It’s time to settle in for a new season of #The Bachelor with the sweet, handsome farmer from Ioha, Chris and this year, I watched with my laptop handy so I could jot down my first impressions of our 25…err, 30 bachelorettes all on a quest for love. (What, you doubt their sincerity? Oh come on…)
So my big question of the season is how many episodes I can make it without rooting out spoilers on Reality Steve’s blog to see if the women I actually like make it anywhere near the finals and the ones that scream “drama-required bachelorette” get canned in due time. Usually, I can make it at least 3 episodes. Should we place bets now?
So what I enjoy watching this show year after year for. It’s entertaining, no doubt about it — but it’s a great study in human manipulation. (This opening episode would make a prime candidate for someone’s research paper on this topic…) It’s also interesting from a writer’s perspective because I like to watch the way the shows are edited. They edit the crap out of everything, so the “reality” in this show is pretty light. They build stories, they fabricate drama, and they edit commercials to make you think the show goes one way when it does nothing of the sort.
Anyway… it’s always entertaining, so here we go. 🙂
My impressions on our 30 women:
- Britt — Gorgeous girl and Chris obviously agreed. That was quite a hug! She seems really sweet, really cute…but you have to wonder about the waitress in LA (really? waitress is her career choice?) who gives free hugs on the street.
- Whitney — I liked her immediately from her earlier introduction. She was the first to say she was here because it was Chris. I’m pretty sure that’s the bachelor version of “Haven’t I met you somewhere before?”
- Kelsey — She has a fantastic smile. Chris said he’s just a regular guy, Kelsey is a regular gal…
- Megan —Chris called her “Blondie.” He definitely seemed dazzled by her. Loved his comment after she walked toward the house, “This is not going to be easy.”… understatement of the century!
- Ashlee — Bachelorette 2 to say she’s happy it’s Chris. I wonder if this will be the drinking game of this season?
- Trina — Nice intro but nothing stood out.
- Reegan — And we start with the crazy introductions. I don’t think her “heart” trick went over well.
- Tara — That outfit with shorts and cowboy boots… Balsy, that’s for sure, but I get what she’s trying to appeal to here. How much of her “This is just me” is genuine versus this being a party trick?
- Amber and Nicky — I was a bit distracted by Tara’s shenanigans, but I’m guessing those intros might not be important. Tara snuck back outside after changing her outfit into a black dress and snuck into the limo. Yes, because we believe that these ladies can do anything they want and no one, especially Chris, will know it’s going on.
- Amanda — She made him close his eyes and presented herself as a “secret admirer” – somewhat smart if it works
- Jillian — The news producer is definitely Type A… I have a tough time seeing her in any way living a quiet life in Iowa.
- Mackensie — Very nice but didn’t see any special sparks.
- Ashley S — Her wide eyed look and very strong gaze almost made it seem like she wasn’t quite all there.
- Kaitlyn — Kaitlyn made a pretty I don’t know that that her “off sense of humor” was taken as such by Chris. “Didn’t see that coming…” was his reaction.
From here, the show drifts off its normal course and our Farmer Bachelor goes in to spend some time with the women who have arrived already. Remember what I said about this episode being a prime example of human manipulation? Chris makes the usual speech – I’m here for all the right reasons, this is important to me, etc, etc, etc… and then he spends time talking to each of the current 15. They were freaking out, not understand what was going on. Where were the other women? What happened? But at some point, they settled into this more intimate gathering and spent time with Chris.
His conversation with Britt was very nice. Surprising to hear her say that she wanted to raise a family in a small town. They had a nice vibe about them and definite chemistry. And while she seems very genuine and very nice, I can’t help but question her sincerity. Waitress in LA is not a life calling… actress is, however. And if she’s a good actress, then any reality left after editing their scenes could be her doing a great job showing her skills.
The 15 girls made a comment that was interesting — that after spending more intimate time with him, being sent home would be more of a rejection because they had gotten time with him rather than not. Because now it’s time for the next round of limos — the women did not like these arrivals at all. They were possessive of Chris already and you could see the claws in full array.
