S22.E01: Week 1: Premiere

[violet and green]

I liked him better younger and skinnier, but he's still got the old swoony charm. That was one hell of a revolting kiss that awful Chelsea laid on him. Ugh, and it was never-ending. My favorites are Jaqueline and Bibiana. I think Bekah is 18, or something. Gross. So glad they are going to swan around Europe properly!

[Wings]

8 hours ago, JenE4 said:

Hey, gang! I really haven’t been on PTV much in months (save a post or two once VDPR came back on air). I’m psyched to FINALLY have a good show to snark on again!! I missed you guys!

Nurse who loves it when people get shot because the more blood the better?? Uh...

Wonder whether Raven’s friend also enjoys frog gigging and mud bogging.

Wow, remember Kyle or Kent some dude with a K whose dad was a taxidermist and we thought that hometown Dad was creepy? Now we have a girl singing to a dead seal in a tree! What is this world coming to? Oh, 2018, so far just as surreal as 2017!

Wow, the Indian girl is drop-dead gorgeous and throw in all-you-can-eat chicken tikka masala on top of it?! So far my top pick!

The helping the homeless girl is laying it on a bit thick: TWO bags for YOU!

Chelsea (#2 out of the limo) must be the resident wacko/villain. They gave her “crazy music” and she just muttered “lots to learn” and nothing else. Keep your eye on this one!

Krystal is getting “fairy tale music.” Oh, maybe it’s “zen music” because of her heart meditation thing—disregard that music “clue.”

What’s up with Jenna’s erratic wide arm gestures? Hmm. This one screams resident crazy like Pomegrantate Ashley. Doesn’t matter, Arie only notices her beauty.

If Becca wins, Arie better forego the Neil Lane ring and propose to “do the damn thing” with whatever’s in that ring box.

Ew, pit stop?!? What in the—?!? Suddenly singing to a dead seal in a tree doesn’t seem so strange compared to “nice to meet you; sniff my arm pit!”

Dagger eyes from EVERYONE toward Maquel.

Montage of 20-somethings talking about how Old Man Arie is still pretty good looking for a geezer. He still has hair—even if it IS gray!

The crazy music girl is the first to steal him for time. Sign #2 of a villainess! “There have been sacrifices made.” Human sacrifices?! She’s not the one making the sacrifices in this passive construct. Mysterious, indeed.

The girl with the racecar has an actual camera—like that requires batteries and software and an adapter cable to get the photos onto your computer. 

The white girl in the mask is in on the inter-racial dating conversation because how do you know what race she is?? She has a mask!

The toddler car race was cute! A kiss! Yep, Chelsea is getting more geared up. Get ready for a meltdown from this one.

I knew Jenna was crazy from her erratic arms. She’s still all over the place and the foot massage stuff.

Kissing bandit, keep your mask on for the entirety of your time on the show like some guy many years ago. That worked out well for him {cough, cough}. Oh, she took it off already and she looks EXACTLY the same as all of the other blonde girls.

Heeeyy, Chris Harrison!! I like your new first-impression rose plate—some type of agate slab with rose(?) gold edging. Props department really kicked it up a notch this year with that find.

Yep, here comes Chelsea!! Proving once again, the background music does not lie!! Now they’ve intensified it with violins a la horror music! But he’s making out with her!!! Just wait for an “I’m not here to make friends” in 3-2-1... 

Beckah (with the short hair) is the stealth mean girl with lots to say about everyone.

My dead dad met you and was rooting for you?!? You need to save that for your first 1:1!! Come on! This is Bachelor 101! Everyone knows the sob story comes during the uneaten dinner, before the rose handoff, and right before the fireworks and/or surprise musical performance!

Chelsea gets the rose! Now she’s the villain whether she wants to be or not.

Surprising no one, Maquel gets the last rose. Guess the producers knew girl with the deceased dad was a goner and urged her to tell her sob story now. Either that, or it just tore the Bachelor continuum as described, and there was no course correction from there. Um, did your dad never meet ANY other men?!? Maybe you’ll marry a guy from the coffee shop he frequented or something. 

Coming up this season...lots of tears! The boyfriend showing up to propose—totally NOT at The FRC as edited—has a southern accent. Not too many Southern girls, right? Raven’s friend—and I can’t think who else.

Great post!  I just had to bring this forward.  

The Chelsea countdown, hysterical and so true. 

