Following a lighthearted week of quality time and family reunions, Love Island USA finally announced the four couples competing for the $100,000 first-place prize.

After Corbin and Parmida were dumped from the villa in Season 8, episode 29, there were six couples left standing: Aniya and Carl, Kayda and Zach, Kenzie and Dylan, Melanie and Sincere, Tierra and KC, and Trinity and Bryce. The next few days were full of fun challenges like The Girls pranking The Boys, The Girls enjoying a fun waterpark-themed getaway from the villa, and the Islanders meeting each other’s family members for the first time.

Season 8, Episode 33 kicked off with a “mouthwatering” couples’ challenge, in which each islander had to transfer food items in water (like sardines) or condiments (like ketchup) from their mouth into their partner’s mouth. After the challenge, the couples had a few more tough pills (or, in this case, fortune cookies) to swallow at dinner that night: they found out the results of a public vote that decided which four couples were heading to the finale, and which two couples were going home.

One by one, the couples cracked open their fortune cookies, revealing whether they were safe. The final four were revealed to be Aniya and Carl, Trinity and Bryce, Melanie and Sincere, and Kayda and Zach.

Our big Guessing Game is back! Enter now for a chance to win an Apple Watch.

This left two couples dumped from the villa: Kenzie and Dylan, and Tierra and KC.

X users were sad to see them go, especially those who thought that Tierra and KC had a stronger connection than other couples in the villa. KC had just asked Tierra to be his girlfriend in Season 8, episode 31, which made the dumping even more shocking to viewers.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

However, viewers were elated that Kenzie didn’t say goodbye without squatting down for one last iconic split.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

While the islanders shared an emotional goodbye with Kenzie, Dylan, Tierra, and KC, they took the time to appreciate the genuine friendships they built in the villa – embodying what viewers called “Friendship Island” this season.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

What makes the final four couples especially memorable this season is that the four girls are each part of the original group of islanders that we were introduced to in Season 8, episode 1, with X users saying that we have a “core four” finale in our midst. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Now that the final four couples have been revealed, we’re only a few episodes away from finding out which couple will be crowned the winners of Love Island USA Season 8.

The season finale is scheduled to air on Sunday, July 12, 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on Peacock.

By Jacob VanGundy
| Published 7 seconds ago

Operation Mincemeat is a spy thriller based on a true British intelligence operation from World War II. While the spy story is fascinating, and there was enough suspense to keep me watching, the movie is bogged down with unnecessary interpersonal drama. The result is an uneven, disappointing movie that doesn’t live up to its premise. 

Based on Ben Macintyre’s book about the historical event, Operation Mincemeat is about a misdirection mission by British intelligence. To hide the Invasion of Sicily, a plot is hatched by British intelligence officers Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley to plant false information on a corpse and have it wash ashore.

To sell the fake soldier’s identity, a detailed backstory was constructed including a fictional fiance using a photo of the office’s secretary Jean Leslie. 

The Period Drama Overshadows The Spy Intrigue

Operation Mincemeat brings together a fantastic cast of UK actors, who deliver great performances across the board. Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, and Kelly Macdonald play the movie’s three leads, making their characters feel real. The supporting cast also features great actors like Penelope Wilton, Johnny Flynn, Jason Issacs, Mark Gatiss, Paul Ritter, and Simon Russell Beale.

While I found the depiction of spycraft in Operation Mincemeat compelling it was weighed down with superfluous period drama elements. Much of the film’s runtime is dedicated to the love triangle between its three main characters, which adds a layer of unneeded personal drama that actively distracts from the spy mission’s inherent tension.

It’s the sort of tacked-on plotline that feels like it exists to meet period drama expectations, and I was unsurprised to learn it was invented whole cloth for the movie. 

The Spycraft Is More Interesting

Some of the most interesting spy thriller moments of Operation Mincemeat are glossed over to dedicate more time to its boring love triangle. Numerous scenes depict the budding relationship between Ewen and Jean, while the head of Germany’s army intelligence discovering the plot and turning a blind eye to undermine the Nazi regime is given a single truncated scene.

