One Perfect Couple

The chapter opens with Lyla and Joel listening to the wind howl as they remain closeted in their offshore villa. Lyla wonders if the villa is truly sturdy enough to withstand the weather, given the resort’s unfinished state. The two discuss their respective partners and the shock of Nico’s elimination. Nico is now on the boat, awaiting his return to England. Joel admits that he and Romi have drifted apart over time and now share few interests, and Lyla realizes that the same can be said of her own relationship.

Lyla nearly falls asleep, but she suddenly hears a loud noise outside and discovers that the power is out. She decides to cross to the main island even though the gangway is partially submerged. As the rain intensifies, Lyla searches the staff huts. She finds the radio and attempts one of the early distress calls, but she is interrupted when a flying object—likely a coconut—crashes into the hut, forcing her to flee.

Lyla returns to the villa and decides to wake Joel before they become stranded there. Before she can reach him, a wave breaks the window. The water is now much higher, increasing the odds that one of them will fall into the sea in an attempt to return to the mainland. Joel is nearly pulled under by a wave, and although they hear a crash from the main island, they decide to secure the villa doors with the bed and move in the morning. Lyla finds herself hoping that she and Nico both survive the night.

In the morning, Joel and Lyla awaken to evidence of storm damage onshore. Joel decides to swim to shore and tells Lyla how to safely navigate the current. Lyla watches Joel cross and then makes the challenging swim herself. She urges Joel to find Romi. While Lyla recuperates, Dan runs up to her from the trees, “shirtless and covered in dried blood” (158). He asks if she really is a medical expert, as Santana has been injured in the storm. Lyla ruefully considers whether her virology background makes her the closest thing to medical support. They are interrupted by Joel screaming Romi’s name.

As Lyla surveys the scene, she realizes that Joel and Romi’s villa was hit by an enormous palm tree. When the others pull away the fallen tree, they find that Romi is dead. Joel is inconsolable, but Dan quietly urges Lyla to help him return to Santana. Lyla surveys Santana’s wound, which was caused when a massive metal shard hit her thigh. While looking for suitable supplies, Lyla surveys the damage to the kitchen and the other huts and radios another distress call (the one described in Interlude 4). She finds duct tape and large paper towels to bind the wound. On her way back, Lyla finds the dead body of an unfamiliar producer. Lyla cleans and binds Santana’s wound and then explains that she must find Joel. She and Dan explain Romi’s death, and Lyla tells them about the deceased producer. Santana urges them to find the others.

Zana’s diary entry describes Romi’s death and Joel’s emotional devastation, along with Conor’s empathy for him. Bayer is also seriously injured, but according to the diary, Conor competently resets his dislocated shoulder, impressing Zana.

The narrative resumes with Lyla, Dan, and Joel finding the others at the cabana. Conor briefly attempts to comfort Joel, while Lyla becomes increasingly concerned that Nico may have died at sea. The stranded contestants speculate on whether they will be rescued. An irritable Bayer asks Conor to try to put his dislocated shoulder back in its socket, as medical help seems unlikely to appear. Lyla is impressed by Conor’s relative calm in the crisis. Conor tells everyone that they should organize into the habitable villas and bury the dead. This suggestion makes Lyla reflect that the situation they are facing now is “very far from a game” (178).

Zana’s diary focuses on the group’s fragile collective mental health. They avoid voicing their fears that no rescue is imminent.

The discussion over burying the dead soon turns tense, as Santana asks whether the burials might interfere with a future investigation. Bayer becomes angry at the idea. Lyla notes that his hostility is becoming a trend; he is still struggling with his injury and is frequently drunk. Conor gently points out that the bodies will otherwise pose a health hazard, and Lyla agrees. During the funerals, Lyla watches Zana weep and realizes that “she [i]s crying for the rest of us too” (184).

Conor further embraces his self-styled leadership role and tells the others to inventory food and supplies and begin rationing everything on the assumption that they will need to survive as long as possible. Further debris and destruction suggest that any generators or facilities for producing fresh water have been destroyed.