Good catch on southern accent on  boyfriend interloper.  Must be Tia.  I wonder if she will stop pulling all her hair to the front when she saw how ugly it looks from the back.  Most girls with extensions do this, giving them a rounded shoulder slightly humped back, Igor look. 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Wings

[Wings]

51 minutes ago, violet and green said:

I liked him better younger and skinnier, but he's still got the old swoony charm. That was one hell of a revolting kiss that awful Chelsea laid on him. Ugh, and it was never-ending. My favorites are Jaqueline and Bibiana. I think Bekah is 18, or something. Gross. So glad they are going to swan around Europe properly!

She has to be at least 21 due to the free flowing alcohol.   

[violet and green]

26 minutes ago, Wings said:

She has to be at least 21 due to the free flowing alcohol.   

Right, then she's 21.

[nutty1]

27 minutes ago, violet and green said:

Right, then she's 21.

Per Reality Steve.....

Spoiler

She is 22

[truthaboutluv]

2 hours ago, Wings said:

I don't see that.  Arie has been out of the bachelor loop since his season finished.  I have a hunch they have tried to get him a number of times and surely invited him to BiP.   Looks to me like he has avoided the media. 

He avoided BIP and Bachelor Pad (wisely so) but he wasn't avoiding all Bachelor shows and turning them down. It's a known fact that he was seriously considered for the Bachelor after Andi's season because the producers were torn about Farmer Chris. In the end they went with Chris and Arie made a tweet making it clear he was bummed about being passed over. Sean later talked about Arie's filming a whole intro package and everything before they finally decided to make it Chris. Trust, Arie has wanted to be the Bachelor for awhile.

Edited January 2, 2018 by truthaboutluv

[Wings]

Thanks @truthaboutluv I missed those details. 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Wings

[peachmangosteen]

Still the best comedy on TV!

I hate Bekah. I wanted so much to like her because her haircut is great, but she is awful. 

One of the women looks just like Courtney Thorne Smith. And then the one in the red dress that seems super dumb reminds me of Sugar from Survivor. And then another woman looked like the girl from Austin and Aly on the Disney channel lol. Basically I spent the whole ep thinking about how most of them look like someone else.

[Wings]

Yes! Courtney Thorn Smith!  That's it thanks @peachmangosteen.

[Jax7917]

I never saw him on the bachelorette, but he seems like a playboy to me. Even his last girlfriend said he dumped her right when he found out he got the bachelor gig and they were together a couple years. Guarantee whoever he gets engaged to , it won't last longer than 6 months.

[peachmangosteen]

22 minutes ago, Wings said:

Yes! Courtney Thorn Smith!  That's it thanks @peachmangosteen.

No problem! It's rather uncanny how much she looks like CTS. Now if I could just remember her name lol.

[thesupremediva1]

I'm already annoyed by Bekah's sanctimonious precociousness and her stupid haircut. She's a young millennial, that one. 

So many 25-26-year-olds, and I can't see them having a lot in common with a 36-year-old man. I mean, age means nothing if you have tons of life experience and a career, but that's not this show's target demo. Like Nick's season, find a cool 29-year-old, and that should help us narrow this down. 

Single Mom FIR is totally Olivia 2.0. Producer manip at its finest there.

Many of the women are beautiful if about as interesting as mint tins. I never watched Emily's season -  I came back to the Bachelor fold when Sean Lowe arrived, so I just missed Ari. I know many pined for him for years, and now I see why! He's an adorable, soft-spoken, chivalrous dreamboat. I personally love the salt-and-pepper hair. Very Cary Grant. He actually seems like a real catch. 

I can tell nothing from photos alone (the broadcaster whose dad met Ari previously was my pick for FIR - yikes!), but after watching interactions I'm rooting for the girl who made him give the fake proposal. 

Happy New Year! I wait all year for this blessed time to roll around. Mondays just got so much better.

[NeverLate]

5 hours ago, Wings said:

I don't see that.  Arie has been out of the bachelor loop since his season finished.  I have a hunch they have tried to get him a number of times and surely invited him to BiP.   Looks to me like he has avoided the media. 

Maybe, he hasn't stayed away from bachelor nation functions, but we'll see..

Edited January 2, 2018 by NeverLate

[sistersledge]

I think the short-haired Bekka is probably a wanna-be actress. Though I find her annoying, I actually do think she’s got a “look” that would make her stand out.

[peachmangosteen]

2 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

Arie was nice during the car greetings, but I did notice a lot of his comments were looks based. A lot of "she's beautiful" comments came from him.

Yea, all he ever had to say once they walked away was 'she's beautiful' or 'she's pretty.' Or his snark about the race car jokes that one time.

[Mabinogia]

3 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Or his snark about the race car jokes that one time.

That was funny. Because, I'm sure he's never heard a race car joke pick up line before. Though I will give pit girl credit. He's probably never heard that one. Of course, he probably would have died happy never having heard that particular joke. I know I would have. 

