It seems that Bachelor Nation was less than enthused (which could be overstating their collective reaction) with the Paradise Finale. I felt likewise and here’s why. First, let’s do some math. A two-hour show gives us around 85 minutes of content[1]. From that, let’s delete the following:
- Johnny and Victoria’s engagement story – 10 minutes
- Brandon and Serene’s engagement story – 10 minutes
- Various storyline recaps – 10 minutes
- Preview of the next season of The Bachelor – 5 minutes.
That leaves us with 50 minutes for the Reunion portion. Those 50 minutes had to account for the sharing of recollections and reminisces of 43 cast members who created a tangled web of 30 connections filmed over three weeks. There was a LOT of drama within those connections and with the characters in those connections, but the production of the Finale didn’t allow adequate time to help the audience understand and unpack that drama [cue The Guess Who No Time Left for You].
There were three – and with only 50 minutes available three is more than enough – situations that would have been helped by having more time for the viewers to understand them.
The Ugliness of Johnny and Victoria. I’ve already commented on how awful this was, but it was made worse by how rushed their segment was. I’m sure any amount of time was too long for Johnny but it also felt like the segment was edited in a way to justify Victoria’s new relationship with Greg with very little concern for Johnny’s feelings.
The Rodney-Eliza-Justin Triangle. The entire focus was on Rodney and Eliza. Justin was at the Reunion and we got nothing from his side of the triangle. Eliza went to Baltimore to see him, and we got nothing from either her or him about their feelings around that. This was a case of 2/3 of a loaf being worse than none.
Reconsidering Brittany. I’ll admit my positive bias toward My Girl Brittany (MGB) here, but I’d like to build a case for her seeming coldness during the couch time with Tyler. I believe this is another clear case where the viewers needed more time. First, I offer Tyler who, as I mentioned in my last blog, had an overly optimistic view of his “relationship” with Rachel during The Bachelor. I’m speculating that he made the same mistake with MGB. And soon after he and MGB leave Paradise, MGB says she’s not feeling it anymore. All of this is business as usual for many Paradise-encoupled connections.
My sense of these two was that Tyler wanted to talk about her not feeling it more than she wanted to talk about it. She was probably satisfied at some point that they had talked enough. And at that point, he wasn’t yet satisfied. And continued attempts by Tyler to talk about it were met with increasing annoyance on her part. Hence, her detachment and coldness. If this is the case, I can understand. But it would have been nice if they were given more time to explain why we would be seeing them interact in the way they did.
Additional Musings
The Redemption of Logan. Logan came to Paradise from the 2x Bachelorette season as a borderline d-bag for going betwixt and between Gabby and Rachel. And the two girls (especially Rachel) validated their low opinion during their visit to Paradise. However, Logan somehow managed to date multiple women AND come off looking charming for doing so. He came off as a sympathetic figure for being done dirty by The Devil’s Mistress Kate. And he came off as triumphant by reading her for filth during the Reunion.
The 2x Bachelorette Stars. Interestingly, three big players in this season of Paradise came from the Gabby-Rachel wreck of The Bachelorette: Johnny, Logan, and Tyler. I’m sure their casting by the Evil Genius Producers (EGPs) was intentional but the key roles they played were an interesting, yet unintentional, outcome.
Drama-casting. Aaron, G-vieve, Shanae, Victoria, Jill, Kate. The EGPs cast and edit weeks of footage to create “entertainment.” Does it feel sexist that much of the negative drama revolved around women? Just a thought.
That’s my wrap on this season. See you in January.
[1] Source: @Bachelordata Instagram
Ray's Musings 
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