One Perfect Couple

Lyla’s boyfriend, Nico, is an aspiring actor with far more career setbacks than achievements, but he is certain that the reality show will improve his prospects. Lyla realizes later that Nico has not been entirely honest about the show’s format, as he “deliberately failed to tell [her]” that the show requires the couples to consider new partnerships on a weekly basis (23). Nico has elaborate visions of becoming the winner and is similarly grandiose when the show’s producer asks about his acting goals. His behavior strikes a stark contrast to Lyla’s pragmatism, foreshadowing that the two may love each other but lack core compatibilities.

Nico’s fury over being eliminated for failing to know basic facts about Lyla’s preferences and goals brings their relationship to a crisis point. Succumbing to his anger, Nico calls her a “stupid cow” (118), a particularly patronizing and misogynistic choice of words. He is unceremoniously led away by the producers quite early in the narrative, and Lyla learns much later that he dies in the storm when the production’s yacht sinks. At the end of the novel, Lyla receives texts that he sent before his death in an attempt to apologize and declare his love for her. He also admits that they deserve separate futures. His message validates Lyla’s belief that Nico is a better man than Conor and proves that he loved her “with nothing but respect and kindness” (368). Nico also confirms Lyla’s belief about Baz’s history with Conor, validating her scientific mind in ways that he never demonstrated in life. This moment provides her with crucial emotional closure.

Joel is the first contestant Lyla befriends and is a journalism instructor and an academic. He is somewhat retiring and unobtrusive compared to his fashion and makeup influencer girlfriend, Romi. He admits to Lyla that, like her, he only agreed to appear on the show at his partner’s insistence. Joel confides to Lyla and Conor that he is fearful of being cast as “the nice guy who’s there to be humiliated” (73). Joel and Lyla have the most compatible answers on the couple’s quiz that eliminates Nico from the show. Joel teaches Lyla how to survive in the treacherous currents around the island, effectively saving them both in the aftermath of the storm. His grief over the death of Romi is a turning point for him.

When the community fractures after Conor controls the food and water, Joel defends Conor’s choices and refuses to accept the idea that Conor is abusing Zana. This unhealthy dynamic culminates in his choice to steal Santana’s insulin at Conor’s behest. The others struggle to accept this, as Joel has been generally kind to them, but Lyla eventually pushes herself to look at the evidence rationally. When she shows Joel proof that Conor likely murdered Dan, Lyla observes that “he look[s] sick. Very sick” (269). Joel disappears soon afterward, and Angel later finds his body. Ware never clarifies whether Joel died by suicide or was murdered. In this way, she implicitly asserts that no matter what the details of his demise happen to be, Joel died because he chose to champion a particularly toxic form of masculine solidarity over the group’s collective well-being. Even as the island brings out strength in the women, it also reveals Joel’s flaws.

Upon meeting Conor, Lyla is instantly struck by his “feral grace” (55), and she only learns that he is a popular YouTuber who largely appeals to men and critiques progressive outlooks. At first, Conor is portrayed as a compassionate and practical leader in the midst of crisis, but when Bayer questions his unilateral decision to ration everyone’s water, Conor becomes harsh and violent, and the rising tension culminates in a physical altercation that ends in Bayer’s death. In the aftermath, Dan links Conor’s public persona to his dominating behavior with his girlfriend, noting that his desire to control the group fits with his overall politics. Lyla and the others eventually realize that Conor is physically abusing Zana whenever she defies him or defends the others from his brutality.

Lyla comes to accept the fact that she and the others will only survive if Conor dies. Conor’s vision of dominance epitomizes his view of gendered power, and he sees his control of Zana as his absolute right and makes no apologies for resorting to murder in order to maintain his hold on the group’s resources. To cover up their act of murdering Conor, the women jointly choose to fabricate a narrative in which he is portrayed as a gentle rescuer that no one would ever dream of killing. They cast themselves as being dependent on him in order to obscure his true nature and escape any consequences for his death. Later, Lyla and the others discover that Conor’s lifelong misogyny is the reason for their entire tragedy; Baz, the producer, had hoped to use the show to expose Conor for his role in the suicide of Baz’s niece. Ware thus establishes that unchecked violence is inherently destabilizing, and she also illustrates the fact that all deceptions have profoundly unintended consequences. Despite Conor’s crimes, the women have ironically ensured that he is posthumously hailed as a fictionalized hero. However, the women resign themselves to this because maintaining the charade preserves their futures.

