The tables have turned this week for several of the couples on Temptation Island! First, Erica Washington has done a complete 180 in regards to her self-confidence. Before, she was only concerned about Kendal Kirkland and catering to his needs and feelings. But after Erica watched Kendal have a threesome, she decided it was time to put herself first. This also included allowing herself to start to fall for Jesse Stephanos. But how will Kendal feel once he sees that Erica is no longer worried about his needs and is moving on?
Second, we have Thomas Gipson and Chelsea Orcutt. Chelsea and Thomas arrived on the island to get to the bottom of his “flirty” behavior. But the script was flipped when it was Chelsea who cheated on Thomas first! Thomas predicted this was coming last week when he received Chelsea’s message in a box, and observed she was defending her actions without him knowing what they were yet. And this week he finally found out what those actions were.
The episode started off with the guys discussing the thirty second video messages they received from their girlfriends. Kendal shared that Erica did not send him a message and he hoped she would still hear him out at the end. Hear out what exactly? That their “no rules” agreement meant he could sleep with as many women as possible? If Erica does get back together with Kendal at the end of all this, there truly is no saving her.
Thomas said he felt betrayed after watching the loveless message Chelsea had sent him. Even though there was no proof (yet) that Chelsea had cheated, he couldn’t get rid of that gut feeling. And if she had cheated, Thomas said their contract was broken. Does that mean that he would be completely end it with Chelsea? We’ll more than likely have to wait until the final bonfire to find out.
At the girls villa, Chelsea was holding court with the ladies on her flip-flopping feelings for Thomas. Is there anyone on the show more confused than Chelsea? She noted that his message to her was the old Thomas she knew, but then the clips she saw of his behavior didn’t match up. I’d say Thomas was actually pretty honest because he did tell her he was flirting but was staying faithful at the same time. Now, if Chelsea wants to stay with a guy who flirts with other women is another story. Still, his flirty behavior didn’t justify the make out session Chelsea did with Blake Eyres.
Erica told the ladies that in Kendal’s video message he said he appreciated her and that they could come out of this experience stronger together. All the women looked like they were going to faint in disbelief. Kristen Ramos cracked up laughing and wondered if Kendal actually thought Erica hadn’t seen the clip of him hooking up with Alexcys Homan and Nickole Ciszak. Chelsea asked the question we are all wondering, “What is wrong with this guy?”
Later that night at the guys villa, the group played a game where they had to hold up a paddle with an angel face if they did not do something, or a devil face if they did do something. When asked if they had given a lap dance, Corey Sobcyzk volunteered Thomas to show everyone his moves. Thomas obliged and gave a half-hearted lap dance to Sophia Perez, who then placated him by acting like it was the best lap dance ever received. However, it got Thomas out of his funk about Chelsea and he was smiling again.
Amanda Spain-Butts then asked the group if anyone had a threesome. All eyes were on Kendal as he held up an angel face, prompting everyone to do a spit take with their drinks. Last week I had thought that Alexcys finally saw the light of day on what a creep Kendal was when he demanded threesomes from her all the time, but alas, she was still blinded by his…well I don’t know what he has to offer besides more camera time.
And that must be what Nickole wanted as well, because she cornered Kendal and Alexcys and started crying that she was being excluded from their relationship. Corey sure got lucky she turned her attention over to Kendal! Kendal tried to mitigate the situation and assure Nickole things were good, obviously so he could still have a threesome with her. But Alexcys put her foot down and said she was not on the same page. Sorry, not sorry, Kendal.
The next day at the girls villa, Chelsea and Blake talked about their feelings for the 1000th time. Chelsea told Blake that chemistry was really important to her and she didn’t think that she was going to find that on the island until she met him. Personally, all I see is Blake playing Chelsea for a fool, and Chelsea seeing this as an opportunity to make Thomas jealous.
Meanwhile, Sophia asked Thomas if they could still be friends if he and Chelsea got back together. Stalker, much? Thomas who has learned nothing, said yes. Sorry Thomas, but no girlfriend would be cool with that. Corey sat with Amanda, and said he saw a future with Erin Smith. However, if she wasn’t in the picture he could see himself with Amanda. You could tell that gave Amanda the flicker of hope she needed that she might end up with Corey.
Alexcys wondered if Kendal had any heart or compassion behind his BS, ahem, words. Kendal said he had compassion for Erica, but then as he got to know her his compassion started to subside. He really tops his gross factor every episode. Alexcys then asked Kendal if would treat her the same way he treated Erica. He didn’t make any promises, as usual, but said he felt that trust was coming. But only if she’s deserving, of course.
That night at the guys villa they had an Olympics competition which had nothing to do with the Olympics. Case in point, there was wrestling in a kiddie pool. Thomas and Sophia took center stage on that one as Sophia wrestled him to the bottom of the pool.
After Alexcys went to bed, Nickole used that as her opportunity to talk to Kendal alone. Nickole asked him if he was going to leave with Erica or Alexcys. Kendal was honest for once and said he wanted to see where Erica was at. If Erica was out, Kendal mentioned he could possibly leave with Alexcys, as long as Nickole was in the mix. And… the gross factor just went up again.
