Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Love Never Lies: Sardinia’ on Netflix, A Relationship Competition Where Fidelity Is Tested By A High-Tech Lie Detector Test

In Netflix’s Love Never Lies: Destination Sardinia six couples with trust issues are tested with temptation and then given a special ocular lie detector test. The ones that are the most honest about their behavior stand to win a handsome €100,000 prize. Those who lie? Well, the cash and their relationship might just wash out with the beautiful Mediterranean tide.

LOVE NEVER LIES: DESTINATION SARDINIA: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: “Six couples will be having an unforgettable experience for three weeks in paradisial surroundings,” host Monica Naranjo explains as shots of gorgeous turquoise beaches, yachts, and embracing lovers roll by, “to find out if they were really made for one another.”

The Gist: These six couples that Monica mentioned have all agreed to appear on the Spanish reality competition Love Never Lies, the first season of which was a global hit. Pretty people cheating on one another in a beautiful beach setting? What’s not to like?

In this second season, the couples have been whisked away to the Italian island of Sardinia and then separated from their partners and united with past lovers or crushes to see what happens. During this separation, they’re asked a series of questions about their pasts and their dating/cheating habits. This is where the Eye Detect comes in. This cutting edge technology is a fancy lie detector test which sounds an alarm if a partner is lying, and is revealed to the whole cast during what’s called a “Ceremony of Truth.” It’s here where couples learn things they never knew about their partners, making things often awkward, sometimes hurtful, and always exciting as the show progresses.

There’s also one more important thing about this season. The premiere episode is called “Five and a Half Couples,” because just 48 hours prior to the cast’s arrival, one of the couples, Maria and Javi, had an explosive argument in which Javi admits to cheating on Maria. Maria arrives to the villa alone and introduces herself and explains the situation, which garners her sympathy among the rest of the couples. (Man do I love when weird wrenches like this are thrown into a show’s plans. It reminds me of the VH1 reality series Couples Therapy which aired years ago and featured a group of “celebrity” couples, people like Dina and Michael Lohan or Jon Gosselin and a woman he started dating after he and Kate divorced, to help strengthen their dysfunctional relationships. During one season, Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham showed up alone, her boyfriend having decided at the very last minute not to participate. Trust me when I say Farrah still managed to bring enough drama for two people that season.) Anyway, Maria explains that she’s certain that Javi came clean to her about his cheating before the show began because he was afraid of the Eye Detect revealing all of his lies. Watching the drama unfold in real time as Maria and Javi arrive separately, one of the other contestants, Alejandro, marvels at the drama, saying, “It’s like I’m in a movie!”

As Monica Naranjo asks the couples whether or not they think they’ll make it through this season with openness and honesty, most of them seem assured that they have nothing to hide. The show hilariously frames each couple and cuts away to scenes that we will watch later on in the season, as they discover all the ways their partners have betrayed them. How rude to dangle all the good stuff in front of us and then make us wait to see how it all unfolds! But then that’s the genius of the show, isn’t it?

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Aesthetically, the show looks a lot like other tropical dating shows like Love Island or FBoy Island, but rather than trying to get people together, this show is more interested in seeing what will break them apart, which feels more akin to The Ultimatum and Temptation Island.

Our Take: I tend to look at any show about couples with trust issues as innately kind of sketchy, since they’re preying on a group of people’s vulnerabilities and insecurities and invite people to break up their own relationships. I mean, breakups are the root of 90% of sad songs and emotional eating binges, and here we are trying to see what kind of emotional strife these people can endure before they crack. But the feeling I get from many of the couples on this show at the start (well, except for Maria and Javi) is that many of them do feel like they’re strong enough to withstand the lie detector and the harsh truths they’ll face. One contestant, Lucia, explains, “I’m actually scared of finding out things about Antonio, because he seems so decent.” All of that comes crashing down during the Ceremony of Truth, when they start to learn about the secrets, ranging from their partners having sexual fantasies about exes, to downright cheating. (It turns out that Javi didn’t just cheat on Maria with one girl, but with three in one night, as he admits in his Eye Detect test. Maria fully breaks down and has to leave the set when she learns this.)

Monica Naranjo’s hosting style also gives lends the show some drama, as she is not simply there to move the segments along, she interjects herself into the drama. If a cast member is not giving their partner a suitably forthcoming answer, Monica, who knows all, will answer for them. She is also adamant that the Eye Detect is “infallible,” so if contestants protest when they’re caught in a lie, she kinda doesn’t believe them. It’s weird and fun while also being awkward and terrible.

The first episode doesn’t even dip into the scandalous behavior that’s about to go down on the island once more people, including exes and sexy, seductive strangers, are brought in to tempt the contestants, but scenes from the rest of the season tease us with loads of sex and skin.

Sex and Skin: I just told you, there are loads of sex and skin. So many butts and nipples and sheets being rumpled, just you wait.

Parting Shot: Lucia, the woman who mentioned earlier how decent her boyfriend Antonio is, seems to have an abrupt about face, telling us that she’s “longing to be with new people,” and that she’s actually looking forward to cheating during this three week stay. “Don’t worry, Lucia, your wishes will take shape… then some!” Monica reveals in a voiceover as a montage of hot, fit bodies introduces us to who else is coming to the island.

Sleeper Star: Miguel and Alejandro, one of the show’s gay couples, have their share of issues, but they’re also hilarious commentators on what’s going on with the couples around them. Their opinions and observations of everyone else serve as a stand in for what we’re all thinking.

Most Pilot-y Line: “Eyes don’t lie.” I mean, when most people say that, it’s kind of figurative, but in this case, it’s science!

Our Call: If you enjoy dating competition shows, STREAM IT! Between the lie detector reveals, the occasional smugness that comes from certain couples thinking they’re stronger than others, and the no-nonsense approach of the host, the show moves along at a fast clip and keeps the excitement – and lies – rolling. But also, it’s pure trash TV, and watching these people lie to their partners and themselves about how dedicated they are to their relationships is a very specific kind of reality competition that’s not for everyone.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.