by us. I mean, we’re not even together for a year, and we moved in together. It’s just starting to feel like we confused something for love that was actually something different entirely.’ James listens with a shocked face, ‘That’s…shit, that’s bad, man.’
“Now, you two both talked about the state of your relationship a lot, especially in the beginning, before anything else happened. Looking back now, how much faith did you actually have in your relationship? You, Bonnie, also allowed quite a bit of closeness with Kingsley pretty early on,” Pandora asks the both of them.
Bonnie is the first to answer, “From my standpoint today, I can agree with Remus’ statement that we may have rushed things and moved faster than we might have been ready for. However, from my side, it was definitely love, and a deep love as well. When it comes to Kingsley, we just clicked on a friendship level almost immediately. He became my confidant in there, but there was at no point any romantic feelings involved from either side.”
“For me, what I said in that last scene was just confirmed in the aftermath. Obviously, she’s had a big, big place in my heart, but not the place she would have deserved, and I mean, I can only speculate, but maybe if we’d have moved slower I would have realised that as well and it wouldn't have gone as far as it did. Again, I regret that I hurt her as I did, and probably will for the rest of my life. And I never took any issue with her and Kingsley’s friendship at any point, even in the villa,” Remus replies.
“I can only hope that the two of you will find what you’re looking for after not finding it in the other. Now it’s time to discuss the main reason why Remus decided to exit the experiment early, and I’m happy to say that he managed to join us here today. Welcome, Sirius Black,” Pandora introduces.
Sirius walks in with a small smile and sits down next to Remus, the two of them sharing a look before he turns to Pandora, “Hi Pandora, thank you for inviting me.”
“Thank you for coming. Now, the most important question, I’m sure everyone is dying to know, are you and Remus a couple?”
“Yes. We officially got together about two dates after filming wrapped,” Sirius says with a bright smile.
In the back, Dorcas shakes her head in disbelief, and Regulus just rolls his eyes.
“Okay, then, before we look at how that happened, is there something you’d like to say?”
“There is actually, yes.” He turns to Bonnie, “I would like to offer you my sincerest apologies. It was never my intention to ‘steal’ someone’s boyfriend or to develop the feeling I did. I set out to do what all temptations are here for, and that’s to test the loyalties. It just ran away from me without me being able to control it, and before I knew it, there were feelings involved. So again, I am so sorry for what’s happened.”
Bonnie smiles tightly at his words, “I appreciate you saying that, and thank you for your apology. But this was in Remus’s responsibility. He was the one in a relationship, and he should have blocked any situations that allowed this. You were doing your job up until a certain point, and then you followed his lead after he didn’t block the emotions between you. So we’re fine.”
“There we go, thank you, you three, now it’s time to look at the pictures again,” Pandora says.
It begins with Sirius applying the mask on Remus’ face, where he then leans over him from behind and gives him a quick kiss on the nose. Then there’s the situation with Remus walking up behind Sirius and looking over his shoulder, their faces right next to each other. Sirius turns to face him, their mouths only inches apart. ‘Do you want me to give you a massage later?’ At that, Remus only raises an eyebrow.
After that, they see Bonnie’s interview after the first campfire, ‘What I just saw, really just makes me sad. We came here to try and find our spark again, but now it looks like he’s finding it with someone else.’ Next, there’s Bonnie’s breakdown in Rabastan’s arms after the third campfire. Then there is her conversation with Dorcas one morning, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this. My whole life is falling apart because we decided to go to some stupid show. We had our entire future planned together. I just can’t even comprehend why he would throw it away like that.’ Followed by her interview, where she said, ‘I don’t even know what there is left to say. One thing is for certain, though, I’ve never been this wrong when it comes to a person’s character. Remus has disappointed me more than anyone else in my life, and I would have never seen this coming from him of all people.’
Then on the screen are various moments of Remus and Sirius talking animatedly, smiling, and spending time close together. Next, it shows Sirius and Remus on the dance floor, maintaining deep eye contact while dancing slowly. After that, there is their conversation where Sirius says, ‘I think we would both lie if we tried to deny that there is not a strong connection between the two of us and that we like each other a lot.’ To which Remus responds with, ‘We have a strong pull to each other. He’s just a great person with great values that I’ve never experienced in life.’ Followed by them singing (I've Had) The time of my life’ by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, especially Remus’ verses like, ”Just remember, You're the one thing, I can't get enough of, So I'll tell you something, This could be love, because, I've had the time of my life.” And the next thing is their conversation one night. ‘I also would have never dreamed of finding someone like you,’ Sirius murmurs, looking at Remus intently. Remus hums and nods, both of them leaning in. Just before their lips are about to touch, Remus turns his head a little, letting Sirius’s head fall to the crook of his neck. ‘I’m sorry,’ Sirius whispers, not moving. Remus shakes his head and begins petting Sirius’ hair. ‘Don’t be. I want to, too, but what’s happening right now crosses every boundary that has been set.’ Sirius raises his head, ‘I’m just scared that with those conversations you’re going to forget what we could have.’ Remus smiles, ‘I won’t forget a thing, I can promise you that.’
