The Bachelor Season 27: Spoilers and Speculation

[Jax7917]

16 hours ago, Melonie77 said:

How true! Even without the spoilers, it was obvious it was Kaity from very early on. Ever since the overnight museum date, I thought it was clear she was his choice but I agree he may not have consciously come to terms with that decision since there was such a strong pull towards Gabi too.

I do still like Zach and feel he is a good person - I think part of the reason this was a mess was that Zach really empathized with Gabi's insecurities. He was an overweight child/teen and may have understood her issues about feeling second best more than some viewers realize.

IMO Zach was a no-nonsense, honest, 'right-reasons' bachelor who had all good intentions and was truly looking for a wife. I wonder why he did not get better advice from Jessie and Sean about how to handle the no-sex decision. It really wasn't a bad idea but he should have made the decision public before the actual dates so the girls knew prior to the week fantasy suite dates began.

And of course, making the decision to sleep with Gabi was not a good idea either. I'm still confused about why he did that. He seems to have made it clear that they made a conscious decision to do so and it was not a loss of control. This is another issue that 'taints' his engagement for me - the fact that he slept with Gabi. I really don't think (despite all his kissing) that Zach is a player who just wanted a conquest so this whole issue is very puzzling.

The producers/editors share in the responsibility for the cloud hanging over Zach and Kaity's engagement. They pushed and heavily portrayed the narrative of Gabi's betrayal and heartbreak. They actually gave Gabi the 'next-bachelorette edit' by focusing so much on her anguish and I'm baffled by their decision to do this. Any other season and I would be certain that Gabi was getting the next lead. The fact that Gabi 'deserved' to be the next bachelorette after what she went through, makes me even less interested than I already am in watching Charity's season. 
I think TPTB sort of sabotaged Zach's ending with Kaity and took advantage of Gabi. I feel bad for the three of them and hope it all works out with the engagement and friendships that were forged during the season.

I think he slept with Gabi because he wanted to and he knew he was never going to again. He knew he wasn't picking her. I know the show tries to push the narrative that the lead has no idea who he or she will pick until they wake up on proposal day, but I don't buy that for a second. I'd say in most seasons the lead knows about half way through who they're likely going to pick, if not by the top 4. I think a big part of the humiliation for Gabi was that he did sleep with her and still didn't choose her . I could see why that's embarrassing for her. 

I think Zach is a good guy, but what made him seem a lot less genuine to me is the fact that he told everyone (meaning the world) that he was going to abstain from having sex. It was such a " look at me I'm such a good guy" move that it was annoying. You can just tell that to the girls and not tell the rest of the world because that would be the good guy thing to do.

[Melonie77]

2 hours ago, Jax7917 said:

I think he slept with Gabi because he wanted to and he knew he was never going to again. He knew he wasn't picking her. I know the show tries to push the narrative that the lead has no idea who he or she will pick until they wake up on proposal day, but I don't buy that for a second. I'd say in most seasons the lead knows about half way through who they're likely going to pick, if not by the top 4. I think a big part of the humiliation for Gabi was that he did sleep with her and still didn't choose her . I could see why that's embarrassing for her. 

I agree there is a chance that this is true and might be exactly what happened. I bet what you suggest is why a lot of the previous bachelor leads have slept with any of their non-final choice women!
I guess I have a bit more faith in Zach than most viewers do right now as I'm still hoping it was not for any such reason. Also, I don't think he would have announced that there would be no sex if he planned to have a one-night stand with Gabi. And why would he not have sex w/ Ariel if this were the case? It was clear he found her very sexy. I totally agree that sleeping w/ Gabi and then not picking her made it even more difficult for Gabi especially since she was the only one he did have sex with! This season-ending really was a big mess!

[Mabinogia]

9 hours ago, Jax7917 said:

I know the show tries to push the narrative that the lead has no idea who he or she will pick until they wake up on proposal day, but I don't buy that for a second.

I never understood the show pushing this narrative. I would not want to marry a guy who wasn't sure until the night before he proposed, that I was the one he was going to pick. For Kaity's sake I really hope he knew long weeks before he proposed, not hours. 

I just don't think that deciding to marry someone should be something you do at the last minute because of a deadline. If he truly didn't know which woman he wanted until the night before he proposed then he should have told Kaity he picked her, but was going to wait a little while before proposing so it wasn't some last minute decision. 

I think Gabi dodged a bullet. It might hurt now, but in the long run she is far better off. I do think Zach and Kaity will do fine I'm just not sure that's a compliment. There is something about it all that just feels...off or odd to me. IDK it' probably how it all fell apart at the end, how almost the entire audience knew he was picking Kaity even though he claims he didn't know. I just don't trust him, which is ironic because his whole thing seems to be "honesty" but it doesn't feel like he's honest because he's honest but because he is afraid he'll get caught and is trying to save face. 

[dleighg]

15 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I just don't think that deciding to marry someone should be something you do at the last minute because of a deadline.

Yeah I think most mature engaged couples know it is in the cards for quite some time before "the magic moment." Otherwise, that's just weird.