What an absolute sh*t show of an episode last night. We basically went around in a circle for two hours with no resolution. Granted, if you looked at social media last night, there were definitely winners and losers in people’s eyes. But kinda hard to say that when none of us know what was actually said. More on that later since it basically takes up the whole column today. Not much to break down on the dates because all anyone wants to talk about is Tayshia/Kirpa vs Caelynn/Cassie showdown. I do my best to try and break it all down for you today with what I know, what I’ve heard from past contestants, and what we were shown on TV last night. There’s a lot at work here and anyone who thinks this was easily a black and white issue is dead wrong. It’s not. A lot was left open to interpretation last night and I will explain today. What I do know is that I don’t think anyone would’ve thought in a million years that Katie would be the key to the whole season, but she basically is based on what we saw last night. Come Friday, we may all get the answers we’re looking for.
Why do I say come Friday? Because this Friday the WTA is filming. It’ll air Tuesday, March 5th after the overnight date episode airs the night before. So the audience in attendance this Friday will be shown TWO episodes (next Monday’s hometown dates, and the following Monday’s overnight dates), since if they didn’t, they wouldn’t know what the hell was going on. So there’s a good chance I’ll be able to have at least a little bit of a clearer picture of what is actually shown on that Monday, March 4th episode where all hell breaks loose. But yeah, if the first question asked to Katie isn’t, “What did you hear, when did you hear it, and what context was it said in,” then Chris Harrison isn’t doing his job because that’s ALL anyone is talking about today.
In case you didn’t see this yesterday, the guy that Tayshia was with in the Bahamas two weeks before she left to film “Bachelorette” spoke out. I will have more to say on this tomorrow as I spoke with Chase on the phone last Wednesday, and had a conversation with someone else last night as well. I just need to gather all my quotes and thoughts before I speak out on this, but in a nutshell, yeah, Tayshia’s credibility on this show is shot.
I asked a poll question on Twitter over the weekend, because I really wanted to see who people wanted to see as the “Bachelorette.” Here are the results so far:
I'm just curious…after having some conversations this morning, of these 4 women, who would you want to see as the "Bachelorette?"
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) February 15, 2019
So as of this morning, Hannah G. is leading with 32%, Caelynn is 2nd with 27%, Tayshia is 3rd with 22% and Hannah B is 4th with 18%. I can tell you before last night’s episode aired, it was Caelynn at 26% and Tayshia at 25%. So Tayshia’s performance last night didn’t win many people over, nor should it have. However, the reason I did it was to see if there would be a giant difference between first and second place, and there really isn’t. 32-27-22% isn’t enough to make you go, “Wow. They REALLY want Hannah G. that much more than the others.” Yes, she’s leading, but I did the poll to see if one of them was gonna get like 45-50% and be 20-25% ahead of the second place vote getter. Nope. Which goes to show social media really doesn’t matter all that much when they make their choice.
Oh sure, the show will claim that “we listen to our audience,” but that’s the biggest crock of shit they sell every season and I can’t believe they still run with that. Why? Because go look at all the comments underneath that poll. There are positive and negative comments being made about all 4 choices, AND, plenty of people saying they’d want none of those four. So the show can choose whoever they want, then cherry pick all the positive responses from social media and say, “Our audience really gravitated toward so-and-so” without ever providing any proof. “The guys in casting were asking for her.” Bullshit. Another horrible lie they tell. Really? You mean after Rachel’s season, when they were bringing in women for final casting and asking them who they liked, a majority of the women were asking, “Hey, how about Arie? You know that guy from 5 years ago that no ones talking about right now. I’m into him.” Of course they weren’t. Yet they chose Arie. So quit insulting our intelligence by telling us whoever you choose was the one the audience wanted most or your contestants were most asking for because it’s a flat out lie. They will choose whoever they choose based on whatever criteria they deem necessary to fit their narrative, and then they’ll back it up with whatever they want to knowing that every contestant has a fan base they can claim “wanted” them. It’s ridiculous.
The other thing I found interesting about the poll is how many people threw out the ol’ “why don’t they bring someone in from another season” take. Which is popular every season, and every season the show ignores it. But for the sake of argument, I will humor those people for a second. Lets take a look at the last 3 “Bachelor” seasons, which I think is fair, and lets look at the final four from each season and if they could even be a possibility to be the “Bachelorette” like so many of you are clamoring for.
Arie’s season:
Lauren B – married
Becca – engaged
Kendall – in a relationship
Tia – in a relationship
Nick’s season:
Vanessa – in a relationship
Raven – in a relationship
Rachel – engaged
Corinne – in a relationhship
Ben H’s season:
Lauren B. – in a relationship with the biggest douchecanoe on the planet
JoJo – engaged
Caila – in a relationship
Amanda – in a relationship
So that eliminates the top 4 finishers in any of the last 3 years. 12 women who are arguably the most popular from each of those seasons, and none of them can be the “Bachelorette.” So to humor you guys even more, lets even take it out 3 more places on each season (5th, 6th, and 7th place), and here’s the crop you’re pulling from (and even some of these women are in relationships):
Arie (Bekah, Seinne, Jacqueline)
Nick (Kristina, Danielle Maltby, Danielle Lo)
Ben H. (Becca Tilley, Twin Emily, Lauren Himle)
So be honest with yourselves. Do you really think that come March 12th, they’re going to make the announcement of the next “Bachelorette” and it’s going to be someone who finished 5th or worse on a season as far back as 3 years ago? C’mon. Even you guys don’t believe that, do you? The only two names that anyone’s even mentioned from that group are Danielle Maltby and Kristina. Just because Danielle Maltby is appearing on Kimmel’s “Matchelor” doesn’t mean she’s gonna be the “Bachelorette.” Trust me, she’s not. And neither is Kristina, no matter how thirsty she is for it. She’s not getting it either.
I know some have even mentioned, “Well, they pulled Arie and Nick out of left field, you never know.” True, you never know, but here’s what I do know. The “Bachelorette” announcement is different than the “Bachelor” announcement in that for 7 years in a row now (with the exception of Emily who they announced earlier during the “Bachelor” seasons airing), they make the announcement at the “After the Final Rose.” The “Bachelor” announcement isn’t made for another month after the “Bachelorette” finale airs, which is why I believe when we see the “Bachelorette” named, it’s always someone from the season we just watched. Those women are fresh on everyone’s minds, the whole finale is centered around the season everyone just invested time into, and it just makes sense to name one of those women as the “Bachelorette.” That’s why I say it really makes no sense that on Tuesday, March 12th, after 4 hours of Colton’s finale spread out over two nights, they’re going to make this big announcement of the “Bachelorette” and have it NOT be someone we just watched. Nobody in the franchise has more buzz than Colton’s women right now. Of course, anything can happen, I’m just thinking of this logically and how they’ve always done it, and there’s a reason they always pull from the season that just aired. So all those clamoring for someone from a different season, I think you’re way off base and you’re being biased in your answers because you may like someone. Think about it from a TV/ratings/interest standpoint. Then go look at who are even possibilities and you’ll realize there isn’t a large crop to choose from.
Actress Kelly Johns is back with her impersonations of the women from Episode 6 and it’s another good one. Since these come out on Wednesday nights, they’ll always be 6 days behind when I put them in Tuesday’s column, but I will retweet them tomorrow night when she posts episode 7’s video. Enjoy:
Recap begins on Page 2…
