S16.E08: Week 8

[waving feather]

Bennett is a nightmare. Isn't this at least the 2nd time he forced a kiss on Tayshia in front of everyone in a performative way. I feel bad for Tayshia in those instances because she's always caught off guard and it's hard to reject him in front of everyone. I thought that was gross.

If he planned the gifts to Noah as a joke and to troll him, it's a fail because it wasn't funny and it came across as menacing. On the other hand, if he was serious about it, then yikes! Either way, it's red flags all over. Even if the producers prompted him to do that, it's on him because he was so committed to it, thinking those childish mean girl tactics are entertaining. 

Edited December 3, 2020 by waving feather

[jackjill89]

20 hours ago, Shadow Wave said:

That and Tayshia with her "vunnerable." Gah.

...and we can't forget litrally

Bennett has always been a smug ass. The smug ass was subdued for a few episodes, but it's always been there. 

[deSchenke]

I have no doubt that a 2 on 1 with Bennett and Noah will result in both being sent home. I don't think Tayshia has interest in either one of them. Their disdain for one another will confirm that for her.

[Lamb18]

I'm watching this right now - haven't read any posts - but I feel like Bennett is more emotionally involved with Noah than he is with Tayshia. What an obsession! Watch them both be on Paradise.

I'm really enjoying the Tayshia portion of this season. Zack reminds me of Winston from Big Brother (he would be funny on The Bachelorette!). Most of these guys are really nice.

[jade.black]

I don't know what it says about me, but Zac has been my favorite main player (sadly Joe and Demar just didn't get the screentime) for awhile now and I was MORE attracted to him after hearing about his rocky past?! Plus I just like his seduction style and the way he holds eye contact. Mmm.

Bennett can go now. He keeps bringing up the age difference between him and Noah, but bro, YOU are the 36 year old man fixated on the dumb 25 year old. Get over it. The gift was all kinds of cringey passive aggression. I can't wait for Tayshia to find out what's in the box (also the Seven parallels really work with Bennett's American Psycho vibes).

Still hate Ben. Clinger vibes all over. It seemed like he had nothing to offer emotionally so he decided to offer his penis. Also his face is very hard to look at. And his neck is like the size of my thigh. Ew.

[misokinesia]

Not a whole lot to add but a few things I do appreciate about Tayshia, which really stood out for me this episode:

- She doesn't dole out the Bachelor handshakes
- Her real lashes on the date with Zac C
- Her complete lack of poker face

Other things:

Zac C has a Nick Viall lispy(?) way of speaking.

Bennett's cute until he opens his mouth. Figuratively and literally...there's something about his teeth that bothers me.

This one was heavy on the past trauma reveals! Yeesh.

Edited December 3, 2020 by misokinesia
Speeling.

[Lamb18]

Now I want Noah to stay (they're about to do the 2 on 1) - he said "Tayshia's and my relationship" - he knows which possessive pronoun to use!!

ETA: I spoke too soon. He said "her and I" when it should have been "she and I".  Oh well...

Edited December 3, 2020 by Lamb18

[Lamb18]

Happy birthday, @saber5055!!  Did Chris what's his face stop by with a birthday card and a bottle of wine?

[EllenB]

I finally remembered what Ben's unfortunate shirt choice reminded me of.  That's a Cardassian neck for sure.

 

[JudyObscure]

[Kiss my mutt]

8 hours ago, EllenB said:

I finally remembered what Ben's unfortunate shirt choice reminded me of.  That's a Cardassian neck for sure.

 

Nailed it!

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 12/1/2020 at 8:34 PM, GracieK said:

Zac definitely has the red flags flying however I hate the lie detector date

Lie detectors are hideously inaccurate.  I think subjecting the combatants to a lie detector test is a shitty thing to do, which is saying something because my attitude toward them is generally that they deserve what they get when they go on a stupid show like this. 

 

On 12/2/2020 at 5:17 AM, nlkm9 said:

but I love Chris Harrison and give him props for doing the right thing by his son .

I'm old, but I flew on a plane to go to college, sans parental accompaniment.  There wasn't a pandemic going on (I'm not that old 😀), but the fewer people out and about nowadays the better.  At least the show walked the talk on that incident--I'm still unclear on how all these other people were popping in on seemingly short notice.

 

15 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Now I want Noah to stay (they're about to do the 2 on 1) - he said "Tayshia's and my relationship" - he knows which possessive pronoun to use!!

AND he knew to make the Tayshia possessive, too.  I was amazed.

 

Quote

ETA: I spoke too soon. He said "her and I" when it should have been "she and I".  Oh well...

Dammit.  I was mainly FFing through this and could see the captions--that's what alerted me to the "Tayshia's and my."  If he went on to use "her" as the subject of a sentence, then the "Tayshia's and my" had to be random.  I should have known.

