This article contains spoilers for Season 9 of "Love Is Blind."

I see faces in everything — a slice of Swiss cheese, the front of a sedan, even an electrical outlet. So when I watched "Love Is Blind" with a blanket draped over my television, I didn't think it would be difficult to imagine what the participants looked like.

I was wrong.

Participants of Netflix's popular dating series are single people who say they are ready for marriage, and they enter "the experiment," as the show's creator Chris Coelen calls it, where they date potential partners through individual "pods," in which they can speak to each other but cannot see each other. They each aim to find their future husband or wife, and it isn't until they are already engaged that they see each other. Four weeks later, they say "I do" — assuming all goes well, and it usually doesn't.

As a devoted fan of the series, I decided to get a taste of the experiment myself with Season 9. I watched the first six episodes, where the participants are blindly dating each other, completely blind myself. Only when the couples revealed themselves to each other did I see them. I call it "Love Is Double Blind." (Although the trend of watching the show this way has popped up on social media, that moniker has not.)

What I learned from my own experiment is that it's somewhat easy to see (or rather hear, I suppose) which couples work on a fundamental level and which couples don't when your judgment is not clouded by appearances. I also realized pretty much everyone looked nothing like what I had pictured, which could be what some participants experience after seeing the person they're supposed to very quickly marry for the first time.

I diligently took notes as I listened to the early episodes (just like the participants do on their pod dates) and broke down my thoughts episode by episode. From Sparkle Megan's competing love interests to the dramatic breakups this season, all of the drama and the cringe were still present, even through this unusual viewing experience.

Episode 1: 'A Love That Sparkles'

This episode was, by far, the hardest to watch in terms of adjusting to my "blind" experience. I started by blindfolding myself and quickly realized that made my notes incoherent. I opted to swap the blindfold for a blanket covering my TV, which was better, but I cracked the code by the end of this episode. The blanket-on-the-TV method works best if you don't cover up the lower third of the screen so you can see the participants' ages, names and occupations. This also helps if you, like me, are reliant on subtitles.

Once I figured out the optimal way to pursue "blind" viewing, it was still difficult to keep track of the participants, but a handful stood out. Patrick Suzuki quickly expressed his insecurities about being Asian American, which made me think he wasn't quite ready for a show like this where your insecurities can be tested, especially after participants become engaged. (Do I look like what they expected me to look like? Am I their type? Do they still love me in the "real world"?)

I did note that Patrick and Anna Yuan, who also happens to be Asian American, seemed like a great match in their early conversations even before they knew each other's ethnicity — they later had an open conversation about it.

Megan Walerius, whose opening line for all her pod dates was that she calls herself "Sparkle Megan," had strong connections with Blake Anderson, Jordan Keltner and Mike Brockway. Early on, Mike seemed like the best match in terms of chemistry but the worst in terms of building a happy, healthy relationship.

Episode 2: 'Love Me When I'm Blind?'

Ali Lima and Anton Yarosh were the first couple we saw get engaged, so they were the first couple I saw at all (although they hyped up the reveal in Episode 1, I didn't get to see them until the top of Episode 2). It felt like we barely got to know them at all before the reveal because there was just too much ground to cover with all the key players. I disliked Anton's comment about how Ali could have been "twice" her size, but chalked it up to nerves and adrenaline that I imagine would be coursing through him in that moment.

Madison Maidenberg's honesty about her vision issues and the possibility she could go blind one day was sad to learn, but it was nice to hear her being vulnerable, and it seemed like her match Joe Ferrucci took it well. Edmond Harvey and Kalybriah Haskin appeared to be an unproblematic, strong (albeit unexpected) fit, at least so far. Nick Amato already came off as a player, and I'm not a fan of the spicy talk in the pods. Isn't your family going to watch this?

With Patrick, the insecurity about his identity and his hesitation to share his ethnicity with Kacie McIntosh was uncomfortable to listen to — I do not envy those who actually watched this scene. Kacie was receptive and open to the conversation, but it still felt like Patrick and Anna made a good match at this point, even if she and Blake also seemed to really work together. So many love triangles!

The bright spot of the episode was Joe's proposal to Madison, which seemed genuine and heartfelt. The low point was Anna ghosting Patrick. That was unexpected and made me feel terrible for him, but again, I was grateful I didn't have to watch the cringey moment.

