Love Is Blind Season-Premiere Recap: Ghost in the Machine

It’s that time of year again – Netflix is bringing us a fresh batch of Love Is Blind contestants. As October begins, we’re seeing some familiar dating show tropes: people disappearing, glimpses into the past, and a few genuinely unsettling moments. However, honestly, getting to know the Denver singles is a bit slow. The way the ‘pod’ episodes unfold has *never* felt quite right, but it’s especially tough to get through the engagements in season nine. Thankfully, sticking with it does lead to a couple of exciting moments. And the season preview hints that things will pick up – we see a groom needing some space and a bride getting visibly upset, suggesting at least one wedding might be in trouble.

But first, we have five main pod storylines to break down. Let’s get into it.

Ali and Anton

It’s unlikely this relationship moved so quickly *just* because they both used to work in fast food, but I don’t have much other information about these McDonald’s alums to go on. I’m doing my best to understand it! Nurse Ali and transportation worker Anton connected over several things: English isn’t their first language, they both want to create a warm, loving family that they didn’t have themselves, and they share the belief that the man should be the primary provider. Remarkably, they told each other “I love you” and Anton proposed to his “baby girl” all before the first episode ended! She’s even fantasized about being there for him if he ever went to prison, showing how deeply connected they are. However, as a viewer, the engagement felt a little rushed. I think this is due to Netflix’s quick editing-why are we seeing flashbacks of a couple we’ve only known for thirty minutes? They *did* seem genuinely happy when they announced it. Sadly, Anton slightly spoiled it for me when he said he was glad she was beautiful, and then added it wouldn’t have mattered if she were “twice the size.”

Madison and Joe

I imagine the casting directors felt the same way as this picture of LeBron James when they landed Madison! The UX/UI designer has retinitis pigmentosa and believes she’ll likely go blind someday, so she’s completely invested in the idea behind the Love Is Blind experiment. If she gets married, you can bet Netflix will be talking about it endlessly. While in the pods, she gets engaged to Joe, who works in sales and makes her smile. He’s a little surprised when she shares her vision condition, but assures her it doesn’t change how he feels. What stood out to me most during their pod conversations is that their playful back-and-forth sometimes turned into misunderstandings, such as when Madison became frustrated that he wouldn’t finalize plans for her ideal date.

Joe has been engaged previously, and learning that doesn’t fill me with much hope for how well this second attempt will go. He says he’s attracted to Madison and that it just takes a moment for a physical and emotional connection to form, but the way he talks in his interviews – things like “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I was not expecting that” and “When I say Madison, that’s now connected to that – to her” – feels off to me. Even Madison notices he seemed shocked, although she first assumes it’s just because he’s nervous about the circumstances.

Edmond and Kalybriah

You can say a lot about Edmond – and I absolutely will be discussing it shortly in this recap – but he’s always authentic. If Edmond feels like running like Naruto down the hallway or passionately kissing the floor, he just does it. He’s also unafraid to show emotion or be vulnerable during his dates with Kalybriah, a travel social worker who genuinely listens when he talks about growing up in the foster care system. (She also shares her own story, explaining her difficulty forgiving her father, contrasting with how Edmond has forgiven his mother.)

Edmond’s work as a realtor actually supports her goal of starting a nonprofit group home. Both of them feel they’ve found their perfect match, and the speech Kalybriah delivers before proposing sounds like a complete wedding vow. When they finally meet, she’s still captivated by her energetic fiancé and how unique he is. As for Edmond’s response to the news? He jokingly says in a private interview, “I’m about to cry with a boner.”

