EXchange Season 4

What started great died a slow painful death.

I really wanted to love this season, and I did enjoy it a lot at the beginning. I found all the cast entertaining and interesting and what’s most important: everyone actually felt unique. But then we started to get the same annoying drama between the same few people over and over again and I was just done.

There were many production wise choices that made the show less enjoyable. First of all not everyone going to the ex room changed a lot - that’s the thing that usually puts possible reconnection into movement. Then we have the double ex idea that was just shocking as a revelation, but then changed close to nothing in the actual show itself. When they decided to introduce new people was also ill timed and did not allow them to truly explore their options. What’s more, I wish next time they will encourage more dates with a variety of people, especially at the beginning. Make them choose more blindly, for example - pick a person for a date based on the ex letter, not knowing who it is about. Pick a person to go on a date based on a photo they took, favorite movie.

I’m just kind of disappointed. There were not that many romantic and butterfly inducing moments, and a lot of crying and blaming each other, borderline manipulation etc. One of the reasons the first two seasons were so fun to watch was the fact it was less dramatic, more genuine. But this season just pushed the drama to the forefront instead of focusing on the positive connections.

Overall, would not really recommend…

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Mildly entertaining, mildly exhausting!

This was my first time watching Exchange and it was definitely a ride. I have mixed feeling about it. While the concept hooked me at start and it was definitely entertaining to guess who are the exes, it definitely didn't need 21 episodes to make its point. I feel like the pay off after investing so much time was too little and very dull.

Bringing exes together is obviously going to cause chaos, but a lot of it felt very staged. The drama was doing the absolute most, like the show was trying way too hard to convince us it was “real.” I know it’s a reality dating show, but half the time it felt like I was watching a scripted K-drama with worse acting.
It was unpredictable, no doubt... but in a very predictable way. I mean I could guess most of the final couples way before the finale. The twists did not feel shocking, just expected moments dressed up as surprises. Also, the decision to release 1 episode per week made me lose interest faster. I wish they had a better airing schedule.

As for favourites, honestly, I did not really have any. I liked different people at different points, but that never lasted. Every time I started thinking “okay maybe I like them,” they would immediately say or do something that made me regret everything. The manipulation and toxicity at times took me out. I don't know if it was the production demand or something...

Overall, the first half, specifically the first 10 to 12 episodes, was actually entertaining. After that, it turned into background noise real quick. Not sure I will be tuning in next season unless I hear some very convincing reviews.

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