-There were basically only 3 storylines in last night’s episode: Joe & Kendall took up the first 30 minutes of the show, then the Kenny love triangle was next, followed by the last 45 minutes or so dedicated to the Brendan and Pieper storyline. Bachelordata broke it all down on IG last night:
So as you can see, Brendan and Pieper dominated last night. We’ll get to them on the next page. But believe it or not, there were actually other couples on the beach last night. I know, crazy right?
-As mentioned, the first 30 minutes were dedicated to the Joe/Kendall relationship. Or past relationship. I think one of the biggest questions I have regarding this is the fact that a month before filming even started, Kendall predicted exactly what would bother her about going on Paradise in this article. Sooooo, why was she the least bit surprised when that was exactly what happened? When she was a kid, did she keep putting her hand on the stove after her parents told her not to? The whole thing was so confusing. Like, I think she went down there to get closure with Joe and to try and find love, but based on the conversation that we saw, there were so many lines and so many hints to possibly getting back together, ummmmm, how is that closure? She even said the reason that they broke up wasn’ because they fought or was because they weren’t in love anymore, but that it was due to logistics. Perfectly logical reason for two people to break up. However, it doesn’t seem like those reasons would ever change. Kendall doesn’t want to move to Chicago and Joe doesn’t want to live in LA. Again, perfectly logical for each person to feel that way. So then what are we discussing here?
-Closure means she’s going down to the beach to tell Joe, and have Joe tell her, final thoughts on their relationship and maybe get some things off their chest they never did while together. What we heard as an audience last night was too many “leaving the door open” comments for this to be a clear “closure” conversation and putting an end to the relationship. The thing is, Kendall is a smart woman. I think she knew they were over. I think Joe knew they were over. A part of me thinks this was just done for TV. And maybe they paid her a little extra to go down there to give fans the hint of them getting back together, even though they both knew that ultimately it wasn’t going to happen. I just wouldn’t have masked it as a “closure” conversation since it never came across that way. In parts it did, but still so much left open to interpretation that it wasn’t fully a closure convo. Hell, I watched the whole thing and I’m STILL confused on exactly where they stood in that moment. Since we know Joe and Serena get engaged at the end, ultimately Joe and Kendall are over. But in that moment, yeah, I’d say the whole thing was just pretty awkward. Not to mention completely foreshadowed by Kendall herself a month before filming even happened.
-Like say Kendall goes down there and Joe hadn’t paired up with anybody yet and was single as a pringle once she stepped foot on the beach. Would she have taken him on a date? Would they have left the island together to try and make it work again only to realize their logistic issue hadn’t changed and wasn’t going to change? Joe told her he thought she never gave it a chance or was even opening up to the thought of moving to Chicago. And Kendall never gave the impression, at least to me, that she ever wants to leave LA. So it just seems like these two would’ve just gone round and round in a circle in any future relationship and gotten nowhere. Yeah, I’m sure it sucks to go down there and see Joe connecting with someone else. You said it yourself. So why go? Did she REALLY go down there to try and find love herself, or just hope that Joe didn’t? I don’t know. If Kendall really truly did head down there to try and find someone, then all the power to her. I just don’t know if that was her #1 priority is all I’m saying. The whole first 30 minutes just seemed very confusing and frustrating to me as a viewer. I didn’t get it.
-While Kendall arrived, Tia and Kenny were still on their date. So we see them getting back at night and Mari still has feelings for Kenny and immediately takes him away. She tells him she still has feelings for him, she needed him to go on a date to see that, she’s sorry things got messy, but now she’s solid in where she’s at. You know who wishes you would’ve seen things clearly a lot sooner, Mari? THE CAKE!!!!!! How do you think it feels being thrown in raging fire over some silly party planning that was clearly the Cake version of Champagne-gate. Same exact storyline except the cake replaced the champagne bottle and totally producer driven.
Demi was bothered that Kenny and Mari were rekindling.
Now, lets get to the good stuff. Brendan and Pieper talk begins on Page 3…
