‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Rips Off ‘Love Island’ in “F*cked Up” Twist

The Bachelor Franchise is up to its old tricks, and by that, we mean Bachelor in Paradise just pulled an elaborate stunt to emotionally torture contestants and sabotage successful relationships. But the tricks aren’t even original this time. They’re straight out of the Love Island handbook.

Season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise took an unexpected turn during Episode 6, when host Jesse Palmer announced the show would be switching up its usual formatting with “Split Week.” What is Split Week? Well if you’re a Love Island fan, just think “Casa Amor,” which is when the show temporarily splits the men and women up to put their relationship to the test.

“I have some news that I need to share with you all…You’ve had to deal with crazy drama, devastating breakups, and devastating heartbreak. But the good news is, as I look around there’s some really strong connections being formed,” Palmer said before dropping the bomb. Instead of all contestants staying together on the beach for the duration of filming, the OG women of Paradise — Serene, Jill, Lace, Genevieve, Shanae, Victoria, and Brittany — are leaving their men for a week to see if their relationships can survive. Not only will the couples be apart, but the men will be sharing the beach with five new women from the franchise and going on “romantic dates.” Hmm…so Casa Amor?

After a dramatic day of Pizza Pete peacing out, Casey passing out, and women handing out roses, Paradise‘s eight remaining couples were excited to relax, get to know each other better, and really start investing in their relationships. As Brittany told the camera, “Everyone’s really happy and we’re just in a good place right now.” But as fans have learned over the years, when there’s joy in the Bachelor Franchise, there’s usually something (or someone) waiting to crush it.

As Palmer introduced the five new arrivals — Jessenia, Sarah, Kate, Eliza, and Florence — the Paradise cast understandably started to sweat. “An atomic level bomb has dropped of biblical proportions, it’s gonna be written in the Paradise texts,” a contestant explained in a confessional. Then a smug Palmer delivered an insincere apology: “For the seven women in front of me right now, I’m sorry…Pack your bags, you’ll be leaving Paradise. [In a week] you’ll come back and see where Paradise stands.” Is this man really sorry? Heavily debatable. What we do know, is that producers tried give Paradise a makeover by imitating another successful reality show, but the messy execution was reminiscent of the recent double Bachelorette season, which felt designed to not only manufactured drama but pit women against each other.

In September, several longtime members of Bachelor Nation opened up to Decider about why they were falling out of love with the franchise. Among the top reasons, fans said franchise fatigue stemmed from the shows’ stale formatting. Split Week was clearly a way to spice things up, but Paradise‘s format is the freshest in the franchise and already fairly conducive to a chaotic, ever-changing environment. Interesting twists like Casa Amor are why so many people love Love Island. But is Paradise not capable of finding its own fresh twist, or even introducing the copycat properly?

In Episode 6, Palmer went to great lengths to make the contestants (and viewers) feel like the men were getting a new group of women, but the women would be left to stew at a hotel alone for a week. The previews for Episode 7 show the girls getting to meet five new guys, but why wouldn’t he have told them them that upfront — not only to save some emotional damage, but also to let the guys know they’re not the only ones with options. Instead, the women were left screaming “F**k you, Jesse Palmer!” at the top of their lungs off a balcony and viewers were left feeling unsettled at home.

While stale show formatting was an issue, fans also told Decider that the franchise’s persistent emotional manipulation of contestants, lack of focus on love stories, and obsession with outdoing the drama of previous seasons were major reasons they considered taking a break. “It feels like there is a greater emphasis on milking the maximum amount of emotional destruction and trauma…” Gray, a journalist who hosts the “Love To See It” Bachelor podcast told Decider in a phone call. “I think my fatigue exists because I now end almost every season with an overwhelming sense of ickiness. The show is a real bummer…and we don’t watch escapist reality television to be bummed out.”

I have no doubt that several of these couples (*cough* angels Brandon and Serene) will emerge from Split Week fully in tact. But when watching the aftermath of Paradise‘s latest poorly executed twist, “bummed out” is exactly how I felt. A tearful Lace told the camera, “I think this is just so fucked up. All I’m trying to do is find love. I just feel like this is the most messed up situation to put us in.” Genevieve cried, “It’s almost funny, because it’s just fucking insane.” And Serene said, “I don’t want to play this game. It’s not fair. This situation is so messed up — we’re ready to burn Paradise to the ground.”

I’m all for breathing new life into a tired franchise, but as Gray said, “Excitement doesn’t need to only hinge on emotional trauma.” Not only did Paradise rip a page out of another show’s playbook, but it decided to make the twist even more painful for the women? Gross. Do better, Paradise. And by better, we don’t mean invite another married alum couple to the beach.

New episodes of Bachelor in Paradise air on ABC Mondays and Tuesdays from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET. Episodes are available for next-day streaming on Hulu.