It starts with a text “Get ready to fall in love…at Niagara Falls.”
Stephanie jumps up and down. “Aaah! What the hell? That’s awesome, dude!” She’s 29 
and wants to find love, guys. What what better way to do it than on Lifetime’s Love at First Flight, a show that has matchmakers pair up two people looking for that special someone and makes them travel from New York to Los Angeles together for 30 days having madcap totally unscripted disasters along the way? If it works out, they can get married at the airport in the final episode and, honestly, isn’t that all anybody can hope for? Stephanie says it’s her “dream fairy tale.”
She’s joined by Jenna, 26, Alma, 31, who is looking for “someone who won’t emotionally abandon me when it gets hard,” so I hope she’s got room for that emotional baggage, and Other Stephanie (why did they choose two Stephanies? Why?) 31. OG Stephanie’s last relationship busted up when she found out she wasn’t the only lady sending nudes to her boyfriend of 7 years. There’s a lesson there, ladies.
Now for the fellas. There’s Ryan, 26, sho was matched with OG Stephanie, and she cannot believe he brought her roses, because they’re totally her favorite. Then she makes it awkward by saying Ryan is her brother’s name. He had a dream his wife would be from New York, and OG Stephanie is totally from New York so, between that and the roses, they’re obviously meant to be. Ryan is “basically chilling right now” after taking a leave of absence from work to move in with his parents in order to go on the show. He sounds like he’s from Michigan.
Other Stephanie (OS) is paid with Michael, 31, and has a baby goat with him. Listen, I’m just here to tell you what I see, I’m not here to explain it. His last girlfriend died, so that’s awful. This is the Christian couple on the show, they’re both talking about prayer and Jesus, so we’ll see what weird things the show does to him. The goat pooped and Michael said “we’ve got some shooters!” And then they read the note attached to him. Apparently the goat has the first task for their trip. They need to bring him back to someplace called “Goats of Anarchy.” I swear I’m sober right now
Now we’ve got Mike (age 30). He’s on the show because his parents are divorced, leading him to think “maybe I shouldn’t put all my love energy into one person if they’re only going to leave.” He’s paired up with Alma, the emotional baggage lady, so I guess that works. She thinks Michael is “fairy taleish.”
Jenna recently had mutual feelings for somebody who was married, and it didn’t work out. Weird, that usually goes really well. I wonder what happened. She’s paired up with Cale, who’s 29. They have to go around New York city and try different foods, but Jenna immediately says she doesn’t read maps and isn’t adventurous with food. She says to Cale “I can’t believe you’re looking on a map right now.” This is going to go well.
It appears that accommodations are all going to be based on how well they do in their challenges. Let’s see how it goes.
The first thing Jenna and Cale are supposed to eat are grasshopper tacos. Jenna says she can’t eat them because she’s a vegetarian, which she did not mention at any point previous to this, but Cale tries it. He’s a good sport. The next thing is haggis, which is honestly pretty gross. She eats the vegetables and Cale eats what she calls the “HAY-ggis.” Vegemite is on the menu at the third stop, and Jenna actually tries it, then keeps asking Cale to tell him what he’s thinking but not saying. “Just because it’s our first date doesn’t mean we can’t be real,” when he’s points out that people don’t share everything on the first date. Poor Cale. It’s also up to him to eat the last thing, which is a fertilized duck egg. This is actually really gross, I think I see feathers.
As they head back to the hotel, Jenna says it’s going to be really hard for her to move forward because of the time Cale thought something and didn’t tell her.
OG Stephanie and Ryan are in Niagara Falls, and they’re going to go get soaked on a boat ride to earn their nice accommodations for the night, followed by a helicopter ride. She’s really scared of flying, which I’m guessing the producers knew when they decided to do this. She conquers her fear; all is well.
Other Stephanie and Michael are walking around Harlem with a goat on a leash. There is also a goat cam if you want the goats-eye-view. Michael is concerned that the goat nearly wee’d on his shoe, so they decided to put a diaper on it-a human baby diaper. They have their first argument when Other Stephanie picks a fight over who is going to drive. Calm down, Other Stephanie. They deliver the goat to the goat sanctuary for special needs goats. To earn their plush hotel, they have to muck out a goat stall and bandage a goat’s feet, and they nailed it. High five, guys.
Mike and Alma are in Brooklyn, where they come across a guy who has pre-graffiti’d a tarp. They have one hour to color it in with spray paint which alma feels good about because, she says, Puerto Ricans like her invented graffiti. Mike looks at her awkwardly. Or maybe he’s just staring at her boobs, which are clearly visible since her tank top is held together by little strips of fabric across the boobal area. Alma is having second thoughts when she gets back to the hotel. She isn’t attracted to Mike and feels like, if she stays on the show, she’s leading him on. Girl, give it a minute.
In the morning, OG Stephanie and Ryan head to a cider mill for a tasting and they’re having the best time. Ryan thinks there might even be some hand holding in the future! Whoa, slow down.
Alma decided that no man in the world deserves her attention more than Mike so, the next day, she’s dedicated herself to the show again, and they go for drinks. They sit down and she says to Mike “You are clearly a good man and, yesterday, I for some reason wanted to go home.” He’s totally shocked, he thought they had the best date yesterday. It seems like her weird confession brought them closer together, so whatever. I should start telling guys I want to leave.
Other Stephanie and Michael are having coffee the next day when Michael says he wants to “get into the nitty gritty.” She confesses that she’s not a great communicator in relationships. Michael is worried that the only thing she’s happy to communicate are her opinions. She asks him what he would have done if the show said they had to get married immediately. He said he wouldn’t have done it, and she’s kind of put out, but not as put out as when he then asks her if she has any STDs and when she was last tested.
Poor Cale. He’s taking Jenna for a picnic in Central Park and they try to figure out what in the world they have in common. He’s a political junkie, and she didn’t even vote. He’s so annoyed with her it’s almost funny to watch, because I am equally annoyed with pretty much everything she says.
With that, the first episode is over. Will any of them find true love? We’ll have to wait and see.
- Veterans Day Viewing: Jon Huertas - November 2, 2018
- Love at First Flight: The Finale - May 5, 2018
- Love at First Flight: Penultimate Episode - May 3, 2018
I’m late to the show, and just finished the first episode. Loved your recap! Weird pairing of Jenna and Cale, when the other 3 couples at least seemed compatible initially. Kind of a bummer how these girls have dated d*ick guys in their pasts…I hope these guys are the real deal!