For people who know more about the BTS stuff for this show I have a question. Race car girl. Would that have been her idea and she asked production if they could get her a race car to come in, or did production decide to have a race car entrance and chose which girl to give it to? If the later, I wonder how they chose her, because I would think it would give her a leg up on the competition if only as far as being memorable or seeming more adventurous. 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Mabinogia

[Mu Shu]

11 hours ago, jackjill89 said:

I loved short-haired Beckah in her intro package, but once she came on the show, she flipped into the hate column. She is absolutely adorable, but she is a stealth bitch. Also -- with the age thing, she's either 20 or 40. I think she's probably really young and that's what's going to bite her in the ass. 

I'm loved Arie on Emily's season, but ever since I heard he dated Courtney Robertson I just can't with him. Better him than Peter, I guess. I was never a Peter fan. 

Oh, jailbait!   Most shocking reveal ever.  She’s the age of a Chinese gymnast.

i haven’t decided if I like her brand of bitch or not, but she’s absolutely gorgeous, and the only one there who can wear green.

also, the “old lady” of I believe 33 from LA. looked like a more attractive Paris Hilton.  Of course she doesn’t make it. Her eggs are rotten and she didn’t appear to be an uptalker or frybaby.

this guy reminds me of Richard Gere, who I loathe, and always think of gerbils in the butt.   

Edited January 2, 2018 by Mu Shu

[Rainsong]

The dog ate my homework. Well, actually, Dawgs ate my homework. As in Georgia Bulldogs.

In the age of corporate synergy and cross-promotion within the cozy little Disney family of companies, the decision to schedule the premiere of TB opposite the long-awaited, long-hyped college football playoff semifinal games is either a brave, unprecedented refutation of potential audience overlap…or, it’s merely a ham-fisted attempt to relaunch ‘the franchise’ on a holiday weekday night and get a cheap ratings high. Either way, many of us were watching football and socializing and had to catch up on TB later (much later). Surely ABC/ESPN/Disney must know there is a large intersection of male sports fans who also watch TB? There are chuckling oh-you-watch-it-too? discussions on numerous sports talk shows and podcasts. In sum, they inexplicably cannibalized their audience for both programs.

And now, to The Villages of Florida, where Arie Luyendyk Jr races his golf cart to the cafeteria to get lunch pricing for his dinner before 3 PM. OK, that’s an age joke. And it won’t be the last one.

Instead, we see that 5 (!) years ago a fully brunette Arie pursued Emily Maynard. Wow…a lot can happen in 5 years. George HW Bush’s presidency elapsed in under 5 years. The Beatles went from their first Ed Sullivan US TV appearance to effectively breaking up in 5 years. 5 years on from her Arie meetup, Emily’s baby is nearing kindergarten age and she more or less denies ever participating in TB to anyone who might still approach her to ask about it. Heck, even Arie’s ultra-skinny tie in the archive footage is rather passe now – even CH has moved away from them.

Recycling a Bachelor after 5 long years is…what? Desperate? Unimaginative? All of these? We talk at length about the unreality of Reality TV but it seems that the selection of Bachelors, more so than Bachelorettes, stems from obstinance on the part of Fleiss & Co. They can’t be fussed to do a proper search from scratch (despite the constant pleas for applications) so they pull up the drawbridge and recycle a la Real Housewives. Cynical in the extreme – and so is asking the audience to believe that, half a decade later, a successful (?), moderately famous, red-blooded male is still trying to (all together now) Find Love ™. Either he hasn’t been trying very hard outside the ABC world of make-believe or the women of the world haven’t. Or perhaps they’re both responsible.

After the obligatory retrospective the Trophy Couple of Sean & Catherine and their child arrive to give Arie a pep talk. Arie has bravely (?) abandoned the hair dye, possibly to lend him an air of gravitas in his real estate sales. He’d better hope so when young women barely into their 20s arrive. We’re then subjected to our annual, apparently compulsory, stream of inanity from Sean, who has the emotional depth and vocabulary of a Waffle House menu.

The slice-of-life vignettes of the Bachelorettes begin…by now the mix is a familiar one.   We see several contenders, at least one red herring who gets sent home in the first or second round.

We start with Chelsea who delivers the staggering revelation that being a single mother is not always glorious. Did anyone ever claim otherwise? Chelsea wants wants wants wants. At the risk of a pun, steer well clear, Arie!

Caroline is also a realtor. In typical realtor fashion, she introduces herself by telling us her sales figures. $5 mil in a year. But if the average house in an upscale and/or expensive area (FL) is $1 mil, that’s 5 homes sold over 12 months. Good but not great, shall we say? The staged showing of a house is…staged.