Nick, Annie, Kait, and Brenden

Okay, so I’m totally invested in this show, and this guy, Nick – he calls himself Not-Gay Nick, which is… a choice – is dealing with some seriously messy stuff. He’s a luxury watch dealer, and it’s wild because even his *own mother* tried to tell him it was okay to come out! Anyway, he’s trying to date two women at once. He seems to really like Kait, a dietitian, but she’s not immediately into him after he tells her he loves her. What’s even more frustrating is he’s upset she’s not interested in sharing his faith, and it’s like, dude, she *just* told you about watching her mom die of cancer! You should have *listened*! He literally says he’ll love Kait forever, and then, like, moments later, declares he “can’t go through with this.” It’s so abrupt! And then, out of nowhere, he decides that Annie, the hair salon owner, is actually the one he’s meant to be with? It’s a lot, honestly. Seriously.

Annie has always preferred Brenden as a potential partner, but she’s growing frustrated with his constant talk about doors and his reluctance to express his feelings for her. She finds Nick much more comforting, and they agree that being LGBTQ+ is just a passing trend for children. (Honestly, if I can borrow a line from another podcast story, Nick doesn’t seem like he’d be prejudiced against LGBTQ+ people.) Annie says she would love her child no matter what, but it appears the thought of having a gay child troubles her just as much as the weight of her hair extensions.

Brenden pleads with Annie not to choose Nick, but she’s already decided. The two initial love triangles eventually resolve into a single couple, though they face prejudice. Edmond breaks down in tears when Nick enters the men’s lounge to celebrate his engagement. (“He didn’t even glance at you,” Edmond says, seemingly too upset to notice he’s worsening things.) Annie confesses that Nick isn’t the outdoorsy type she imagined, but she finds him attractive. They share a lot of kisses during the reveal, which is something, at least.

Megan, Mike, Jordan, Blake, Anna, Patrick, and Kacie

The defining characteristic of this group is being “Crazy, Rich, Asian.” Let’s begin with Sparkle Megan, a businesswoman who loves all things glamorous. She’s typically attracted to men like Mike, a real-estate investor who moves with a group of wealthy friends, and who once suggested they would have the “sexiest,” “most nutritious” children together. Next, we have Jordan, a tattooed service manager and single father. He’s most appealing when talking about his 5-year-old son, Luca, who – like Megan’s late father – lives with type 1 diabetes. Megan worries Mike shares traits with her previous partners, and she starts to see Jordan as just a friend due to his “lifestyle” (someone cue up “No Broke Boys”!). Her initial preference is Blake, a thoughtful accountant who is also dealing with the loss of a parent.

That leads us to another complicated relationship situation. Blake is currently dating Anna, a hairstylist, who is also seeing Patrick, a construction manager. Patrick, in turn, is dating Kacie, a hair and makeup artist. Patrick has faced prejudice due to his ethnicity, so he was happy when Kacie mentioned that one of her brothers typically dates Asian women (interesting…) and that her other brothers are in interracial relationships. However, he seems more interested in the possibility of marrying someone of Asian descent; it was during a conversation with Anna that he first heard his Chinese heritage described as “attractive.” Immediately after, he tells the cameras he’s found someone he wants to propose to, but Anna unexpectedly stands him up. The show’s producers make Patrick realize she’s gone home in the moment, but they directly tell Blake. According to Kait, Anna felt disappointed after a date and started cooling off before ultimately leaving the experiment without saying goodbye.

Now that Anna has left, Blake realizes there’s no reason for him to stick around. He abruptly cuts off contact with Sparkle Megan (it seems like he’s repeating a pattern of hurting others), leaving her to question if this means she shouldn’t break up with Jordan. Mike attempts to manipulate the situation, hoping to make her doubt how well she and Jordan match, but she chooses to follow a classic romantic storyline: a wealthy woman giving a hardworking single father a chance at love. They get engaged, and Jordan’s immediate reaction is to proudly show her pictures of his son. Adorable!

Meanwhile, Patrick has created a fantasy where he and Anna were too alike for him to want to marry her. After a few awkward dates where Patrick questions how much Kacie actually feels for him, she reassures him with a passionate speech about her love for him… and her desire for intimacy. Once they become engaged, he excitedly talks about having children who are “half mixies,” framing it as advancing a particular cultural blend. He appears very pleased with how she looks during the reveal, and in a private interview, he stumbles over his words, saying her kindness seems to radiate from her… fearmones… pheromones. She tells him he’s handsome, but I couldn’t help but notice she didn’t glance back as he walked away.

