Wednesday, February 17, 2016

The Bachelor 20x07 Roundtable Discussion: Would You Like Fries With That? [Contributors: Rae Nudson, Chelsea, Alisa Williams]

JOELLE, BEN HIGGINS

This week on The Bachelor, Ben brings the women to his hometown a week before official hometown dates, and the women prepare for Ben's hometown by wearing all the plaid they own. Were Ben's dates this week bad, really bad, or sort of okay? That may depend on if you like chicken nuggets. See below for what we thought of this week’s episode.

Between flying kites and working at a fast food restaurant, there were plenty of bad dates to choose from. Which one was the worst this week?


Rae: I hate when people think it’s cute and fun to dabble in poor people activities like working for an hourly wage. Like probably it’s “fun” for people who never had to do it, but let me tell you if someone took me on a date to work retail I would bolt. I had to fold sweaters for hours and hours! Why would I want to do that in my free time with someone who is trying to swoon me? Answer: I would not.

That fast food date was the worst date to me... even worse than going to an island in a storm and leaving Olivia there. Definitely worse than flying kites with a bunch of women you feel awkward around, and that was pretty bad. Why couldn’t they have just skipped fast food and gone straight to the carnival? Oh, probably because they had a contract to advertise McDonald’s, that’s why.

Twin’s date was also pretty bad. Why would someone bring you to meet mom and dad just to dump you after? Ouch.

Jojo’s date looked super fun, and I can’t believe I missed them filming it when they were around the block from me at Wrigley Field. Lauren B.’s date at least had the added benefit of Ben being adorable with children, though Ben’s boring perfection is starting to wear on me. Doesn’t it seem like nothing bad has ever happened to Ben in his whole life? He’s so cheerful and earnest, but where is his drive? What is he so passionate about that it makes him crazy? I have no idea. I like my people a little bit weird, and Ben has not shown one ounce of weirdness.

Chelsea: Emily easily had the worst date. Like, they set her up to fail and made her look so bad on the way out. Super douchey move. I actually enjoyed the McDonald’s date and messaged my squad that I would share my nugets with them. The carnival part of their date was super cute though. Jojo had a fun date but both her and Lauren B. are so forgettable to me.

Alisa: All of the dates were so awful. I actually live fairly close to Warsaw and I get that to an outsider it probably seems like there’s not much to do or see in the small towns around here. But Ben is not an outsider — he grew up there! And being from an even smaller town than Warsaw myself, I can tell you, I would have a TON of unique and interesting things to show a date that were far better than my church, high school, youth center, and McDonalds.

I’ve questioned this before — but is there literally no budget this season? How much input does Ben get about these dates? Is he planning them himself with absolutely no guidance from the show creators? Because honestly, it’s clear why he’s single. I know that’s harsh, but I have to completely agree with Rae about that McDonald’s date. I’ve worked plenty of minimum wage jobs in my day and that is not a date. I’ll bet doing it for an hour or however long they were there felt “fun” and getting to see “behind-the-counter” and chat with customers while delivering their food was a magical shared moment or some nonsense, but no. Working minimum wage jobs is how a lot of people in this country support themselves and their families, and those are tough jobs! Ben comes across as all sorts of privileged and unaware and it’s grating on my last nerve.

I agree that I think Twin was set up to fail on her date to meet the parents. I do not like dates where the outcome is obvious to everyone except the poor girl trying to win the Bachelor’s heart. That’s just cruel. Great television, maybe. But still cruel.

The only thing about the Wrigley Field date that stood out to me was that they were being projected on the Jumbotron. Did anyone else find that weird? Was that just so security could keep an eye on them making out, or so Ben and Jojo could bask in their ridiculous attractiveness? Either way, it was a bit creepy.

Were you sad to see Emily and Becca go? How do you think they handled each break up?


Rae: I was sort of sad to see Emily go because she is funny, but I didn’t see her ending up with Ben either. Samesies for Becca — she seems nice and fine, but not for Ben. I really felt for Becca when she asked Ben why he dumped her at a rose ceremony when she asked him to give her warning and not blindside her. And I don’t think Ben’s “well I didn’t know I wasn’t going to pick you!” was the best response either. How is telling her he wasn’t sure about cutting you going to make her feel better? You cut her anyway, so I guess you were sure enough.

