Холостячкa #15 Hannah Brown

barish

She also proved how different she is than him by her ability to own her responsibility in that. Hannah is easily one of my favourite leads, male or female, of all time, and her Tell All showing was every bit as gratifying as I could have hoped (and expected) it would be.

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

barish

1. The Host With The Most

This show’s venerable host, Chris Harrison, is often a source for humour for me. It sometimes feels like the franchise is outgrowing the need for his champagne glass clinking, his report that there won’t be a Cocktail Party, his comically useless announcement of there being one rose left. And although we’ve had decent sit-downs between him and Hannah this season, those chats too feel like they’ve had the potential to be discontinued, as though the footage gained isn’t worth his paycheque. However, last night showed just how deft Chris Harrison is as an interviewer.

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

barish

Interviewing Luke P.—a veritable shapeshifter who has no shame (or even awareness) in contradicting and creating new realities for himself—is not for the faint of heart. It requires sticking to the scent and not allowing Luke P. to, as Hannah said, rewrite his own words. On this front, there were several fantastic Chris Harrison moments. He managed to avoid becoming the bad guy in Luke P.’s eyes yet consistently put him in his place in spectacular fashion. At one point, Luke P. said all he’d wanted was to have been heard by Hannah, to have his say, and Chris Harrison responded with, “You had your say. It just went poorly, so you wanted another say.” When Luke P. said a Bachelorette who’d had sex in another Fantasy Suite was “not something he would have wanted in a future wife,” Chris Harrison responded with, “Respect that. That’s your choice. In this particular case, Hannah did make that choice and that doesn’t jive with you. I’m a little bit surprised you didn’t just walk away.” There was a laugh-out-loud moment when Luke P. admitted to having been prideful and arrogant and Chris Harrison matter-of-factly added, “She called you narcissistic.” Luke P. mentioned having felt like he was on “a rescue mission for Hannah,” to which Chris Harrison sharply responded, “To me that means, in your mind, she needed to be saved.” At that point, Luke was quick (and wise) to backpedal. The host also laid down a solid Men Tell All foundation by asking Luke P.—before any of the other men arrived—if he felt he’d made mistakes. (Luke P.’s answer, as per usual, would come back to haunt him.)

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

barish

In general it seemed Luke P. had arrived with a script of talking points and defences for himself, but several times he was rendered speechless by the host’s piercing—but completely fair—questions. It’s easy to underestimate Chris Harrison’s role in all this, to miss how smoothly Luke P. was given one opportunity after another, how elegantly he was put in his place by an impartial third party. But it takes discernment and satire, yet subtlety—not to mention an impenetrable straight face—to do what Chris Harrison does, and last night gave me new appreciation for it.

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

barish

"This Bothered Me the Most": Sharleen Joynt on The Bachelorette
Season Finale

It’s rare that I say this, but from beginning to end, that was a downright phenomenal season. I almost always have a gripe or two in my finale recap, something about production choices or about things feeling tedious, yet here I find myself wishing for nothing more or different than what we got. Despite the ending not being what we generally anticipate, it was oddly satisfying and its unpredictability made for gripping television.

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

barish

First, how often is it that we’re rooting for our lead MORE at the end than we did at the beginning?

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

barish

Hannah not only exceeded our expectations, she managed to combine charm, goofiness, sincerity and strength, completely stealing our hearts (and the hearts of her men, which always elevates a season).

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

barish

There was of course a distinct villain who stole much of the show, but even that didn’t annoy me as much as it often does. Luke P.’s presence made fascinating food for thought on topics ranging from narcissism to religion to feminism.

It was impossible not to be “triggered” by Luke P.’s behaviour, which in an of itself—for better or worse—made for a somehow interactive viewing experience. The season also provided plenty of shocking twists and turns, keeping monotony at bay, no small feat for a 17-year old franchise.

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

barish

In another twist, through last night’s developments with Jed, we even got a rare sub-villain.

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

barish

And, in another twist involving Tyler C., a surprisingly happy-ish ending.

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

barish

Even this two-part, four-hour finale, an event that usually grows wearisome around the three-hour mark, didn’t bore me in the slightest.