And there we have it! We have six couples who are headed to Baja.

Or do we?

Kacie assures the show’s producers that she’s certain her feelings for Patrick won’t develop. However, when they meet, and he asks if she wants to end things, Kacie responds with a firm, “No.” He assumes she simply doesn’t want to continue filming and that they’ll remain a couple back in Denver. Considering how passionately she kisses and embraces him, is it any wonder he thinks that? It’s surprising that nobody tells Patrick the truth, especially after he directly asks what Kacie told the producers. Making him wait until the episode airs to learn the reality seems unnecessarily harsh.

So, the final five couples headed to Baja, and some fared better than others. Ali found out Anton kisses with his eyes open and isn’t on the same page when it comes to spending. However, those issues seemed minor compared to the problems Joe and Madison were facing. Joe seemed to be constantly trying to convince both the viewers and Madison that he was happy (and had moved past his usual preference for “thinner women”). He also proved to be quite messy when drunk, and during a group party, he appeared to have a stronger connection with Jordan than with Madison. This all culminated in an argument where Madison became worried because Joe wasn’t making sense just moments after she woke him up from a nap. It didn’t help that a cameraman reportedly stayed throughout the entire fight.

There are also problems developing between Edmond and Kalybriah. She’s confused by his behavior and wonders how she could expect him to eagerly agree to trivial tasks like killing bugs or starting arguments at the club. At the same time, Edmond ignores Kalybriah’s requests to be more considerate towards other women, and he tells the men that despite Kalybriah wanting to wait until marriage for sex, he plans to have sex with her anyway. After the party, Edmond is shocked to discover they are the only couple who haven’t been intimate. Kalybriah clarifies that she’s making him wait because she values their relationship; she’s only had casual encounters with people she didn’t have feelings for. However, Edmond begins to act as if a few foot rubs entitle him to sex. The qualities I once found charming in him – such as his willingness to freely express his emotions – now feel unsettling; I feel uneasy when he gets loud, cries, and complains about being “too nice” before shutting down and tuning out Kalybriah. It’s a deeply disturbing final scene.

Extra Engaged

Who’s getting married? I’m keeping up a tradition from last season where I ask my coworkers at Vulture/New York Magazine each week which couples they predict will get married. Here are the results from this week’s quick survey:

🥇 Annie and Nick (83%)

🥈 Ali and Anton (67%)

🥉 Sparkle Megan and Jordan (50%)

😬 Edmond and Kalybriah (17%)

😭 Madison and Joe (0%)

Madison and Joe, you’re really starting to scare us!

We also chose Jordan as our favorite member of the week. Nick was playfully named the ‘villain’ of the week (with a special acknowledgement to type 1 diabetes, of course).

IRL: I’m starting this new section to share things I’ve found while researching cast members online, because it feels like a natural part of watching Love Is Blind these days. (A big thanks to TikTok’s most popular LIB reporter!) Right now, as I write this, Patrick and Kacie are still following each other on Instagram, but I’m wondering how long that will last after the new episodes are released. And yes, Kacie’s sister and father are actually singers in Korea – and I think this is the website for Mike’s group of “high-caliber men.” It looks just as you’d imagine.

A Couple of Last Thoughts

Based on the preview, we already know Edmond and Kalybriah will get married. Netflix attempts to avoid spoilers by obscuring faces, but it’s difficult when the season only features one Black couple. They can only hide so much.

I often find myself thinking about the people on Love Is Blind who don’t get much screen time. Like, how did Dayo and his English accent even make it to Denver? And Dylan randomly mentions he’s only seen two shows ever… what were they? It also makes me wonder if this season of Love Is Blind will be his third show ever watched. If it is, I’m saying TV deserves better than this!

2025-10-01 15:59