Emily was very put together and mature when she was doing her exit interview, which is weirdly the reason Ben dumped her in the first place: because he didn’t think she was mature enough. Go figure.

Chelsea: I’m not sad to see Becca go. She really never popped for me and I could totes see her being the next Bachelorette. I do think there’s an extended version of her goodbye with Ben. You know she wasn’t going to calm down that quickly.

Emily was the most entertaining of the gals left, but I’m not surprised to see her go. I hate that they made her look so dumb in the end (I don’t like vegetables either, but that wouldn’t be my answer to that question). You could tell all the other girls were sad to see her go, too. She had a great energy and is probably too much fun for Ben.

Alisa: I found myself a little disappointed to see Emily go. With her twin gone, she actually developed into a real person on the show and was pretty funny and seemed genuinely nice. I wonder if that was her first time meeting the parents of a boyfriend because she did come across as very young in her interactions with them, and I can see why they advised Ben the way they did, but I felt bad for her. Was Ben really smitten enough with her to take that big of a step in their relationship? And if not, then why do it? And if he really was that into her, then why drop her the moment your mom tells you she seems young?

I just get the impression that Ben is a little too codependent, relying on other people to tell him what to do and how he should act. I felt the same way when he confronted Lauren B. last week and questioned her reasons for being there and left their relationship in a very precarious spot all because of Leah. I would hope a more self-aware person would have realized what Leah was doing, would have trusted that all of their interactions with Lauren B. had been genuine and consistent, and not bothered to cause Lauren B. all that undue stress. At the same time, I guess he was still reeling from the whole Olivia debacle, so maybe I should cut him a little slack.

As for Becca, I was glad to see her go. I didn’t like her on Chris’ season and I didn’t like her popping in on this season either. She seems like a nice enough person but incredibly whiny and insecure, and I never saw any chemistry between her and Ben.

We’re getting down to hometowns. Whose visit do you think will be the best or worst?


Rae: Based on the previews (which are the greatest show on TV each week), it looks like Jojo is going to have some brother drama and Amanda is going to have some kid drama, both of which will probably give my eye-rolling muscles a workout. Everyone is very concerned about Ben being ready to be a dad, so my guess is Amanda doesn’t make it to the final two. She may make it past hometowns because Ben wants to be seen as a family-ready guy who doesn’t dump someone just for having kids, but I bet Ben is already readying the line “it just wouldn’t be fair to keep you from your kids a moment longer.”

I think Ben is the most into Lauren B., and did you see her face? Girl is in love. Hopefully their visit goes well, and I think Ben will ultimately pick her. Now that they are showing some of her personality on screen she is rising on my list as well.

Chelsea: I’m so curious about Jojo’s brother drama. It’s super obvious to set up Amanda’s visit with crying children without Ben coming out looking great. Caila is the wild card here. It could go either way, but I don’t think she’ll make it to the finals. Lauren B. will probably make it to the finals, but I don’t think she’ll win — or at least I don’t want her to win. I just have a feeling Jojo is going to come out on top at this point.

Alisa: I think Jojo’s date is going to go terribly based on the previews, and I’m kind of glad about that because I’m not a fan of her. There’s just something about her and I really can’t put my finger on it, but I do not want her with Ben and I definitely don’t want her as the next Bachelorette. I have no doubt that Amanda’s hometown will scare Ben too much to choose her in the end. I agree with Rae that she’ll probably make it past hometowns just so Ben doesn’t have to look like the guy who dumped a girl for having kids.

Lauren B. has been completely forgettable to me all season and yet she seems so completely in love with Ben that it makes me want it to work out. Plus, despite all of Ben’s protesting to the contrary, he clearly doesn’t like complicated women (sorry, Jubilee), and Lauren B. is the only one left who seems as bland and boring as he is and will therefore not require him to use that pretty head for thinking about tough things.

I don’t think Caila will be around much longer because she’s having such a hard time committing to Ben and really opening up, but I am hoping she’ll be the next Bachelorette. I think of all the possibilities, she has the most personality and would make for the best show.

What do you think about who's left on The Bachelor? Let us know in the comments.

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