 

9 hours ago, EllenB said:

I finally remembered what Ben's unfortunate shirt choice reminded me of.  That's a Cardassian neck for sure.

The shirt always looks to me like the one in the TV commercial for a detergent, maybe, featuring a couple on a first date where the neck on the guy's shirt is all stretched out and she judges him for it.

Edited December 3, 2020 by StatisticalOutlier

[deSchenke]

It's a Downy commercial: 

 

[archer1267]

Quote

Bennett said he wanted a chateau in Paris, which will always remain a fantasy because I'm pretty sure there aren't any chateaus in the city of Paris that are private property.

The Hamptons! NYC! Paris! Bennett reminds me of Ramona Singer from RHoNY - she only vacations in the fashionably "right" places, and they're the same cliched spots that every nouveau riche person and hanger-on goes to. That recitation was such a turn-off. 

[Crashcourse]

17 hours ago, misokinesia said:

Bennett's cute until he opens his mouth. Figuratively and literally...there's something about his teeth that bothers me.

Those teeth annoy me too.  Maybe he needed braces as kid. 

[dvr devotee]

They look like veneers to me. Maybe he had them done by a cheaper dentist when he was on his way up in his career, and later prioritized buying his Hamptons home over correcting his chipmunk look.

[sauce62]

1 hour ago, dvr devotee said:

They look like veneers to me. Maybe he had them done by a cheaper dentist when he was on his way up in his career, and later prioritized buying his Hamptons home over correcting his chipmunk look.

I agree. Looks like he got crowns on front teeth and they're ill fitting. In any case, he's a pompous douche.

Other observations: 

Brendan sounds like Brad Womack in his slow, clipped way of speaking.

Ben exposing himself was beyond cringe. Guy needs therapy.

New drinking game: every time Tayshia says it's "a lot". Must be what the kids are saying these days.

Tayshia and Zac have similar jaw things going on, Zac with more of an underbite. I see his charm but don't see them ending up together. And that "wedding" date was all kinds of stupid. Maybe don't spray the sober guy with champagne.

Tayshia is dazzling, but I don't see her with any of these guys. Someone more mature and manly would be best. I think she'll be in the public eye a while. 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2020 by sauce62

[waving feather]

Tayshia herself seems mature (I hope) but I think she prefers someone boyish even though she claims she wants "a man". Thus, I doubt she will choose Zac in the end. He would be too boring for her. And her words are not matching her expressions. Usually in these kind of shows, when a lead really likes a someone they tend to be giddy when they talk about them, but her voice was blank and like she was reciting lines during the date ITMs. She's the most giddy around Brendan but I don't see it lasting if they got together.

Ben is too intense for her. And he's kinda weird. I can't read him yet.

[ljenkins782]

On 12/1/2020 at 10:07 PM, dirtypop90 said:

Still love Tayshia but some of these men need a therapist and not a woman. They’re dumping a lot on her and next week looks worse. 

Tayshia's face during some of those revelations was like watching their stocks drop in real time. On the one hand, it's not fair to consider someone damaged goods unworthy of love because of things they've gone through, but such heavy conversation doesn't usually happen this early in a relationship before there's a genuine investment so it's easier to just say "eh, not going to get involved in all that."

Quote

I think that's backwards. I imagine the PAs planning all the gifts for the box, creating the box, wrapping it complete with bow, then saying, "Psst, hey Bennett, step on over here buddy, and look what we've got for you. You'll be THE STAR of this episode!"

Bennett's not good in this role. His hammy, scenery chewing portrayal of this specific character isn't particularly entertaining or interesting and he definitely has zero relationship with Tayshia. And the creepy blindfold kiss seemed extra out of place because I don't think she'd go in for a kiss if she could see him coming.

Noah actually does entertain me and he's much easier to look at without the mustache. My hands down favorite moment of the episode was in the life drawing date when there was some confusion about where Tayshia was supposed to sit and Bennett tells Noah he was sitting in his assigned seat and Noah takes a beat and goes "you just made that up!" LOL

So if one of them survives the 2-1, I hope it's Noah. He at least seems like kind of a fun guy, Bennett is tiresome as hell.

I hope Ben and his scoop neck tees will be making an exit soon as well. He is unsettling with his big unblinking eyes and intensity. He just seems like A LOT.

Felt bad for Eazy, I hate it when the lead waits for a person to do the whole "I'm falling in love with you" before dropping the ax and then drawing out the "I'm sorry you're so much more in love with me than I am with you...". I always want someone to come back with "never mind what I said before, I just wanted to stay on the show." Because that's usually what they actually mean.

I'm shocked that Blake is still here, I didn't think he'd last past week 1. He seems like a bit of an immature douche in his interviews and with Tayshia, but he's entertaining when he's hanging with the guys. Most of these guys are a lot more fun when they're hanging with each other.

