Will She Go Wrong with the Wrong Guy?

First, a little cleanup from last week. We need to address Astonishingly Badly Clad Cam’s outfit. A hoodie under a blazer and so committed to the look that he added a pocket square to the blazer. Seriously? Awesomely Botched Clothing.

With that bit of lingering business cleaned up, we now turn our attention to the second half of the season since 15 of the original 30 guys are gone. It’s that point where we can see who the clear favorites are and who’s bound to get their hearts broken. We’re also still wondering who some of the guys are – I’m just realizing that Dylan and Matteo are two different people even though I could identify neither – and having to endure the tedious slog of seeing them go home. Alas, if only we had something or someone to entertain us.

Hello Luke P! Our early-season-found-Jesus-frontrunner has certainly shown us he has quite the dark and dangerous – dare I say demonic? – side. To be fair, I think calling him a psychopath like all the other guys is both unfair and inaccurate. What he does display, however, are qualities of a narcissist[1]:

• Not listening
• Oversensitivity to criticism
• Paranoia
• Anger and put-downs
• Over-competitiveness and over-control
• Isolation
• Exaggeration and lying
• Lack of self-knowledge
• Grandiosity

Pretty accurate list, right?

Who among us didn’t see pain and uber-aggression in the bad-idea-of-a-Rugby date with a theme of Blood, Sweat and Tears. [cue Blood, Sweat and Tears And When I Die]

I rhetorically (and frustratedly) asked to no one in particular, “Why do they do these things?” My Daughter Cassandra promptly responded, “So they have the drama of someone ending up in the hospital.” Which, of course, happened.

As long as I’m airing my frustrations, here is another: I hate that Hannah B. is turning the drama into the irrational Luke P. versus the more reasoned Luke S. Hello Hannah! It’s Luke P. vs. FREAKING EVERYBODY!!!!! Alas, I guess we have to watch her first throw poor Luke S. under the bus and then eventually find out from enough of the other guys that she’s reading Luke P. wrong (Hannah: “I don’t know if I’m reading him wrong or right?” My Daughter Cassandra: “You’re reading him wrong.”)

And where is My Girl Demi the Detective Diva and her Bad Guy Meter when we need her??

I guess the question now is how long will she put up with Luke P., especially since some other clear Daughter-suggested favorites have emerged (“suggested” meaning it seems Hannah B. likes them regardless of how we feel about them):

• Country Singer Jed whose honesty about initially coming on the show for the exposure was refreshing. At this point with so many Bachelor franchise alumni becoming pop culture fixtures – I mean Ashley I. and Jared were in a commercial for the new movie Always Be My Maybe that aired during the show – who doesn’t come on the show knowing that some fame and associated hot cash isn’t a legit possibility? An appearance on the show would be an enticing potential career boost for a good-looking aspiring country singer.
• (Take Me to the Pilot[2]) Peter as they have officially declared themselves bf and gf. Cute.
• Tyler C. The Dancing Contractor [cue Irene Cara Flashdance What a Feeling] who also got a private concert with a known artist Jake Owen. This is getting exasperating that I can’t mock the show for the oh-look-it’s [insert artist nobody has heard of!] moments anymore. Also, Tyler C. seems to be a great Bachelor candidate should things not work out for him. You heard it here first.
• My Official Dark Horse Contender is Garrett (“I’m crushing on you hard.” [cue REO Speedwagon Can’t Fight This Feeling]). This is subject to change as the field continues to get narrowed down. It’s also subject to change since as I’m writing this I can’t remember who Garrett is.

So now we are left with the outcome of the Luke P. vs. Luke S. cliffhanger as well as seeing all the previews of Luke’s narcissism in their proper context. As far as the show’s cliffhangers go, this is a good one.

And again, Hannah B.’s wardrobe is amazing.

See you next week.

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[1] Maccoby, M. (2007). narcisstic leaders: who succeeds and who fails. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press

[2] Pretty timely given the recent release of the movie Rocket Man.