Summer House season 8’s West Wilson may have been new to the group at the beginning of the season, but by the end of the summer it was clear he’d become the show’s true villain. Summer House season 8 featured some serious drama, especially with two of the shows biggest stars, Lindsay Hubbard and Carl Radke, heading toward a split that the audience knew was coming. While Lindsay and Carl were dealing with their drama throughout the season, West was quietly getting integrated into the cast and creating connections with everyone. West’s strongest connection was with Summer House’s Ciara Miller.
While West has spoken out about his time on Summer House season 8 since the season’s end, sharing that he knows he’s made mistakes with the relationships he built while in the house, it doesn’t seem like he understands what the issues he’s created are. West’s behavior throughout Summer House season 8 became an issue after the season aired, as his time on the show itself was spent bonding with his co-stars and creating relationships they thought would last beyond their time on the series together. While West was hopeful for lasting bonds, his behavior got him into hot water.
West Led Ciara On
Throughout Summer House season 8, West and Ciara bonded on the mutual attraction they shared for each other. Early in the summer, it felt apparent that West and Ciara were getting along in a way that boded well for them ultimately becoming an item. Ciara, who's been a part of the show since Summer House season 5, knows the ins and outs of the drama that can happen with the rest of the group on the show, but West was a new person to figure out. Though they were attracted to each other, Ciara and West took their relationship slowly.
Throughout the run of Summer House season 8, West and Ciara got to know each other, but by the end of the summer, it appeared that they were going to finally make a commitment to each other. Ciara wanted it, but West was more hesitant and it wasn't clear as to why. When some of the other women in the house discovered that West was still talking to other women when trying to lock things down with Ciara, it wasn't clear if the couple were going to even attempt a relationship. West had been leading Ciara on all summer long.
West Was Acting Like A Victim
Despite knowing that he'd been the person to effectively end things between himself and Ciara, West has been playing the victim in the situation since the end of their relationship. While Ciara and West dated for a time after the summer, when he still refused to commit to her exclusively and she discovered he was still talking to other women on Instagram, things came to an end. Ciara chose to put herself first, which gave West the opportunity to act like he was the person who'd been victimized in the situation.
While West has been feigning empathy, especially during the Summer House season 8 reunion, it's clear that he is looking for sympathy from others about the backlash he's faced for his actions from viewers. Sharing that he's only human and had a difficult time keeping himself in check because of how many women were reaching out to him throughout the season, West wasn't making a good case for himself to have been the one who suffered in the relationship. Instead, he simply made himself look like more of a villain than he had with actions alone.
West Became A Fan Favorite, Tricking The Fanbase
Throughout Summer House season 8, West was able to use his intelligence, sense of humor, and charm to appeal to the audience. In his interview segments and in the way he was building his relationships on the show, West was able to paint himself as a fan favorite and earn brownie points with the audience throughout his time on screen. Knowing what was coming up for him later on in the season, it felt like West was currying favor with fans so they wouldn't hold him accountable for his actions, or would at least go easy on him later on.
While West likely wasn't being duplicitous in nature on purpose, the fact that he was able to ooze charm and charisma in order to make himself seem like the best guy in the group was a tough pill to swallow after learning more about what he'd actually done on the series. After leading Ciara on, making it clear that he was doing so, and trying to paint himself as the victim in the situation rather than acknowledging the mistakes he made, West's behavior wasn't redeemable. The Summer House season 8 star was the true villain of a truly difficult season.
