“Another two weeks off and the best you can come up with is The Bachelorette?” Yeah, it may seem like I’ve been slacking a bit this summer with my movie and streaming reviews, but that’s actually true. Britt and I have been traveling a lot and I haven’t really been watching much. But that’s all about to change as I hopefully knock out 3 or 4 movies in theatres right now, so keep an eye open for upcoming reviews! But for now, you get my thoughts on the show that’s all about America’s single and ready to mingle candidates (no uggos).
Does anyone not know the premise of this show? It’s been on television for 17 years, starting with The Bachelor in 2002, and has even spun off into other shows more recently like Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Bachelor Winter Games. The main series are reality dating game shows wherein twenty-five members of the opposite sex fight each other to the death in order to claim their prize…..just kidding. Although at times I wonder if they actually know what they’re getting themselves into when applying? Anyway, the lucky guy or girl playing each season spends an uneven amount of time with everyone over a course of roughly three months traveling around the world going on expensive dates. But there’s a catch: each week they have to eliminate people from the group who didn’t get any screen time! Whaaaaaat?!? (Bew bew bew!) Only for the first few episodes though because then s*** gets real. They basically all live in a mansion or tropical destination and there’s more drama than a hospital show. Lately contestants have been known to fight each other though, as well as throw mad insults and then go cry to the camera. There’s a lot of crying. And then roses are given out each week to a couple good catches, several dumb models, and the show’s drama-plant until the bachelor or bachelorette finds “the one” and either proposes or is proposed to.
The show is mostly garbage in my opinion, but it consistently receives high weekly viewership and spends many weeks each year in the cultural spotlight. There have, however, been several couples from the show that have been married after their season aired. Trista (the OG Bachelorette) and Ryan have been married for 16 years and have two kids; Ashely and J.P. have been married for 7 years and have two kids; More recent marriages like Desiree/Chris and Sean/Catherine seem to be going strong; And then there are couples like Becca/Garrett and Colton/Cassie that everyone is rooting for a happy ending. So basically I know more about this show than I am proud of, but also realize that I really only watch most episodes, and then also only most of each episode. Lovebirds and drama queens make some seasons more fun to watch than others, but I’m never the one to turn on the television at 8:00 on Monday nights, and I don’t feel a need to “catch up” if I missed an episode. That being said, I do have some thoughts on the most recent season, a.k.a. Hannah B’s season. **SPOILER WARNING**
1) Luke P. What a guy, am I right?! This season’s plant was a good one, as Luke P. basically ruined the chances for love with Hannah for like half of the show’s original contestants along his path of self-destruction. Somehow he continued to win Hannah’s affection despite the drama he caused week after week. During one of the rose ceremonies, the rest of the guys literally turned to each other after Hannah left the room and started talking about how much they hated Luke P…behind his back, to his face (Michael Scott). Congrats to him for making it to the final four but I totally expect him to show up in Paradise this year.
2) Jed. I mean, wtf Jed?!? My frontrunner since the very first episode, I thought for sure that Jed was a catch. He showed honesty and humility by admitting his original reasons for applying to the show to Hannah early on in the season (musical notability) and was even the only guy who Hannah admitted to having fallen in love with. And then he blew it. Turns out, Jed is just another dirtbag. He and Hannah got engaged in the second to last episode, but then news broke that Jed had been seeing someone else right before coming on the show. His thoughts were that he didn’t see it as a dating relationship, but he understands how it can be seen as such. I actually believe he can be so dumb, but also felt like his apology to Hannah was sincere and he scored a point or two back in my book for “eligible, post-season dirtbags.” Although he and Hannah are offically over, maybe Jed will find his own happily ever after someday.
3) Hannah is going for drinks with Tyler! Similar in a way to several recent seasons, the runner-up still has a shot at love after the season ends. Their reunion during the final episode was a bit painful to watch, but they were both pretty devastated over saying goodbye on the show. I was never a fan of Tyler, but they seem like a good fit for each other.
4) Who’s the next bachelor??? My vote is for Mike, he just has the nicest smile and he was head over heels for Hannah but reeled it in to be polite and kind when she let him go. Plus he would be the first black Bachelor and this series needs some more diversity in it’s casting. I can understand why some people want Peter, since he came in third place and was also a nice guy, but I’m not sold yet.
So what do you think of the show? Do you think it’s scripted, or do the outtakes and bloopers they show at the end of each episode make you wonder too? Are some contestants planted into the show for drama? Who do you want to be the next Bachelor? Do you even care? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading, cheers!
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