S25.E11: Week 11

[TVMovieBuff]

Now they have me wondering what big shock we are in for, at the reveal of the next Bachelorette!

I wonder if the spoilers I have heard have changed!?

[dizzyd]

So if I got a note to meet at the lake to talk, I wouldn’t know I needed to dress up in an engagement dress. 

[CraftyHazel]

I don’t like Matt.  I strongly dislike Rachael.  I don’t really believe in “happily ever after”.  So at this point, Matt, propose.  Rachael, accept.  Then Matt can discover that his great love is a not-so-secret racist, they can break up quickly, and hopefully disappear from my screen.

Or I could grow a brain and quit watching this crap, but that’s not gonna happen, so...

[EllenB]

The proposal setting looks like a serial killer movie scene or ripe for a Night of the Living Dead sequel.

[Kiss my mutt]

TFW the Tag Team Geico commercial is the best part of the show 

[TheFinalRose]

Walking through those leaf piles in those shoes? Matt is just not worth it. 

[FlyingEgret]

At least she didnt wear an Antebellum dress to the proposal...

[EllenB]

Aren't people about to get engaged supposed to look, oh, I don't know, HAPPY?

[saber5055]

2 minutes ago, FlyingEgret said:

At least she didnt wear an Antebellum dress to the proposal...

Oh, man, THAT would have been golden, and the best finale EVAH.

Oh, god, Matt keeps bringing up his mom during a maybe proposal.

[ponygirl]

I always wear a green sparkly ball gown to the lake. 

[saber5055]

Matt's doing a Juan Pablo and now THAT'S okay? Alrighty then.

[Lesia]

She hasn't met many people, has she?

[DEL901]

Just now, Lesia said:

She hasn't met many people, has she?

Not on TV.   

[Crashcourse]

Well, thank goodness she couldn't give him the Bachelor handshake in that gown.

[saber5055]

20 bucks says Matt lets Mommy "hang on to" the pear-shaped Neil Lane Mommy ring.

[FlyingEgret]

I can't stop looking for the actual lake

[laschifosavita]

This is a lot of dramatics for Matt to say that he is a normal person that doesn't feel ready to get engaged to someone he barely knows.

[saber5055]

See y'all at ATFR.

[TheFinalRose]

That was a very awkward ending .... to be followed by a very awkward ATFR.  

[rlc]

Very few good things in life start with a pear-shaped ring.

[atlanticslide]

Bleh. Well, this was predictable pretty much from their one-on-one. I still have no clue what they see (saw) in each other. Every conversation they had was just cartoonish "I love you, I'm falling for you, you're my person, giggle giggle giggle I love you so much". Every talking head she did, she just looked like more and more of a loon. "He's the most amazing man I've ever met and I love him SO much" - based on what? What substantive conversations have you had? What substantive time have you even spent together? You went on one date where "Matt" "bought" you a bunch of stuff and since that it was nothing but "I love him soooooooo" much. Even leaving aside her racism issues, she just comes across like a vapid idiot, and he does too, but at least he seemed to be slightly more honest about being into her because she's hot - every time he talked about Michelle and Rachael in comparison to one another it was basically "Michaelle is beautiful and smart and bold and interesting and mature. Rachael is gorgeous." During his non-proposal he said something like "I see you as the mother of my kids - and those kids'll be crazy!" Like, is Rachael crazy? We've never seen it!

I don't know why this annoyed me as much as it did, considering how ridiculous this show is and how ridiculous it is to expect two people to really fall in love under these circumstances, but at least try to sell me on it, show!

Also, maybe it's because I'm not at all religious, but Racheal's constant teariness over Matt's prayer during the first night is just so weird. 

Edited March 16, 2021 by atlanticslide

[Irlandesa]

Matt had so many amazing women.  And he chose Rachael.  And I think he chose Rachael because he felt like he had to pick someone. 

I just think back to Tayshia's season.  She also freaked out during her final date with Zac because of things her father said.  But hers was a nervous energy and felt like a fear of taking a major leap she actually wanted to take.

Matt's freak out felt defeated like he realized at the end of the process that the process didn't work for him.  He didn't fall in love with Rachael or Michelle.  He fell in like with them both but was more attracted to Rachael in the end so he went with her.

[Arkay]

Here's another thing about it being 2021....there are LOTS of divorces and LOTS of single parents and there isn't the sense of shame over it that there was in previous centuries. Not that it's easy for the single parent or child, but this sense of being damaged goods....I mean, Chris Harrison is divorced, his wife became a single mom....obviously Chris has his own issues but not with this damaged goods stuff.

