Reality Show Round Up: Bachelorette!

"Tonight is the SUPER BOWL of the reality TV world!" I said to AJ in order to gain full access to the TV all night last night. It was the finale of the Bachelorette! I love pretty much all forms of reality TV (well, except Botched, I do not need to see a doctor make Sharpie lines of where the incision will go for a porn star's third set of her "crowning glories", ahem) but I've followed the Bachelor franchise since college. I can mark my life by the seasons--watching the Jillian/Ed thing go down on a futon in our college house, watching Ally melt down over leaving pilot Jake while in grad school over the summer in the Midwest, watching Ashley choose hunky JP while melting from the Chicago humidity during my summer leading summer camp, cracking up via text with faraway friends in my first apartment in SLC over how Ben resembled a character from Arthur. So you can say I'm a fan of the show. Ridiculous? Yes. Predictable? Usually. But I can't help it....I love the show and ABC ropes me in every season.

image from sheknows.com 

This season was a snoozer for me because it was so OBVI that Shaun was the "the one" early on. And she, uhhh, TOLD him. Anyone else shocked ABC let that part come out? It was like all the mystery of who she would choose was gone right off the bat. I love watching the contestants fall in love and go on all sorts of nutty dates (a slow dance on some sort of platform being serenaded by a b-list band, drinking in an old wine cellar, going to a small village in some remote part of the world where I'm SURE all the locals love being gawked at by the beautiful white people being followed by cameras, or having the men compete in some weird challenge). This season, though, seemed like a drag for Kaitlyn as she tried balancing reassuring jealous Shaun that she was "confident in what they had" while also making out with every guy there and throwing her head back and laughing (err, "cackling")  during every one-on-one interview.

And I won't even get into the sexist talk surrounding Kaitlyn and Nick getting intimate. I'm not gonna judge her or him, but for the love of Chris Harrison, could she have yanked off her mic and told the cameras to get lost before getting down to business? I'm a fan of Nick. I think he's charming, cute, and while he was sorta a tool at the "After the Final Rose" on Andi's season, I really wanted him to find love this time around. I want to know how much of him coming on the show mid-season was legit and how much was put together by the producers. I don't want him to become the next Bachelor, though, because sweet Nick, the format of a reality show miiiiiight not be your ticket to wedded bliss, but what do I know? I've got my money on Ben H or Ben Z for the next Bachelor and would be happy either way! I hope Shaun and Kaitlyn make it, but the track record of former contestants leaves much to be desired. Until then, I will proudly skip "Bachelor in Paradise" (I have some respect for myself), and will anxiously await the next season. Oh yes, I will accept that rose......time and time again. And there better be more helicopters next time.