I’d say in recent seasons, the drama between the women or the men seemed at a minimum. Many of them became friends and seemed to stay in check, so I imagine the show is looking for any way it can ramp up the drama this year. I thought the break in between was an interesting new twist. This show really is about seeing how people react to situations, how they handle tough moments, difficult rejections, jealousy, and all sorts of things. It’s a big human experiment that they sign up for, and I hope the show add more twists like this instead of editing to fabricate drama. Yes, Chris Harrison, those awkward moments do make great TV but I prefer the plot twists that show how people react to them rather than fabricated drama.
So the rest of the women introductions…
- Samantha — She walked in with some serious attitude! But her intro to Chris was very sweet.
- Then came Michelle, Juelia… their intros were barely shown
- Becca — She got the soap opera moment, pause on her beauty, focus on Chris’s reaction. There was a definite pause on this girl’s arrival.
- Tandra — Wow. She’s pretty damn gorgeous and rode in on a motorcycle.
- Alissa — Comes across as very sweet
- Jordan — Love that she did a shot with him
- Nicole — Pig nose. Did she think that through? “Ham it up for you…” cute idea and I must say, that takes serious confidence.
- Brittany — Did that say WWE Diva in training???
- Carly — A cruise ship singer singing karaoke on a pink karaoke box. Wow.
- Tracy — Great opening hug and she seems incredibly sweet. “Dear farmer” — that is so cute!
- Bo , Kimberly and Kara – We didn’t get to see much of their intros
- Jade — A gorgeous name for a gorgeous woman
On a completely superficial note, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a group of beautiful women on this show. Every time one got out of the limos, I thought she was just as beautiful if not more so than the one before here. They went all out for Farmer Chris! The best line of the night came from Chris: “I wish I was a polygamist.”
Now all the women are here and Chris gets to interact with the group as whole. Knowing the first half is already irritated that the second flood of women arrived, this proved to be interesting. As usual, there is someone edited to be the “Drunk” girl and someone edited to be the “crazy” girl -neither of which came as a shock.
- Crazy of the nite: Ashley S — They did a good job in editing to show her wide-eyed, appearing not all there.
- Drunk of the Nite: Tara . She gets so drunk she can barely stand up at the rose cermony (and Chris questions whether or not to keep her because of it.)
A few moments that were fun through the cocktail party:
The girls were talking about the first impression rose and they dubbed it the “life jacket rose”. I like it. I see a lifejacketrose hashtag in the future.
One of the women asked Chris what song they’d sing at karaoke. His answer was not shocking but being a country fan, I still loved his choice of “some song by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill”
Britt gets the first impression rose and a whole lotta more. They had a great intro conversation, and during the rose presentation, they shared a kiss. The live viewing audience said it seemed very natural and I agree with that. Well, as natural as anything on this show can be.
So… let’s see how the roses stack up to the breakdown of limo arrivals. Did the first girls gain an advantage because of the extra time?
1st Crop
- Britt — Rose
- Whitney — Rose
- Kelsey — Rose
- Megan — Rose
- Ashlee — Rose
- Trina — Rose
- Reegan
- Tara — Rose
- Amber—Rose
- Nicky — Rose
- Amanda
- Jillian — Rose
- Mackensie — Rose
- Ashley S — Rose
- Kaitlyn — Rose
2nd Crop
- Samantha — Rose
- Michelle
- Juelia — Rose
- Becca — Rose
- Tandra — Rose
- Alissa — Rose
- Jordan — Rose
- Nicole
- Brittany
- Carly — Rose
- Tracy — Rose
- Bo
- Kimberly
- Kara
- Jade —Rose
Looks like all but 2 from the first crop made it through the rose ceremony. From the 2nd crop of girls, 6 weren’t chosen. Does that imply a distinct advantage in having that extra time with less girls around? Kimberly walks out, not believing she should be going home..and I have to agree. I can understand giving Tara a second chance to see how she reacts going forward. And Kimberly goes in and asks to talk to Chris…that’s another first.
I will say, I love when this show deviates from the norm. Looking forward to next week! What were your thoughts of the first night?