After announcing that production on “Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020” was going on hiatus and then going quiet on us for a few weeks, Netflix released a brand new episode like a gift from the television gods offering some small relief from the current pandemic.
At first, I was thrilled. I missed laughing at Yama-chan and You’s jokes and watching the housemates’ relationships develop (with a few exceptions). But then I realized I would be slogging through 40-odd minutes of Toshiyuki pawing at Yume, and felt nostalgic for the days when the burgeoning romances on the show made my heart flutter, not sink.
When Yama-chan, the only commentator to appear in this episode due to social distancing efforts, brought out a notebook with “hell” written on the cover, it seemed like a fitting description for watching the ongoing “courtship” between Toshiyuki and Yume, one of the least romantic pairings on TV I’ve ever seen (and I used to watch "Gossip Girl").