I never saw it coming. I bet neither did you. You, me and all of Bachelor Nation had the same reaction when we saw that Hannah B. was going to be the Bachelorette.
And we were all wrong. This season might be my favorite[1] and perhaps it’s high on your list, too. Here’s why.
As always, a good villain is essential and The St. Lukeness Monster is one of the “best”. What makes a season very compelling – and so frustrating you can’t NOT watch out of your desire to get relief – is when the lead falls hard for the villain, e.g. Ben taking a knee for Cruella de Courtney and Nick Viall getting to the Fantasy Suite (and kissing and telling about it) with Andi.
Villains usually get their comeuppance early enough as to not really be annoying. But not only did we have to wait and wait and wait for The Monster to get his, he was way more than merely annoying. Narcissistic, manipulative, lacking self-awareness, self-righteous, combative with the guys – he is the archetypal evil being in every good story. The problem we all had was that the heroine who was supposed to slay the dragon was actually falling for him.
And we couldn’t stop watching. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
Which brings me to Hannah B. In spite of our doubts, she’s been a fabulous lead. Relatable and awkward are the two words for her that come immediately to mind – as they also did for My Daughter Cassandra. She’s not trying to win over America, win a pageant or act out some persona of who she’s attempting to be. She’s been relentlessly herself, flaws, self-doubts and all. As such, I believe she flipped the script. Instead of us focusing on which guy we want to win, we’re all caught up in the drama of who Hannah B. is going to choose. Those are two very different sides from which to see the “journey[2]” and this “what will Hannah B. do” conundrum is a very captivating storyline.
Related to that, this season had another incredible twist. Usually it’s the lead who has concerns about her suitors and we can almost predict when they’ll finally go home rose-less. But TWO of Hannah B.’s final four HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT HER!!! Serious doubts.
Jed outright questioned her judgement about being in love with The Lukeness Monster and by extension questioned her character (rather ironic given all the rumors about Jed). His family was non-supportive, too, and likewise had questions about her character (rather ironic given all the rumors about Jed). And St. Luke challenged her spiritual integrity and by extension her character (rather ironic but not for reasons to do with Jed).
We’ve never seen anything like this before so late in the game and it’s heightening our sense of intrigue and desire to know how this is going to play out with two weeks left (including Men Tell All next week). What will Hannah B. do????
Back to St. Luke. If I try to put aside the overly aggressive manner he confronted Hannah B. about his religious beliefs, I can’t ignore wondering why he came on the show in the first place. If he wanted to keep the Fantasy Suite “pure”, that’s fine. Tyler made a choice to do that. But it’s more than a bit much to come on the show expecting the lead to do the same with other guys.
And now he and his family and Hannah B. are in some kind of Twitter war. Whatever. I’m ignoring it.
Anyway, with the heroine finally slaying the dragon – unless he gets raised from the dead – we have one last plot element that’s adding spice to the season. Is Hannah B. really ready to end a couple more relationships that she seems so attached to? Did the nights in Greece give her needed clarity or just deepen her multiple affections?
Roll Tide.
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[1] The Bachelorette Season 7 with Ashley and J.P. was my introduction to the franchise. I didn’t like either one but gladly came back for more when the loser, winemaker Ben, came back as the next Bachelor.
[2] Have a shot. Blame me.
Ray's Musings 