Personality-wise, I think Brendan's probably the most genuinely fun and I liked the preview of him admitting that the timeline to a proposal was scary. I hope Tayshia doesn't react with horror at something that's actually quite reasonable in a real-world sense.

The ending scene was exactly how I would have reacted. When they pulled that lever and the Ferris wheel lit up, I was like "hell no." A rickety Ferris wheel assembled in the middle of the hotel just for this? No thanks. I was surprised when they seemed perfectly at ease during the date portion of the show, so it made more sense when they showed that Tayshia had been nervous about it.

 

[Just Carol]

I was not shocked to learn that Zac cheated in a prior relationship. He basically copped to every kind of bad behavior when he told Tayshia about his messed up partying, drinking and drug use and sketchy associates. 

ETA:  The haunted house date was a terrible date.  Except, great work by the producers and set designers and riggers.  Dolls, things moving on their own... I am very jumpy and this stuff is effective on me.  The story line was kind of dumb.  I am pretty sure that if the La Quinta organization thought there was a grave beneath the tennis courts, they wouldn't have built the tennis court there.  

 Eazy was a jerk for saying he was mimicking Tayshia in screaming.  Maybe it is polite to pretend to be afraid    of a haunted house when production has put so much work into it, and maybe it is polite to act scared  when your friend appears to be scared.  But saying afterwards that you were faking?  No.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Just Carol

[catrice2]

On 12/3/2020 at 3:08 PM, Crashcourse said:

Those teeth annoy me too.  Maybe he needed braces as kid. 

Zac, Ben, Bennett and many others have strange mouths, he is not the only one. 

Edited December 9, 2020 by catrice2

[catrice2]

2 hours ago, waving feather said:

Tayshia herself seems mature (I hope) but I think she prefers someone boyish even though she claims she wants "a man". Thus, I doubt she will choose Zac in the end. He would be too boring for her. And her words are not matching her expressions. Usually in these kind of shows, when a lead really likes a someone they tend to be giddy when they talk about them, but her voice was blank and like she was reciting lines during the date ITMs. She's the most giddy around Brendan but I don't see it lasting if they got together.

Ben is too intense for her. And he's kinda weird. I can't read him yet.

Don't watch the show, episodes here and there, but COVID and diversity has me looking at clips and reading this board.....and THANK YOU!  I know people devoted to the franchise and talk about it all the time......and many are saying Ben is next Bachelor vibes.   I have only watched clips but I find him extremely strange and I don't get attractive from him, but I've said that about most of the people in Bachelor world, especially the men.   Zac looks like an older more used up version of Nick Viall.  It is like all it takes is to be on one of these shows for everyone to start acting as if you are the next Brad Pitt (who I only find attractive at certain angles)  but you get what I mean.     Now that I think about it he is no worse than what they have had before and is about the same....and didn't he say he was a trainer?  Reading the boards I am glad I missed his nudity thing. He strikes me as someone who just wants to win more than anything else, or who gets intense too soon.  In general, I think she has a horrible group of men...but I said that during Rachel's season too  when I actually watched a few episodes.  As I understand it, these men were picked for Claire. They should have brought in more men for her.   Some nice guys, but none are super interesting. 

[Crashcourse]

10 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Zac, Ben, Bennett and many others have strange mouths, he is not the only won.  

Yeah, but his mouth stands out more to me.  He reminds me of Bucky Beaver (I'm old). 

[nlkm9]

On 12/2/2020 at 7:38 PM, waving feather said:

Bennett is a nightmare. Isn't this at least the 2nd time he forced a kiss on Tayshia in front of everyone in a performative way. I feel bad for Tayshia in those instances because she's always caught off guard and it's hard to reject him in front of everyone. I thought that was gross.

If he planned the gifts to Noah as a joke and to troll him, it's a fail because it wasn't funny and it came across as menacing. On the other hand, if he was serious about it, then yikes! Either way, it's red flags all over. Even if the producers prompted him to do that, it's on him because he was so committed to it, thinking those childish mean girl tactics are entertaining. 

it really came off as very mean-spirited. any goodwill I had about him in the beginning is gone. He did make a comment about how he did not have a privileged upbringing, Id be curious enough to know that backstory. bennet is the kind of guy who would be very nasty to have an argument with, not a great dating prospect. Smug.

[nlkm9]

On 12/3/2020 at 1:47 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

Lie detectors are hideously inaccurate.  I think subjecting the combatants to a lie detector test is a shitty thing to do, which is saying something because my attitude toward them is generally that they deserve what they get when they go on a stupid show like this. 

