Why This Bachelorette Season Was Great

A fabulous summary of why this Bachelorette season was so spectacular came from Sharleen Joynt who was one of my favorite Bachelor franchise “characters”[1]. Sharleen was on (that loser) Juan Pablo’s season and was awesome because she was a professional opera singer, incredibly intelligent, OMG drop dead gorgeous and excused herself from the show when she realized it wasn’t for her. She also writes a couple of great blogs. One is for a Canadian magazine Flare. The other is a longer, more detailed personal blog All the Pretty Pandas. Both, but more the latter, contain a lot of behind the scenes info on how and why things happen that could only be provided by someone who was on the show.

I am copying her comments on this season from her Flare article because they articulate way better than I could my feelings about why this season was so great. By the way, the rest of the article detailed her feelings about why Jed was a lowlife. That was good stuff, too, and worth checking out.

Here are her thoughts on this season:

Despite the ending not being what we generally anticipate, it was oddly satisfying and its unpredictability made for gripping television.

First, how often is it that we’re rooting for our lead MORE at the end than we did at the beginning? Hannah not only exceeded our expectations, she managed to combine charm, goofiness, sincerity and strength, completely stealing our hearts (and the hearts of her men, which always elevates a season). There was of course a distinct villain who stole much of the show, but even that didn’t annoy me as much as it often does. Luke P.’s presence made fascinating food for thought on topics ranging from narcissism to religion to feminism. It was impossible not to be “triggered” by Luke P.’s behaviour, which in an of itself—for better or worse—made for a somehow interactive viewing experience. The season also provided plenty of shocking twists and turns, keeping monotony at bay, no small feat for a 17-year old franchise. In another twist, through last night’s developments with Jed, we even got a rare sub-villain. And, in another twist involving Tyler C., a surprisingly happy-ish ending. Even this two-part, four-hour finale, an event that usually grows wearisome around the three-hour mark, didn’t bore me in the slightest. On the whole, this season married old-school Bachelor season vibes—I keep comparing Hannah to Emily Maynard and I stand by that—with modern twists and themes. Seriously, what more could you possibly want from your television??

Seriously, I couldn’t have wanted more, either.

______________________________________

[1] Only exceeded by Ali Fedowtowsky who’s season I actually never saw. I learned of Ali when she was hosting the show 1^st Look which followed Saturday Night Live because My Daughter Diandra said I needed to see her because I’d like her. She was right.