Bayer and Angel became increasingly frustrated with the physical labor of bringing the remaining food to the cabana. Conor tells Angel, “If you want to eat it, you’ll carry it” (188), further angering Bayer. Lyla feels that the others resent Conor because he is forcing them to face the reality that they may be stranded for a long time. Joel diffuses the tension by suggesting a break and asks Lyla to show the others the radio. They agree on a limited schedule of wide-ranging distress calls. As she and the others leave Joel behind to work the radio, Lyla hears the words of his broadcast, which comprise Interlude 5.

Zana’s diary discusses the beginning of the group’s attempt to ration water, highlighting the physical and psychological difficulties involved. In this rendering, Conor is a steadfast comfort to her.

Lyla wakes, increasingly depressed at their new circumstances. She goes for a walk and finds Conor scanning the sea. They discuss their situation, and Conor insists that someone in England will notice their lack of check-ins. However, as he and Lyla consider the matter further, they become worried about the possibility that the storm will not make international news. When Lyla asks Conor how he knows Baz, his manner suddenly becomes chilly and evasive. Conor reminds Lyla that their food will not last long and stresses that their best hope of survival is to forage and hunt the local wildlife. He points out the mathematical certainty of running out of water in weeks, increasing Lyla’s dread.

When Conor orders Bayer to stop drinking from a water bottle, the tension between the two escalates. The others struggle to accept Conor’s harsh calculations and are skeptical about his certainty that the production’s yacht, the Over Easy, would have come back to rescue them by now if it had managed to survive the storm. Zana holds a bleak outlook on what she sees as their inevitable deaths, but Conor tells her that “in three weeks, anything could happen” (200), insisting that they must maximize their chances of rescue.

Zana’s diary praises Conor’s calm leadership and rationing policy. She explains that she has moved to the Ever After Villa (henceforth known as the water villa) to give Bayer and Angel more space to recuperate. She professes her love for her boyfriend and praises his care for the group.

The contestants-turned-castaways establish a daily routine of foraging and fishing in between radio distress calls. Conor and Bayer continue to clash, leading Lyla to assume that Bayer will renovate the water villa in order to avoid Conor. Instead, Conor builds a haphazard jetty to the villa and announces that he and Zana are moving. This angers Bayer. Dan and Lyla show the group the ripe bananas and coconuts they have found for dinner, but Bayer remains unimpressed and refuses to drink any coconut water, running to the main water bottle instead. Conor furiously orders him to stop, and the two nearly fight. Bayer storms off, and Conor apologizes, but the others assure him that he acted correctly.

Lyla is disconcerted to find that the growing conflict epitomizes the factionalism that is central to most reality television storylines. She finds this development disturbing because she knows that “the stakes here [are] life and death” (207). As the group prepares for bed, Lyla tries to give Zana an opening to stay on the main island due to her phobia. She advises Conor not to speak for her. Zana denies that there is anything wrong and crosses the water even though she is terrified.

In her diary, Zana describes the increasing mental struggle not to become obsessed with water. In this version, she and Conor are equal partners and actively support one another.

Lyla enters the cabana to find Angel swearing angrily because all the food and water has vanished. Conor arrives and explains that he has taken it to keep it away from animals. Lyla soon realizes that Joel has helped Conor move the provisions. Lyla and Bayer both furiously point out that even if Conor’s reasons were practical, making such a unilateral decision is cruel. When Conor intimates that Bayer has not proven himself worthy of routine access to food and water, Bayer instigates a brutal fight with Conor and is killed after sustaining a series of particularly harsh blows to the head.

Joel insists that Bayer’s death is a tragic accident, but Angel storms off in outrage. The group assembles for an awkward dinner. Lyla explains to Santana that Bayer died in the cabana and thinks to herself, “Yes, he had hit his head, but somehow that didn’t do justice to how it had unfolded, to Conor’s quiet, calculated violence” (218). Santana explains that the heat is making it harder to manage her insulin doses and states that the absence of refrigeration will impact its efficacy. Without insulin, she will inevitably die.

