Not a whole lot of substance in last night’s episode, but there were a few things I wanted to cover that people were talking about and give you my thoughts:
-Michael’s elimination. Some people didn’t understand if he was at hometowns, wouldn’t he be seeing his son within the next few days anyway, so why’d he leave? First off, we don’t know if his son was gonna be flown in. Maybe that just was never gonna happen. And also, if Katie truly thought that she was going to pick Michael in the end, that scene never would’ve happened. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards for them for whatever reason. If Katie wanted Michael, she would’ve picked him in the end. I think it might’ve been one of those unsaid things where Michael knew he wasn’t getting picked, so why even bother possibly bringing in his son to meet her? But it’s a TV show, so they had to play it out like they did.
-Michael’s edit. Certainly everyone and their mother is of the opinion Michael is going to be the next “Bachelor” based on everything we saw last night. Then last night at 8pm, the @Bachelorcasting IG account posts this to recruit women for next season:
So yeah, certainly seems like they’re leaning towards Michael. But nothing has been confirmed yet, and I don’t expect them to make an announcement anytime soon. Filming doesn’t start until the beginning of October like Matt’s season did, they are getting underway with Michelle’s season this week and STILL have a season of Paradise to run which I assume is ending the week of Sept. 13th, since DWTS starts on the 20th. So if they keep with past tradition, they’d announce the next “Bachelor” after BIP airs, roughly 2-3 weeks before filming begins. But yes, it certainly seems like they’re leaning towards Michael. But nothing is ever final until the announcement is made.
-As I mentioned at the start of this column, the Tell All is really struggling to find storylines every season. It’s just not realistic to think these guys care that much 3 months later about what someone said. Talk to any past contestant and they will tell you, producers are gassing you up before you even fly out there about what they want you to say, and who they want you to go after. Brendan clearly was told to jump all over Karl. James is still “pissed off” and thinks Hunter is fake, even though others on stage jumped to Hunters defense. The whole thing is just too contrived at this point to take any of these guys seriously. The show is in a tough spot. If it’s nothing but a bunch of yelling at each other and turns into a Housewives reunion, people would complain about that. If it’s 12 guys on stage playing nicey nice with each other, they’d say the show was boring. I really don’t know what you do at this point other than just make sure that the Tell All is never 2 hours ever again.
-I have no idea why Thomas wasn’t in attendance, but that was a bad call on their part. He was the biggest drama of the season amongst the guys, yet, he couldn’t be their live to interact and answer their questions face to face? The best you could do was have him on a Skype call and only talk to Katie where he said exactly what we expected him to say? Again, Thomas isn’t the world’s worst human being, and any guy who says the thought of being the “Bachelor” never crossed their mind is lying. Thomas was just dumb to verbalize it. But he’s certainly not the worst villain this show has ever seen. I don’t even think he’s in the Top 10 really. Curious to see how his edit is down in Paradise because, lets not forget, none of those people down there had seen any episodes of Thomas yet when they met him and were filming. So it’s almost like he had a clean slate down there. Yeah, I’m sure the guys brought it up down there, but without actually seeing his edit on Katie’s season, others could only go off what was being told to them.
-I don’t think having two hosts for the Tell All is necessary and I expect that to change after Michelle’s season. I keep hearing they’re looking to settle on a permanent host, which makes sense. So sitting here and critiquing Kaitlyn and Tayshia together to me is pointless. They did the best they could under the circumstances. They kinda stayed out of the way when the guys were peacocking each other and they really didn’t play much of a role last night. You barely need one host for that show, and they aren’t seasoned enough yet to play off each other considering that was their first time co-hosting the ATFR. Like I said, they did what they could, but just like during the season, I’m not watching the show for what the hosts are doing.
-So the next 2 weeks are basically the finale. I’m sure next week’s episode is going to end with the Greg/Katie fight and probably her in that bathroom scene with Kaitlyn saying she wants to book her flight home. If I’m a producer, that’s exactly how I end the episode. How it breaks down though I don’t have all the details. What I do know is what I told you before the season started, and that was Katie got engaged. And then it took me a few weeks to figure out to who it was, when I finally found out it was Blake. So you can read into all her social antics for the last 3 months all you want and try and dissect things that she says/does, but the bottom line is at the end of the episode on Aug. 9th, Katie got engaged to Blake and they’re still engaged to this day. On to Michelle’s season…
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jlal
July 27, 2021 at 1:42 PM
I think they are priming Andrew to be the next bachelor.
ctrealitygirl
July 28, 2021 at 6:37 AM
I hope you’re right, jlal! My Roku streaming up oMonday night so i missed end of the MTA and did not get to see Andrew get in the “hot seat.” Steve keeps saying that they’re grooming Michael A to be the next Bachelor, but I just don’t think he’s right for the role. I do like him but would MUCH rather have Andrew. He’s one of my favorite guys for the last several seasons. And, how is Michael going to navigate a whole season of his own with a son at home? His situation is much different than Jason Mesnick’s. Michael’s lost his mother to cancer just a couple years ago, so don’t see him leaving him again so soon
ctrealitygirl
July 28, 2021 at 11:42 AM
OOPS! My Roku messed up!
wisewords
July 29, 2021 at 12:02 PM
Steve makes no mention of Katie’s infamous Freudian slip: addressing Aaron as Thomas!
Last week Steve got the Mike P comment completely turned around by saying Katie said Mike P reminded her of her mother, when it was Mike P who said it about Katie.
I wonder how much Steve is really watching these episodes?
ctrealitygirl
July 30, 2021 at 5:35 AM
It appears to me that RS is losing interest in the Bachelor franchise. He’s not been the same since he got spanked for over-stepping his bounds with Bachelor/ette alums. And he’s pushing other reality shows like Temptation Island and now FBoy Island. Plus, I’ve noticed that fans are not weighing in on his site as much, comments section most days are empty. I think he made a big mistake switching to deliver news via podcasts. I tried listening to some early on but too long-winded and just not interesting. And who has the time to devote to that? I sure don’t. He had a good thing going for many years but, like the Bach/ette franchise itself, interest seems to be waning.
keddo
July 31, 2021 at 12:09 PM
The one thing about Andrew is that despite being a football player, during his one-on-one date with Katie he was definitely lacking in the courage one would hope a man would have.
(Walking with lanterns down a paved/gravel path, in the dark, surrounded by camera crew)
Andrew: (nervously) Into the woods.
Katie: I hope you’re feeling brave today.
Andrew: Uhh…
Katie: (laughs)
Andrew: This is nervous! I’m about to start running.
Nice guy, but not someone one would want to face life’s battles with.
unlisted
August 3, 2021 at 1:46 PM
Michael should NEVER have been on the show, nor should any man or woman with a minor child.
If you get divorced or are widowed, your #1 responsibility is to the CHILD, not your love life.
And especially if the child’s mother is alive, bringing in another woman to compete with him for his/her father’s love is horrendous.
Wait until the chld is 18 before introducing another adult to the situation.
unlisted
August 3, 2021 at 1:51 PM
Michael should NEVER have been on the show, nor should any man or woman with a minor child.
If you get divorced or are widowed, your #1 responsibility is to the CHILD, not your love life.
And especially if the child’s mother is alive, bringing in another woman to compete with him for his/her father’s love is horrendous.
Wait until the chld is 18 before introducing another adult to the situation.
At least Michael finally realized how he was hurting his son and bailed out. Katie should have told him to go home and take care of his son the first time she met him.