Tears Are Shed, Hookups Happen, And A Love Poem Is Written In This Week's 'Temptation Island' Episode

On “Temptation Island,” love connections are regularly formed. In the past few episodes of Season 4, we’ve seen that happen with many of our four couples: Iris Jardiel and Luke Wechselberger, Ashley Rodriguez and Lascelles Lagares, Hania Stocker and Ash Lamiroult, and Edgar De Santiago and Gillian Lieberman. But those connections are sometimes fleeting. In the last episode, Iris, who was forming a real bond with George, decided to sit him down and let him know she doesn’t want to continue to explore whatever was brewing between them.

Will anyone else make a similar decision? Let’s see exactly what happened in Episode 4 of “Temptation Island.”

Right away, we do see some fallout from Iris’ heart-to-heart with George, where she explained she was pulling a Kelly Taylor and choosing herself for the time being. George tells her he still wants to be there for her, but he can’t change who he is. Iris insists she doesn’t want him to change — she’s already made her decision, though.

Ash, meanwhile, seems giddier than ever about Taylor, while Ashley gushes to Blake about their connection and notes in a confessional it’s possibly his “emotional availability” that’s attracting her to him. That is, as you may recall, one of the qualities she believes Lascelles lacks.

Over at the men’s villa, Lascelles is confronting an emotional issue head on. He sets Alexa down to tell her there is “no love connection” between them and he “can’t force the fire.” He apologizes if he misled her, which annoys Alexa, who said he definitely did. Alexa, however, still seems to harbor hope: She says she’ll step back and wait for him to come to her if he changes his mind.

That doesn’t seem likely, though: Lascelles really seems to have eyes just for Trace, asking her on a third date. But then — she declines! She tells him to get to know the other girls and see what it is he really wants. This is a good choice, yes, but after seeing how amazing these dates have been (hiking up a waterfall?!), you have to applaud her self-control.

Lascelles decides to take Brianna — because she is friends with Trace (romantic). As for the other men, Hania invites Liv, Luke invites Paige, and Edgar commits to Marissa yet again.

Iris, who notes she needs space from George, asks out Mikey, while Ash, of course, asks Taylor. Ashley chooses Blake, while Gillian invites Tommy.

The dates are out on the water, and look spectacular. They snorkel with sea turtles! They jump off boats! They go paddle boarding! It all looks like a dream island vacation, but of course, as it is “Temptation Island,” most of the conversation revolves around their love lifes. Lascelles, for example, cannot stop talking to Brianna about his feelings for Trace. Brianna takes this much better than you’d expect, to her credit.

Edgar tells Marissa it’s a bit weird because this would be his third anniversary with Gillian, but he’s actually having so much fun with her. In fact, he had such a good time, he later does something shockingly bold: He reads her a poem he wrote for her! Love poems can, uh, really go either way, but Marissa seems charmed.

We’re in for another night of partying, wherein Blake seems hurt to discover Ashley is still very much in love with Lascelles. When asked how she’d react if Lascelles proposes, she doesn’t explicitly say she’d say "yes" — but “I would jump on him and cry” really doesn’t sound like a no, does it?

Then, it’s bonfire time. Luke watches as Iris tells George there is a connection, and tearily admits “it makes me feel guilty I’m connecting with someone.”

Well, we all know how that ended with George — except Luke, who says he is nervous Iris may fall for this guy before he can see all the work he’s done to improve himself. It is unclear exactly what that work is, but whatever.

Lascelles sees Ashley tell Blake she and Lascelles are too dependent on each other and she feels “free” and “independent” now. Lascelles is unfazed yet again, noting she’s “honest” and it’s a conversation they’ve had many times.

Hania sees Taylor licking whipped cream off Ash before ending up in bed with them. This clearly hurts Hania, who admits an open relationship isn’t what he wants at all. Hmm.

Edgar, meanwhile, watches Gillian admit to a connection with Tommy and then dance seductively with him. Edgar doesn’t cry this time! He says kissing doesn’t hurt as much as “disregarding the ring” (we need to move on from this ring) and he doesn’t mind because he’s forming a real connection with Marissa.

Which is what Gillian sees in her clip. She gets to hear the poem Edgar wrote, which has her rolling her eyes.

Iris, meanwhile, hears Luke vent about how much she brings up the past and how she doesn’t acknowledge his growth. Iris says she can see his point, actually.

The clip for Ashley features Lascelles crying over his feelings for Trace and Ashley. Ashley seems a bit stunned: “It’s really crazy to see him crying. He’s never shown me that side … I don't know what’s happening in this moment.”

Ash has a vulnerable admission after watching Hania give a woman a hickey on her leg. They admit they have let Hania treat them with disrespect in the past, with Ash chalking it up to past relationships, saying they have been abused by a partner. It led to severe damage to Ash’s sense of self-worth.

Mark reminds Ash of an important truth: None of that abuse was Ash’s fault, and they didn’t deserve it. They all, as Mark often notes, deserve love.

"Temptation Island" airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network. Catch up now on USA Network.