Love Island fans have been left far from happy with the show's biggest bombshell just ahead of the grand finale. The champion of ITV's hit dating series' 13th run will finally be crowned live this evening (July 27). It follows eight weeks of dramatic developments, unexpected twists, and no shortage of love triangles throughout the journey.
Eliminated Islanders vote
Last night's episode saw all previously eliminated Islanders make their way back to the villa to have their voices heard before the concluding show. Viewers watched as they gathered around the fire pit, each taking turns to vote off one couple they felt didn't deserve a spot in the final. In what proved to be a tense affair at times, with some questioning the choices made by the returning stars, the outcome was decisive. Samraj and Mica received the most votes and were subsequently booted off the island.
But that wasn't the end of it, as Samraj received an unexpected text message while in the midst of packing. It revealed that only three couples could progress to the final, and they were tasked with choosing one pair to depart alongside them, reports OK!. A teaser for scenes due to be broadcast during the finale showed Samraj declaring they must 'forget about friendships', while Simba appears crestfallen upon receiving their verdict by text.
Fan backlash
Nevertheless, this major shake-up hasn't sat well with all viewers of the programme. One devoted fan headed to the show's subreddit to air their grievances, under the title: 'Not including the public in important decisions has hurt this season more than anything else.' They pointed out that plot developments like this occur far too often, with eliminated couples and Islanders handed 'too much power' to influence the competitive aspect of the programme. This has been evident in the limited public votes throughout this series.
The original poster went on to say: 'In reality TV, the recipe for success is simple in my eyes: have a good casting, good storylines, and get the public as much involved as you can. The public was nowhere to be found this year. We voted like what, 3-4 times this year, and the only time we made the dumping was Priya and Aidan, I think. I remember watching LI UK season 5 when he had the power to send Tommy on a date with Molly, and it was just so clever, we could have brought a couple back or given immunity for the final to our favourite couple, like so many things, and we just had nothing.'
They finished by recognising that viewers' favourites might be left out of the final completely: 'It's possible that we're going into a final where we won't have Ellie who was voted favourite girl the 1st time, Julia who was voted favourite couple and favourite girl the 2nd time and Lorenzo who was voted favourite couple and favourite boy both times so why would people ultimately tune in every day if they can't express their opinion through voting?'
Viewers react
Another fan concurred, replying: 'I agree. This is a stupid twist. I hope Mica and Samraj choose to dump Yas and Tommy because it is the only right choice given the whole (ex)girlfriend situation. I don't even want Julia and Lorenzo to win, I'm rooting for Angie and Simba, but it's mad stupid if we'll have a finale without the favourite couple. For me, it'll make me tune out of next season's because why bother watching if my vote won't matter at all?'
A further viewer echoed the sentiment: 'So Julia and Lorenzo topped every vote they were in, both individually and as a couple, and now they might not even be finalists. Great choice, production.' Yet a regular watcher of the American version appeared to favour the British show's approach, writing: 'As someone coming from the US, I hope they adopt this less public voting format. We can't get anything right over here. I thought this UK season had the perfect number of public votes. And I thought the types of public votes gave the islanders enough insight into how the public was feeling without giving the public actual control over who left.'
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
