Американский Холостяк #21 Nick Viall

barish

Из более раннего разговора с Тaylor, по выражению его лица хорошо видно его отношение к ней...also kinda beyond over... :meeting:

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“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Шарлин зпостила свой разбор эпизода, после него тогда расскажу о свидании 2+1

Episode 5
“Winter is coming.” —Alexis, who is not getting nearly enough airtime.
*
LAST WEEK'S ROSE CEREMONY
We pick up with last week's Rose Ceremony because, well, that's apparently what happens now. I explained my perspective on this Taylor vs Corinne saga in my Flare recap*so I'll save my breath here. We hear the other ladies chime in on the subject, including an interesting two cents from Kristina. Notice how the only words we see out of her mouth are "My view on that is..." I personally speculate that Kristina—who seems to be quite popular and sweet, and who happens to be the one other girl in the house we've seen on the receiving end of Corinne's wrath—did NOT say she'd have both Taylor and Corinne go home...

All words other than "my view on that is" could have been—and very likely were—taken from another time and another place altogether.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

I was a little sad to see Sarah and Astrid go home. You could tell from the ladies' interactions that they were both well-liked in the house, thus I wish we'd gotten to see more of them both. And of course, it's not a real Bachelor episode if insult isn't added to injury in some way, this time forcing the ladies to stand in the freezing cold. Considering even the jacketed ladies were shivering,*I felt SO bad for Sarah...

... especially since Rose Ceremonies are never nearly as quick as they appear on TV. Brrrrr.*

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

NEW ORLEANS
We head to New Orleans and are shown shots of Nick exploring the city,*describing it as the perfect place to fall in love (shocking), and appearing not NEARLY impressed enough by this adorable busker...

Um, he BEGINS TO WALK AWAY while half-assedly applauding a legitimate CHILD's perfect, airborne one-eighty,*LANDED IN THE SPLITS. Not good enough for you, Nick??!!
*

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

RACHEL'S 1-ON-1
It's Rachel's long-awaited time to shine and I happen to agree with Nick and think these relaxed, everyday yet explorative dates are some of the best. There were several funny moments on this date, beginning with Nick's remark about treating Rachel right (as well as that passerby's expression)...*

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Acrobatic Wunderkinder might not be his thing but it turns out one thing Nick DOES get excited about beignets. In all seriousness though, this reaction made me laugh...

I want.*

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Heading into their own mini-concert, I laughed when Nick prompted Rachel regarding the next activity and she was a bit too honest...*

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

In the evening, at "Mardi Gras World" and in a room already furnished with Mardi Gras floats but further decorated by someone with seriously questionable taste...

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

... Nick learns about Rachel's badass family...

I love how simply and decisively she says, "Yes." Like, you KNOW she's not exaggerating.

One of the joys of having a Chinese mother is that she has an incredibly astute Chinese proverb for just about every situation. (I swear I'm coming to a point here.) Over the holidays my mom introduced a new one to us and we were all struck by a) the fact that we’d never before heard this particular one, and b) how damn TRUE it is.
The proverb goes: A full bottle makes no sound, a half bottle sloshes around.
Rachel is a full bottle. Despite having one of the most impressive careers out of any of the women, she brings it up only when specifically asked about it, and even then, she ties it to the relevancy of this situation (eg. mentioning how, because she cannot be vulnerable in her day-to-day work life, she struggles with allowing herself to be vulnerable in her personal life). Rachel doesn’t need to be a braggart because her badassery inevitably and effortlessly reveals itself.
Not to prematurely bring up Corinne, and I don’t know the ins and outs of her/her family’s “multi-million dollar business”, but based on how adamantly and often she brings it up (the “sloshing around”), she’s this metaphor's half-full bottle. If she didn’t have something to prove—or didn’t behave in ways which seem to routinely lead to her defending the legitimacy of her claims—she’d likely make a hell of a lot less noise.
Anyway, back to Rachel, she nails the fine balance between being clearly uncomfortable in this situation while somehow NOT being awkward. This is much harder said than done as folks are usually either not awkward at all but a bit too (and in my opinion, unrelatably) comfortable, OR they're endearingly uncomfortable yet a bit painful to watch. Rachel is SO poised. If you can’t tell, I’m a fan.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

GROUP DATE
I don't know a single viewer who enjoyed this date. Either if you believe in ghosts and this Group Date activity is a totally disrespectful theme park-like experience using them for entertainment's sake,*or, à la Jasmine, you don't believe in ghosts yet are bullied into believing in them by having the shit mercilessly scared out of you. Speaking of Jasmine, she was this date's saving grace with her early dismissive hilarity...

