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Fans have erupted over a major editing fail on Beauty And The Geek, but did the show deliberately mislead us or is this a case of mistaken identity?
On Tuesday night viewers tuned in to see if geek Michael would finally kiss his beauty Tara, who he admitted he’s been “crushing on” since day one.
It looked like a smooch was on the cards after they competed in a medieval-style challenge, with fans certain the pair would lock lips in their costumes.
That certainly looks like Michael and Tara locking lips to us.
(Image: Nine)After all, the first teaser trailer for the 2022 season showed a couple who look suspiciously like Tara and Michael sharing a kiss at that very challenge.
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But it never happened, despite what looked like one awkward attempt from Michael and the crowd cheering “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” at the pair.
Or did it?
Fans quickly pointed out the fact that they saw a kiss in the promo despite BATG not airing it during the medieval challenge.
WATCH: Tara and Michael appear to kiss in the Beauty And The Geek trailer
Screenshots from the original teaser appeared to show Tara planting a kiss on her geek in their knight’s outfits, her arms wrapped around his neck.
Michael looked pretty into it too, his hands resting at the small of her back.
And it’s definitely them in the clips – one look at Tara’s distinctive braids and Michael’s hair proves it.
So why didn’t BATG air the original medieval kiss? Fans have speculated that the show wanted to draw out the ‘will they, won’t they’ romance as long as possible first.
They finally shared an on-screen kiss during their painting date.
(Image: Nine)Though the couple did share their (alleged) first kiss on a private date that same episode, it seems odd that they’d include the challenge kiss in the promos but not the final cut.
“Sorry they should have gone with using the sweaty kiss,” one fan said on Twitter, another adding: “They overhyped the kiss too much.”
Some wondered if cameras hadn’t picked up good footage of the original first kiss at the challenge, or if Michael and Tara themselves asked not to have it aired.
Other viewers also speculated that the ‘Kiss’ chant heard at the challenge had been added in post-production, as there were no shots of the crowd visibly chanting the words.
Tara even confirmed that the ‘first kiss’ that aired on the show wasn’t actually their first kiss – the knight kiss we saw in the promo was.
“Hazar! Our stellar swordsmanship has led to our victory and a kiss. And now another date is now upon us,” she captioned a snap of the kiss on Instagram.
It’s rare for BATG to be accused of dodgy editing, as the show is known for being drama-free and wholesome.
But with so much focus on romance this year, maybe the Nine hit is inching its way a little closer to Married At First Sight’s editing tricks.
Either way, fans will be keeping a close eye on the show.
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