Lastly, is Remus talking to Peter, ‘No, I mean, I don’t know. Because no matter how great it feels with Sirius, there’s always that guilt in the back of my mind. Like, Bonnie is not just anyone, she’s incredibly dear to my heart, I’ve been living with her for fucks sake, you don’t just do that unless you’re sure about that person.’ Peter smiles sympathetically. ‘But things change?’ ‘Things change,’ Remus echoes. ‘Faster than you would ever think possible.’
From their places in the back, Marlene, James, and Frank watch with pinched expressions while the three from the Infinity Villa have clear contempt on their faces.
“It looks so much worse when you see it like that,” James whispers to Regulus.
“It was that bad,” Regulus hisses.
Back in the front, Pandora says, “Temptation Island has caused you a lot of hard times, and I think we’ve discussed everything that happened at length, so we’ve prepared a little something for you to remember that there were some really good times here as well.”
One last time, the screen turns on for them, and begins with the four of the Waterfall Villa singing ‘You&Me’ from the Descendants movie with Marlene and James singing the parts of Dove Cameron and Sofia Carson while the other two take the remaining male parts.
All four of them sing the verse, “Sometimes it's hard to find yourself, But it's worth it in the end, 'Cause in your heart is where it all begins.” And for the last chorus, the others decide to join in from the outside, making another magical moment that even left some with tears in their eyes.
Then it switches to Bonnie, Regulus, Kingsley, and Evan cliff diving. ‘Oh my god, I don’t think I can do this,’ Bonnie says when she looks at the drop. Kingsley goes up to her, ‘Come on, give me your hand and we’ll do it together.’ ‘You trust me, don't you?’ At that, Bonnie gives in and takes his hand. ‘On the count of three. One…Two…Three. Go’
The two of them follow Evan’s lead and run off the edge together, Bonnie screaming all the way down.
‘Fuck my life, that was the scariest thing I’ve ever done,’ Bonnie gasps when they emerge again, a big smile on her face. ‘But also the greatest feeling ever.’ ‘Regulus, come on,’ Evan, meanwhile, shouts up to the cliff where Regulus is still eying the entire situation with a lot of skepticism. ‘I don’t know, guys, maybe I’ll just stay up here,’ he calls back. Bonnie cocks her head to the side and shouts, ‘Come on, be brave.’ Regulus cringes and hops on the spot for a second before blowing out a deep breath. ‘Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it,’ he mutters under his breath and then just goes for it without any more hesitation. The scream he lets out can probably be heard all the way back at the villa. A second later, he emerges from the water. ‘Holy shit, I almost died.’ Bonnie swims toward him and hugs him, making them both sink underwater for a second. ‘I’m so proud of you.’
Bonnie and Regulus share a look, the both of them laughing. Dorcas eyes them for a second and then calls, indignantly, “You big, big liars, twenty-two meters you said, and without hesitation, my ass. You big baby.”
“Well, technically Evan lied to you; we just didn’t say anything to the contrary,” Regulus defends.
“A lie by omission is still a lie,” Dorcas replies with a chuckle, and Alice just laughs, watching them.
“One last question from me,” Pandora cuts in, “We know about your relationship status, Remus. But how about you, Bonnie? Are you still single or have you met someone, if you don’t mind sharing?”
Bonnie smiles widely, “I’ve been seeing someone for the past three months, and we’re very happy together, but are taking it slow.”
“I’m very glad to hear that. To all three of you, only the best in the future, and that you’ve found your happiness now.”
They say their goodbyes, and Bonnie and Remus take their seats again while Sirius leaves the room.
“With that, it’s time for our last, but certainly not forgotten couple, because how could you forget the most emotional out of all four. From hurt to love to even hate, they had it all. Dorcas and Marlene, please take your seats and join me,” Pandora introduces.
Both women get up from their places, taking their seats across from Pandora, with as much space between them as possible.
“Hi Pandora,” Dorcas greets, and Marlene echoes her words.
“Hello to you two, as well. Like I just mentioned, the two of you were probably the most explosive couple this season, with neither pulling their punches when it comes to how you acted or talked. Just for clarity's sake, are you two back together, or was that breakup really permanent?”
“Definitely permanent,” Dorcas says immediately.
“Looking back now after some time has passed, do you regret anything?”
Marlene is the first to answer this time, “Not really, no. At least not any of my actions. Towards the end, I might have allowed myself to get caught up in the hate I kept getting from Dorcas’ pictures, so there are one or two things I would not share if I had the chance to do it again, but that’s it.”
