A. Холостяк #25 Matt James

barish

Kit, 21
Socialite, New York, New York

Kit is a true born-and-raised New Yorker. She currently lives at home with her parents in the heart of the West Village while finishing her last year of undergrad at NYU. Kit hasn't had a serious relationship since her first love in high school, but that's only because she hasn't found a man who can measure up to the level of emotional intelligence she needs. She's found that most guys she meets don't match her maturity level, and although she is only 21, she is very ready for a serious commitment. Kit is looking for a man who is genuine, open and honest. She is a straight shooter who has no interest in anyone who is fake or indirect. This badass woman wants to find someone who can keep up with her witty banter and hold their own in the New York social scene. Kit knows that she has high standards, but she has no doubt that Matt will be able to live up to the hype.

- Kit can surf in high heels.
- Kit is the first to admit she has a horrible RBF.
- Men in flip-flops make Kit mad.

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

barish

Victoria, 27, “queen”: This strikes me as one of the older school gimmicks we’ve seen in awhile. She’s very obviously there for drama, to the point where she’s not even pretending to hide it. I don’t believe in producer plants but if I did, Victoria would be it. Full exit/convo shown (not that it matters, as we know how she’ll be earning her keep).

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

barish

Victoria, 27
Queen, Los Angeles, California

Victoria, or Queen Victoria as she likes to refer to herself, has outgrown her "once upon a time" jetsetter lifestyle but not her sense of grandeur. Victoria has shifted focus towards entrepreneurship and has launched a few businesses in the health and beauty space. Victoria knows she has a big personality and needs a strong man who can keep up but who won't be controlling in any way, shape or form. The top things Victoria's needs in a relationship are loyalty, honesty and independence. Meditation and spirituality play a huge role in Victoria's life and to find someone who also is would be a huge plus for her. Victoria loves romance, and with her love language being physical touch, she hopes to find someone who appreciates that side of her. Victoria truly has no filter, which she loves about herself, and plans to be very forward in her pursuit of Matt. This girl knows what she wants, and good luck to anyone who tries to stop her!

- Victoria lives for the perfect Aperol Spritz.
- The light of her life is Coco, her Goldendoodle.
- Victoria's biggest turnoff is a man who can't keep his room clean.

__________________
“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

As the women get to know each other, there’s a fabulous toast given by Katie, and note how it’s not limited to toasting Matt, but also MAKING FRIENDS…

Granted, the camera cut away from her right after she toasts Matt, and “making friends” is drowned by cheers, but IT STILL HAPPENED!

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

barish

COCKTAIL PARTY

Matt enters and, in lieu of a speech, chooses to pray…

Hoo boy. Okay. Now, I have no issue with prayer in general. I loved what the cameras caught of Hannah Brown’s moments of prayer during her season. It felt like you could visibly see her prayers empower her. They felt so personal, which, as an admittedly non-religious person, seems to me how prayer should be.

HOWEVER. There’s a big difference between engaging in a personal prayer and telling everyone in the room to bow their heads, to be prayed for. I wouldn’t have even have minded if Matt felt like he wanted to pray in this moment, FOR HIMSELF. But something about telling other people to bow their heads—not even knowing their religious affiliations—felt pretty jarring and even off-putting to me. Whether or not he meant for it to, it unnecessarily asserted his religion as the norm, especially since he’s the lead—the one in “power”. Again, I know the gesture was meant well, but in my mind (and of course, I realize my perspective is colored by the fact that the prayer didn’t resonate with me), nothing he said couldn’t have been said in the context of a speech.

Now, I am not necessarily criticizing Matt directly for this, and of course, I do think this aligns with his beliefs. (It’s not like I think he was told to give a prayer!) But, as we discussed on Friday’s AMA video chat, I personally can’t help but make the connection to Matt being the franchise’s first Black Bachelor. We’ve had PLENTY of ultra religious leads over the years, but no one has ever come close to praying for the entire group. With the Bachelor and Bachelorette combined, that is 40 SEASONS with plenty of mention of faith but without anything close to a group prayer like this. It’s impossible not to wonder if there’s a connection there, in presenting Matt a certain way (or allowing him to present himself in a certain way) to the very viewers the franchise has been appeasing by not casting a Black Bachelor for 19 years. I’m not saying this is necessarily the case; it’s more so just me thinking aloud. But it is some uncomfortable food for thought that I would LOVE to read your takes on!

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

barish

During his 1-on-1 time with Abigail…

This is some fantastic 4th wall breakage with the contestant experience. Notice how she doesn’t say she’s been THINKING “Matt, Matt, Matt”. She’s been HEARING it, to the point where you’d think he should be revered as something “god-like”.

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

barish

ROSE CEREMONY

Not much to note about the Rose Ceremony except to include this frankenbitten voiceover of Alicia’s…
Alicia
“If I didn’t get a rose tonight, I would be / a complete wreck.”

Note how she could have been referring to anyone (or anything!) as a “complete wreck”. But it allll comes back to the Bachelor.

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

barish

PREDICTIONS

Many of you requested I include predictions here, in lieu of my Flare recap predictions. So, my frontrunners based on this premiere are…

1. Bri, 24:

has frontrunner written all over her.

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

barish

She was first out of the limos, had 1-on-1 time shown, and received the first Rose Ceremony rose.

Her conversation with Matt veered more serious than flirty, but given Matt’s reserved nature, I feel like this suits him in these early stages. Crucially, she didn’t get a ton of airtime, which is exactly the combo of stats an eventual winner usually gets. She seems smart and grounded and blissfully normal, and I get major same-wavelength vibes between her and Matt.

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

barish

2. Abigail, 24:

I really like Abigail. She’s very chatty and full of life, in a way that contrasts nicely with Matt’s ultra-laid back way. The only reason I don’t have her at the top of this list is because, statistically, Bachelors never end up choosing their First Impression Rose recipient.

Nonetheless, there’s no doubt Abigail will be sticking around for a very long time and will have at least one (if not two) 1-on-1s.

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

barish

3. Rachael, 24:

Many of Rachael’s stats are similar to Bri’s; she had the usual frontrunner limo exit, had her 1-on-1 time shown (time that also veered serious). Also similar to Bri, she didn’t get a ton of Night One airtime, which means she stands a good chance of making it very far.

__________________
“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

4. Mari, 24:

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

barish

This was a toss-up. I was torn between Mari, Sarah

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

barish

Serena P,

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

barish

and Khaylah

for this last slot, but ultimately went for the candidate Matt seemed
most immediately physically attracted to.

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

barish

(For what it’s worth, I get Bachelorette vibes from Sarah!)

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

barish

Mari has the usual frontrunner trappings, including the full limo exit/convo and shown 1-on-1 time (though brief).

Based on how ruffled Mari was by Katie tapping her shoulder with that dildo, I feel like Mari could easily succumb to a villain narrative that affects her arc (it’s awfully early to be annoyed by someone in the house), but we shall see.

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

barish

Matt’s mom…

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

barish

Kit…

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

barish

Chelsea...

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

barish

MJ…

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

barish

Serena P…

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

barish

Alicia...

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