Watching Lana Jenkins and Ron Hall's relationship ebb and flow is like watching Matt Hancock do the candy dance – we really wish we didn't have to. They started this series of Love Island as a relatively strong couple, many people were convinced they were a great match, but some of us started collecting suspicions under our arms like little easter eggs. And now the basket doth overflow.
Early on this series, Lana and Ron sat with Shaq and Tanya by the pool and discussed how strong they were as couples. If we were to give them the benefit of the doubt, they may have just been feeling giddy and enjoying the sun with their new beloveds. If we're keeping it real, it felt as though they were trying to position themselves as 'the ones who have been together since the beginning'. We've seen this happen before, and it doesn't always end well.
Allow me to introduce an astute comparison with Liberty Poole and Jake Cornish from series seven. They were 'together since the beginning', the first to say I love you and the first to become official. They were also the first to break up and ended up choosing to leave the show before the final – as single people. The rise and fall of their relationship was sad to witness, it was as if we were watching a completely different story play out to the one Liberty had been sold by Jake. It all fell apart on movie night when Liberty was shown clips of Jake telling the boys he didn't find her that attractive or want to 'rip her clothes off', as well as other clips of him encouraging the boys to betray their partners in Casa Amor. The Jake we saw on TV was not the same one he was showing his girlfriend.
The way Ron has treated Lana feels very similar. He has always told her exactly what she wants to hear and made her feel as though he is besotted with her and has his undivided attention. That is until any bombshell enters the villa, when he is biologically obliged to get to know them and give them a chance – particularly if they are his 'usual type', like Ellie and Samie.
He calculates his next moves like a football commentator and always claims to 'back himself', knowing he can afford to get to know whoever he wants and still get into bed with Lana at the end of the day. So much so that he's been called out several times for it by the other boys – particularly Shaq who has told him he's been 'out of order' on multiple occasions. While Lana claims she 'wouldn't normally take this sh*t on the outside', in the villa she is playing into Ron's hands. She's been forced to share a confined space with the person she likes and knows is mugging her off, which can't be easy, but her attempts at revenge have been half-hearted. Lana has pulled the wool of love over her eyes, and anyone who tries to help her remove it is wasting their efforts. Like Liberty, she will have to learn the hard way.
However, the way Lana has responded to Ron's games is where her and Liberty differ. Lana attempted to level the playing field in the recent recoupling by choosing new boy Casey over Ron. It was a bad bitch move, and it was backed by viewers and islanders alike. But it ended before our cup of tea had reached drinking temperature. Within minutes of coupling up with Casey, Lana asked to pull Ron for a chat to explain that she still wants to spend time with him and didn't mean to hurt his feelings. And what did he say to this offer from the girl he supposedly wants to be with? 'No'. Instead, in classic misogyny play he went straight to Casey – Man2Man – to say 'you've got a good one' and to warn him not to make the same mistakes he did. It was giving Carrie Bradshaw saying 'your girl's lovely Hubbell' to Mr Big at his engagement party, before staring at the floor smiling and walking off into the sunset. Ron is moving around the villa like he's in a West End production, every line feels like it's for an audience rather than the person he is speaking to or about.
Five minutes after those first five minutes had passed, Lana said she'd finally made up her mind and wasn't interested in Casey after all. She only has eyes for Ron. Only a fool would have ever believed that Lana was genuinely interested in Casey (Casey is therefore a fool); he was just a pawn in her game to make Ron jealous. For that reason, she has lost some of our respect too.
And just as Jake's behaviour repeatedly went against what he was telling his partner, Ron's reaction further proved that he doesn't have Lana's best interests at heart. He told her that she 'f*cked up' and flipped the situation onto her before agreeing to try things again – he has since been accused of gaslighting. While these terms get banded around too frequently, Ron has certainly manipulated the situation to make it seem as though him and Lana are equal parts victim and perpetrator. The pair then kissed and made up straight after Lana ended things with Casey, in front of Casey's eyes. Only a few hours later, Casey was relegated to the daybed so that Lana could sleep alone, while Ron asked Tanyel if they can still spoon in bed.
They think we're rooting for them now that they're back together, but we're not. Not even their fellow islanders seem pleased that they are back together. Will said he was 'proud of her' when Lana picked Casey at the recoupling, and several of the girls said 'are you sure?' when she said she had settled on choosing Ron. They have also all flocked to comfort Casey in the wake of his rejection, who seems much more popular with the boys than Ron already.
There's only one thing left to say: Casa Amor. We are anticipating one of two scenarios playing out: chaos from Ron, anxiety and tears from Lana and a dramatic reunion episode, or for Ron to play a Jake and pretend he's missing Lana like the deserts miss the rain, refusing to speak to any of the girls because he's in such a STRONG relationship with someone back home. We'd love to be wrong.