The couples are at their most entertaining when they interact with one another.
And that’s what made Married at First Sight Season 11 Episode 14 a fun hour. It’s one thing to experience each couple getting familiar with one another, but the group dynamics and respective friendships that come about from this process are illuminating too.
Everyone had a read on each other, and the retreat had all of them reevaluating their relationships.
We did not get much from Brett and Olivia during this installment. Olivia had a brief moment where she and Amani talked with each other about Brett’s iconic “Irish Goodbye.”
The funniest part about their conversation is that it felt as though Olivia was angrier that he took all the food out of the fridge and cabinets than the fact that he left.
It speaks volumes about the nature of their relationship, and while it was a topic for discussion at the couple’s retreat, no one seemed surprised by it.
Christina was the most vocal about her gut instincts regarding Brett. She did warn Olivia about him early on, but the irony in her constant criticisms of Brett was that in hindsight, it’s like the pot calling the kettle black.
It was surprising that Christina and Henry even showed up at the retreat. Henry confided in Woody (who gave us the BEST facial expressions) about Christina’s accusation and their latest fight.
Woody was shocked that Christina claimed Henry was gay and then pretended as if it didn’t happen. And Henry recounted the entire thing nonchalantly like it’s another day in the life of marriage with Christina.
I think a lot happens behind closed doors with those two, and we’ll never know the full extent of their relationship. But as suspected, Christina never produced the alleged text message behind their latest dispute.
Christina said that she was probably trying to get a reaction out of Henry without admitting that she lied. However, in flashbacks to early conversations, Christina shared with Henry that she has a history of lying.
But the two of them at the couple’s retreat was awkward. You could tell that Woody shared with Amani what Henry told him about Christina.
Henry wasn’t hiding that he and Christina have their issues, which seemed to annoy her, and their energy with one another was off.
Christina pretending as if nothing happened was weird as heck, and like Woody, I’m wondering why they haven’t thrown in the towel. As he said, the towel is on the floor, sopping wet.
Why can’t they release each other from this hell? It’s also interesting to note how much more comfortable they are interacting with literally anyone else but one another.
Oddly enough, Christina engaged in a lot of girl talk, telling the women about her issues with Henry and their relationship. She never feels genuine, though, and you could tell the other women were picking up on it too.
Amani, especially, was having a difficult time schooling her expressions. She and Woody were the most entertaining during the installment for their reactions alone, but they also keep getting credit for stepping up and playing mature advisors among their group.
Ironically, for all the criticism of Henry for being reserved and quiet, it’s already evident that Henry will get full custody of the group of friends when he and Christina divorce.
Christina may be the female version of Brett, cast off from the others. She has certainly gotten the villain edit this season.
Despite how incompatible they are, the two of them excelled at the game testing them on how well they knew their spouse. They came in third and somehow beat out Amelia and Bennett.
The game wasn’t without its issues and entertainment. Christina was offended by Henry’s answers even though he was right. And Henry was throwing some hilarious shade when he got the chance.
By the time they shared the childhood letters they addressed to themselves, things were confusing again.
Henry’s simple letter wasn’t personal enough for Christina. The unfortunate thing is the last time Henry was vulnerable with Christina, she came across as insensitive.
And they were also coming off of the text message debacle. Henry didn’t have much to say about Christina’s letter, but you can tell he’s checked out, and he has lost respect for her.
Christina is confusing.
Karen can be that way often, but for the most part, Karen and Miles had a solid installment.
Not only were they coming off months-long quarantine because of the pandemic, but social justice issues were right at the forefront.
Miles and Karen had reservations about going on a couples retreat when they weren’t in the right headspace for it. Their minds were still on the protests against police brutality. It must’ve been in the heat of the George Floyd killing.
You can’t blame them for not feeling up to a retreat when their hearts were heavy and bigger things were happening around them. But Miles addressed his feelings on the first night at the cabins.
He started a dialogue about his feelings as a black man, and it was such a refreshing thing for the series to air. I don’t remember a group of couples spending this much time together, but I also don’t recall them having such honest conversations that weren’t related to this process.
Karen loved that, and it had her looking at Miles in a different light. They also knew each other well based on the couples’ game, and they have a good time together when they’re not caught up in their relationship issues.
It feels as though the two of them work better as friends. They both talked about their relationship and what their thought process is like as Decision Day closes in on them.
Miles is getting frustrated and more vocal about the slow process they’re making. He spoke to Woody about it again. He needs physical touch and affection, and he’s been honest about this, but he and Karen have different love languages.
If Miles had to decide at this point if he would stay with Karen, the answer would be “no.” And it’s probably the same for Karen, too.
Woody and Amani’s relationship is set. However, Woody is more confident about it than Amani.
Amani knows that they’re in the Honeymoon phase of their relationship, so her biggest fear is that Woody will change up on her and end up being a different person.
They’ve had a relatively bump-free ride through this entire process, so her concerns are valid. Adding on to it, Woody won’t react well if Amani rejects him on Decision Day.
And it’s little things about his personality that Amani doesn’t know what to do with when they’re revealed. They’ll be alright, though.
And so will Amelia and Bennett.
Their biggest obstacle was deciding if Bennet would move, and they’ve gotten over that hurdle. Outside of that, they tend to be in their bubble of weird cuteness.
We saw Bennett had some moments of annoyance regarding Amelia’s unwillingness to do chores, and of course, the relocation situation.
But we’ve never seen Amelia annoyed with Bennett. She couldn’t even tell him anything that bugged her when he asked for it.
Amelia’s annoyance with Bennett over that Pokemon letter he wrote to himself is the first time we’ve seen her irritated. Bennett is a sensitive guy, and they rarely miss chances to stoke the romance between them, so it was funny that he missed an opportunity with that letter.
It was one of those times when Bennett’s quirkiness and unpredictability weren’t fun. But based on the previews for the next installment, Amelia’s honesty about why she auditioned for the show will be their next obstacle.
Over to you, MAFS Fanatics. Hit the comments with all of your thoughts. Don’t be shy!
You can watch Married at First Sight online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.