90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days viewers had many opinions about Alina Kozhevnikova's best friend Elijah, but viewers can largely agree that the red-haired Russian man was eager for attention. Elijah, who is also Alina's roommate and bandmate, appeared in many episodes in the first half of Before The 90 Days season 5. However, he disappeared from the storyline that was hastily wrapped up after Alina was fired. Many 90 Day Fiancé franchise fans now question how much of Elijah's personality was inflated for the cameras.
Viewers quickly warmed up to Alina, a Russian singer with a big personality. Her romance with American Caleb Greenwood was complicated by their drastically different lifestyle expectations, as Alina's disability hindered her from living the life that ultra-active Caleb craved. Though viewers initially adored Alina and despised Caleb, their opinions quickly flipped. Viewers discovered several past racist posts that Alina had shared over the years, including one post that she shared more recently as a throwback. The fan backlash led to Alina being fired by TLC, which caused her segments with Caleb to be hastily concluded. Fans saw Elijah return to Russia before Alina and haven't seen him onscreen since.
Reddit user ElmarSuperstar131 asked fans to share their opinion of Elijah. "I think that he does care about her as his friend, but I also can’t help but feel he might have been playing some of his persona up for the cameras?" the user wrote. Many commenters agreed that Elijah appeared very eager for screen time, attention, and quotable lines likely because he wanted to continue in the franchise. "He was auditioning for Pillow Talk until Alina messed everything up for him," one top commenter mused. Many viewers believed the duo would have been great for the commentary show before Alina's posts were revealed. "He really was! I said the exact same thing when he first came on! Elijah had been waiting for his shot all his life and, damn it, he was READY. FOR. IT. Then Alina had to go and kill his dreams," another user wrote back.
Other users thought that Elijah was just a naturally dramatic person who enjoyed commanding attention. "He was the star of the soap opera playing in his head," another user observed. "Elijah is what we gays call a Stunt Queen… always stunting for attention," another commenter added. Though viewers appeared in agreement that Elijah adored the spotlight, many thought that he was still a genuinely good friend to Alina. Other commenters appreciated how Elijah helped move Alina and Caleb's storyline along even though he was called out for crossing boundaries. "He’s just a bit dramatic, which is perfect for the camera. Like when he forced Alina to tell Caleb about her ex," one viewer wrote.
Although Elijah might appear perfect for Pillow Talk, it's safe to say that his franchise run has ended after Alina was fired. At the end of Alina and Caleb's segments, many viewers voiced that Caleb walked away by far the most likable. Dramatic Elijah had viewers split, as some fans thought he was very entertaining and others were annoyed by his intrusive actions. Alina's firing means that Caleb will not likely appear at the Tell-All, which means that there is slim to no chance of Elijah returning for any extended franchise content after 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days season 5.
Source: u/ElmarSuperstar131/Reddit