Warning! The following contains spoilers from the 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 5 "Tell-All Part 1." Read at your own risk!
90 Day Fiancé has been switching up the tell-alls, and after including a live audience fell flat, the franchise tried something different for The Other Way Season 5. Past cast members were brought in to give their input and commentary on the season's storylines, and I'm already not a fan of this new idea.
For those who haven't tuned in yet, 90 Day Fiancé welcomed on Andrei Castravet, Tim Malcolm, Kalani Faagata, and Tania Maduro as a panel of alumni sitting in on the tell-all with the The Other Way Season 5 cast. From their area of the stage, they were free to talk amongst themselves, interject in the conversation, and ask their own questions to the cast. Essentially, they had a long leash to contribute in whatever the way they saw fit, and I cannot express enough how much I disliked it for the following reasons.
If I Wanted Commentary From Random Cast Members, I'd Watch Pillow Talk
What's most confusing for me is that we already have a version of what 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way's tell-all is trying to accomplish. Pillow Talk is the show for the former cast members to say what they want about the storylines, and make rude quips to themselves. Setting the cast members off to the side in this manner adds a Statler and Waldorf-esque peanut gallery for the Muppets talking to Shaun Robinson, and it's just not necessary. That said, if it had to happen, they should've at least added 90 Day Fiancé's Statler to the mix, so my Muppet analogy I just made would've hit harder.
The Cast Members Seem There To Cause Drama More Than Anything
We haven't seen the moment unfold just yet, but at the beginning of this tell-all, there was a preview scene of Andrei standing in front of Shekinah Garner onstage and arguing with her like she's his estranged brother-in-law, Charlie Potthast. We don't know the full context of the scene, but one thing I can say that makes me immediately upset is the fact that this drama with Andrei is going to take up time that could've been dedicated to the actual season.
To me, it feels like the past cast members were brought in to stir the pot and cause drama, and I feel like we already get enough of that in a regular tell-all. Give me drama that's tied to the season I watched like more about Mary Demasu-ay's jealousy issues; don't create new drama in the reunion specials.
The Past Cast Members Distract From The True Stars Of The Season
I didn't sit through a whole season of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way to hear Tim Malcolm's quips, as witty as they are. I'm more interested in learning if Holly and Wayne Cornish are going to work things out after she left South Africa or what Daniele is up to after that shocking Yohan revelation. These are why fans tune into the 90 Day Fiancé tell-alls, and this new gimmick of bringing on a panel of old cast members feels like a way to avoid answering those questions. Above all else, this is why it annoys me, and I'm hoping it isn't a trend in the future.
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way's tell-all continues on Monday, December 11th, 8:00 p.m. ET. Tune in on TLC or with a Max subscription for some stunning reveals in addition to the comments from the vets of the franchise, and maybe some big developments from couples on where things stand between them.