Maquel is a photographer who insists on using the cheesy, fake-tenderness of the kiss on the forehead. This pose is as annoying and played out as the shot of groomsmen-carrying-the-bride-like-a-rolled-up-carpet but a lack of creativity in any endeavor will inevitably lead to imitation. She claims she watched Arie’s season. Left unsaid is that she watched it while she was of high school age!  Yikes.

A brief aside to be big enough to admit I was wrong, sadly. Wrong about the center-parted hairstyle fad. It either never went away or has come back with a vengeance. Unflattering to the face (it makes it look wider and fatter).  They are now apparently straightening the top. Now they all look like the old Clairol Herbal Essence commercial (at best) or they look like they’ve had a bucket of water dumped on their heads (at worst).

Individuals coarser and less discreet than I would describe Nysha as the proverbial Popsicle stick with bolt-ons. Pardon the expression…not my lexicon but I’ll use it anyway. She does have a charming honey-dipped Upcountry SC accent though.

Tia is Raven Mk II. Actually, I thought that before they even put Tia & Raven on the screen together! Do the NY/LA types imagine that everyone in flyover country is gun crazed? Apparently so.

Kendall wonders why a ukulele-plunking crazy-eyed taxidermist petting mounted wart hog heads and singing to stuffed seals can’t maintain a relationship for longer than a year.  Hmmmm…..

And now…Bekah M. I’m typing this slowly because of a wrist I injured doing cartwheels while watching her segment. Finally someone with the courage to cut her hair short. We can see her face! Her shoulders! Her neck! No hiding behind curtains of extensions and nervously fiddling with the ends! Of course, it doesn’t hurt when the lady with the short hair has amazing features – eyebrows, eyes, cheekbones – and who smiles a lot. Watch past seasons and you’ll discover that the grim non-smilers are turfed out with haste and regularity. Apparently it’s a minor scandal that Bekah M’s age wasn’t displayed onscreen (she’s just 22).  Internet sleuths have revealed that Bekah has gone through numerous hair ‘phases’ including platinum blonde and various lengths but she’s onto a winner here.

Marikh, her eyebrows and her stripper heels are next. ZZZZZ.

Krystal is an ‘online health & fitness coach.’ In other words, she’s another YouTuber.  She uses the P word – passionate! Here’s a tip kids – if you have to announce that you’re passionate then you may be failing to convince others. Her brother has been homeless for 2 years and she’s only just discovered it? Did she not try to call or find him for 24 months? Do they have relatives, parents, friends? A missing persons report perhaps?

The parade begins with the usual leavening of dodgy gifts, chat-up lines and awkward attempts to lay hands on a stranger’s bod.

Tia has made some bad choices at the tattoo parlor. Bibiana has been cast and/or coached to do the Fiery Latina act. She wants blue-eyed babies. Apparently Bibiana skipped science class on the day they discussed dominant and recessive genetics although Sean & Catherine managed it.

Krystal is already drowning us in New Age treacle. Valerie deserves full marks for honesty – she is a server.  Not a personal trainer, not a sales consultant, not a social media doyenne.

Bekah M makes a grand entrance in a vintage Mustang. Strangely, the grill logo of the car is pixelated while the FORD lettering on the hood is not. Concerns about free advertising aside, is there anyone on Planet Earth who doesn’t know what a Mustang is and who made it?

Bekah has either been practicing her moves at length in front of a mirror or she just has the It Factor. The smiles, the head tilt, the dropped chin, the scrunched-up nose, the cow-eyed slow blink, the shoulder shrugs delivered with a giggle…that is a body language masterclass. She has the courage to wear a mint green dress of moderate length and that choker is spot on. If you don’t take her I will, Arie. I know she’s already coming under fire for cocking an eyebrow or two and rolling her eyes but any sane person would in that madhouse. She needs to stop stirring but she can’t seem to resist…just too much energy to sit still.

Jenna’s eyes are in a gorgeous class by themselves, it must be said. Jessica looks so similar to F2 participant on The Bachelor Australia I thought for a moment it was actually her and she’d been parachuted into the US version. Becca demands a fake proposal – sounds like a clever idea in the limo but it usually leads to a ticket home.

Cue the parade of Laurens. We’ll have to sort them out as we go although Lauren S stands out. Catwoman arrives. Which reminds me…if there’s a first impression rose shouldn’t The Bachelor have the option to send someone home at the entrance? The look on the reject’s face would be priceless – even if they were wearing a mask.

Maquel wants a selfie…quite emblematic of the age gap. Jacqueline a bit of a dark horse, methinks.

