First Dates Ireland review: Plot twists galore in eventful episode
First Dates Ireland: Paul and Aoife
We are back in The Gibson Hotel for the latest episode of First Dates, and once again it is an episode with shocks galore and plot twists aplenty.
Our first couple, Richard and Caoimhe, look good on paper. A primary teacher, his happiness to split the bill with falconer Caoimhe is made all the more shocking when he says he wouldn’t want to meet again because their "energies weren’t resonating".
Luckily Caoimhe is well used to working with unpredictable species and takes the rebuff on the chin, but the audience is left wondering if Richard is running marathons purely to run as fast away from perfect love matches as possible.
Paul and Aoife hit it off instantly - bonding over the fact they are just two lovely people who deserve a shot at happiness.
Future bus driver Paul is clearly smitten with Aoife who works in Pieta House, meaning she is one of those terrifyingly ‘good’ people we read about.
When we learn that these two beauties just wanted to stay friends, we are left asking ourselves if the curse of First Dates can ever be broken.
Brian from Cork says it’s important to be kind, but given he is studying law it’s safe to say this adage, however aspirational, is probably little more than youthful opposition.
His failure to find love with his chemistry graduate date is unsurprising given that he has clearly already found his soulmate in hedgehogs.
So endearing is Brian’s level of grá for the humble gráinneog that even this reviewer is now looking at the spikey little fella camping out in her shed for the last four months in a whole new light.
Speaking of squatters rights, Biff is working towards just that in his mam’s gaff, having had to return following his marital separation.
Biff and Toni make even this jaded reviewer believe in the power of second chances as the two hit it off so well they have to employ the use of a ‘talking stick’ to make sure everyone gets a chance to speak uninterrupted.
The sceitimíní are real throughout the date, with Biff trying to convince his make-up artist date that the posters of Ariana Grande in his bedroom are actually his daughter’s - that old chestnut.
What follows in the post-show epilogue is a plot twist nobody saw coming - Biff, we are told, is still waiting for Toni to return his call, and we can only assume Toni’s phone is broken for the last few months, such is our level of disbelief.
Toni, if you’re out there - at least text him back to say it’s not you, it’s me.
Because nobody needs to suffer the slings and arrows of unrequited love under the judgmental eye of Ariana Grande, who let’s face it should be the last to throw stones.
- First Dates Ireland is on RTÉ2 on Thursdays, and is available on the RTÉ Player
