By Victoria Gladstone
Managing Editor
Netflix’s newest dating series “Perfect Match,” was released on Valentine’s Day and is all about romance — but it’s all about finding your soulmate, right? Well, for most people on the show, it didn’t turn out as they may have intended.
“Perfect Match” is a combination of the physical competition show “Survivor” with a mix of dating shows like “Too Hot To Handle” where sexual tension drives the game. Both of those very different shows have come together in this series as the contestants must complete physical challenges and date each other to find their “perfect match” or best connection.
Within the first week of release, the show did extremely well as it reached the second most-watched show for the week and was viewed over 24 million hours. As per usual, the contestants have quickly turned into online celebrities as the hot singles need to find out for themselves who they are truly compatible with.
While most dating shows portray that they give hot singles a fair chance at love, the obstacles put in front of them make it almost impossible.
Surrounded by your exes and ideal partners, all monogamy is lost and “Perfect Match” perpetuates the practices of hook-up culture.
Chloe Veitch, originally from season one of “Too Hot To Handle,” was one of the success stories of “Perfect Match” because of her undeniably strong connection with former “Love Is Blind” contestant Shayne Jansen.
After a super-steamy first date, it was clear the two were a good pair as they had an immediate connection. It was only until Veitch’s ex-boyfriend came on the show that her original relationship with Jansen was tarnished.
In the end, Veitch and her ex-boyfriend couldn’t rekindle their relationship, and she ended up back with Jansen.
This part made me cringe every time her relationship was featured because it was hard to watch her navigate multiple relationships, both new and old. If people always went back to the person they once loved, no new healthy relationships would be able to form.
After watching a few of these dating reality television shows, I understand that the contestants are supposed to be challenged. Unfortunately, most of the time people are just blatantly put into bad situations where they are forced to look a certain way or fit the narrative of a preferred plot point, like going back to your ex-partner.
For example, Will from “The Mole” really only went onto the show to win. Not to find love, but find a partner to match with him to secure a spot on the cast. While I understand he was there to add the drama, I was not here for it because I felt like the whole concept of looking for love was ruined, thus creating an unbelievable show.
While by the end of the show, three couples walked away together after having spent every waking moment together in the retreat, the results of the show once “Perfect Match” stopped filming should be enough for the viewers to see the practicality of these dating shows.
Suppose you base a romantic relationship around chasing impulse feelings and searching for a potential connection in the people you meet. In that case, it only makes sense that the relationships were doomed from the beginning.
To be perfectly clear, I binge-watched this show with my roommates and loved every second. I loved the drama and watching the progression of relationships. But that’s the thing — as the viewer, I want to see the ugly details of the show that reveal the contestants’ less attractive sides. It keeps the show interesting. It may be that because every person on the show is conventionally attractive; we all want to see that not everyone is perfect and looks do not define who you are.
All I can say is, I can’t wait for season two and to meet the new cast that will presumably be looking for love. Maybe the next season will focus less on the drama and actually more on the “perfect” matches.