As a fan of spy thrillers, I can’t help but feel like the movie prioritizes the wrong elements of its plot.

The pacing in Operation Mincemeat also suffers due to its love triangle. What should be a consistently suspenseful movie grinds to a halt halfway through to focus on the romantic subplot and the hostility it creates between Ewen and Charles. With a runtime of 128 minutes, it drags on for too long, drawing attention to its unneeded subplot.

Despite its shortcomings, Operation Mincemeat has a strong story at its core and it tells that story well when its focus isn’t divided. It’s at its best when it depicts the finer details of the operation and the construction of the soldier’s fictional life. With strong acting and directing, it’s well-made even when the writing falls short. 

Fans of period dramas who also enjoy spy stories will likely enjoy Operation Mincemeat, while fans looking for a spy thriller like I was may find it disappointing. It’s a well-made movie bogged down by a single poor creative decision. You can watch the film version of one of history’s most fascinating spy stories for yourself on Netflix.

OPERATION MINCEMEAT SCORE

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 5 minutes ago

One thing you’ll notice when you’re (re)watching Stargate SG-1, is that Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) dies a lot. By the time he dies in Episode 12, “Fire and Water,” his death count is up to three (the movie, and “Nox”), which is a little high for a regular human. Then again, he doesn’t really die in “Fire and Water,” so should that even count? Stargate Command gives him a full funeral with military honors so to my mind, it counts as another notch for “Daniel Jackson is Dead.”

Daniel Jackson Is Dead. Again. For The Third Time.

“Fire and Water” opens with SG-1 coming back earlier than expected from their latest mission, looking all sad and dejected as Hammond asks what went wrong, and learns that “Jackson is dead.” Before the opening credits we see the whole military funeral, O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) giving a touching eulogy where he admits that Jackson is the heart of the team. Out of anger, O’Neill, likely a little drunk off of Molson’s, takes out the window of a car with a hockey stick (look quick and you’ll note it says “Anderson” on the stick) and angrily demands they movie it. It’s Hammond’s car, prompting a suddenly much calmer O’Neill to tell his boss that he needs to replace that window. 

The SG-1 team slowly realizes that Daniel isn’t dead. Something messed with their minds to make them think he was. Turns out, Daniel’s alive, underwater in the lair of the aquatic merman Nem to help solve the thousand-year old mystery of what happened to his mate, Omoroca. We learn that Omoroca and Nem helped teach the ancient Babylonians until she was murdered by Belus, who of course, was a Goa’uld System Lord. It all goes back to the Goa’uld. 

The Math Ain’t Mathing

The merman like Nem is played by Gerard Plunkett, who first appeared on Stargate SG-1 as Councilor Tuplo in “The Broca Divide,” starting the trend of actors playing multiple aliens during the show’s decade-long run. Nem never reappears, nor is he or Omoroca mentioned again, perhaps because someone behind the scenes did the math and realized the pair’s involvement with the ancient Babylonians and also the Goa’uld broke the timeline.

Jackson tells Nem that Omoroca helped inspire the Tau’ri rebellion against the Goa’uld. That took place in 3000 B.C.E. in Egypt, yet Jackson says Nem was on Earth 4,000 years ago working with the Babylonians. That maths out to roughly 2000 B.C.E., or a thousand years after the rebellion. Goa’uld being active on Earth and acting as Gods past that point doesn’t work with the timing of the burial of the Stargate. 

“Fire and Water” is another in the long line of episodes that introduces an advanced species with deep ties to the roots of human civilization that we never see again. Get used to it, even Stargate Atlantis does this years later. It’s also not the last time that Jackson is killed in the line of duty. On its own, it’s a bit of an empty episode that alludes to bigger things, though it does get a little credit for Nem’s planet Oannes not looking like the woods of Vancouver for once.