Best. Bachelor. Season. Ever.
Best. Bachelor. Ever.
Best. Episode. Ever.
Best. Fake. Bachelorette. Announcement. Ever.
Best. Not. The. Bachelorette. Ever.
[cue Tina Turner The Best]
Best. Bachelor. Season. Ever.
Because of Joey (see Best. Bachelor. Ever. below).
Because of a very compelling potential fiance´ (see Best. Not. The. Bachelorette. Ever.).
Because of a very compelling, entertaining contestant – Maria. There’s a reason they give out awards for supporting actors and actresses. Players in these roles enhance the overall narrative, add depth to the storyline, and often complicate the role of the leads in exciting ways. Maria did all of those things. I’m hoping we see her again in Paradise.
In an environment of declining ratings for legacy TV networks, Bachelor ratings increased, especially for The Finale, which had 20% more viewers than last season. The factors I noted above certainly had much to do with that. And the immense popularity of Joey, Daisy, and Maria on social media also attests to the increased viewers.
[cue Santana Winning]
Best. Bachelor. Ever.
Jesse proclaimed Joey as the greatest Bachelor ever.” Here’s an excellent summary explaining why:
“After nearly 30 seasons of ABC’s long-running dating show, it’s hard to surprise Bachelor Nation. But this season featured perhaps the most shocking thing of all: a man in the lead role with the emotional intelligence and care to treat every woman he dates as a full human being, worthy of individual attention, honesty, and thought.” (Emma Gray, MSNBC Columnist)
[cue Salt-N-Pepa Whatta Man]
Best. Episode. Ever.
I’ll take a bit of a victory lap here and say I had predicted the outcome early on. But although I had the what, the Evil Genius Producers (EGPs) fabulously manipulated the how to keep us in suspense. Bachelor Nation has long lived with the ritual of Chris Harrison/Jesse Palmer proclaiming this Finale as THE MOST SHOCKING EVER! NEVER SEEN BEFORE! YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENS! And then we get served a nothing burger.
But this time, Jesse was right. We’d never seen a last-minute meetup between the last two ladies standing. We’d never seen the last two ladies ride to the proposal altar together. And the EGPs really threw us when they showed Kelsey in the car first, which historically has been the girl-to-be-rejected. And then we got the shock of seeing Daisy seated in the car next to her.
The EGPs threw in some other clever fake-outs. They made sure we heard Kelsey not directly say to Joey’s sisters that she would say “yes” to a proposal after we had already heard Daisy answer that question quite affirmatively. And during Daisy’s monologue, where she was talking herself out of showing up at the proposal altar, she “ended” that monologue, i.e., EGP editing, by saying that she would show up because “it might be me.” The EGPs left us expecting her to go to the altar and see if Joey would propose. What they knew, and we didn’t, is that she would go to the altar to tell Joey that she knew she wasn’t The One.
[cue Queen We Are the Champions in honor of the EGPs]
Best. Fake. Bachelorette. Announcement. Ever.
The EGPs and Jesse pulled a fast one. With just fifteen minutes remaining, he asked the audience, “Who will be our next Bachelorette? Could it be this familiar face? Please welcome back, Daisy!” And the studio audience and Bachelor Nation erupted because that sounded like the announcement. But during their conversation, Jesse asks her, “What’s next . . . are you ready to date again and find your person?” And her answer to that question was no.
Good for Daisy (not that she needs my approval) for taking time to focus on herself rather than be used again for the entertainment purposes of millions of strangers. I’d bet money she was offered The Bachelorette gig and turned it down. [cue Journey Be Good to Yourself]
But the way the EGPs set it up, I’m guessing you were as caught off guard by her answer as I was. And nothing against Jenn, but anybody other than Daisy is a huge letdown. As for Maria, as much as I liked her, I never thought she would get picked for the job. Despite the many people who also like her, I think she is too polarizing to be the lead.
Best. Not. The. Bachelorette. Ever.
I was soooooooo ready for Daisy to be the next Bachelorette. Cute. Classy. Fun. Determined. Wise. I was already crowning her as my All-time Bachelorette Fave over My Queen Ali Fedowtowsky[1]. “Lead with love and grace and understanding,” Daisy says. Great words to live by.
And that’s a wrap. Let’s wish those crazy kids, Joey and Kelsey, the best of luck [cue Al Green Let’s Get Married]. I’m rooting for them to become the Official Royal Couple of Bachelor Nation over Sean and Katherine. They’ve had the title long enough.
See you in July for The Bachelorette. And stay tuned for potential American Idol musings soon.
P.S. The viewing wine was chosen with The Finale in mind, the appropriately named Opera, as an opera is a dramatic, live art form.
P.P.S. Every week, while scrolling through my picture file for the blog, I go past this picture of a pretty woman, and I can’t remember who she is. It finally hit me during The Finale. It’s Joey’s sister LOL (last year, this year).
[1] 14 years later, I still stan for Ali.
Ray's Musings 
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