OK, calling Jason the Single Dad from “The Bachelor” a hero to begin with is a stretch. But we can all agree that he did not show the potential for douchey-ness that he ended up displaying at the conclusion of this season of the show. He SEEMED like a nice guy, a bit of a cheese ball maybe, but a harmless, overly-emotional nice guy. But he wiped away two seasons worth of good will by pulling this “After the Final Rose” stunt.
First off, even after watching every episode of the show this season, neither of these two girls totally won me over. By the end, I liked both of them OK and truly didn’t care who he picked. I felt a few weeks ago that he liked Melissa the best, and she is sweet and likable. And meanwhile Molly blended into the woodwork with a passion-free existence. Molly came on strong at the end and I believe that Jason was really torn about her – that he was surprised that he liked her so much since he was just keeping her around because she’s pretty. But whatever – this is a rare “Bachelor” case where I wasn’t truly rooting for one girl over another.
So, he picked Melissa. And her reaction was weird and fake and immediately it seemed odd (and the foreshadowing editors gave us way more Molly sadness than Melissa happiness, so that helps.) He got home, regretted it, wanted to take the ring back and have another chance with Molly. I’m still on board with all of this. It’s reality TV – it happens!
What I’m NOT on board with is the decision to call the producers, tell them he wants to change his mind and “psst, don’t tell Melissa – I’d rather tell her on air.” It is right here that Jason goes from being a nice single dad who’s willing to exploit his son on-air to find love and get famous, to total Ass Hole. Now I know that these girls sign up for public humiliation in exchange for the right to show the world how great they look in bikinis. Most of them keep up their end of the bargain well – frolicking in hot tubs, arguing with one another and then weeping about aging ovaries in the limo. That’s the bargain, they know it, we know it, everyone accepts it. But Melissa came to that post-show thinking she was engaged…having lived in secret with her fiancé and never actually been in public with him, she was probably excited to tell the world her good news and start having a normal relationship. But instead, he threw her under the bus big time. And why?? The one thing Chris Harrison never asked (and we’ll get to Chris in a moment) – why didn’t you just tell her two weeks ago, break up with her and come here together to tell us this news? If you are such a great guy?? Why do you have to do this on TV? And don’t give me this about “living life without regrets,” it makes me physically ill.
So then, there’s Molly. Who (taken at face value) was very surprised by all this and starts by asking “What about Melissa?” I was proud of her for those 30 seconds that she worried about his fiancé left in the dust, and for a moment I liked Molly. Then she said, what the hell, it’s a competition and I guess I won! And decided to fall back in love. At the very least, question the motives of why dumping Melissa had to take place on air, Molly! But no, she just embraced and looked at him wide-eyed with her ridiculous headband hair do and then it was over.
So here are my lingering questions:
- Melissa, I know you supposedly didn’t know this was coming, but even in shock, why on earth would you give back that ring, which the cheap-ass didn’t buy himself anyway,
- Chris Harrison – are you pleased with yourself? You are complicit in this. Yes there are producers but we don’t know who they are. We know you. We LIKE you. We TRUST you, Harrison. To look with sympathy on the fallen bachelorettes, to tell us when it is indeed the final rose, to warn us not to miss the most dramatic rose ceremonies ever. That trust is broken, now that we’ve seen you invite Melissa out, then Molly, asking leading questions before whamming them with the truth. I am disappointed.'
- Molly – have you no pride? I hope when you see that the world does not love your bachelor anymore, you will turn away as well. You deserve better. You’re very pretty, despite your abnormally chubby cheeks last night and the horrible hair choice you made.
- Jason – can you please stop insulting us by implying this was the only way you could follow your heart and just admit that you wanted to be famous, let the producers talk you into being a dick and didn’t give it a second thought? Whether it was recent or from the beginning, you gave away your right to believe you are a decent human being by being part of this.
- Producers – I am choosing not to believe the Us Weekly story from last week that stated that you were flying Molly out to see Jason on Melissa’s off weekends, and that the switcheroo was the plan from the beginning. Mostly because if I believe that then I’ll be the biggest sucker ever.
As for tonight’s show – is he proposing to Molly? And how do I stop myself from watching since I really don’t want to be a part of this anymore!!??
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