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

barish

On the whole, this season married old-school Bachelor season vibes—I keep comparing Hannah to Emily Maynard and I stand by that—with modern twists and themes. Seriously, what more could you possibly want from your television??

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

barish

I made a concerted effort to reserve judgment on Jed until this finale.

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

barish

I have so many thoughts on Jed, most of which I’ve kept to myself, waiting for more details before piecing together informed opinions. It became clear in the live segment of The Bachelorette finale Part 1 that the Jed rumours would be addressed, so I was very curious to witness not only what he’d say, but how he’d say it. I’m sorry to say, though, that after giving him the benefit of the doubt week after week, last night Jed dropped the ball in epic fashion.

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

barish

His After The Final Rose appearance was decent enough; he belatedly took responsibility for his actions and their consequences, he apologized (or as profusely as he seems capable), he appeared remorseful.

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

barish

However, it was far too little, too late. When it mattered the most, during his and Hannah’s televised post-People article conversation, he literally did and said everything as wrong as he possibly could have

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

barish

Making his change of tune on After the Final Rose feel like calculated damage control.

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

barish

Let’s unpack this…
First, during the filmed conversation with Hannah, Jed makes the critical mistake of minimizing their relationship.

Terrible move, dude. In attempting to downplay what he and his ex had, he trapped himself in a corner being the douchebag who tells a woman he loves her, sleeps with her, and goes on (“free”) vacations with her—while overstating the fact that he was still dating other women. Given this conversation was supposed to be about making himself look better, not worse, this argument was just complete stupidity. (What he should have done was said: Yes, I was dating her. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you. I was afraid you’d leave me if I told you. I’m so sorry.)

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

barish

Hannah has proven very tolerant of even the worst of transgressions as long as they’re divulged HONESTLY.

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

barish

Jed of all people—her effing FIANCÉ—should have known that by then.

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

barish

He showed in this moment that he was more interested in attempting to salvage his fragile ego than he was interested in treating the supposed love of his life with the respect of his honesty.

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

barish

And let me be clear: I actually don’t think having some variant of a “girlfriend” when going on this show was Jed’s big crime here. As I’ve said over the season (and years, really), very few contestants on this show arrive completely unattached in any way. And in my opinion, there isn’t a massive difference between breaking up with someone the day before you leave and not breaking up with them at all. It’s pretty obvious that breakup is as much for show as anything, and that you’re likely to promptly get back together afterwards. But crucially, when it comes relationships, no matter how casual, semantics matter and that’s where Jed really let his fate get away from him.

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

barish

Let’s assume for a second that Jed was telling the truth, that he really wasn’t seriously dating that woman. I don’t care how casual you think something is, it’s poor form to allow the woman you’re seeing to believe that she IS your girlfriend when you don’t see it that way. I loathed when Jed spoke about his ex like she was some delusional, clingy woman, as though she’d jumped to conclusions about what they shared.

Jed, YOU LET HER SEE IT THAT WAY. Take some damn responsibility. Take responsibility for the ILYs, the sex, the vacations. It sounds as though his behaviour after the show—not giving his ex the courtesy of a mere conversation—was the ultimate in responsibility evasion. He’s like a boy who needs to be scolded by his mother and told to apologize, except he’s 25 years old and should be fully capable to recognize when he’s wronged another person and know to mend it.

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

barish

Another fail that stood out to me: when Jed claimed the show more or less fell in his lap and that he somehow didn’t know full well what he was getting into.

Ugh! First, trust me, this show doesn’t just happen to anyone. Whether you’re nominated by a friend or scouted or you attend a casting call, there are still MANY hoops through which you have to jump before you are considered. I can’t stand it when people act like they were “discovered” and then cajoled into doing the show. That simply doesn’t happen. The show has plenty of worthy applicants; the seas part for no one.

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

barish

Second, it’s the damn Bachelorette! I don’t care if you’ve never even seen an episode, you know the premise. People who live under rocks know what this show is about. Jed pretending he didn’t fully understand what he signed up for was such a smarmy (and poorly calculated) attempt at a get-out-of-jail-free card. More of him taking zero responsibility.

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