Ok, Temptation Island needs to win all the Emmys next year. Best reality TV show, best drama, best comedy…this show covers it all! The only award not getting scooped up is best actor for David Benavidez. He needs to go back to drama school because no one is buying his BS. Well, except for Toneata Morgan. But more on that later.
We’ve had to wait two whole episodes for Kate Griffith’s reaction to David fooling around with Payton Burgess and Samantha Hoffman at the same time. Finally, the moment arrived. At the bonfire, host Mark L. Walberg asked Kate how she felt. After a moment of self-reflection, she stated, “Maybe all along I knew who he was…does he not understand that I’m gonna see that?” He pulled a coward’s move to get out of a relationship. And he got his wish.
At the guys’ villa, Casey Starchak still has no concerns about Ashley Howland leaving him. He told Rachel Hamel it was weird hearing Ashley talk about how she liked Deac Conti, but it didn’t matter because she was going to leave with him when it’s all over. However, the seeds of doubt Mark planted at the bonfire started to creep in, and Casey’s confidence was knocked down a peg or two.
Detective Medinah Ali continued on her quest to solve the riddle that is Rick Fleur. One minute he is hot, and the next he is cold. Rick stood there stone-faced, arms crossed, denying any standoffish behavior. Old Rick would have ran off and cheated. But mature Rick is in the house, so he held Medinah close and told her to stop over thinking. Hard to do when you are detective though.
Payton confronted David as to why he kissed her and not Toneata. David blamed it on the alcohol. Uh-huh. Payton said in her confessional she was upset because the one person she wanted to kiss was Casey. What’s odd is Payton kissing David was never addressed with Casey. I find it hard to believe that no one told him, especially Rachel.
At the girls’ villa, Kate told Esonica Veira and Ashley H. that she had trust issues with David because deep down she knew what kind of person he was. She admitted she needed to spend the rest of her time on Temptation Island focusing on herself, and not thinking about her relationship with David.
Ashley H. told the group she’s is ready to let loose and not get upset anymore about Casey. Kate joked Esonica was going to suck toes to get back at Gavin Rocker. Ben Knobloch and Deac took off their shirts and suggested they have an ABC “anything but clothing” party. Everyone wrapped themselves in hot pink duct tape and caution tape. Looked really comfortable.
The party vibe was short-lived, however, as emotions from bonfire came flooding out. Kate cried to Dominique Price that she was embarrassed and couldn’t believe her boyfriend was the worst person on the show. Esonica complained to Kareem Thomas about Gavin sucking on girls toes and said she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be with him.
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Last week, Deac got creepy and told Ben he wanted to be a shoulder for Ashley H. to cry on, and implied that would lead to more. So when Ashley started crying over Casey saying he didn’t care if she left him, Deac literally shoved her face into his shoulder. Ugh, so gross. Thankfully Deac’s little plan didn’t work.
The next morning, the sun was up, and everyone’s moods were back up as well. Ashley Goldson decided to cut down on the addiction that is KB Brown and asked Chris Grant on a date instead. Chris was beyond ecstatic that he got asked out on a date. It didn’t matter who it was with, be it “muskrat or meerkat,” he just wanted to get out of the house!
Ashley H. took a break from talking about Casey with Deac, and talked about Casey with Ben instead. As usual, Ben was super patient and listened. He told her not to worry because she had done nothing wrong. Casey’s coldness made her realize she needed to focus on herself. She then asked Ben out on a date. Ben twirled his mustache, did a mwahaha laugh, and predicted this would be the final blow to knock Deac out of the picture once and for all.
At the guys’ villa, a deflated Samantha told Payton that David asked Toneata out. As Payton expressed her worry about Casey asking Rachel out, Casey walked right by with Rachel and did just that. Of course, Payton was not going to take that lying down, she’s gotta amp it up somehow. So, she went right into the confessional and talked directly to Ashley H. and said that she deserved better than Casey. That was next level crazy, but Payton wasn’t wrong.
Gavin asked Mia Metcalf out on another date because she’s the only one who gets his sarcastic sense of humor. He and Mia went tubing, and again Gavin screamed for his life during their outdoor activity. Gavin was light-hearted and funny, and it was nice to see.
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Meanwhile, things are starting to heat up between Esonica and Kareem. On their date, they held hands and Esonica let him kiss her on the cheek, which is pretty much second base for her. She joked that Gavin doesn’t know how to hold hands correctly. Kareem told her they were more than just friends. Esonica agreed, but said she was struggling to figure out if Gavin is still the one for her.
On David and Toneata’s date, they kept it very surface level. Their conversation pretty much went, “I’m attracted to you,” and, “Oh really? I’m attracted to you too.” Enthralling. Toneata then asked David if he would move across the country to be with her. This guy just had a threesome and you want him to move in with you?! Face palm. David kept his eyes down and said he would move if it felt right. He couldn’t have made it more obvious he was full of crap, yet Toneata still believed him.
Ashley G. and Chris are having fun on their date. Ashley’s happy to be hanging with someone who is smart and funny. Chris told her he thinks she came here to get out of her relationship since she didn’t even hesitate to hook up with KB. Ashley said she wants the baby, car, and house, and Rick’s not that kind of guy. Chris said that he wants all those things so she should just leave with him. Someone needs to, Chris is a catch!
