Support Video 1

Might as well start with what you paid for. Since it actually cost something, it might be juicier.

The video starts, and oddly, it wasn’t of the island or any of the islanders. It was a talk show news program. A greying hair man sat beside a younger news anchorwoman type in front of a sign reading “Today Live with Jimmy and Cadence” and glass window overlooking a metropolitan square.

“Well, Jimmy, suddenly everyone is talking about the latest episode of Island Amour. The internet is buzzing with hype over the new episodes. Honestly, I can’t get enough.” The anchorwoman says in an almost too cheerful way.

“That’s right, Candace. Island Amour’s fandom has been enthralled by the current season with the new twist this year when they introduced an average nobody into the mix. Candace, what do we know about this average joe? This Matt Jones guy?”

“According to friends and family, he works at Barney’s (a store) and was a college dropout. Other than that, we don’t know much. This guy doesn't even have an Instagram or twitter,” Candace says, shocked that anyone can live without those social media accounts.

“Despite not having social media, he’s been plastered over everybody else's social media lately. Take a look at his face as he reacts to absolutely no girls showing any signs of interest in him at the first coupling,” Jimmy says.

The video cuts to a photo of you smiling awkwardly after the first coupling when nobody stepped forward. An almost sad and hopeless glaze over your eyes that only ever appear on guys who went through a rough divorce or had been castrated.

You cringe at this and bury your hands in your face, not being able to watch.

“Yes, his faces have been made into a lot of internet me-mays? Is that the right word? I mean, I can’t get enough of those. And the face he makes after he sees Jamie enter the villa was just as priceless,” Candace says in glee and laughs.

“But a lot of these sites have been stuffing the ballot box for this oddball, many wanting to see if he can make it past the first week. Here today, we have a former Island Amour contestant, a favorite, Gregory Allen to talk to us about this guy. Greg, why are the Island Amour fandom and social media rooting so hard for this guy?”

“I think people like underdog stories, Jimmy,” The camera pans to a man in his late 20s talking next to the anchor desk. “They want to see an ordinary guy win this thing.”

“But realistically, Greg can he ever find love on this island?” Candace asks.

“Probably not,” Greg says, laughing condescendingly with the cohosts, “But who knows. It’s a funky season. Everyone is tuning in to see if he can at least score once.”

“Talk to me, Greg, about this latest move from Matt to try to save himself. He seems to be focusing heavily on Paige and trying to get her to save him. Do you think he can actually pull it off and last another week?”

“We’ll see. Right now, I can see it going either way. People think it’s up to Paige to save him, but it’s actually up to Liz. If Liz picks Rick at the recoupling, he’s toast. If Liz picks Jamie, then he’s safe, I think. It’s a bold gambit, but it’s one of the reasons why the fans love him and this season.”

A thought occurred to you while you watch these people say kind of nice things about you. You didn’t think yourself to be interesting or endearing at all… In fact, you were reasonably dull and average most of the time hence why they picked you in the first place to be in this show. It's possible that the AMA is having an effect on the audience to help them root for you. Though you knew how reality TV and propaganda worked. Savvy editors can condense the good parts and bad parts out and edit contestants however they like to show them in the best or worst light.

“Thanks for having a chat with us, Greg,” Jimmy said.

“My pleasure.”

“We’ll talk to you again after the final episode this week. We can’t wait to see if Matt, the plucky store clerk, actually makes it another week and perhaps do the impossible and find love,” Candace finishes on that note.

The video ends there. You can’t help but smile. It was nice to see some people were rooting for you at home, even though it was because they thought you had zero chance. It gave you a bit of confidence.

You click on the next video on the data menu eager to see more.