Brittany T is a right looker. Eyes, figure (ahem) et al. Like, the Valley Girl speak can like, go though.

Bekah M has him absolutely eating out of her hand. Fair play to her. In fact, if you watch closely he mimics her body language word for word.

Arie steers right into the wall as he gives bunny boiler Chelsea the FIR. Krystal is not impressed – she’s not being the best version of herself right now!  Tsk tsk!

RC doesn’t hold many surprises except possibly the dismissal of sports reporter Bri and her gravity-defying posterior. Her lack of camera time was a large tipoff.  Amber is devastated. It’s hard to forget the rumors that Bachelors often have their half dozen favorites already picked out and are compelled to keep certain drama queens by the producers.

The first ‘night’ is more of an overnight. It’s not just dawn, it’s full-on daylight when the also-rans leave.

The season sneak peek is always worthwhile…and amusing to see the shots selected that leave us guessing. Fortunately, there is no disguising the Bekah M shots – they lock lips on front of the Moulin Rouge and she fearlessly dons a skimpy showgirl costume. We see travel spots like Central/South America, Paris (obvs), Pisa, Tuscany (obvs). Is it possible that the purse strings have been loosened and the destinations improved greatly? Jacqueline is taking the po-faced deep & meaningful approach but that seems in keeping with her personality. Chelsea claims that she deserves more time because she’s a single mother?!? Bibiana isn’t having it. Bekah & Krystal are polar opposites and clash. If history tells us anything it’s that you’ve gotta stay above the drama if you want to win, girls. Dry the tears and smile. And what’s this? Someone’s ex has crashed the set to demand his girl back – because they would never stage such a thing and because total strangers can walk past heavy security with impunity. At least we know it’s not Nick and his Passive Aggressive Beta Male Backdoor Man act again. Thank heaven for small favors.

Edited January 2, 2018 by Rainsong

[NeverLate]

4 hours ago, violet and green said:

Right, then she's 21.

Wasn't Corinne, nasty girl, 21 or 22? Nick was 35 and loved her leaping on him in the bouncy house, pixie cut doesn't seem that young..or act that young( yet)

[Ripley68]

Even young, Becca is way more mature seeming than the others. 

I noticed first thing ari looked at on most of the women were their chests. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

also, the “old lady” of I believe 33 from LA. looked like a more attractive Paris Hilton.  Of course she doesn’t make it. Her eggs are rotten

What a truly disgusting thing to say.

[mostlylurking]

12 hours ago, TomGirl said:

Also -- with the age thing, she's either 20 or 40. I think she's probably really young and that's what's going to bite her in the ass. 

I was thinking the same thing but more along the lines of either 18 or 40 (gasp!).  There's a 23 year old so I don't think 20 would be all that shocking.  I like her though, but if she's a teenager than that's just...no.

I love all the women liking the fact that oldie Arie it still hot....even if his hair is gray!!  I echo the sentiments that I would have liked to see some more age appropriate women....although methinks there is some lying about age going on because some of these women did not look to be in their 20's.  

[TomGirl]

23 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

also, the “old lady” of I believe 33 from LA. looked like a more attractive Paris Hilton.  Of course she doesn’t make it. Her eggs are rotten

What a truly disgusting thing to say.

Ms. Blue Jay, I hope you know that the “rotten eggs” comment was made by a former Bachelor contestant, not by Mu Shu!

[Mabinogia]

5 minutes ago, mostlylurking said:

I echo the sentiments that I would have liked to see some more age appropriate women.

I have the feeling Arie is just fine with the bevy of  20-something pert breasts...um lovely young women he has to choose from. 

[dleighg]

so many teeth. And 9 out of 10 with the exact same haircut. And apparently the extensions don't allow a good brush through the hair. Not a look I like at all.

And because I was only half paying attention, with one of the auf'd, what was all that about the (dead) dad never meeting her husband?

[TheFinalRose]

Quote

We’re then subjected to our annual, apparently compulsory, stream of inanity from Sean, who has the emotional depth and vocabulary of a Waffle House menu.

Is it me, or is Catherine starting to get that look about her that says she's slowly realizing that Sean has no intention of ever getting a real job and that he is going to be riding the Bachelor appearance coattails well into his 40s, and then what?

Quote

Individuals coarser and less discreet than I would describe Nysha as the proverbial Popsicle stick with bolt-ons. 

All three of us in the room gasped when that full-body shot of her appeared. We even had to rewind, to look again. Mr. Final Rose is convinced she's also had half of her ribs removed.  

 

Quote

Arie was nice during the car greetings, but I did notice a lot of his comments were looks based. A lot of "she's beautiful" comments came from him.

