Spoilers ahead for the fourth episode of Fox's Labor of Love Season 1, called "Some Like It Extra Hot."
Mom-to-be Kristy Katzmann's search for the perfect father of her children on Labor of Love got more complicated than ever in "Some Like It Extra Hot," but Kristy may be the only one who doesn't know how complicated. The episode more or less revealed the "villain" of the season after Keith Reams' outburst, and one of the guys needs to step up for Kristy sooner rather than later and drop some truths on her.
The drama of the hour started when both Keith and Alan Santini decided to try and woo Kristy by cooking her up a feast, and Keith was so excited about it that he'd apparently been talking about it in front of all the men the night before. Alan wasn't so open about his plan, so when he finished his stew and crossed the driveway to make a delivery to Kristy, Keith was still working on his fried chicken and sides.
Keith was understandably mad that Alan more or less stole his idea and then beat him to the punch, angrily saying that he didn't want to be Alan's "sloppy seconds" and drop off food right after Alan dropped off food. Some anger was definitely justified, and the rest of the guys in the house seemed happy to let him vent... to a certain point. He threw a glass while walking up the outdoor stairs, shattering it, and then slammed the door when he entered the house. He didn't cool down despite the rest of the guys sympathizing with him and clearly trying to get him to chill.
The other guys seemingly started to get nervous on Alan's behalf, and Kyle Klinger actually tried to stop Alan from coming back inside because Keith was "pretty pissed," "cursing and throwing shit." When Alan did come back, he had a talk and tried to deescalate the tension with Keith before it got worse. Stewart Gill eavesdropped at the door while they talked, and basically summed up the situation:
Keith has had a couple of angry outbursts. This house is stressful, but he adds to the stress. It's hard enough that we're going through drills, but then you have somebody else who is taking away the energy, the positivity. The truth is, [Kristy] needs to know but then nobody wants to be the rat.
The end of the episode seemed like it might take care of the problem without anybody needing to "be the rat" when Keith was one of the men that Kristy put in the "Need To Talk" box, and the guys waiting in the basement seemed pretty confident that Alan would stay and Keith would go. Instead, Alan was sent home, and Kristy kept Keith around for at least one more week. Stewart, who is becoming my Labor of Love hero, noted out loud that Kristy hasn't seen the Keith that they've seen.
According to Kristy, Keith has done what she's wanted all along by showing that he wants to be there. As for the outbursts at the guys' house... well, unless somebody rats Keith out or Keith has an outburst in front of Kristy, she may remain blissfully unaware. To me, one of the other guys needs to step up, run the risk of turning Kristy against them by becoming the rat, and tell her the truth.
Stewart seems to be the one who is most aware that Kristy needs to know, and he's mature enough that I could see him making the move, stepping up, and telling her about Keith. Admittedly, under normal circumstances, Keith wouldn't be a "villain" so much as a guy with a short temper, and Alan did do him dirty.
But this is Kristy's search for a father of her child, and not Bachelor Nation where the real-life stakes aren't really that high. She deserves to know who Keith is when he's not actively turning on the charm. I'm not saying he's Kristy's Labor of Love version of Hannah Brown's Luke Parker on The Bachelorette, though! Luke P. was... one of a kind.
As somebody who has gotten way more invested in Labor of Love than I ever expected (or intended), I'm hoping Stewart or Gary Malec tells Kristy about Keith. Gary is a favorite after how he handled all the kids in this episode, and Stewart has been one of the most consistent of the guys. Still, only time will tell who will be the "rat," if anybody does end up going to Kristy to talk about Keith.
New episodes of Labor of Love air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox. For some additional viewing options now and in the not-too-distant future, be sure to check out our 2020 summer TV premiere schedule.