All along I've wondered why Matt felt like such an outcast, having a single mother, but now that I've met his family it's quite clear. His mother SEEMS gentle and loving, but then lobbed that grenade at him. The brother seems very close to Matt, but I cannot look at anyone who is wearing a grill. 

Matt, Michelle was RIGHT THERE! 

[Thumper]

34 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Matt had so many amazing women.  And he chose Rachael.  And I think he chose Rachael because he felt like he had to pick someone. 

I just think back to Tayshia's season.  She also freaked out during her final date with Zac because of things her father said.  But hers was a nervous energy and felt like a fear of taking a major leap she actually wanted to take.

Matt's freak out felt defeated like he realized at the end of the process that the process didn't work for him.  He didn't fall in love with Rachael or Michelle.  He fell in like with them both but was more attracted to Rachael in the end so he went with her.

And is that all that unusual for this franchise?  They have to pick someone — or do the “no pick,” which is quite rare, right?  

[bluestocking]

Matt was just emotionally unavailable.  And rarely shows emotion.  I think he even said tonight that he thought showing emotion was a weakness--but "in this process" had changed that view.  But he really hasn't.  The blank, emotionless face when Michelle was pouring her heart out.  Not even perturbed or distraught--just blank.  

[Irlandesa]

2 minutes ago, Thumper said:

And is that all that unusual for this franchise?  They have to pick someone — or do the “no pick,” which is quite rare, right?  

Sure.  But I don't recall many who looked so defeated at feeling like they had to pick someone. 

[Rainsong]

Golf courses, for all their variety, beauty, natural features, meandering routes, man-made challenges, landscaping and meticulous care all have one thing in common: they start and end in the same place.

As it is with Mystic Rock GC on the property of the Nemacolin Resort, so it is with Matt James, The Bachelor. He arrived tonelessly reciting his checklist of qualities ‘he wanted in a wife,’ a phrase tacky, archaic and crass at best and at worst a signal that here is someone unable to recognize, understand or form healthy relationships. Yes, he admits the last of these multiple times but he finishes as he started: with a list and not much else.

If this season was devoid of content however predictable and repetitive then the finale was devoid of…nearly everything including movement and dialogue. Two hours of Matt staring into the distance had us wondering if we’d possibly mashed the Pause button by mistake several times. But there he was, leaning on a rail (of course), sitting on a curb, standing by a lake. How does one do a voiceover for thoughts when there are no thoughts per se?

The production crew evidently had a collective, severe case of cabin fever. They could no longer maintain the ruse that a choice between two women had yet to be made. And, quite evidently, they gave up trying. As above, Matt wasn’t helping them or himself by repeating a few stock lines and signaling his intentions rather early on and in this last episode.

Matt begins by damning Michelle with faint praise.  Michelle is loyal, smart, etc. Matt sounds like he’s at a pet store looking for a companion. Rachael, on the other hand, is ‘someone I’m attracted to.’ CH is tearing his rapidly thinning hair out as Matt telegraphs the outcome a full two hours early.

Matt’s mother and brother have arrived. Mom’s hair shows the passage of time as it’s grown out since the first episode. Brother John’s teeth show the absence of modesty, common sense or financial sanity as he sports a ‘grill’ ie a superfluous gold bridge covering his upper incisors. John is articulate as a fencepost, announcing his cunning plan to ‘pick up a vibe’ and ‘keep it real.’  Sherlock Holmes, he isn't.  A scowl seems to be his only expression. His attempts to speak and keep his dental decoration in place only exacerbate his inability to communicate. The effect is one of a ventriloquist speaking without a dummy present. Well, at least as long as Matt is in the next room.

Michelle gets the most generic introduction and grilling (sorry) in the history of the franchise and leaves, symbolically, as snow falls from leaden skies. Rachael arrives the next morning in the sunlight. She’s going second again, of course, but the sleight of hand is fooling nobody at this juncture.

Rach & Matt are more intertwined on the couch and finishing each others’ sentences. Matt’s body language is in 80 pt font. He’s smiling & looking up instead of down as he speaks. Rachael isn’t stuffed in the SUV immediately following the meeting. Instead, Matt walks her into the woods for some more canoodling. If we get any more hints landing in our laps we’re going to get our thighs bruised. Matt finishes meeting with Mom & John and walks out wearing…purple pointed-toe ankle boots? Did he steal Mom’s footwear? What a joker. He’s been hiding his comedic light under a bushel all this time.

Ah, here’s a reprise of the commercial from our friends at Trulicity. Trulicity’s side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, indigestion, fatigue, belly pain and decreased appetite. But then so do shots of Jägermeister taken at 2 AM when you’re well past the point of needing any more booze and your decision-making is poor. It also apparently makes you put on an ill-fitting lilac-colored v-neck t-shirt. Diabetes is no fun but Trulicity sounds like self-induced agony.