From my perspective, he seemed positively delighted and appreciative of his harem. The intros are superficial anyway.

 

Quote

Recycling a Bachelor after 5 long years is…what? Desperate? Unimaginative? All of these? We talk at length about the unreality of Reality TV but it seems that the selection of Bachelors, more so than Bachelorettes, stems from obstinance on the part of Fleiss & Co. They can’t be fussed to do a proper search from scratch

 

Arie's a pretty good Bachelor lead; Fleiss & Co. cast Arie to begin with and he has always been leading man material so I don't think anyone Fleiss finds in a separate search is necessarily better. The problem was that Arie was too torn up over Emily's rejection to take the Bachelor lead that Sean inherited. Now they are a little more on the ball trying to rehab the F2 into being "ready for love" quicker than they used to. Then when Arie was ready they gave the lead to Chris Soules, which was a huge mistake.  Arie's always been this close to being the lead, and that's probably why he's stayed away from the spin-off shows. Like I say, he's the Kate Middleton of the Bachelor franchise, waiting around and passing on lesser opportunities until he/she gets the prize. 

[Wings]

1 minute ago, TomGirl said:

Ms. Blue Jay, I hope you know that the “rotten eggs” comment was made by a former Bachelor contestant, not by Mu Shu!

Yes and it was hysterical. 

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2006/01/the-bachelor-8-egg_doctor_tshirts/

http://ew.com/article/2006/01/10/rotten_eggs_spo/

[dleighg]

1 minute ago, TheFinalRose said:

All three of us in the room gasped when that full-body shot of her appeared. We even had to rewind, to look again. Mr. Final Rose is convinced she's also had half of her ribs removed.  

Yeah, I gasped too. No way do you have natural boobs like that when you are that seriously skinny.

[Wings]

2 minutes ago, TheFinalRose said:

All three of us in the room gasped when that full-body shot of her appeared. We even had to rewind, to look again. Mr. Final Rose is convinced she's also had half of her ribs removed. 

Fascinating body.  Did she make the cut? 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Wings

[Mabinogia]

3 minutes ago, dleighg said:

And because I was only half paying attention, with one of the auf'd, what was all that about the (dead) dad never meeting her husband?

From what little I could gather, her father is dead. He once met Arie. So if she married Arie, she would be marrying someone her dad met. Now that she's not marrying Arie, apparently her father has never met anyone else so any hope of marrying someone her father once met (I don't even think it was "knew" it was just met, probably at some racing event as a fan) and will have to marry some total stranger to her dead father. It was, quite frankly, the strangest regret any of these shallow morons has ever expressed. 

[mostlylurking]

1 hour ago, Rainsong said:

Bekah M’s age wasn’t displayed onscreen (she’s just 22)

hmm, well if this is true then it's just stupid.  One of the ladies is 23 so what's the big deal about her being 22?  I love her short hair.

I still think a lot of these women are older than they are saying or else they are just not making 20-somethings the way they used to.  Although I have to say most of them are very beautiful.

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

this guy reminds me of Richard Gere, who I loathe, and always think of gerbils in the butt.  

This just made me laugh out loud because as we were watching the show a commercial with Richard Gere came on and that was the first thing my husband mentioned.  Jeeze one story about gerbils in the butt and a guy never lives it down ;)

[PhysNerd]

I agree that many of these 20-something appear significantly older (early to mid 30s). It's either due to bad makeup or they are aging horribly.  Eh, Bekah M doesn't impress me.  She has good body language, but she is average looking at best and is annoying.  Looks wise, the other women leave her in the dust, though she doesn't seem as dumb as the others.

[Mabinogia]

2 minutes ago, mostlylurking said:

I still think a lot of these women are older than they are saying or else they are just not making 20-somethings the way they used to.  Although I have to say most of them are very beautiful.

They clearly don't make 20-somethings like they used to. I could pass as younger than at least half these chicks (I'm 45) but yeah, they are definitely more beautiful, of course, if I spent as much for fake tans, fake hair and that much makeup I'd probably look a lot better too. Except the stomach, that is where the 20 somethings have it over my old ass. They eat a burger it's gone in an hour. I eat a burger it's now with me for life. lol

[bosawks]

I'm at the point where I think they're casting multiples with the same name and ubiquitous hairstyles just to mess with us.

[Mu Shu]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

What a truly disgusting thing to say.

Lighten up.  It’s a joke.

Mary.  From the Byron season.   She cried that her eggs were rotting.  She was in her thirties.