As Conor’s girlfriend, Zana is only 22. She is strikingly beautiful and acts shy and retiring in Conor’s presence. She confides to Lyla that she is terrified of water. Lyla eventually realizes that Zana’s retiring nature is due to Conor’s abusive and domineering influence. Zana repeatedly shows a level of care and empathy that Conor lacks, especially when she tries to rein in his worst impulses. This dysfunctional dynamic leads her to fight Conor rather than letting him kill Lyla, and she ultimately drowns him in the sea. Although she struggles emotionally after Conor’s death, her strongest feeling is guilt over the events that occurred on the island; as she tells Lyla, “I sat by and let him do this” (251). Zana also writes the diary entries that exculpate Conor and obscure the reasons for his death. She therefore becomes an expert in deception, but she is motivated by a sense of self-preservation, not a desire for fame. At the end of the novel, she accepts that the others have no regrets about the outcome and realizes that she deserves to move on with her life.

A fitness instructor from France, Angel enters the competition with her boyfriend, Bayer. Lyla is instantly struck by her good looks, but the aftermath of the storm brings out Angel’s determined personality and strong sense of self. She is outraged by the discovery that Conor has taken the group’s food and water stores without consulting them. Although Bayer’s death at Conor’s hands emotionally devastates her, she maintains a steady resolve to survive and actively assesses their situation. At one point, she reveals that she is also a survivor of intimate partner violence. Lyla is shocked by this and then realizes that Angel’s traumatic history explains her innate strength.

Angel steadfastly insists that there is no way to reason with Conor in time for Santana to get the insulin she needs. As she tells Lyla, “It is him or us” (396), and she never wavers in her resolve. After Conor’s death and Lyla’s rescue, Angel takes care of Santana and uses her knowledge of car batteries to restore function to the radio. Angel brings out Lyla’s logical side with her own pragmatism, serving as an instrumental figure in the group’s rescue and asserting that survival comes through communal instincts.

Santana is Dan’s best friend and poses as his romantic partner for the show. Lyla discovers that beneath Santana’s wealth and glamor, she is also brave and insightful. She cheerfully weathers her initial leg injury from the storm, urging Dan and Lyla to help the others. She has Type 1 diabetes and is in particular danger after the loss of electricity because her limited insulin supplies depend on refrigeration. Like Angel, she quickly becomes concerned with Conor’s behavior, quoting Orwell’s Animal Farm and asserting that “some animals are more equal than others” (228) to describe his authoritarianism (228). By applying Orwell’s critique of socialism as a dystopia, Santana shows her own analytical depth. She also concocts the plan to poison Conor with her remaining insulin, and Lyla reluctantly concludes that “it [i]s Santana’s right to do this” (327). At the end of the novel, Santana shares her grief for Dan and helps Lyla resolve the final mystery of their adventure. She confirms that Baz’s niece was her schoolmate, a friend who dated Conor while still a vulnerable teenager, only to die by suicide after he broke the relationship off. Santana reaches out to Lyla after their return home, highlighting the bond that the women formed on the island.

A model and aspiring actor, Dan confides to Lyla that he is not actually in a romantic relationship with Santana; he is a gay man who has a partner back in London. He opted for the ruse because he knows that gay couples are not typically the subject of reality television, and he believes that competing with Santana will both preserve his relationship and allow him to compete unemotionally. His cynical approach illustrates the fact that reality television marginalizes the LGBTQ+ community in many ways. Dan’s deceit, unlike that of others, is relatively harmless, if self-serving. Dan is also intensely protective of Santana, caring for her during her injuries and becoming deeply concerned when her blood sugar reaches dangerous levels. He is outraged by Conor’s controlling approach to the food and dies in his attempt to recover Santana’s insulin. His protectiveness and steadfast refusal to accept Conor’s approach contrast sharply with Joel’s cowardice, and his death at Conor’s hands spurs the others to action.