Here’s a guide to watching “The Bachelor” or virtually any form of reality TV: if someone says it’s “real” and “authentic,” it certainly isn’t.
In Week 2, we got to know several ladies from the cast of the 24 people for whom they are absolutely rooted, such as Sarah, Bri and Lauren. We also met someone who is not.
Victoria practically begged the viewers to make her a villain. There was no struggle or drama leading to this. He simply woke up and decided to dislike the contestants and spectators of “The Bachelor”, often with donkey-sounding bites.
“I’m not jealous, I just want that,” she said of her desire for a date with Matt. She called the court gestures “gestures” and said she and her enemy were like “oil and vinegar.” And it wasn’t about the arrival of the salad.
This is what something else went down during Week 2.
The first one to one
Bri was the lucky gal. During the first cocktail, the two connected being biracial and raised by single mothers. He gave her the first flower during the ceremony, which many of the ladies raised while complaining that they had not been chosen.
Matt and Bri had fun riding ATVs through the Pennsylvania forest. Of course, they fell into the mud.
Keeping in line with this extremely exciting theme of the seasons, Matt took off his dirty shirt and cut the wood (not an understatement) before joining Bri in a hot tub.
At dinner, Bri told Matt how her mother was at 13 years old. Now that Bri has grown up, her mother is pregnant and starting a new family, which she is struggling with.
Both Matt and Bri spent their lives wanting their father to appear. The parallels were strange. Matt gave her a rose in her honor.
Group date
Borrowing from a meeting last season for “The Bachelorette”, 18 (18 !!) girls wore wedding dresses and veils for a photo shoot with their husband. (Hello, photographer Franco Lacosta.) But before everyone could finish, Chris Harrison went into the waltz to turn the date into a “Hunger Games” death match – meeting the wedding, with the winning team receiving time with Matt. I’m surprised Jason Derulo didn’t show up to sing “Savage Love.”
The ladies were running through the woods, throwing paint at each other. The red team (plus Mari, the MVP of the gold team) came to clean up for an after-party.
Like Matt, Lauren is a Christian, which really piqued her interest. He and Jessenia shared a kiss. Victoria told him that there were “a lot of sides” to it, without actually revealing either side. The rose went to Lauren.
The second one-on-one
He went to Sarah (a 24-year-old journalist – or maybe an Alexis Rose from the “Schitt’s Creek” impersonator, as many have noticed online). Those who could be lovers flew over the resort in a small biplane, before settling for a vulnerable ordinary conversation. They both love their families, great! But Matt knew he was stopping.
At dinner, she revealed that her father has ALS. Sarah quit her job so she could be her full-time caregiver. “She wanted me to go out and find love, and I felt this call to be here,” she said of her decision to join the show. He gave her a rose. “Today’s date has replaced anything I could have imagined,” Matt said, saying how much he likes Sarah’s compassion and altruism.
During the show, he shared this on Twitter. Could he actually be a very good guy?
Cocktail
Not everyone had to go to a date this week, so time was of the essence for women who needed to secure a rose from Matt.
Abigail, who received the first impression of growing up, made Matt laugh. So did Kit and Magi. After Marylynn revealed that she had not been invited to a meeting this week, Matt gave her an orchid, her favorite flower.
(I’m sorry about what we’re about to enter, it’s completely fake and has no lasting repercussions, but the show spent 25 minutes on it, so we need to talk about it.)
Victoria, who was Marylynn’s roommate but decided to sleep on the couch because Marylynn was “crying a lot,” became jealous and decided to catch Matt, calling her “toxic” for no reason. Convinced victory is the victim, Matt decided to pull Marylynn aside to speak. He defended himself calmly, understanding that the situation was a “she-said-said”.
When Marylynn politely confronted Victoria, Victoria offered a master class in handling and lighting. He wouldn’t even sit next to Marylynn on the couch during the drama.
The rose ceremony
Matt gave roses to Pieper, Kit, Magi, Rachael, Abigail, Chelsea, Jessenia, Katie and Serena C. In the middle of the ceremony, Sarah began to get dizzy and began to see stars. Another woman had to help her get off the podium and into another room. Matt went to comfort her. She screamed she couldn’t see, and then the episode stopped.
Prediction
Looks like someone’s coming next week. Sarah also seems to be feeling better. I hope Chelsea gets some airtime, because I’m watching TikTok and she looks nice.