I have not tried to hide the fact that I’m a huge fan of Jovi and Yara, and “Second Guessing” is a perfect display of what makes their dynamic so special: They both know exactly who they are and they refuse to change. Yara knows she’s a beautiful idiot who will never understand numbers or card games and that’s amazing. Jovi knows he’s a lazy, charming party boy who’d rather get drunk in Vegas than marry the woman he got pregnant. The special part is that they absolutely see this in each other and are genuinely in love anyway! Yara really does love that dipshit!
Frankly, I do get it. Jovi is the exact kind of White Boy that Chet Hanks is begging us to celebrate this summer. When Jovi told Yara he was excited to show her another new city, that was hot. He might not know how to plan a wedding, but he knows how to treat the people he loves. If Yara didn’t know how to make her needs known, these two might be in danger, but that’s not the case. She knows how to use her words and Jovi is clearly willing to make her happy. Even though the episode uses their wedding as something like a cliffhanger, I don’t see anything getting in the way of their vows. Well … I guess one of Jovi’s friends could still mention his private strip-club dance to Yara.
Before we dive into this episode’s many weddings, let’s focus on the one couple that absolutely should not be getting married: Mike and Natalie. It seemed like we were really so close to the end of their relationship. Natalie had a plane ticket to France, but was forced to return to Mike’s. Even though they sleep in separate rooms, they fall right back into the same manipulative pattern they’ve been in all season. Natalie plays nice to try and convince Mike to marry her within 24 hours. Mike still can’t man up and make a definitive decision and vaguely says they still need to “work on” things while he “processes.”
Mike sets up a meeting with a lawyer over Zoom because he’s looking for any excuse to keep Natalie in America without marrying her. The lawyer explains that COVID-19 doesn’t mean they can break the law and they need to get married. Even with that, he still won’t agree to get married! Of course, Natalie can’t help but be rude to the lawyer, but I feel for her. Natalie looks like she wants to stab this man as he gives her one-word answers while she risks being deported. Natalie knows she deserves to be treated better, but I think she’s in this for the long haul. Above all else, she wants a husband and a baby and she’s not about to start over with someone else.
“Second Guessing” features three couples reaching the natural next step of their relationship: getting married and moving to the spinoff 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After. Rebecca and Zied, Tarik and Hazel, and Brandon and Julia all make the COVID weddings of their dreams come true. As far as 90 Day Fiancé weddings go, all of these were appropriately romantic and sweet. Even Rebecca’s daughter and son-in-law couldn’t ruin their special day.
Even though I’m still suspicious of Zied’s need to push up their wedding, he truly is so happy to get married. Maybe men in their 20s just have a hard time showing their excitement in the time leading up to the wedding, but he’s finally able to show the enthusiasm Rebecca’s been searching for. Brandon is around Zied’s age and has had a similar turnaround. I really thought Brandon was getting cold feet, but he finally grows up and does something nice for Julia without his parents telling him to do it. Also, Julia is totally right about their vows. It’s incredibly sweet to watch Brandon speak her native language, and you can tell her parents appreciate it.
It’s Tarik and Hazel who pull off the best wedding. Unlike Jovi’s impersonal Elvis wedding officiant, Tarik has his best friend Angela marry them. He also made sure Hazel’s family were able to join via video for every step of the ceremony. It’s also not like anyone could compete with Auri, the most adorable flower girl in the world. The best part, though, is Tarik’s total dedication and love for Hazel. It’s like he finally realized how lucky he is to have her in his life. Not that things between them are perfect now — Hazel is still laser-focused on finding a girlfriend on her terms.
90 Day Notes
• When Natalie and Mike’s neighbor get to the hotel, there’s a food delivery from The Cheesecake Factory stranded on the attendant’s desk. I wonder if some guest was stuck waiting to get their food just off camera.
• I truly identified with Yara eagerly admitting she simply refuses to understand how something works.
• Jovi’s mom was absolutely right to stand up for Yara and whatever ring she wants.
• Brandon’s dad is my other favorite parent. I love that Brandon’s mom is sobbing about how she’s going to miss Brandon and he’ll always be her baby and Brandon’s dad is just like … we’ll finally have the house to ourselves.
• Jovi and his entire crew bringing beer into the tuxedo shop was a beautiful moment. I don’t think Jovi wants to be sober for any moment of this wedding.
• Tarik and Hazel and Zied and Rebecca are probably the most interesting options for Happily Ever After. Stephanie will probably head off to The Single Life and hopefully Amira ends up there too. I’d like to see Jovi and Yara head to Pillow Talk. Also, if you’re keeping up with Bares All, Jovi takes a lie-detector test in last night’s episode. It’s hilarious because he clearly thinks he can just … lie his way through it and very quickly realizes he is not that smart or charming.
