What went wrong with season seven?

The attraction of “Love is blind” is that viewers can be voyeurs, watching the dating rituals of different cities, while other people test the theory that true compatibility is a matter of the mind. The seventh season, which is broadcast reunion episode Wednesday promised to explore some burning questions about the culture of our political epicenter during an unusually heightened political environment. Unfortunately, the strange concoction ‘Love Is Blind DC’ delivered none of the political ambition that makes the city a dating swamp, nor the diversity of culture that redeems the place (this season, however, did have the most ethnically diverse cast of engaged couples).

The Netflix series decided to launch its latest show just a month before a highly contentious and challenging presidential election, during a political moment that raises questions about the foundation of our democracy, our social contract and what it means to be a citizen. I can see the pitch meeting now: Why not take advantage of this zeitgeist by shooting in Washington, DC – a city that outsiders equate with politics – and answer burning concerns about American identity with – checks notes — soundproof pods where participants only hear the quality of someone’s voice, get engaged within 10 days and only then actually see each other. Love will conquer all, amirite?

Leave aside the fact that nearly 20% of Washington’s workforce works directly for the federal government still does not grant paid parental leavelet alone free time to participate in a reality show, meaning a core segment of Washington culture isn’t represented this season. Then you have another million people who work in industries that rely on government work, known as “professional services”: consultants, lobbyists, defense contractors and cybersecurity experts. Perhaps no one was willing to risk their security clearance and access to a job to appear on a TV show. This leaves you with the people who could use the free publicity: the guy who works in his family’s art business, the real estate agent, the non-profit guy with a good cause.

Are there people in the Washington, DC area who are simply tired of dating the conventional way and are willing to roll the dice on television? Of course, but the operative word is ‘area’. The DMV metropolitan area is home to nearly 7 million people, including two completely different states, Maryland and Virginia. It’s downright misleading to have a contestant from Baltimore on a show touting an edition from Washington DC. While it’s safe to assume that ‘Love Is Blind Falls Church, Virginia’ probably wouldn’t do very well in terms of marketing, we can expect more than 20% of the cast to not even live in the city of the same name. It’s a coincidental nod to a political climate that values ​​perception and bending facts over the truth.

It would have been nice to see one or two participants of Washington’s diplomatic corps and international community, only to find out after the invisible engagement that the diplomat has a spiritual spouse abroad and for his green card a legal marriage to an American. This would be a dramatic arc that actually reflects the harsh reality of seeking the American dream. Instead, we are given a couple wringing their hands in the political aisle over datingonly to have that relationship ignite over the now boring trope of a sexting scandal. And we have a contrived love triangle that could have come from Anywhere Sunny America and that even the producers didn’t think was likely to make it to the altar.

Give me some good old Machiavellian power couple poison instead. I’ve spent more than a decade dating within my sector of politics and government and was looking forward to seeing a reflection of mine and my colleagues’ experiences. Unfortunately, this season there was none of the drama or specifics that are typical of the Washington, DC dating scene.

In a city that attracts those with ambition and narcissism, Washington, DC, dating often rewards people with an epic smoke and mirrors game divorced from the reality of their studio apartment with no bed frame and only a mattress. It would have made for great TV if it had stayed closer to reality. “Love Is Blind” would have done better to recruit from the dating pool that residents actually recognize — more swamp stuff, fewer starry-eyed people from outside the Beltway. If you’re going to use our city to sell a series, you might as well let the rest of America enjoy the cesspool with us.