The Bachelor: The Most Unforgettable-Ever!

barish

Trista took her time opening up to Alex but finally let her walls down. Amanda was very open about her tragic past and what she saw as their future together. Alex and Amanda decided to explore a committed relationship, but what happened after the end of the show?
In a rare appearance, Amanda will join Chris from her home to fill Bachelor Nation in on the juicy details of what happened with her and Alex and if they are still in touch.
Will Alex make his first-ever appearance since his ground-breaking season?

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

barish

Trista may have gotten her heart broken pursuing Alex’s final rose,
but she became America’s sweetheart and the first Bachelorette.

What would this romantic journey be like with a woman handing out the roses?

__________________
“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

Bob made Trista laugh, but never got any further than being a friend.

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

barish

Greg, a musician, impressed the Bachelorette by writing a song for her,
but was undone by his disheveled New York apartment.

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

barish

Russell came on a little too strong.

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

barish

That left Trista torn between her two final men: Charlie, who gave her thrills and chills

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

barish

and Ryan, the handsome firefighter from Colorado whose gentle nature and dry wit were reflected in the poems he wrote for her.

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

barish

It all led to Ryan’s beautiful, moving proposal – the first in Bachelor franchise history

– and the couple’s buzz-worthy televised wedding.
First, Chris will catch up with Charlie, who reveals if he would have proposed to Trista if he had had the chance.
Then, Trista, will update her epic love story from the couple’s Colorado home along with their two children, Maxwell and Blakesley. And a surprise guest has a shock for Trista!

__________________
“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

Sharleen Joynt on Episode 5 of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons—Ever!

Watching last night’s Greatest Seasons Ever recap, I found myself surprised that I never thought to seek out these OG seasons before. I fancy myself an authority on The Bachelor franchise but didn’t even know who coined the phrase “I’m not here to make friends”?! I am an unworthy recapper!

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

barish

I had high expectations for last night’s episode and it did not disappoint. It was downright fascinating to see how far back certain traditions of this franchise stretch. Things like Limo Exits and Rose Ceremonies and even Fantasy Suites—down to the word-for-word verbiage on a Fantasy Suite card!—appear to have been part and parcel of the show’s initial sales pitch to America. It’s debatable whether or not there was meant to be designated 1-on-1 time within group scenarios, but those (as well as the “steals” necessary to make them happen) ended up occurring naturally anyway (thanks to “bold” Rhonda, certainly the franchise’s all-time MVP).

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

barish

Meanwhile, the differences were distinct: The first-ever Night One almost looked like a scene at a lounge, with Alex chatting easily and naturally with multiple women at once. I practically shouted at my TV screen when I saw the Rose Ceremonies, with the ladies permitted to sit comfortably on whatever sofa or chair was in the room. (My feet are still traumatized from long Rose Ceremonies spent standing in heels for well over an hour.) Today, you pretty much never eat dinner with the lead, regardless of what sort of date you’re on.

(In both Group Dates and 1-on-1 scenarios, you’re separated between the day and evening portions to clean up—especially if the day involved anything athletic or messy—to change up your outfit/hair/makeup, and to eat.) Thus, it tickled me to see Alex, presumably on the show’s first-ever Group Date, blithely toasting his five girlfriends at a dinner table prior to digging in. Simpler times!

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

barish

It was interesting to observe how the show took further form even from Alex Michel’s season to Trista’s. In Alex’s final Rose Ceremony, he stood in a basic (and endearingly ill-fitting) suit in the grassy backyard of the same house where everything happened. Next to him sat a simple pedestal with a lone rose on it. Trista and Amanda wore knee-length cocktail dresses and looked no more formal than if they were headed to a nice dinner. There was no long, winding walkway, no exotic locale, no rose petals, no exploding fountains and no, not even a proposal (a testament to our first Bachelor’s judgment)!

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

barish

Meanwhile, at Trista’s final scene, she stood in a floor-length beaded gown.

The journey toward her was strewn with hundreds of rose petals and flickering candles,
many of the aesthetic trappings we associate with today’s show.

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

barish

Side by side, you could literally see how the show upped the ante in a year’s time,
taking a massive stride in the direction of what we know The Bachelor to be today.

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

barish

The ante being upped wasn’t limited to the show’s creative details. With these early Bachelors, it felt as though The Powers That Be truly did scour the country for a quality man multiple women might genuinely want to date. Indeed, by the end of Alex’s recap, I found myself utterly charmed by him, maybe even a little wistful that I didn’t get to pursue a man of this calibre on TV. Note how back then, a dreamboat didn’t necessarily include huge arms or a six-pack; a man’s education and career prospects (and thus, more broadly, his drive, intelligence, interests) were the heavy lifters.

Think about not only what that means for the Bachelor in terms of traits, but for the women who are most interested in dating him; they too were career women, women who were clever, analytical, brimming with personality. These women were beautiful, sure, but their careers weren’t dependent on their being beautiful. What Alex found himself drawn to in these women didn’t disappoint, either. Even in that short recap, we heard him mention multiple times what a woman did for a living, emphasizing how “together” she was, how impressed he was by her, even calling one “a genius.”

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

barish

Today, it’s as though the show has gone down something of an ante-upping rabbit hole. Instead of casting a truly impressive Bachelor, they pick based on little more than a popularity contest, and then proceed tell us how “eligible” this person is. Look at this Bachelor’s beefy arms! He’s an ATHLETE. Look at him hugging his dog! Holding his niece! He’s a FAMILY MAN. But here’s a shot of him crying when he got broken up with! He’s SENSITIVE. Everything is so literal and black and white, not to mention heavily produced; we know today’s Bachelor/ette must consult with their producers on every decision, every elimination. Meanwhile, Alex Michel’s behaviour didn’t feel remotely performative or designed for “better TV.”

It was a televised social experiment, yes, but every decision he made was entirely for himself, based on his preferences and analysis (analysis which he so astutely narrated).

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

barish

Watching Trista and Charlie each deal with runner-up rejection (note the lack of a proposal on Charlie’s part—another ante upped),

I marvelled at how graciously they handled it. But then I also realized that even that ante has been upped; those runners-up were blindsided, sure, but it still didn’t compare to the extent to which non-winner finalists are misled today (complete with ILYs—thanks, Ben!). Notably, considering the direction the show would take in later seasons in depicting its contestants, there wasn’t a single contestant last night—even including The Aggressive One, Rhonda—who you would single out as being “dumb” or “crazy,” as being the laughingstock you’d ridicule. It’s clear the show even upped the ante on that front as well; the contestants would become further and further pigeonholed into their roles, with a clear-cut villain as a drama safety blanket.

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

barish

Easily the most interesting part of this Greatest Seasons Ever episode was observing how singles in their 20s and 30s behaved in the early 2000s. My husband, who was dating in New York City in the early 2000s, even lasted around 30 minutes watching this episode with me (versus the whopping 0 minutes he has lasted with any other episode). I was expecting subtle differences between pre-social media, pre-online dating folks and their equivalents of today, but was genuinely astonished at how drastic those differences turned out to be. Whether or not you loved their fashion or makeup choices, the women were undeniably natural beauties. If you go back and watch, I challenge you to count how many “like”s and “um”s are scattered throughout contestants’ sentences; there are none! Everyone was better spoken, made better eye contact, used words with intention and specificity when describing each other and when speaking to one another.

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