When Angel arrives for dinner, Conor tells her that she cannot choose her own meal because she has not performed any tasks that day. He explains that he is only “letting her eat” as a concession to her emotional state (212). This infuriates the others. Zana gently tries to persuade Conor to make an exception. He agrees, but Angel angrily refuses to eat, and the others have a stilted dinner. Santana tells Lyla that she is proud of Zana for defending Angel. Lyla uneasily wonders how Conor might punish his girlfriend for her resistance to his control.

Zana’s diary resumes, giving a markedly different description of Bayer’s death. Rather than describing the fatal altercation with Conor, Zana states that Bayer’s signs of increasing weakness led to an eventual fall into unconsciousness. She even specifies that the others urged him to drink more water. In this version, Conor and Bayer are friends, and Conor is wracked with grief over Bayer’s death.

On the night after Bayer’s death, Dan begins a discussion about Conor’s decision to horde the supplies. He alienates Joel by suggesting that they could all end up afraid of Conor, just as Zana is. Dan also points out that Conor’s YouTube fans show signs of intense misogyny. Joel refuses to consider the idea that Conor may be abusing his partner and insists that Conor’s sole possession of the supplies is only practical. However, Santana quotes George Orwell’s Animal Farm and says, “All I’m seeing is ‘some animals are more equal than others’” (228). When Joel suggests that Bayer’s behavior is proof of the need for strong leadership, Santana remains unconvinced and reminds him that Conor is responsible for Bayer’s death. Joel does not commit to supporting Dan’s plan to argue for supply redistribution. In the darkness, Lyla wonders, “Just how reasonable was Conor? Either way we were going to find out. I just hoped we could live with the answer” (230).

The discussion over breakfast turns tense. In response to Dan and Santana’s moral outrage, Conor asks implacably, “What do you propose to do about it?” (232). The confrontation ends when Dan storms off just as Angel arrives and applauds him for refusing to tolerate Conor. In the rising tension, Lyla goes to make a radio call, eager to regain some solitude.

Zana’s next entry depicts the tensions over water and Dan’s fury, but in this account, the others are calmly rational while Dan breaks down over his thirst and asks for extra water.

Lyla, Angel, and Santana are now alone together. (Dan has disappeared, and Joel is fishing with Conor.) Angel explains her certainty that Conor has no conscience. The three women work on building stacks of wood and other materials to light a bonfire in the event that a ship passes by. Lyla stops at the villa’s bathroom on her way to lunch and is surprised to see that the door is open.

She returns to Santana, and they discuss Zana’s situation. Santana says that she has some personal knowledge of Conor’s history with women. She was classmates with a 17-year-old girl whom Conor dated when he was in his mid-twenties. The girl, Cally, died by suicide soon after their breakup. Santana says that this incident is proof that Conor has a “pattern of picking emotionally fragile younger women and making them very, very dependent on him” (241).

After dinner, Lyla watches Joel’s continued camaraderie with Conor, disconcerted to realize that they are reinforcing the gender roles imposed by the reality show’s producers. Lyla and Santana offer to let Angel move in with them. Zana, frozen with anxiety, rejects the idea of telling Conor that she wants to avoid the water and move to Angel and Bayer’s former villa. Zana makes a face when Santana takes her hand, and the others realize that Zana’s arm is bruised. Zana stiffly insists that she has no complaints about her housing or situation with Conor.

That night, Dan returns and is increasingly uncomfortable with Joel’s open alliance with Conor. Santana tries to persuade Dan to avoid starting any arguments until tomorrow. Angel is confused when Santana offers to share a bed with her, and a bitter Dan comes out to her and says, “Gay or straight, we’ll all be dead before the boat gets here” (246). As they rearrange the beds to accommodate Angel, Santana realizes that her insulin is missing. Lyla now sees that this was the reason for the open door—the thief’s exit. Before Santana can stop him, Dan goes to confront Conor. When Joel arrives, Lyla notices that he is unsurprised to hear about the insulin. When Lyla points out that confronting Conor has gone badly in the past, Joel insists that all will be well if Dan remains reasonable. At the water villa, Lyla finds Conor but sees no sign of Dan. Conor insists that Dan never stopped by. Conor watches her return to the others.