Episode 3: 'Ghost Town'

Megan was in a tough spot here. Mike was the guy she says she would typically go for in the real world. But Jordan was a better fit emotionally, at least in my mind. Blake, however, bowed out and left the show early, like Anna. That left the door open for Jordan, so it was a win in my book. If Blake's departure had led her to Mike, I would have been more upset.

Madison and Joe's reveal (and his shock) felt like one of the more realistic ones I've seen on this show. Matching a stranger's face to the voice you fell in love with would probably be pretty jarring. Listening to the show as opposed to watching has made me a lot more sympathetic to the more awkward or surprised reveals. I'll cut Joe some slack here, but I'll be watching him with closer eyes now that I can actually see him.

Edmond's proposal to Kalybriah and their reveal later on felt perfect for their personalities. They seem to have had the most open and deep conversations so far, but I always have to wonder if the edit makes anyone seem more deep or more shallow than they are to favor the juicier stuff. Maybe what we're seeing of Edmond and KB is a fraction of their conversations that happen to be interesting, and the rest could be unbearably boring.

A quick rundown on my thoughts of all the other key players at this point: Kait Nemunaitis and Nick seem like a better fit than Nick and Annie Lancaster, Annie and Brenden Guthrie are probably not a match made in heaven, Patrick and Kacie have very little chemistry, and I still really don't like Mike (Sorry Mike! I just personally wouldn't want to date you).

Episode 4: 'The Dangerous Games We Play'

Nick's conversations with Kait about religion were frustrating to listen to — he seemed to act blindsided that she didn't have a strong connection to religion after she articulated her feelings well in an earlier conversation. Annie and Nick feel like they might be a better fit in terms of their background and upbringings, but listening to their conversation about raising LGBTQ+ kids was uncomfortable. Annie said she felt like young people identifying as a part of the LGBTQ+ community was "100%" a fad, and Nick said when kids "start having those thoughts too young," it's concerning to him. (Both Nick and Annie have since walked back those comments in recent interviews.)

By the end of the episode, it felt like Nick was trying to make the emotional connection with Annie catch up to their chemistry. "This is going to end in a messy breakup," I wrote in my notebook, predicting the demise of their relationship. And poor Brenden, who is so clearly in love with Annie, didn't win her heart. I think he may have dodged a bullet.

On Kacie and Patrick, let me first say that I don't understand how anyone could talk dirty in the pods, especially knowing that this is going to be televised. She did seem to love him, but it feels like that won't be enough to overcome his insecurities. Patrick's proposal was incredibly awkward — if I was proposed to and my partner immediately erupted into screams of "Let's go!" after I said yes, I might revoke that answer.

At this point, the competition between Jordan and Mike over Megan was heating up — and their responses to that competition were pretty telling. Mike was cocky and overconfident and Jordan was just concerned with Megan's happiness. I began wondering here whether their sweetness toward her was inflated or artificial because of this duel between the two men. Is flattery and kindness a means to an end for these guys? It felt that way for Mike.

Episode 5: 'I Want You to Want Me'

This was the final blind episode for me. The biggest crime was the music. I'm not the first person to make the point that the music on the series is almost sickeningly on the nose, but this episode took the cake for me. Mike says to Megan, "I want you to want me," in a rare moment of vulnerability for him. In what felt like a record-scratch moment, especially for me without any visuals, the soundtrack burst into a song with those exact lyrics. We got the point already!

Nick and Annie's proposal was sweet, but I still felt pessimistic about them. Their reveal was the most surprising because I just couldn't pin down any semblance of an idea of what they looked like. They look nice together, but I jotted down a gut feeling that they're not going to last.

I was happy for Patrick and Kacie in the reveal — it was still awkward, but they both seemed so happy. I noted here that if I had seen Kacie when they were talking in the pods, I never would have thought it would work out between them because she wouldn't go for a guy like Patrick based off looks alone. I still don't feel like they have the strongest relationship, but they had a sweet reveal.

Megan and Jordan looked like a good pair together in their giddy reveal, and I was relieved she didn't follow through with Mike. I was also happy to finally see one of the men walk his fiancee back to her side of the room once they have to part ways.

Episode 6: 'Coming in Hot'

From this episode on, my blanket was no longer obscuring my screen. It took some adjustment to reconcile the image of each person I had crafted in my brain and what they actually looked like, but once I got over that, it was nice to see what was happening.

The early events of the episode between Kacie and Patrick did make me wish I had that blanket back though. I hate that she couldn't give him a straight answer about whether she was breaking up with him, and that she insisted it wasn't about his looks. Poor Patrick, he deserves better.

