Dating in the Dark, August 18: Kuni’s Revenge

This Week’s Participants:

Dion: Age 37. He’s a photographer who wants to get married but is afraid of commitment.

Leo: Age 26. Leo is a graphic designer. He describes himself as a nerd because he likes TV and movies. Great, by that definition, I’m a nerd too.

Malek: Age 29. He is a musician and teacher. He’s also a multilingual follower of Islam. (Boy, religion sure seems to pop up in this series.)

Lisa: Age 39. Lisa is a designer and recently divorced.

Tanya: Age 24. Tanya is an Executive Assistant who’s afraid of rejection.

Tawny: Age 29. She is a bartender. She prefers guys who won’t let her walk all over them, because she will if given the chance. Nice.

The Group Date

Once the men and women get seated after their initial stumbling into the room, introductions are made. The group dates tend to be a lot of the same “getting to know you” small-talk. This week Tawny announces that she actually introduces herself as “crazy.” I am always befuddled by women who think their craziness is a positive trait. No other piece of conversation really stands out here except that Malek gives the impression that he’s quiet.

This Week’s Invasion of Privacy

This week, the men and women get to rummage through each other’s vehicles. The women are up first. Leo’s car is messy and filled with things that can’t be readily identified. Not in a gross way. The guy has some kind of thing which Tanya refers to as a “Ghostbusters pack” in his trunk. That’s the best way to describe it. When inspecting Malek’s car, the women are taken aback by the fact that he has a box of condoms in his cup holder. What? Is that tacky? Dion’s car has the camera equipment expected of a photographer.

Malek finds a notebook in Tanya’s car and is happy to see that Tanya keeps a journal and writes poetry. Leo is enthusiastic to see that Tawny drives a sports car and has “killer boots.” (They are indeed a great pair of leather boots. Did I mention that I really dig boots?) In Lisa’s car there is a pair of workout pants. There is great celebration over the fact that they aren’t the size of a tent.

The First Round of Dates

Dion and Lisa invite each other on a date which culminates in their holding of each other’s hands. You can tell Dion is an experienced (or mature) guy as he is building trust and rapport before even thinking to push anything physical.

Leo, on the other hand, presses Tanya about whether or not she’s a good kisser. This clumsy attempt to initiate a make out session results in Tanya giving us the most horrified facial expression that we’ve had on the series so far. Good going, Leo.

On her date with Malek, Tanya rightly quizzes him on the condoms in his car. Although embarrassed, he makes the valid point that at least he’s responsible. Besides, you never know who you might meet in a drive-thru.

When Leo is invited on a date with Tawny, they slow dance.

Compatibility Matches

With the way everyone has paired up with the person that seems to be the best fit for them, I’d be surprised if the matches pair them up any other way. This week our compatibility matches are:

Tawny and Dion! What??

Leo and Tanya! What??

Malek and Lisa! What??

Clearly the pre-show questionnaires this week are way off. It should be noted that the compatibility scores are also all in the 60% range whereas they are typically between 70% and 85%.

The Compatibility Dates

Well, this should be interesting as none of these couples seem to have any chemistry whatsoever.

Dion and Tawny are up first. We get a small clip of Tawny babbling incessantly and Dion not getting a word in at all. Dion tells us that Tawny is a “talker.” He says he’s not into women who chatter so much. Dion and I have something in common.

Malek and Lisa don’t have a better time of it either. Malek basically accuses her (not to her face, but to the nation) of being a xenophobe. Either that or she just likes Dion.

The last disastrous date is turned in by Tanya and Leo. As if their last date wasn’t bad enough, Tanya just tells the guy that she’s just not “feeling it.”

Post-Compatibility Date Dates

For the next two rounds, everything goes back to normal with the original couples getting back together. Dion and Lisa seem the most promising to me as they seem to have a very strong connection. They talk about their families and how both their fathers had passed away. Lisa’s father passed away when she was three-years-old. I think the fact that both of these people are in their late ‘30s helps them appreciate a connection when they come across one.

Tawny sees Leo again and they slow dance again.

Malek and Tanya continue their discourse about music and culture.

On their final date, Lisa asks Dion if she was unattractive whether that would change his feelings. He admits that it would. At least he’s honest.