Julian Allen bonded with Tula Poindexter when he admitted that he cheated on Kristen with a mutual friend of theirs. Ouch. Tula wondered if he had forgiven himself yet, and Julian said he has now. He admitted it wasn’t easy for him to talk about it, but it was necessary to start opening up if he was to grow as a person.
Kristen was opening up as well. She told Jesse that Julian partied all the time and she felt that one of the reasons he stayed with her was because she was so chill and didn’t tell him what to do. Kristen added that she still struggled to believe that Julian loved her when he was out partying all the time.
Then there was a big row between Erin and Alex Alvarez. It started when Chelsea told Erin not to stress over Corey not saying he loved her in his video message. It baffles me why Erin is so upset when she didn’t tell Corey that she loved him either! Alex then decided now was his moment to shine, and interrupted their conversation to inform Erin that Corey was too boring for her. This sent Erin off. Lex Lindquist said Erin was right to stick up for Corey, but Alex didn’t get this information out of thin air, it had to have come from Erin herself. Alex backed off, but reasoned that Erin wouldn’t have gotten so triggered if it wasn’t true.
The next morning conversations deepened about next steps for the couples and developing feelings for the singles. Kristen and Erin admitted they were finally ready to open up to their boyfriends, but they were worried they might see a bad bonfire clip that would crush their progress. Blake told Jesse he and Chelsea had a connection, and Erica told Juwan Haynes that she was developing feelings for Jesse because he had the qualities she was looking for in a man. Juwan hinted that she might leave with Jesse, but Erica shut that down.
At the guys villa, Mark L. Walberg dropped by and told them all to prepare for bonfire. Thomas took a deep breath, ready to be crushed. Someone who did not seem upset at all was Kendal. Tula took note and asked how he could be so calm. Kendal still showed no emotion, so Tula asked what he would do if Erica cheated on him. Kendal didn’t entertain the notion and said Erica wouldn’t do that because she there wasn’t anyone better than him. He also said they were here because of her issues, not his. Tula point blank told Kendal he was full of BS. Finally, someone called him out!
However, Kendal’s confidence was a bit shaken on the way to bonfire as Erica hadn’t sent him a video message. And his confidence stayed shaken after he saw a clip of Erica telling Jesse she cared about him. Mark asked Kendal what would happen if Erica turned the tables on him and was with another man? Kendal wasn’t sure if he would continue their relationship, but you know, it’s ok if he has threesomes every night and wants to get back together with Erica.
Corey saw a harmless clip of Erin joking around with Griffin Libhart. Corey said he hoped Erin would be there for him at the end of this, and Mark reminded him that he still needed to be there for himself. Mark showed Julian a clip of Kristen telling Jesse that Julian only stayed with her because she was chill regarding his partying ways. Julian agreed and said he probably has taken advantage of that. He added that he knows he will need to open up with Kristen if they are to move forward.
Thomas’ worst fears were confirmed when he watched a clip of Chelsea making out with Blake. Mark asked Thomas why he felt she did that, and Thomas said she probably saw clips of him flirting and she used those as an excuse to betray him. He added that they had a commitment, and a broken promise was worse than a kiss. Mark advised Thomas to keep looking for answers about what he wanted.
At the girls bonfire, Erin saw a clip of Corey and Amanda giving each other a hug. Erin said she was proud of Corey for opening up but felt that she was losing him. Mark was concerned Erin and Corey might fall back into their old patterns if they left the island together. Erin said she knew the changes she needed to make in order to make herself and Corey happy. Good for you, Erin!
Erica watched Kendal tell Alexcys the more he learned about Erica, the more things he found wrong with her. Erica told Mark she did this to herself. She said she should have put her foot down long ago, but instead was mimicking her mom’s behavior with her dad. Mark asked what was stopping her from being happy. Erica firmly stated said she was stopping herself, but she was done with that now. Fingers crossed.
Kristen saw a clip of Julian partying with the girls, which prompted her to say she was scared that Julian couldn’t prioritize her over having a good time. Mark wondered if she had ever talked with Julian regarding the details from when he cheated. Kristen admitted they hadn’t because she didn’t want those in her head. Mark advised the only way she and Julian could have a future was for her to be able to talk about the painful things, and ask the questions she might not want the answers to. That man is good!
Chelsea then watched Thomas and Sophia wrestling in the kiddie pool and Thomas giving her a lap dance. Chelsea wondered where the “sweet Thomas” was from her video message, instead of this version who was being disrespectful. Mark asked if this was the right relationship for her or has she found it somewhere else? Chelsea didn’t have an answer. But as the girls headed back to the villa after bonfire, Chelsea vowed to only worry about herself from now on.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK ERICA SHOULD LEAVE KENDAL FOR JESSE, OR LEAVE THE ISLAND ALONE? DO YOU THINK THOMAS HAS A RIGHT TO BE UPSET WITH CHELSEA FOR CHEATING EVEN THOUGH HE WAS FLIRTING WITH SOPHIA? DO YOU AGREE WITH ALEX THAT COREY IS TOO BORING FOR ERIN?
[Photo Credit: USA Network]