Matt wants to talk to someone who’s ‘seen this process play out.’ Enter CH in a Mr Rogers zip-up sweater. Wouldn’t you like to be his neighbor? If not, hard luck cos he’s stuck on the Nemacolin property along with everyone else. Memo to Matt: you probably should have worked out by now that CH isn’t going to reveal anything and isn’t going to give advice. He’s going to do his unlicensed psychiatrist routine and make you do all the talking while he furrows his brow and nods a lot.

Michelle is being subjected to unnerving doses of diffidence from Matt as they do a terrifying (?) rappel down a four-story building. Lanky Matt resembles a collapsing oil derrick as he ungracefully steps off the ledge. Michelle’s prize for reaching the ground is more diffidence from Matt as he regales her with talk of ‘pain.’ What a charmer he is. Michelle, there may be a big heart outline on the tarmac but if the three giant red flags behind Matt don’t provide enough symbolism we’re not sure what will.

Michelle’s a trooper, lighting her own candles (more symbolism, it seems) and giving Matt a custom jersey which barely elicits a reaction from him. Where’s the bomb whistle sound effect? It might come in handy just now. Matt has jawboned the hapless audience into indifference if not outright hostility and now he’s going to give Michelle the same treatment.

With 2,000 empty chairs and couches in the vacant, sprawling, Nemacolin hotel Matt has chosen to sit on…a concrete curb. CH appears out of nowhere a la Jiminy Cricket to listen to Matt moan some more about needing some time. CH resists the urge to grab a rock and smack his recalcitrant Bachelor in the back of the head with it. If you thought scripted reality was bad then unscripted, untethered reality is much, much worse.

In a last-ditch bid by the producers to infuse the inevitable with some suspense, Matt has not-so-mysteriously scratched his final date with Rachael. The cheeky beggar! Rachael spent 30 min with a shoehorn getting those leather jeans on.

Matt is STILL banging on about ‘this journey’ and what he ‘envisioned in this moment.’ A sensible person might point out that forming a relationship with a person is a hell of a lot easier when you actually interact with that person and don’t cancel crucial dates when dates are already rationed.

God bless him, good old Neil Lane is here with his magic briefcase. Neil wants to talk to his agent about higher billing and larger typeface in the credits. Neil didn’t have this much onscreen dialogue in the previous five seasons combined. Matt wants a ring. Neil wants a deposit even though Mopey Matt The Indecisive may not propose.

Speaking of previous seasons, finales were held in majestic places. Waterfalls, mountaintops, beaches. Matt & Rachael end up next to a fishin’ pond in PA where catch-and-release is in effect – just like Matt’s love life. Past the point of caring now, we’re chucking the poles, the tackle and the bait into the water and swimming for shore.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Rainsong

[Arkay]

Meant to add...Rachel was clearly freezing at the proposal platform....I can't believe Matt didn't take off his jacket to put over her. That would be more real-life love than both of them maintaining their looks.

Also, was it winter on one of their dates, snowing etc., but then at the end it was autumn again? Obviously it may have snowed early, but those autumn leaves looked fresh. 

[RealHousewife]

1 hour ago, Arkay said:

Here's another thing about it being 2021....there are LOTS of divorces and LOTS of single parents and there isn't the sense of shame over it that there was in previous centuries. Not that it's easy for the single parent or child, but this sense of being damaged goods....I mean, Chris Harrison is divorced, his wife became a single mom....obviously Chris has his own issues but not with this damaged goods stuff.

All along I've wondered why Matt felt like such an outcast, having a single mother, but now that I've met his family it's quite clear. His mother SEEMS gentle and loving, but then lobbed that grenade at him. The brother seems very close to Matt, but I cannot look at anyone who is wearing a grill. 

Matt, Michelle was RIGHT THERE! 

I don't get the shame over divorce either. It's so, so common. I'm not downplaying how hard it must be to go through a divorce, because I know a breakup can be painful and take time to heal from. I know all kids also want their parents together too, but you can absolutely have a great childhood with divorced parents, and no, not all kids who have parents who stayed together have it great. There are people who grow up experiencing a ton of abuse and other issues. Divorce is not the most tragic thing to ever happen in life. I do feel deeply for Matt due to his father not having been around much period. All children want both their parents to care and be there. One of the few times we saw genuine emotion from him was when he talked to his father. I often roll my eyes at the crying and drama in this show, but that was some real pain, and it was hard to watch. I truly felt for him. 

