The thing about reality shows is they’re structured around cliffhangers. Every commercial break? A cliffhanger. Every episode ending? A cliffhanger. Keep watching. Eyes over here. In three minutes, in two or three weeks, at 8pm Eastern, there’ll be a big twist, we promise.

And we do keep watching. We can’t help it. Even though the teased resolution of every cliffhanger—a reaction shot, a gasp of surprise, a promise of mind-blowing revelation—is almost always revealed to be a lie. A misdirect. An editing trick, plucking drama out of context.

Because maybe the next big twist will be the one we’ve been waiting for.