Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The Bachelor 20x05 Roundtable Discussion: The Tables Have Turned [Contributors: Rae Nudson, Alisa Williams, Lizzie]


This week on The Bachelor, Ben and his sister girlfriends go to Mexico City to learn elementary Spanish, cook some dog food, and wake up early. One of the girls didn’t make it back, but surprisingly it was not because they all murdered Olivia. Follow along below as Rae, Alisa, and Lizzie go over the good, the bad, and the really bad from this week’s Bachelor.

Do you think Ben will send Olivia home?


Rae:
I think Olivia is going to stay for at least one more week, God help us all. That Ben, and a lot of other men, cannot see the mean girl within Olivia is super frustrating, and I don’t blame the women at all for wondering what Ben wants to do with them if he likes a woman like her. I have known a few mean girls in my time, and almost every single time, I have had men tell me she’s not that bad. Sure, to you maybe.

Alisa: No, unfortunately I do not think Ben will be sending Olivia home any time soon. He is completely oblivious to her true nature which is ridiculous because you’d think a couple episodes ago when he was upset about the sudden death of someone close to him and all she wanted to discuss was cankles, that would have been a clue. But alas, our hapless Bachelor continues to be blind. Plus, I think it’s been fairly well established throughout the seasons that it’s always the girl that tattles that gets sent packing, NOT the one who truly deserves it. But it wouldn’t truly be The Bachelor without at least one mean/crazy/narcissistic girl skating through with wide eyes, fake lashes, and superficial charm.

Lizzie: I think we all agree that Ben is not sending Olivia home. Oh, no. Ben is not that smart. I might argue that this is something we’ve seen time and time again on The Bachelor, but it kind of feels like Ben is a bit more oblivious than these guys usually are. I don’t think the producers want him to send her home, either. We don’t like Olivia, so Olivia makes for good television. That’s just the way it is. I learned this in UnReal, okay?


What do you think about what happened with Ben and Jubilee?


Rae:
Ben sent the wrong woman home for sure. I really feel for Jubilee because a) she’s amazing and b) I also would be really uncomfortable on a group date! This is not a normal dating situation, and I feel like it’s so normal to not want to hold someone’s hand in front of the ten other women he is also dating. It’s too bad that Ben couldn’t give her a break and that Jubilee felt like she had to spend their time together getting reassurance instead of just hanging out.

Alisa: I’ve said it from the beginning — Jubilee is too good for Ben! Maybe I’m taking The Bachelor a little too personally these days, but I am so tired of hearing men talk about how they want a complex, intelligent, accomplished woman... and then continue to date the ones who can’t locate Indiana on a map and list their career as “Twin.” Jubilee deserves better than this show and she deserves better than Ben. Additionally, it’s fairly obvious that Ben has a specific type. I’m not saying that’s bad in and of itself. But don’t act early on like you actually see a future with a variety of women who are very different from each other when a couple weeks later the vast majority of those left standing are petite, blonde, and soda-pop bubbly, with non-threatening career choices. Oh, and who also say “like” an awful lot.

Lizzie: Goodbye, Jubilee. You were too good for him. You were actually my favorite (our favorite, am I right?) [Rae's note: she is right], so that obviously meant you couldn’t last. I liked Ben at the beginning of the show. I did. He came off as genuine. I’m here to say I’ve changed my mind. Like Alisa says, he obviously has a type, and that’s not even wrong — we all have types. But it’s clear that he was never willing to look outside his type, and that Jubilee never really had a shot. And that just makes me sad. You’re better off, Jubilee.

What were the best and worst dates from this week?


Rae: If someone woke me up unexpectedly at 4:30 a.m. for a date, I don’t know if I would even make it out the door. I am not a morning person and I would definitely be cranky and not in a romantic mood if I were Amanda. (Actually I could see myself being pretty cranky the entire time I was on The Bachelor. They never get enough sleep, they have no one to talk to but each other, and they are all dating the same guy? It’s amazing it’s not just a house full of mean girls, am I right?) The other girls also did not seem to appreciate being woken up before dawn to watch their boyfriend go on a date with someone else. I can sympathize! Almost all of the girls woke up with no makeup on and crazy hair — someone’s weave was on a dresser — but Amanda sprung out of bed wearing lipgloss. Something tells me she might have known this was coming. They go in a hot air balloon and then have a picnic on the ground.

