Netflix's new reality show Too Hot to Handle puts a unique twist on the expected dating show. The claim is that this show is about a quest for deeper connections. In reality, it's just entertaining watching people squirm when they find out that they're not allowed to hook up. At all. They cannot kiss or engage in any sort of sexual act. Essentially, it's the exact opposite of any other dating show, but here's the twist- there is $100K on the line. At the outset, it's unclear if/how the money will be divided, but every time someone broke a rule that cash prize decreased and the others got mad.
For the most part, this show, just like an early 2000s phone plan, was "pay as you go." No one knew how much anything cost until it happened. Then, when the first violation happened, the offenders weren't even mentioned along with the dollar amount for the deduction. Same with the second incident until all of a sudden the routine changed. Basically, it felt like they just threw spaghetti at a wall to see if it got stuck. And, ultimately, Lana, a sassier Siri, started calling people out by name and in great detail. Those eight episodes went by so quickly. Let's take a look back at every rule violation on Too Hot to Handle.
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After one kiss-free night, Harry Jowsey and Francesca Farago were the first to break the rules. Harry naively remarked, "We're gonna go down here, have this chat, I'm gonna kiss you, then it's gonna be on. And no one will know." Seemingly, he forgot that they signed on for a reality show with a premise that involves keeping track of sexual activity. Of course, someone was going to know. In fact, everyone would end up knowing. Duh. Immediately after that kiss, he told Francesca, "Also, I think we should have sex."
By the time the group gathered around for Lana's punishment, Harry already told the guys that Francesca initiated the kiss. So, Lana didn't even have to say Harry and Francesca's names when she took away $3,000 from the prize. They both fessed up to the kiss and everyone was annoyed. However, it's unclear if they were more annoyed by the money or some jealousy because they hadn't kissed anyone themselves.
After getting scolded by the cast, Francesca was understandably upset. She became a social pariah just to kiss a guy who immediately threw her under the bus. But at least she had Haley Cureton on her side. They came up with a plan to take the heat off Francesca and create some suspicion about Sharron Townsend and Rhonda Paul. Haley and Francesca decided to secretly kiss and pin it on Sharron and Rhonda, who snuck away from the room in the middle of the night, but didn't actually hook up. However, Lana threw the anonymity out the window when Haley and Francesca didn't willingly cop to the kiss. The machine ratted them out and deducted $3,000 from the group's prize money.
Somehow zero rules were violated when Francesca and Kelz Dyke showered together. This is only included in the list to point out the inconsistency of this show. How is it not considered at all sexual to shower as a pair?
During the fourth episode, Lana introduced these light-up watches that allowed the contestants to break the rules, probably because they realized the show would be boring if no one ever kissed. However, Lana claimed that this was to encourage deeper connections beyond the physical. If a watch light blinked green, this meant that a genuine connection was formed and the two people had permission to kiss. No, this wasn't based on any sort of science related to pulse rate or something at all reputable. But, no one even questioned that, just hoping to get the green light. Initially, Sharron and Rhonda got that green light to kiss during their picnic on the beach. Then, they got to go on an overnight date, but there was a catch. There would be no green lights for the entire night.
They did not actually have sex because Sharron didn't want to stop their growth as a couple and as individuals. But, as expected, they did not completely resist temptation during their sleepover. At the start of the next episode, Lana shared an itemized list of their offenses. They got called out for kissing, which was a given. Lana also said that they engaged in "inappropriate touching." And, then on a Netflix show that doesn't even bleep out curse words, Lana uttered two censored violations. The first was the "constant use of the _____ in the _____." Then, she just said something that was entirely bleeped out. In total, the group was docked $16,000.
Considering that the entire run of this show was only eight episodes, it was pretty random to bring in Bryce Hirschberg, a keyboard, and some sailor hats in the middle of the fifth episode. Most of the people in the group seemed to be at all impressed by Bryce. However, Chloe Veitch was picking up what he was laying down. Bryce told Chloe that she's "like the perfect package." She responded with, "why don't you kiss me, then?" And, apparently, it wasn't even worth losing $3K because the chemistry wasn't there. Well, at least according to Chloe. Bryce had no idea about Chloe's proclaimed lack of fireworks.
Lana switched up the game, yet again, by giving Haley the boot. Apparently, Haley violated some hidden rules. The group didn't lose any money, but Lana kicked out the proud Zeta sorority member for not "having a positive impact on the group as a whole," not "showing sings of personal growth," and not "obeying the rules" in reference to that one kiss with Francesca. The punishment for these broken rules was not at all consistent across the board. Lana declared that "insufficient progress has been made" and Francesca was the only one sad that Haley left.
Because there were so many rule-following duds in the initial cast, three people were brought on during the second-to-last episode of the season. One of those guys was Kori, who ended up kissing Chloe and costing the group $3,000. However, there was no real connection there since he tried to take Francesca out on a date soon after, which, obviously, hurt Chloe's feelings.
At the start of the episode, Harry claimed that he wanted to follow the rules and he "wanted to be taught" how to have a deeper connection with Francesca. Of course, that watch light up green, resulting in a sanctioned make out session. Their progress was short-lived though. They got to embark on an overnight date and ended up having sex, which came at a $20,000 expense.
David Birtwistle kissed Lydia Clyma, one of the mid-season additions to the cast. Just like the other kisses, this one lost the group $3K. David boasted, "I feel like I've grown already and I'm really proud of myself" and then they showered together, which is, again, weirdly not against the rules.
While sleeping in the same room as the entire cast, Francesca claimed that she "went down under" on her Australian beau, but she felt zero guilt since the two of them were "in love." Obviously, no one else in the cast cared about that since they kept losing money while having significantly less fun in the process.
At the end of the season, Francesca and Harry had another overnight date, but this time they actually had an opportunity to make money for the group. All they had to do was comply with the rules and all of the money that they lost would go back into the prize. Somehow, by some miracle, these two were able to abstain, and they did get their deductions restored. That just goes to prove that it's possible to have your cake and eat it too. They enjoyed themselves more than anyone else in the Too Hot to Handle cast and they got all of their debts removed. While the others were definitely relieved to get that money back, they must have been so annoyed that Harry and Francesca got to do whatever they wanted and, ultimately, faced zero consequences.
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