Edited January 2, 2018 by Mu Shu

[dleighg]

44 minutes ago, bosawks said:

I'm at the point where I think they're casting multiples with the same name and ubiquitous hairstyles just to mess with us.

so just before he gives out the roses, does Chris take him to the other room so he can figure out if it's Lauren S or Lauren T or Becka M or Becka R (there were two Becka's also weren't there?), with photos? And then do they give him a teleprompter behind the girls so he can get it right? I mean no mortal could be expected to remember that many names, right?

[ByTor]

16 hours ago, JenE4 said:

The helping the homeless girl is laying it on a bit thick: TWO bags for YOU!

(snip)

Krystal is getting “fairy tale music.” Oh, maybe it’s “zen music” because of her heart meditation thing—disregard that music “clue.”

Wasn't Krystal the helping the homeless girl?

16 hours ago, JenE4 said:

Nurse who loves it when people get shot because the more blood the better?? Uh...

LOL glad I'm not the only one who side eyed that!

[Mabinogia]

Just now, dleighg said:

I mean no mortal could be expected to remember that many names, right?

I still remember the time the guy called out the wrong name. Forget who it was and who he called (because they are all interchangeable to me), but OMG that moment was gold. We need more of that. 

[ByTor]

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

They clearly don't make 20-somethings like they used to. I could pass as younger than at least half these chicks (I'm 45)

It doesn't surprise me that you could pass as younger.  I honestly think that all the work these women are getting at younger and younger ages is actually working opposite on them.

2 hours ago, Rainsong said:

Her brother has been homeless for 2 years and she’s only just discovered it? Did she not try to call or find him for 24 months? Do they have relatives, parents, friends? A missing persons report perhaps?

I wondered the same thing.  She did say something about him not wanting their help, so I guess it's more likely than not that he's estranged from the family.

2 hours ago, Rainsong said:

Caroline is also a realtor. In typical realtor fashion, she introduces herself by telling us her sales figures. $5 mil in a year. But if the average house in an upscale and/or expensive area (FL) is $1 mil, that’s 5 homes sold over 12 months. Good but not great, shall we say?

True, but on $5M I'm sure she made one hell of a commission for the year!

2 hours ago, Rainsong said:

Arie steers right into the wall as he gives bunny boiler Chelsea the FIR. Krystal is not impressed –she’s not being the best version of herself right now! 

LOL!

1 hour ago, PhysNerd said:

Bekah M doesn't impress me.  She has good body language, but she is average looking at best and is annoying.

I'm with you here.  Something about her look reminds me of a doll, and I don't mean that in a good way.

Also...what is up with people ending words with "uh"?  "Can I steal him?"  "NO-UH!"  "You're the Bachelor, congratulations-uh!" (I think that last one was Krystle.) I think this annoys me more than uptalking and "like".

Edited January 2, 2018 by ByTor

[OldWiseOne]

16 minutes ago, dleighg said:

so just before he gives out the roses, does Chris take him to the other room so he can figure out if it's Lauren S or Lauren T or Becka M or Becka R (there were two Becka's also weren't there?), with photos? And then do they give him a teleprompter behind the girls so he can get it right? I mean no mortal could be expected to remember that many names, right?

They used to show TB going in a room with all the contestants' pictures to deliberate before the rose ceremony, maybe they still have that set up but just don't show it.

13 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I still remember the time the guy called out the wrong name. Forget who it was and who he called (because they are all interchangeable to me), but OMG that moment was gold. We need more of that. 

I think that was Jesse Palmer. And the one whose name he accidentally called decided to stay anyway.

[Mu Shu]

Instagram.  Look on Instagram and the average teen girl will be made up in full drag including the ridiculous hair.  They all look about 40 to me. 

Bekah or however you spell it is remarkable because she has flattering hair and makeup.

these chicks in their 20s look like they are in their forties, but have the confidence and bearing of a tween. 

[Mabinogia]

They really are a bunch of middle aged toddlers. The baby voices kill me. Is this really what guys want in a girlfriend? An uptalking moron with a 5 year olds voice who has prematurely aged because of all the makeup and fake tanning (or real tanning)? Not to mention most of them come off as needy and insecure. If Arie is looking for anything but a semi-long booty call I'd say RUN. But he's just looking to get laid and be on TV, like all of them, so I say go for it stud! But if you think any of these children will make a good wife and mother any time soon, you are looking in the wrong place. There is no Catherine in this group. (I just hope there is no Corrine either UGH!)

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

An uptalking moron with a 5 year olds voice who has prematurely aged because of all the makeup and fake tanning (or real tanning)? Not to mention most of them come off as needy and insecure

wouldn't it be refreshing if they actually looked for good matches, intelligence and interest wise, rather than a bunch of interchangeable pretty girls who want to be on TV? Or maybe they would never be interested in this side show. 