Lyla and Angel call loudly for Dan, to no effect. Joel awkwardly suggests resuming the search in the morning. Lyla wakes the next day to discover that Santana has already been searching fruitlessly for Dan. The three women discuss the insulin situation. Angel believes that Joel is the most likely culprit, as she saw the door open before dinner, while Conor was fishing alone. Santana agrees, remembering that she filled her pump early in the day and that only Joel would have known where she stored her supply. Lyla remembers her prior camaraderie with Joel and finds it difficult to face this new view of him. She forces herself to accept that “someone on the island ha[s] betrayed” the group (260).

In Zana’s latest fictionalized diary entry, Dan returns after demanding more water to find a warm and supportive Conor, who urges him to stay safe.

After another unsuccessful search for Dan, Santana nearly breaks down. Zana comforts her, reminding her that someone will rescue them if they can only stay alive long enough. Angel goes to try the radio and finds the battery dead. As the others argue about possible repairs, Conor calls for help. He has found Dan’s waterlogged and damaged body. As they bury Dan, Lyla finds a “large and smooth and round object” in his hand and keeps it for later study (266). (The narrative will later reveal that he was holding a bottle of Santana’s insulin.)

Back at the villa, Lyla listens to Angel, who is offering support to Santana. Unable to sleep, Lyla goes outside to join Joel on their villa’s veranda. She decides to trust the strength of their prior bond and tells Joel about her discovery of the insulin bottle. However, when she shows him the bottle, he has a strong visceral reaction, and she immediately senses that he is complicit. Lyla does not convey her suspicion, instead letting Joel reach the obvious conclusion that someone gave Dan the bottle. Clearly upset, Joel refuses to say more and asks for solitude, so Lyla goes to bed, wondering where Joel’s loyalties ultimately lie.

The next day, Lyla looks for Joel, finding only a snake in the wreckage of the villa that he once shared with Romi. Lyla tries to remind herself that snake bites are rare, and she realizes that her unfounded paranoia has become a pattern; the island has turned her into a person who “trust[s] the wrong people, ma[kes] the wrong decisions” (271). She resolves to fall back on her scientific training and reflects that just as she refused to falsify her bad data, she must now acknowledge the truth of what is happening on the island, no matter how unpleasant it may be.

Zana’s diary describes Dan’s death as an accidental drowning that occurs when a game of volleyball goes horribly wrong. In this account, Joel blames himself for failing to teach Dan how to swim against the tide.

On the beach, Lyla, Santana, and Angel wait for Conor to arrive with their water allotment. Lyla shows them both the insulin bottle that she found and says that during her conversation with Joel, he looked “guilty as hell. But he also looked…stricken” (276). Lyla explains her suspicion that Joel took the insulin, either in exchange for water or as proof of his loyalty to Conor. Lyla explains that her memory of that night seems different to her now; Conor’s hair was damp, possibly because he drowned Dan after an argument. Lyla reluctantly states her hope that Angel is right and that Joel’s absence can be explained by the assumption that he is merely processing his duplicity, as the alternative is that Conor has murdered him. The women argue over what to do, and Lyla says that because Santana has some insulin left, they have to “find a way of getting the insulin back that lets [Conor] maintain plausible deniability” (280).

Conor arrives and explains that they will get no water until they find eight coconuts to add to their supplies, even if this requires dangerous climbing. Zana tries to argue that they should receive a morning drink before the effort, and he injures her hand intentionally. The others urge him away from her, and he leaves. Zana tries to assure the others that this behavior is not typical for Conor, but Angel is not dissuaded, saying, “Nor was my last boyfriend. Until the first time he was. And the second time” (284). The women tacitly avoid discussing the prospect of Joel’s death and agree to prioritize the coconut search over searching for him.

The women begin their efforts to find more coconuts, bringing some down with rocks and then shaking a tree. Zana insists on climbing a palm tree, and Lyla thinks that this is an effort to avoid confronting Conor’s true nature. Zana’s climb brings down three coconuts, but when she catches sight of a passing ship, the others rush to bring Angel’s lighter to their staged pile of material. Conor does not help and only watches as the ship turns away from the island.