Edited March 16, 2021 by RealHousewife

[econ07]

9 hours ago, Stats Queen said:

Just started watching, but Matt is running his hand up and down his mom’s thigh - just yuck!

 

I thought I was the only one that noticed.  That was cringe uncomfortable.  (cringcomfortable?)  If I had just turned it on and not seen her face, I would have thought that he was on a couch with one of the contestants.

Edited March 16, 2021 by econ07

[cowgirlwen]

Quote

7 hours ago, Arkay said:

Also, was it winter on one of their dates, snowing etc., but then at the end it was autumn again? Obviously it may have snowed early, but those autumn leaves looked fresh. 

 

Yep, welcome to PA in October!  It can be 70* one day, snowing the next, and then sunny and 70* again the following day!  

[seacliffsal]

(mentally challenging myself to keep it positive...here goes...) the snowy scenes were really lovely.  I was surprised that it seemed like a different season, but found it just gorgeous.

(okay, good, am keeping it positive...) I am so glad that Matt dropped Michelle as she would probably have said yes and she wouldn't deserve that.  She is so much more (okay, that was a positive outcome although she really went through some personal disappointment and hurt).

(okay, all pretense is gone, just can't do it...) this was such an exceptionally boring episode as I have found Matt to be boring all season, but it seemed like 3/4s of this episode was Matt brooding/being confused/not being able to express himself.  Matt stated to his family that he doesn't open up emotionally so I continue to wonder just exactly what were the producers thinking while casting him as the Bachelor (other than having a black bachelor).  I also ended up feeling bad for pre-scandal Rachael as Matt apparently had been telling her for quite a while that he was falling/in love with her and then cancelling their final date?  Cowardly and cruel.

Oh, and Michelle told Matt's mom that she loved the fact that he was changing the world.  How did I miss this?  How has Matt been changing the world?  What does that even mean?

[LBS]

12 hours ago, Kiss my mutt said:

There are some serious boundary issues going on between Matt and his momma. They need family and individual therapy  

100%.  My armchair therapist side saw Matt as the classic overachiever trying to please everyone.  I felt like his mom probably over-confided in him when he was young (not maliciously but sometimes parents cast their kids in that role)and he spent his whole childhood trying to make her less sad/angry.  I can just imagine the anxiety he went through.  It’s tough to balance that.  
 

[neece26]

Quote

(okay, all pretense is gone, just can't do it...) this was such an exceptionally boring episode as I have found Matt to be boring all season, but it seemed like 3/4s of this episode was Matt brooding/being confused/not being able to express himself.  Matt stated to his family that he doesn't open up emotionally so I continue to wonder just exactly what were the producers thinking while casting him as the Bachelor (other than having a black bachelor).  I also ended up feeling bad for pre-scandal Rachael as Matt apparently had been telling her for quite a while that he was falling/in love with her and then cancelling their final date?  Cowardly and cruel.

Yes very cruel to ditch Rachael on her last date with no explanation and also cruel to not give Michelle her two minutes to get closure.   Matt clearly has issues of his own to work through.   

[Never Again]

10 hours ago, Arkay said:

Here's another thing about it being 2021....there are LOTS of divorces and LOTS of single parents and there isn't the sense of shame over it that there was in previous centuries. Not that it's easy for the single parent or child, but this sense of being damaged goods....I mean, Chris Harrison is divorced, his wife became a single mom....obviously Chris has his own issues but not with this damaged goods stuff.

All along I've wondered why Matt felt like such an outcast, having a single mother, but now that I've met his family it's quite clear. His mother SEEMS gentle and loving, but then lobbed that grenade at him. The brother seems very close to Matt, but I cannot look at anyone who is wearing a grill. 

Matt, Michelle was RIGHT THERE! 

It’s appalling to me that single parents should ever have been seen as damaged goods or felt shame for the difficult situation they found themselves in.  Years ago as I child I remember reading somewhere that single working mothers are the number one most stressed group of people. As I’ve grown I’ve seen it, it’s very true, the pressures on them are enormous. And yes, women more than men, because it’s just easier in life to be a man, and the money is generally better, and single dads are viewed as somewhat heroic whereas single moms are not. Thankfully as you said the sense of shame is gone.  I think single working moms should be viewed as they are:  amazing and very strong women doing it all, and alone, for the sake of their children.

 

[TVMovieBuff]

12 hours ago, ponygirl said:

I always wear a green sparkly ball gown to the lake. 

It's part of what the Bachelorette/Bachelor show is all about. We want the glitter, glitz and romance. If you don't want glamour, go watch Duck Dynasty reruns.

