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What I love (and hate) about Fantasy Island
April 28, 2023
I started watching Fantasy Island in 2020 not because I was particularly interested in the show, but because it happened to be playing on TV during my lunch hour. At first, I thought the show was dumb; I usually watch shows with ensemble casts, and I didn’t see the appeal of a show with only two characters — especially when those two characters weren’t even present for most of the episode.
But something clicked, and I got hooked on the show. Since then, I’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time thinking about Fantasy Island. I’ve decided to share these thoughts, because there’s not any significant analysis about Fantasy Island online, and that’s something that I think should exist.
For my first essay, I’m going to try to explain why I care so much about a show that is — let’s be honest — pretty silly. As much as I’ve come to enjoy this series, there’s still a part of me that thinks this show is dumb, because it turns out all the reasons I love this show are the same reasons I hate this show.