I start off by apologizing for the lack of blogs last week. I
was traveling Tuesday night so could not watch this show, and I figured no one
wanted to read my Survivor blog on Thanksgiving. Furthermore, this show in
particular was fairly boring last week as it was basically an episode of
Extreme Home Makeover. So, with all of those apologies doled out, I thought I’d
run a proposition by you. To celebrate this finale episode, I’ll forgo the
normal recap and do something different. I haven’t been shy about my critiques
of the show. There is some to like, but ultimately it fails at entertaining. I
thought I’d summarize the issues the show has to correct if it wants to continue,
and for the sake of positivity, what it already does well. Good? Well, I guess
it does not matter since I’m writing it anyway. Julia, stop talking to your
readers. They don’t talk back.
First though, I’ll do a quick summary of the episode. Ben and
Lauren decide to have a combined bachelor and bachelorette party in Las Vegas.
It is populated with so many bachelor alum to the point where you know
producers decided who was invited and not their actual friends. Eventually, the
guests find out that Ben called the wedding off and it gets awkward. But, have
no fear! The end of the season is here! This means that by the end of the
episode Ben comes around and tells Lauren that he wants the wedding to be back
on.
Also, a little news for you guys. Grant and Lace, the couple
from Bachelor In paradise that has been heavily featured on this show, have
broken up. For those who read my Bachelor In Paradise blog, I predicted that
these two would break up very quickly and be the first of those couples to be broken
up. I’ll take my “I was right” money in cash. It will go to my annual charity of getting me
junk food to get through finals.
So now that that standard part of the recap is done (as I
told you it wasn’t much to go over), I want to talk about the season as a
whole.
The Good:
. The overall plotline of Ben getting cold feet and the
emotional issues that caused for Lauren was spot on with how it happens for
most couples. The struggle felt real. It was just overdone when it was the
focus of almost every episode. We need to see the good of the relationship as
well, and that suffered.
. Both Ben and Lauren come off as decent people that are
enjoying the opportunities that come to them instead of being explicitly fame
hungry. The shots of Ben at work did a good job showing that.
. When the show incorporated humor that did not have to deal
with bachelor alum, it could be pretty funny. I thought the prank scenes were
cute as well as Ben trying to dance when he sucks even worse than I do.
The Bad:
. The scriptedness was pretty hard to deal with. Obviously,
all reality shows are scripted to some degree. However, this show did not even
bother to hide when those instances were. Of course, JoJo called right when a
mariachi band starts playing. Of course Ben “bought” Lauren a fiat when she was
mad at him. I bet it wasn’t that they wanted a sponsorship at all…. Of course
they just happen to meet an elderly couple that went through the exact same
communication issues as them to convince them not to break up. At times it was eye
roll inducing and I don’t want to have to be annoyed by the show I am trying to
be entertained by.
. The Bachelor cameos. Okay, look I love The Bachelor shows.
The alum are entertaining. But, seeing an alum every episode took away from the
actual show and felt forced. We did not need to see the twins almost every
episode. Grant and Lace should never have been featured when neither Ben nor
Lauren were close to them. The cameos ended up not being special because you
expected one every episode.
. Each episode felt the same. The circumstances from every
episode might have varied a bit, but the format was the same. They start off
happy. They talk about the wedding. They fight. Then, some special event
occurs. This event causes them to realize they want to stay together. The end.
Wash, Rinse, Repeat. The show needs to vary things up. Repetitiveness works on
The Bachelor because it is a competition show. You expect the dates and then
the elimination. A reality show about a couple’s lives should not have the same
issues every episode.
There it is. My thoughts on how the show could improve
should they receive a second season. I appreciate everyone who has read my
recaps for this show over the season. My Survivor recaps should continue until
its finale in December. Expect Bachelor related blogs to resume in January when
The Bachelor premieres. I’m currently working on a format for how I will write
those blogs so don’t hesitate to let me know if you have an area you would like
me to focus on.
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