[JenE4]

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

 

Oh, and Michelle told Matt's mom that she loved the fact that he was changing the world.  How did I miss this?  How has Matt been changing the world?  What does that even mean?

Apparently Matt and Tyler have a charity in which they bring homeless youth to restaurants and the gym (???). I’m sure someone else knows more about it, but that’s what they showed in the episode 1 intro package. 

[TVMovieBuff]

14 hours ago, CraftyHazel said:

By far!  She has a beautiful shape and a pretty face.  She’s not necessarily classically “beautiful” like Bri, but she more than holds her own in the looks department.  She also seems intelligent, and sweet, and fun.

Michelle is a great choice for the Bachelorette. So is Katie. I am so glad they are having separate seasons. I didn't like the Keitlyn/Britt competition.

[Alexander Pope]

13 hours ago, Kiss my mutt said:

Well, at least Neil got his promotional time!

You know things are bad when Matt is honestly seeking advice from Neil!!! and when Neil sounds reasonable!

[Thumper]

Is Katie the vibrator woman?

[Dehumidifier]

30 minutes ago, Thumper said:

Is Katie the vibrator woman?

Yes.

[OldWiseOne]

16 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Matt's doing a Juan Pablo and now THAT'S okay? Alrighty then.

Yes, but Matt said "I love you" to Rachel and JP refused even when goaded by Chris Harrison at ATFR.

Matt voiceover on his way to meet Michelle - "this is the point where I always run away from relationships." WTF do producers choose someone like this, when they are looking for it to end in a proposal? Why choose people who have no interest in marriage?

[Lamb18]

I just finished watching the episode and knowing what happens afterwards, just felt really sad. But I don't think it would have lasted anyway even if what happened (which I can't say because it's a spoiler) didn't happen. I just don't think Matt felt confident enough in himself and in how he feels about Rachael for the relationship to last. 

[Andromeda]

On 3/15/2021 at 7:43 PM, atlanticslide said:

Bleh. Well, this was predictable pretty much from their one-on-one. I still have no clue what they see (saw) in each other. Every conversation they had was just cartoonish "I love you, I'm falling for you, you're my person, giggle giggle giggle I love you so much". Every talking head she did, she just looked like more and more of a loon. "He's the most amazing man I've ever met and I love him SO much" - based on what? What substantive conversations have you had? What substantive time have you even spent together? You went on one date where "Matt" "bought" you a bunch of stuff and since that it was nothing but "I love him soooooooo" much. Even leaving aside her racism issues, she just comes across like a vapid idiot, and he does too, but at least he seemed to be slightly more honest about being into her because she's hot - every time he talked about Michelle and Rachael in comparison to one another it was basically "Michaelle is beautiful and smart and bold and interesting and mature. Rachael is gorgeous." During his non-proposal he said something like "I see you as the mother of my kids - and those kids'll be crazy!" Like, is Rachael crazy? We've never seen it!

I don't know why this annoyed me as much as it did, considering how ridiculous this show is and how ridiculous it is to expect two people to really fall in love under these circumstances, but at least try to sell me on it, show!

Also, maybe it's because I'm not at all religious, but Racheal's constant teariness over Matt's prayer during the first night is just so weird. 

I agree. The crazy kids statement was so puzzling, because they're both so damned boring.

And she said Matt "prayed over them," like he was blessing them, or exorcising demons or something, when he was actually leading a group prayer. Weird.

[Hip-to-be-Square]

If I were Michelle, I would have grabbed that plate of uneaten chocolate raspberry ganache cake on the way out after Matt ended things. 

[RealHousewife]

12 hours ago, OldWiseOne said:

Yes, but Matt said "I love you" to Rachel and JP refused even when goaded by Chris Harrison at ATFR.

Matt voiceover on his way to meet Michelle - "this is the point where I always run away from relationships." WTF do producers choose someone like this, when they are looking for it to end in a proposal? Why choose people who have no interest in marriage?

Exactly. This show is for people who run towards marriage, not run away from marriage. Matt is absolutely gorgeous, but his personality did not suit this show. I know more often than not the relationships don't last, but Matt isn't even ready for a serious girlfriend. 

Michelle is such a class act. Really hope she finds love as Bachelorette. 

[xtwheeler]

On 3/15/2021 at 6:59 PM, saber5055 said:

20 bucks says Matt lets Mommy "hang on to" the pear-shaped Neil Lane Mommy ring.

The contestants only get to keep the ring if they stay together more than 2 years. 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bachelor-contestants-only-keep-engagement-190312512.html

The returned rings are kept locked away by ABC in a "ring graveyard . . . all the scorned rings."