 

I'm old, but I flew on a plane to go to college, sans parental accompaniment.  There wasn't a pandemic going on (I'm not that old 😀), but the fewer people out and about nowadays the better.  At least the show walked the talk on that incident--I'm still unclear on how all these other people were popping in on seemingly short notice.

well, Im old lol and back in the day, it was a "thing" to drive your kids to college. I suppose if youre in college far enough away, its not practical, but I do think its nice that CH wanted that time alone with his son. Can you imagine traveling and stopping at a rest station and bumping into Chris Harrison?? hahaha lol. At least we have cell phones now to capture the moment!!:)

21 hours ago, waving feather said:

Tayshia herself seems mature (I hope) but I think she prefers someone boyish even though she claims she wants "a man". Thus, I doubt she will choose Zac in the end. He would be too boring for her. And her words are not matching her expressions. Usually in these kind of shows, when a lead really likes a someone they tend to be giddy when they talk about them, but her voice was blank and like she was reciting lines during the date ITMs. She's the most giddy around Brendan but I don't see it lasting if they got together.

Ben is too intense for her. And he's kinda weird. I can't read him yet.

It is super nice to watch a season with no "bachelor handshake". lol.

[catrice2]

9 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Yeah, but his mouth stands out more to me.  He reminds me of Bucky Beaver (I'm old). 

I know Bucky Beaver, ha ha. I can't decide whose mouth bothers me more....ugh 

[After7Only]

On 12/3/2020 at 10:32 PM, Just Carol said:

 

 Eazy was a jerk for saying he was mimicking Tayshia in screaming.  Maybe it is polite to pretend to be afraid    of a haunted house when production has put so much work into it, and maybe it is polite to act scared  when your friend appears to be scared.  But saying afterwards that you were faking?  No.

I think Eazy was really scared and made that joke to cover it up after Taysia basically called him out for screaming acting scared

Black people generally don’t mess around with ghosts, even if we think they aren’t real. Lol.   The whole scene including their reactions, and Eazy explaining his behavior by claiming he was just matching her energy was hilarious to me

[dirtypop90]

On 12/3/2020 at 11:32 PM, Just Carol said:

I was not shocked to learn that Zac cheated in a prior relationship. He basically copped to every kind of bad behavior when he told Tayshia about his messed up partying, drinking and drug use and sketchy associates. 

I think the lie detector bit with Zac is a frankenbite.

 

On 12/2/2020 at 10:17 PM, jade.black said:

I don't know what it says about me, but Zac has been my favorite main player (sadly Joe and Demar just didn't get the screentime) for awhile now and I was MORE attracted to him after hearing about his rocky past?! Plus I just like his seduction style and the way he holds eye contact. Mmm.

There is something sexy about Zac. I can't put my finger on it but I see what Tayshia sees. She zones out a lot of dudes when they talk but always listens to him. And Zac talks to tayshia like they're at a bar and not on the bachelor. Hard to explain. But he doesn't feel like he's putting on a show. And Tayshia puts on less of a show with him than she does with the other men. Tayshia smiles ad giggles etc etc. with all the men. She is less giggly with Zac, but I believe Zac is the only one she's said she felt butterflies for. 

 

On 12/3/2020 at 9:35 PM, waving feather said:

Tayshia herself seems mature (I hope) but I think she prefers someone boyish even though she claims she wants "a man". Thus, I doubt she will choose Zac in the end. He would be too boring for her. And her words are not matching her expressions. Usually in these kind of shows, when a lead really likes a someone they tend to be giddy when they talk about them, but her voice was blank and like she was reciting lines during the date ITMs. She's the most giddy around Brendan but I don't see it lasting if they got together.

Ben is too intense for her. And he's kinda weird. I can't read him yet.

Ben and Brendan seem about on the same level to me as far as their connection to Tayshia but Ben has more substance. She giggles and makes out with Brendan because he never says anything. I think she stopped him from talking once with her mouth because he was rambling nonsense. She just thinks he's cute IMO but would never choose him as a long term mate. Reminds me a lot of Hannah/Tyler during Hannah's season.

Zac is the only viable choice I see for this reason. Other options are too young for her, exception being Riley but they don't have any chemistry.

[Bluesky]

On 12/2/2020 at 10:26 PM, misokinesia said:

Zac C has a Nick Viall lispy(?) way of speaking.

Bennett's cute until he opens his mouth. Figuratively and literally...there's something about his teeth that bothers me.

Bennett does initially look cute the he opens his mouth.  He also has beady eyes, Frankenstein forehead and an awkward way of walking.   

[Wandering Snark]

17 hours ago, Bluesky said:

Bennett does initially look cute the he opens his mouth.  He also has beady eyes, Frankenstein forehead and an awkward way of walking.  

I was definitely noticing that, every time they show him walking it's just... odd.

[Kiss my mutt]

Bennett gives me sociopathic vibes. He had such a strange glazed look on his face when he he was trying to plead his case and sounded rather rehearsed and manipulative. If I had to pick anyone of these guys most likely to be a serial killer it is he. I’d be interested in seeing what his parents are like if he gets that far.