Rick and Medinah chowed down on ice cream for their date. Rick is the rare person who enjoys ice cream out of a cup or a cone. Seriously, if you want a lively debate, have someone who only likes ice cream cones debate someone who only eats ice cream out of a cup. Medinah had other things on her mind, however. She’s still trying to crack the code that is Rick. Rick told her he just wants her to love him. He admitted he does think about Ashley G., but at this moment he didn’t see himself leaving with her. Those are mighty big words.
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Ashley H. and Ben’s date was straight out of a rom-com where the best friend finally gets the girl. Personally, I love rom coms so I was all about this scene. Ashley told Ben she’s over crying about Casey, and thanked him for all the advice he had given her. As they got up to leave, Ben officially got out of the friend zone as he pulled Ashley in for a passionate kiss. And woo-wee, it was hot. Ashley deserves a nice guy who thinks about her, so I am fully onboard for team Ashley and Ben.
At the girls’ villa, KB and Chris schemed how to get Dominique out of the way so they can have a chance with Kate. Chris asked KB if he can coach him to amp up his game. KB joked that Chris was too far gone for the KB system. I foresee KB leading a “how to be a pickup artist” seminar in the near future.
Ashley H. pulled Kate aside to tell her about Ben’s kiss. I half thought she might burst into song, she was so ecstatic. According to Ashley, no one has ever kissed her like that before. Kate said that Ben is a real man, and that their men aren’t “men.” Amen.
At the guy’s villa, David pulled Samantha aside to tell her he is going to focus on his connection with Toneata. The look on Samantha’s face said it all, she was completely over his BS. She said, “I’m here to find a man, not a little scared boy.” Ha! Samantha’s got her groove back everyone.
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Casey was bummed because all the guys are coupled up and dancing. Well, that’s what you get when you isolate yourself from everyone in the house! David took a break from Toneata twerking on him and had the nerve to ask Samantha to save him a dance. The girls were not having that! Samantha, Medina, Payton and Colleen Powers ripped David a new one. Medinah said David is completely rude and wanted to make Toneata wifey but have Samantha be the side chick. Then she dissed Toneata and said he likes “boring girls.” Snap!
In the bedroom, Toneata and David wore their best Baywatch bathing suits and talked about how much they liked each other as he groped her butt. He then fed Toneata more false promises of him moving out to be with her. Anything to get her into bed!
At the girls’ villa, Chris finally got some alone time with Kate. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get to put any lessons from the KB system into effect because Dominique jumped right in between them. Kate started pulling on Dominque’s shorts and asked him if he was upset that no one was playing with his junk. I’m guessing Kate had one too many at that point.
Someone who did put the KB system into effect was Ben. As everyone partied in the pool, Ben made his claim known by making out with Ashley H. in front of everyone. Better luck next time, Deac! Then they took it up a notch and got hot and heavy in the bedroom. Ashley made it clear they did not hook up, but Casey isn’t going to know that when he sees the footage at the bonfire!
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And speaking of, it’s that time! Mark sat down with the guys and asked David how he is doing. David said he’s feeling good because he’s actually expressing emotions, and hoped things with Toneata would work out in the end. He then watched footage of Kate asking Dominique if he’s sad no one is touching is junk.
David said he didn’t like her talking to the same guy every time, and that her connection is worse because it’s emotional, where as his is not. Mark was not buying David’s BS either. He pushed back and said David’s connection with Toneata is more than physical and could be the real thing. David got defensive and half agreed he has a similar emotional connection with Toneata.
Mark then showed Gavin footage of Esonica telling Kareem that Gavin doesn’t know how to hold hands, and that her connection with Kareem is more than friends. Gavin said he’s not happy she’s consistently been with Kareem, and that he missed being around her and having those debates on how to hold hands. I’m glad Gavin’s starting to see how lucky he is to have Esonica.
Rick goes next, which should ease his mind. If he knows the rules, he’s not going last so he shouldn’t be seeing anything too damning. He gets shown footage of Ashley G. talking with KB about their relationship and how they should take it day by day and see what happens. Rick is just happy to not see Ashley talking about touching KB’s penis.
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Rick also noticed her body language was different, and that she was questioning her relationship with KB. He said this revelation is making him rethink some things. Mark asked if they could get through this, and Rick said there’s definitely a possibility. Honestly, I could see Rick and Ashley working out in the end, as long they can both forgive each other and have a fresh start.
And now it’s time for Casey to get a reality check! Ashley is no longer a timid little girl waiting for him in the wings. Casey’s jaw was on the floor as he watched Ben kiss Ashley on their date, and then as they made out in the bedroom. Rick said, “Oh sh*t.” Mark even gave Casey a look like, dude I told you last bonfire, she might find a new Casey… And just as it looked like Casey would cry, things took a turn and he punched the bench he was sitting on instead. Sorry Casey, looks like Ashley’s the captain now.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK CASEY WILL GO BACK TO HIS OLD WAYS AND TRY TO HOOK UP WITH RACHEL OR PAYTON? DO YOU THINK RICK WILL COOL THINGS OFF WITH MEDINAH NOW THAT HE SAW ASHLEY G. IS CONFLICTED? WHO DO YOU THINK ESONICA WILL CHOOSE, GAVIN OR KAREEM?
[Photo Credit: Mario Perez/USA Network]
