Холостячкa #15 Hannah Brown

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

__________________
“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

__________________
“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

__________________
“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

__________________
“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

From Sharleen's blog:
Episode 4

“If I had a tail, I’d wag it.”
—Jed. I’ve since adopted this and so should you.

JED’S 1-ON-1
Episode 4 supposedly brings us to Newport, RI, except the first destination date takes place in Boston. (If I were Newport, I’d be pissed.) Hannah and Jed traipse around Boston, managing to squeeze in a hella awkward Halo Top plug, despite the fact that it so doesn’t appear to be ice-cream-in-the-park weather and they're bundled in jackets.
In the evening, when discussing their favorite moments of the day, as a former contestant myself, Jed’s stood out to me big time…

This is something I failed to truly understand before I went on the show and it’s something I catch myself forgetting here and there now that years have passed, but the above serves as a reminder of just how omnipresent (and violating) the cameras can be, particularly for shyer personalities. There was never a second with cameras on me where I didn’t struggle with it, and it would seem Jed might feel similarly. The privacy of just a few seconds in a photo booth would stand out as something memorable, just as I still remember certain moments on my season when we were fleetingly alone and how electric those felt. I also appreciate that this even made an impression on Jed, enough for it to be his favorite moment of the day—a day likely filled with more obviously memorable and extravagant activities.

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

barish

Jed continues to climb to the top of my favorites pile when he takes a HUGE risk in revealing…

Now, I happen to think it’s a win-win to have revealed this. Not only does it nip in the bud what people were probably going to say about him anyway (hell, I certainly did), but it also majorly legitimizes his feelings for Hannah (it’s hard to imagine him revealing this if he were faking it). But still, what makes the above a risk is that he’s essentially admitting he came on the show for the dreaded Wrong Reasons. Even a fleeting thought of wanting exposure has traditionally been regarded as downright criminal. But OF COURSE he thought it, just as it was for every other guy there did, whether or not he has the type of career that can so obviously benefit from exposure the way Jed’s can. Everyone thinks it, but Jed had the balls to come out and admit it.

The only thing I appreciated as much as this was how well Hannah dealt with it. I hate it when people claim to want honesty or transparency but then can’t handle it. Hannah, after emphasizing week after week that she wanted nothing more than the guys to be "real”, was true to her words. She was understanding of Jed’s initial thought and truly respected the fact that he told her, giving him the date’s rose.

I think the above particularly stood out to me quite a bit because it reminded me of my season, when at the dinner of my first 1-on-1 (which was also the first 1-on-1 of Episode 4, by the way), I admitted to Juan Pablo that I hadn’t been and wasn’t really kid-focused. I admitted that I had dated someone with a daughter before (someone whose daughter was the exact age as Juan Pablo’s daughter) and that I had struggled with it. (In case you’re wondering: Yes, I had told a producer this, and yes, that producer had encouraged me to tell Juan Pablo this on that very date.) When JP still gave me the rose, Twitter blew up with people criticizing him for doing so. But what he appreciated above all else was my honesty, even if the words weren’t flattering or were not what I’d imagine he’d want to hear. To this day I’ll never forget it. I knew in telling him what I told him there was a good chance I’d go home, so the fact that he valued what I valued in what I was telling him made a huge impression on me (and, coincidentally, went a long way in making me like him that much more).

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

barish

Finally, Jed mentions the comfort than Hannah gives him…

This has been a common theme among the guys in their descriptions of Hannah, that she has a comforting aura to her. But what I appreciated about the above was Jed’s effort to be SPECIFIC. You’ve heard me go on and on about my desire for specificity before. Jed could just as easily have said “There’s just a comfort that comes from you.” In fact, that’s what 95% of folks on this show tend to leave it at—if they’re observant enough to even identify the feeling of comfort in the first place. I love that Jed could pinpoint feeling comforted by her voice and her touch, enough to even articulate it to her face. This may not seem like a huge deal but it’s incredibly rare for this show.

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

barish

GROUP DATE
Because no Bachelorette season is complete without a sport-related Group Date involving some degree of violence, the men are made to play rugby. And in case there was any question as to whether or not this is a violent sport…

I laughed out loud at the above not only because of Connor S’ perfect expression of both incredulity and worry, but also because this speech is just SO overboard. I’m not denying the “gruesome” things that have taken place on that field, but the description just kept getting more and more extreme, to the point where even the other coach has to stifle his laughter.

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

barish

You knew I’d have to capture the infamous Luke on Luke tackle (complete with Luke S’ own foreshadowing) so we can all analyze it together…

It’s embarrassing how many times I’ve watched this little clip. So, I see it as Luke S jogging back onto the field towards the other players and Luke P tackling more or less out of nowhere. He could have perceived it as Luke S running towards him but a tackle still feels like a strange response given it didn’t even seem like they were part of the game at that moment. However, my sister Andrea and her boyfriend felt, while Luke P is terrible and his tackle took things too far, that Luke S was indeed running towards Luke P in a confrontational manner. They also felt that, later, Luke S blows things out of proportion and, in general, plays up his innocence. I don’t exactly agree with this as I think Luke S legitimately felt physically threatened. (It’s proven later in the evening, when Mike literally laughs at Luke P’s claim that he’d needed to “defend” himself against Luke S—the gist being, Luke S is likely smaller or weaker in some way and therefore not a physical threat.) In other words, I’m pretty #TeamLukeS about it all, particularly since he’s been very drama-free thus far and the other guys universally sided with him. But by all means, let me know in the comments whether you saw things my way or the way Andrea and her boyfriend saw them.

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

barish

That evening, during a Man Chat, we start to see why Luke P’s antics are so grating. It’s not so much the way he constantly seeks attention, but the fact that in doing so, attention is given to him. After all, the second he leaves the room, there’s zero chance a producer didn’t prompt the men to talk about him, continuously steering the conversation back if it started to trail away…

In other words, yes, Luke P is annoying. But in real life he’d be bearable. It’s the constant prompts to discuss him and his annoyingness that escalate things.

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

barish

Take note of the seating arrangement here (and also how poor Kevin’s return is totally glossed over), particularly how Luke S is on the end of the right sofa, with Dustin to his left…

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

barish

The above was the seating arrangement shown as Luke P entered the room. But note how, as he begins to defend himself against the men, we now have Dylan to Luke S’ left…

A reminder of just how long these conversations can go for.

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