In this episode of First Dates, Adam tells Bangor girl Erin that he’s not a serial killer. It’s not the most secure way to start a date, but considering the amiable lab technician’s fear of potato chips, it’s pretty obvious that Erin is a serial killer. She has nothing to fear. Erin speaks movingly about her own hearing loss and learning to lip read as a teenager, while Adam shares that her love for CSI Miami inspired her to work in forensics. insists. He currently works in Limerick, which is actually basically the Miami of Ireland.
Citing papadums as his ultimate phobia: “It’s just a giant crunch,” it’s no wonder Adam doesn’t jump at the idea of reuniting as friends with Erin, who has quashed any idea of romantic possibilities. “This is called a first date,” he pointed out, demonstrating his forensic ability to strip away hypotheses down to the smallest detail.
Meanwhile, Shinae and Ruairi bond over their guilty pleasures. In Ruairi’s case, it’s Dungeons and Dragons. She’s “not a red flag,” Cine declares, but her persuasiveness is as convincing as Tom Cruise’s Irish accent in the stinky ’90s film Far and Away. . Yet, when Ruairi orders gluten-free bread, we know there is a future for these children and our faith in young love is restored.
While Sheene and Ruairi make out up a storm, Mary and Boo also get along like a house on fire, sharing a passion for the combination of open-mindedness and astrology. Very affable Mary is happy with her blue-eyed date, and although she doesn’t find a happy ending with her Boo, the epilogue shows her elsewhere with Bette Davis’s love interest. Be sure to let us know what you find.
Finally, Melissa wants to prove to her date Simon that she’s more than just pretty, having studied engineering, appeared on Countdown, and even won an eight-letter word on the show. Simon grew up in Hong Kong and is open about struggling with an English accent, often considered an unfortunate language disorder. Thankfully, Melissa suffers from the same predicament, and there’s clearly a spark between the woman in red and her well-spoken suitor.
In the follow-up, when we learn that geography is separating this handsome duo, Simon’s love of numbers and Mel’s love of numbers cause one of them to quickly sell their house and move in together, etc. I just hope they don’t act recklessly. In other words, they’re a match made in Sudoku and Scrabble heaven.
Whether this coupling will blossom into a four-letter word remains to be seen, but at least there’s hope. This is a big hope in the world of first dates.
- First Dates Ireland is on Thursdays on RTÉ2 and available to watch on RTÉ Player