[ljenkins782]

3 hours ago, sistersledge said:

I think the short-haired Bekka is probably a wanna-be actress. Though I find her annoying, I actually do think she’s got a “look” that would make her stand out.

Yeah, she lives in LA and is a nanny, which I think is akin to waitressing/being a barista in the aspiring actress world, something to pay the bills while waiting for the big break. She definitely stands out in the sea of hair extensions.

Quote

Krystal has a perma smile,That's because of all the filler in her face, miss natural lifestyle

Yeah, she's got the face of a Real Housewife, and like those ladies, I don't believe the age she's supposed to be. If she really is 29, it's a shame she's done so much to her face because it just makes her look older. Another wannabe actress here. 

Who was the first girl out of the limo? I thought I saw her get cut at the end, but so many of them look alike that I'm not sure. 

Quote

Chelsea is this season's Olivia.  They even look alike.

Agreed, but this girl seems just a little bit more comfortable with the other girls than Olivia ever did. It was cracking me up how desperate she was for the other girls to list her as a possible contender for the first impression rose. They listed a few names (not hers) and her eyes were working like crazy as she kept talking in hopes someone would mention her. She did end up getting it, but she obviously wanted everyone to expect it. 

Quote

After the obligatory retrospective the Trophy Couple of Sean & Catherine and their child arrive to give Arie a pep talk. Arie has bravely (?) abandoned the hair dye, possibly to lend him an air of gravitas in his real estate sales. He’d better hope so when young women barely into their 20s arrive. We’re then subjected to our annual, apparently compulsory, stream of inanity from Sean, who has the emotional depth and vocabulary of a Waffle House menu.

I'm not sure he abandoned the hair dye, so much as took a different tack. His "salt and pepper" look is awfully uniform. 

And I'm so tired of Sean and Catherine. So very, very tired. I did enjoy Arie poking fun at the ubiquity of Sean by pointing out that he's "given advice to a lot of people" and noting that he's got a zero percent success rate with said advice. 

Quote

Arie's a pretty good Bachelor lead; Fleiss & Co. cast Arie to begin with and he has always been leading man material so I don't think anyone Fleiss finds in a separate search is necessarily better. The problem was that Arie was too torn up over Emily's rejection to take the Bachelor lead that Sean inherited. Now they are a little more on the ball trying to rehab the F2 into being "ready for love" quicker than they used to. Then when Arie was ready they gave the lead to Chris Soules, which was a huge mistake.  Arie's always been this close to being the lead, and that's probably why he's stayed away from the spin-off shows. Like I say, he's the Kate Middleton of the Bachelor franchise, waiting around and passing on lesser opportunities until he/she gets the prize. 

Arie getting passed over for Chris Soules is a major WTF for me. That dolphin-laughing lump of nothing was not leading man material. 

I didn't see Arie's season, but I'm liking him so far. He appears to have a brain and some self-awareness and humor. A bit like Nick Viall, but without the lispy mumbling. 

Based on the intros, I'd say he has a preference for blondes. There were some brunettes who came across very well in that brief period, not stumbling over their words or making stupid puns, but he really only seemed compelled by the blondes, no matter how stupid the initial patter may have been. 

[Fable]

3 hours ago, Mu Shu said:

this guy reminds me of Richard Gere

He reminds me of Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger) from Game of Thrones. 

[TomGirl]

25 minutes ago, ByTor said:

 Something about her look reminds me of a doll...

Betty Boop, maybe?

[laschifosavita]

1 hour ago, bosawks said:

I'm at the point where I think they're casting multiples with the same name and ubiquitous hairstyles just to mess with us.

There were so many blondes that I was accidentally attributing Chelsea's more vicious comments to multiple people because they kept showing her so much that I guess I just assumed it was more than one of them, which made this sesaon seem a lot more cutthroat than they usually are.  I was getting a little worried for Arie.

[TomGirl]

I think Bekah is lovely and seems mature and delightful.  But I can’t help but remember a contestant from another season that most of us liked initially, who had short hair and seemed mature and delightful at first.... and turned out to be Kelsey Poe.

[ByTor]

7 minutes ago, TomGirl said:

Betty Boop, maybe?

YES!

[dleighg]

another peeve I had was so many of the girls carefully pulled their long long hair around their shoulders. Then from the back you've got this silly part and bare back that looks ridiculous. I guess they needed to learn the trick of carefully flicking their hair back before leaving, so they get a glamorous look coming AND going LOL. Hooray for Bekah's short no-nonsense hairstyle. I do think she has the most stunning look of all of them. Although Jacqueline is also a stand-out.