“What about the physical closeness you allowed in varying degrees with both Emmeline and Mary? Do you think you went too far in some instances?” Pandora follows up.
Marlene looks unperturbed and calm at the question, shaking her head. “No. It’s like Frank explained earlier, what good is this experiment if you block the actual challenge? Both Emmeline and Mary are great women, but I never crossed any lines with them, despite being tempted, thereby passing the test.”
Dorcas scoffs at that.
“Would you like to add something to that?” Pandora asks her.
“Sure,” she says flippantly, “What she just said is utter bullshit. All of the physical closeness was way more than anyone who is in a relationship should allow. And to proudly proclaim that she resisted temptation with all of that is a joke.”
Pandora cuts in before the two of them can escalate, “We will look at that more closely in a second. Before that, is there anything you regret, Dorcas?”
“Yes, there is. The way I spoke, when I saw that on TV, was horrible to watch. I almost didn’t recognise myself, but I was so consumed by what I was feeling in those moments that my rational mind just shut off and my emotions took over. I never want to lose myself in something like that ever again, and I want to distance myself from that version of me, but she was me. Me after all of the hurt that I lived through in that relationship.”
“Well said. Now let’s look at what drove you two to those points.”
The first thing on the screen is Dorcas talking to the group during their first group date, ‘It’s just so pathetic, the way she runs after people for, god knows, validation or something, the second we break up or are on a break and then comes running back begging to give this relationship another try.’
Then it’s Dorcas who is doing an impression of Marlene. ‘Oh, I’m Marlene, I’m such a good girl, I’m so nice and so helpful, but actually I’m doing it to make me feel better about myself.’
Afterward, there’s Marlene and Emmeline dancing closely, intimately, during the Barbie Party, followed by Marlene with Mary on a floatie in the pool, Marlene’s upper body on Mary, with Mary’s hand caressing Marlene’s arm. Next, Marlene is lying on her back with her head in Mary’s lap, eyes closed, who is gently massaging her face and head. At the same time, Emmeline is rubbing her arms and shoulders, and Marlene’s own hand is gently drawing circles on Emmeline’s thigh.
Last was a conversation between Marlene and Remus. ‘You know what I realized?’ Marlene asks. ‘What?’ ‘If there were no cameras, I wouldn’t, you know…’ ‘Like walk away?’ Remus finishes ‘Yeah.’
In the back, Remus sits with eyebrows all the way up his hairline, “What the fuck? That’s not what we were saying at all.”
Alice frowns at that, “I don’t really think there’s a way to misconstrue that, Remus.”
“Remus, would you like to elaborate?” Pandora asks.
“Gladly, what we were discussing is basically what’s been said tonight, multiple times. Like, how when you purposefully block the temptation, it makes this thing moot, and that’s what Marlene was doing at first. For example, she’d purposely walk away when too many women were around her and the like. But she thought that would be more like lying to Dorcas since she knew that wasn’t how Marlene acted normally, and therefore would not prove anything to her. Everyone can resist when they refuse to be tempted.”
“There are better ways to articulate that, though,” Alice says while Marlene just huffs.
“I’ve never been known to be particularly eloquent with my words.“
The rest of the Waterfall Villa chuckles at that.
“Thank you for that, Remus. Let’s look at some more.”
On the screen is an interview with Marlene. ‘Being here feels so validating about all the things I’ve been secretly thinking about my relationship, especially with Mary and Emmeline. They’re both incredibly beautiful and elegant women, and I never feel like they’re putting on a facade, which makes it so much easier to be real with them.’
Other times, she was dancing suggestively with others. Then again, an interview, ‘The first time I brought Dorcas home to meet my family was a bit embarrassing if I’m honest. I just mean that my family was so unused to the way she talked, and it was just visible that we grew up with different standards. I hate to say it, but my parents were shocked by it all.’
On the screen is Dorcas during an interview, ‘Coming here was supposed to fix it, but I don’t even know if that’s possible anymore.’ Next is Dorcas and Emma dancing very closely together during the Red-Light party, until they are almost grinding on each other with Emma’s hands on Dorcas’ hips. Followed by a few more instances of the two of them being close. Then, how Dorcas is talking to Emma, ‘Marlene is such a daddy’s girl, honestly. Like she grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth and every time she wanted something, all she had to do was snap her fingers, and her father made it happen.’ Emma responds, ‘So it’s like she has no concept of how the real world works then?’ ‘Exactly. And because she’s so used to being catered to twenty-four/seven, she became almost like this attention whore, it can become so exhausting to be around that for longer periods of time.’
Next, it shows Emma and Dorcas cuddling intimately that night after the party, with their faces close together until Emma tugs a blanket over their heads for a few seconds.