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

... and her later 4th wall breakage...

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

The "speaking with Mae" moment with Vanessa and Danielle M was sweet in that it felt sincere and respectful...

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Speaking of Danielle M, she is lovely, soft-spoken,*and drama free.*But, despite her getting this Group Date rose, I'm personally starting to feel like her chemistry with Nick isn't up to par with some of the other girls'. In their 1-on-1 time I found his body language to be a bit distant (her curled up towards him and him facing out with his arms crossed), save for one very strange, contextless, more-goofy-than-romantic ass grab during her voiceover...

I'm all about being able to goof off with each other, but even when it came to their real kiss, it ended up as more of an observation about how kissing each other felt good rather than, well, just KISSING EACH OTHER. I love Danielle M but at this point am seriously doubting her being Nick's last lady standing.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

I often roll my eyes at contestants who profess their "love" so early on (cough, Robby, cough), but I actually appreciated Raven's ILY because a) it was obviously accidental, and b) she totally recognized it was too early and fully owned it...

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

When Danielle M got the Group Date rose, I noticed something in Raven's comment about not getting it. Note what she's wearing...

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Not only was Raven not wearing this dress on this date (her white top is in the .GIF above this one), it's the same dress she wore at the Episode 2 Rose Ceremony...

Three things are possible here...
Scenario #1 is that the above ITM is from the Episode 2 Rose Ceremony but doubled as a Pick-up for that episode's Group Date (where Raven also didn't get the rose). In my opinion, this is the least likely scenario and, also, I don't recognize the background as being in the mansion (where they still were for the Episode 2 Rose Ceremony).
Scenario #2 is that the above began as a Pick-up for the Episode 2 Rose Ceremony, and then, instead of changing, she also did a Pick-Up for this Episode 5 Group Date in the same dress.
Scenario #3 is that Raven wears this dress again and that comment is from a future situation (contextually, a Group Date makes the most sense).
I don't know the answer,*it's just food for thought. My point is Raven didn't say the above line during or directly following this Episode 5 Group Date.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

CORINNE AND TAYLOR'S 2-ON-1
My oh my. As I said in my The Morning After video, this date caused me actual anxiety. Like, I felt my heart race watching it. This 2-on-1 was the sort of moment that made me long for the days before I went on this show, when I used to watch this show casually and could forget about it immediately afterwards, and above all, not have my own experience to relate it back to.
I'm realizing there are a ton of people warming to Corinne and, honestly, that's totally fine. As I've long been saying in these recaps, one of the major reasons I write them IS to humanize the contestants. No person on this show is a terrible person and should certainly not be treated, harassed, or cyber-bullied as such.*
However, my issue is really that those agreeing with Corinne in all this (I'll get to my thoughts on her in a bit) is their tendency to actively and aggressively identify as anti-Taylor. This is a problem. Like, okay, you can value Corinne's entertainment factor and the fact that you find her "real", but that doesn't automatically make Taylor the antagonist. In fact, the case against Taylor is seriously weak, with the only evidence being she was maybe (and again, this is subjective) a bit condescending in her use and definition of "emotional intelligence", and that she allegedly referenced her Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling as a reason she could be considered more mature than Corinne (who, at age 24,*is vocal about and proud of being completely dependent on a nanny).*And I say "allegedly" in that sentence because we never SAW Taylor's degree reference come out of her mouth. For all we know, that clip about her Master's degree could have been from her Hometown Package, or at the very least an entirely different context. Before shitting all over Taylor, it's very important to realize this. Having seen my own words taken and rearranged like puzzle pieces as voiceovers, I take everything that I don't see on this show with a grain of salt (and hopefully you do too, by now). But we've SEEN Corinne brag about her nanny (we know her nanny by name, for God's sakes), we've seen her proudly claim to not know how to do her own laundry, we've SEEN her claim "medical emergencies" as reasons for sitting out required group activities. But fine, maybe you find that stuff amusing and don't see the harm. That's fine, but don't then hold it against other women when they question Corinne's motives for being on a show where the goal is to end up engaged to a 36-year old man.
But it gets more serious:*we've SEEN Corinne become verbally aggressive with multiple women (including but not limited to Taylor, Sarah, and Kristina), and most importantly, we've SEEN these words come out of her mouth...