Once the rest of the couples got to Mexico for their romantic getaways, it was fun to see how they interacted with each other. It was also fun to see those dumb, giant golden goblets the producers make them drink every liquid out of — I had missed those during my blind viewing.

Issues between the couples started coming to a head now — Edmond was frustrated with Kalybriah's decision to wait until the wedding to have sex and Joe was behaving in a pretty bizarre manner. His charm was starting to wear off on Madison (and me).

You can always expect drama when all of the couples meet (and see each other) for the first time, and this episode did not disappoint.

Episodes 7-11

I'll break my thoughts down on these episodes by couple for simplicity's sake.

Annie and Nick

My prediction was correct. It's not a surprise that they split. Their pod conversations never felt like they got that deep and it didn't feel like there was a strong enough connection between them to justify getting married, especially so quickly.

Madison and Joe

Joe's hesitation in the reveal should have been more telling to me, I suppose. His behavior was pretty erratic from the first episode out of the pods and that only seemed to continue and worsen. I feel bad for sweet Madison, but I'll admit I'm also just generally inclined to side with a woman over a man.

Given the likelihood that Madison will lose her vision, I was hoping she would find a match that truly felt love is blind and would embrace her.

And as much hate as this show gets for the music choices, playing Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" as Joe ran out of his tuxedo fitting was pretty perfect. More of that, please!

Ali and Anton

This just doesn't feel like a perfect match. They both bother me here and there — Anton's drinking and Ali's insistence on not picking up after herself, for example — but neither one of them seems like a bad person or a bad partner. By Episode 11, I just didn't think they should get married, and their conversations before the proposal didn't seem meaningful enough to warrant an engagement.

Megan and Jordan

There's clearly a lot at play between this couple in terms of adjusting to each other's lives, especially since Jordan has a young son, but both seem to be handling the hurdles well together.

I did wonder what the deal is with Jordan's job, though. Is he secretly a CIA agent? His occupation is listed as a service manager and he told Megan on their first date that he works in transportation and logistics, but his job has been the subject of intense online sleuthing and scrutiny since their respective work lives became a sore spot between the couple. Other than the tension between their different lifestyles, for some reason, they feel like the only couple I could see having a successful marriage down the line.

Kalybriah and Edmond

Edmond's personality seemed to be different in the pods than in real life — he seemed softer and more open to communicating before they got engaged. Kalybriah even noted in one argument that he acts differently when the cameras are rolling than when they're actually alone. I've always wondered how the reality television element of the experiment messes with the integrity of the experiment itself.

I do think they could work out together, but it just feels like they need more time to date each other before jumping into marriage.

Episode 12: 'Vow or Never'

The shocking finale this season revealed that for the first time, none of the relationships on "Love Is Blind" ended in marriage. The dramatic scoring and tense editing makes the "no" at the altar feel so shocking, but after the initial dramatic moment (and another look at my notes throughout the season), it's not entirely surprising there weren't any happy newlyweds at the end.

Although I had pegged Ali and Anton as an imperfect fit, her interviews the morning before the wedding, the sweet moment she shared with Anton's mom and her moving vows all made me think she was going to say yes.

Kalybriah's "no" seemed fitting given the issues that they had in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and Edmond's response was probably the most tempered I've seen from anyone getting rejected at the altar. Their breakup highlighted the extremes of this experiment. If the show was crafted to help the couples end up with happy, healthy relationships instead of a design that maximizes drama and makes for juicy, must-see TV, maybe KB and Edmond would have had more time to see their relationship through. Or, at the very least, they wouldn't have the added pressure of every word being scrutinized by a national audience.

Megan and Jordan's breakup hurt the most as someone who noticed their strong emotional bond since the beginning. It's upsetting to see real life get in the way of the love they have for each other, but it's also clear it wouldn't have been a smooth ride if they did get married. Megan was kind though to not make the sting of the split worse by going through the motions of the wedding day just to say no.

Parting words on 'blind' viewing

My experiment was a success, I'd say, in that I challenged myself to think deeper about the foundation of these relationships beyond the visuals, which exposed that there were very few contenders for happy marriages this season.

Would I watch future seasons like this? Only if I did so with a companion. It's a particularly challenging test of your memory to watch like this alone, and I imagine it would be more fun with a group, especially so you can revel in your shock at the reveals with people who understand how impossible it is to envision what these people look like.

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.