“Now, specifically looking at that last scene, there, Dorcas, isn’t this exactly what you were accusing Marlene of? Was that not too far?” Pandora asks.
“Not really,” Dorcas shrugs, “First off, nothing happened under that blanket, and it was basically towards the end, and I’d already seen so much shit from Marlene that deep inside the relationship had already failed. However, I can acknowledge that it was a shitty thing to do.”
Marlene rolls her eyes with a defeated shake of her head.
Betwwen them, the screen turns back on, showing the interview of Emma, Dorcas, and Rabastan: ‘Look, Marlene, you clearly don’t know how to treat a woman, so now you get to watch as we show Dorcas how it’s done right,’ Emma says, and Dorcas nods exaggeratedly, showing her middle fingers to the camera. Rabastan continues, ‘For the next, however many days we have left, you can watch and learn and see if you even have a girlfriend by the end of it. Learn some respect.’ ‘Awww, how nice,’ Dorcas murmurs and then bursts out laughing. Then it's Dorcas telling Emma during the date, ‘I wish I could be saying positive things, but there simply are no good things to say.’ ‘Do you want kids?’ Emma asks later during the date. ‘Yes, I’ve always wanted them, but probably a bit later in life.’ Dorcas responds. ‘With Marlene?’ Dorcas laughs at that,’ God no, can you imagine that? I don’t want that influence on my kids, look at the way she’s acting.’ Followed by Dorcas’ Temptation Date, first with Emma in the hot tub with Emma’s arm around Dorcas, and then the two of them going to sleep in the same bed.
James scoffs in disbelief when he sees that, muttering, “Unbelievable.”
After that, on the screen is the car ride back from the last campfire, where Marlene is saying, ‘She is such a godforsaken bitch. A fucking bitch. What else can I say? She talked shit last time; she somehow managed to talk more shit this time. Telling everyone I’m an attention whore and acting like a slut, and she does the exact same. God, there isn’t even a word to encompass all of the rage I’m feeling.’ Next are scenes of her partying with Emmeline and Mary, sometimes getting very close to the other women. Lastly, her conversation with James, ‘She’s done shit here that hurts so unbearably, I just don’t know why she would talk about me like that, it makes me question if she even loves me.’
Finally, the screen turns dark for the last time this season. And Dorcas immediately turns to Marlene, “I took you back no matter what shit you pulled, why else would I have done that if not love?”
Marlene scoffs, “Well, I didn’t really see any of that in there, did I? And you said it yourself that you even hated me, that was all I felt from you. Do you have any idea what that was like? Everyone else in my villa thought I was insane for loving someone who treated me like you did in there.”
When Dorcas doesn’t respond, Pandora asks her, “One thing I’ve wanted to ask you, now that we’ve seen everything again, do you think you set your relationship up to fail from the start?”
Dorcas frowns, “What do you mean?”
“Well, Marlene might have allowed too much at times, but she is right when she says she resisted when it counted, yet you disagree. Looking at the point Remus made when he explained his conversation with Marlene, I can’t help but wonder, with what we’ve seen from you, if you would have accused Marlene of exactly what they feared if she had continued to purposefully act out of character to prove something. With you then accusing her of not even trying to face the test because she knows she would have failed regardless.”
Marlene visibly holds her breath while Dorcas contemplates her answer.
“I can only speculate now, but maybe, yeah, with the headspace I was in at the time, it’s a real possibility.”
“So would you say that Marlene was in an unfair lose-lose situation?”
This time, she only shrugs. “Maybe it was always going to end this way, that’s not to say that I’m not sorry that it did. We were great together, once. But she ruined it.”
Marlene slapped the armrest in frustration, “For fucks sake, look at your own actions and not just mine. There were two people in this relationship the entire time. Stop blaming me for everything.”
“God, you’re incorrigible," the other woman scoffs.
“Let’s please both calm down. I don’t think you two are going to find a way to resolve your disagreements in one night, though I hope that one day you will; it serves nothing to let those feelings fester. Still, I would like to thank you for sharing your story with us, the good and the bad parts. I truly hope that the two of you find your happiness,” Pandora cuts in, once more.
“Thank you,” they both say as they walk back to their seats, leaving Pandora alone at the front.
The blonde smiles at all of them, “And with that, this season of Temptation has officially come to an end. It was an emotional rollercoaster, showing us both the best and the worst in relationships. Our eight contestants opened their lives to us, their laughter, their pain, and how you can find love and friendship in any situation. Thank you all so much for being a part of this journey. Goodbye.”
The others stand up to clap and slowly make their way around the room, saying their goodbyes, as well.
Let’s not forget about me. I’d like to say goodbye, too. Thank you for reading, see you soon.