These aren't even all the examples. Scary.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Objectively,*I of course see the appeal of Corinne as a character on television. She's got great comedic timing, says what she thinks, and plays the sexpot, all while having other facets including sweetness (how she is with Nick; she has tender moments with the girls, too), the obvious manipulation, the vindictive "I'm-smarter-than-I-look" wiles. But it's important to separate a person's entertainment value from his/her actual words and actions. (I firmly believe this also can and should be applied to real life friendships and romantic interests.)*Corinne isn't a television character, and even if anyone (including her) claims she's playing up her villainy for television, TAYLOR isn't a character. This is scary stuff to be saying about another real, live person on national television, and it's insane that despite these words (which, again, WE CAN SEE), she has the gumption to call Taylor the bully. Believe me, if there were good evidence of Taylor saying things like this or mistreating Corinne, we'd have seen at least some of it. If Corinne's words and actions towards Taylor over the last two episodes haven't been textbook bully behavior, I honestly don't know what is.
Even if you don't care for Taylor, you can't claim she "started it". She never used language even close to along these lines. She herself may not have liked Corinne, but she never tried to tear down Corinne's self-worth and confidence by claiming other women in the house didn't like her. When Nick broached the Corinne topic with Taylor, though she may not have dealt with it as well as she could or should have (more on that in a bit), she wasn't the one to run to him first,*prepared*on how to paint her opponent or how to defend herself.
I'm not saying Taylor is 100% innocent here.*She shouldn't have engaged, shouldn't have continued to use the term "emotional intelligence" when clearly it became a sore spot for Corinne (not the meaning of "emotional intelligence" but rather the fact that Taylor defining it—in Corinne's mind—came to represent Taylor calling her "stupid"). Above all,*she most definitely shouldn't have told Nick what it is that he*needs in a woman (according to her, a woman with more emotional intelligence than Corinne), particularly since I don't think she knew him well enough to know. (Certainly, she didn't know him well enough to know he would be sending her home over Corinne.) But while Taylor may not have behaved perfectly, her questionable words and actions have all been in response to*and in her defense against*Corinne's goading and provocation.*In fact, Taylor repeatedly tried to rise above all this...

Again, not the only example of this.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Since this episode airing, Taylor has been treated horribly (not by all, but many) for behaving only imperfectly. (Of course, I say this based on and leading up to Episode 5; I haven't seen Episode 6 yet and can't speak for what she says and does in her return.)*As always, and again, my hope in writing these is to humanize the contestants—both*contestants. If one "loves" Corinne, that's fine, but that doesn't make "hating" Taylor acceptable, and vice versa. And entertainment aside, Corinne's hypocrisy must be at least acknowledged and her nasty words condemned.
Lastly, I've heard some people say that Taylor's and the ladies'*issue with Corinne is because they're "jealous"*Nick evidently likes her. In my personal opinion, HELL NO.*I'm reminded a bit of my exhaustive WTA recap from Chris' season when I wrote:
"The asinine argument that a woman wouldn't like Britt out of insecurity alone degrades women far more than a woman disliking her for actual reasons;*it dismisses all perception and compatibility (or lack thereof), leaving nothing but a simple Mean Girl-esque battle of who's prettier or more popular. Plus, I'm a firm believer that beauty draws people in, not the opposite. It's no coincidence that the most popular girls in any given high school tend to be the most conventionally "pretty". Please. This isn't about jealousy. It's critical thinking versus Koolaid-drinking."
To disregard Corinne's abrasive behavior among the ladies and the fact that they've been living together (and I mean living together)*for weeks, only to make this solely about Nick's response to her is both overly simplistic and demeaning. It makes it all about the man and the prize, diminishing the women's (incredibly valid) interpretations of and responses to their living situation and its social dynamics. Sure,*some handle it better than others and are either more easy-going and/or unaffected, but those who don't aren't driven by jealousy. This is about personalities clashing in a tried-and-true environment designed*to have them clash, and as explosively as possible.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

И теперь о последнем свидании на этой неделе:
With the shattering group date in his rearview mirror, Nick turns to his second two-on-one date – this time with two bachelorettes that offer an encouraging preview of the future.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

After choosing between the two, he finds himself struggling to connect with the woman he selected. Having hit the lowest point of his journey, Nick dissolves into tears admitting that this time he may not find anyone to love. Can he right the ship? What will happen to the remaining bachelorettes?

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)