Lauren H.’s date looks much more fun to me, but it also has much less intimate time with Ben since most of their date was surrounded by fashion designers and models. So I guess it’s a tie on whose date was better?

I love that everyone has a tragic backstory no matter what the story actually is. Lauren H. and Amanda both dated bad dudes who cheated on them, I think? Which is definitely terribly difficult and I don’t want to undermine that, but also Jubilee went to war*, okay? Amanda seems like someone who has been through some stuff and knows herself better and Lauren seems like someone who can’t walk in heels. They are both fine, I guess.

The group date though was actually terrible. Ben is such a dummy for always giving Olivia roses in front of everyone else and for being her partner in cooking class. Have some compassion for the other women, Ben, who don’t want to think you’re playing favorites. I mean, can’t you give her a hint that you don’t want her to grab you first every single date? It’s so uncomfortable. And then if that wasn’t bad enough, Ben dumps precious Jubilee in the middle of the date. Kudos for not holding on to someone longer than necessary but, dang, Ben, you made a mistake. Understandably, seeing that Ben’s priorities lie in Olivia and not Jubilee spooks the rest of the women.

*I don’t actually know if she went to war.

Alisa: Why does The Bachelor always insist on having a date each season where he sneaks into the girls’ hotel room like a creeper and wakes them all up? I truly believe this is just a thinly veiled attempt to see what the girls look like without two pounds of makeup and additional hair weighing down their heads. And honestly, most of the girls were barely recognizable at 4 a.m., which just makes me sad. They’re all beautiful without all the added accoutrements and if Ben (or any of the Bachelors before him) aren’t going to love a girl for who she is vs. what she looks like (or she’s not confident enough to let a guy see her actual face), then this show isn’t actually about finding love or a spouse or anything substantive at all.

As for the actual Amanda and Lauren H. dates, eh. Pretty boring as far as dates go in my opinion. The hot air balloon ride and picnic seems like it would be fun if it didn’t involve Ben (I’m really not his biggest fan, in case you couldn’t tell). But the fashion show? Ugh. I’d rather die.

I actually really enjoy cooking though and so I thought the group date was awesome (minus Olivia). I think I actually cheered out loud when Jubilee won (seriously, is there anything this girl can't do?!). But between the chefs saying that a woman who can cook is ready for marriage and JoJo incessantly talking about her taco, I’m pretty sure that group date set feminism back by about 118 years.

Lizzie:
I’m with Rae here — 4:30 a.m. is a god-awful hour and I wouldn’t even want to get up and go anywhere at that hour. I’m not even sure there’s life outside so early. But, generic and still somewhat nice dates aside (let’s be real, hot air balloon ride and picnic is not exactly the kind of date you would plan in real life, and the fashion show is just not something you’d do with a guy), all my focus this week is on the absurd comment from the chef in the cooking date. Set feminism back by 118 years is right, Alisa. It was honestly a slap in the face. I don’t watch The Bachelor expecting it to promote a feminist agenda, nor anything of the sort, but there’s ridiculous and then there’s this. The chef on the cooking date shouldn’t have ruined the entire episode/experience for me, and that’s not only on him and his backwards-ideas — it’s on the show for choosing to air the comment in the first place.

Now that we’ve seen their talents and their insecurities, who are your top three contestants?


Rae: I’m feeling Jojo still, even though she didn’t get much time with Ben this week. All the tiny women with long blonde hair are starting to blend together, but I guess we figured out Ben’s type. Is that why Leah is still around? Anyway, my pics for Ben are Amanda, Lauren B., and who knows. My pics for myself are Twin, Jojo, and Jubilee, who all seem like way more fun than any of the other blondes. (No offense to blondes — I am one of you!)

Alisa: Now that Jubilee’s gone, I’m not a huge fan of anyone. I’ll continue to root for Caila until she’s inevitably kicked off in favor of the multiple blondes and becomes the next Bachelorette. I think it’ll come down to one of the remaining Laurens or Amanda, but calling any of those ladies my “top three” would be a bit of a stretch. Let’s just call them my most likely to succeed at dating Ben for the next two months.

Lizzie: Meh. Jubilee is gone, so I’m all Team Caila, not that that’s gonna happen. One of the Laurens could win it, maybe? Like Alisa said, I don’t even like Ben at this point, so, if I like the girl, I sort of don’t want her to win.

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