For anyone who loves reality television, Bachelor Season is somewhat akin to March Madness. True fans make brackets and hedge their bets after the first ceremony. The season really starts to heat up during hometown dates. A time where the bachelor meet the families of his final four girls. Some hometowns were down right boring, others had very comedic moments, BUT nothing could have prepared a viewer for the biggest upset of the season.
The episode starts with a hometown date with Kendall in Los Angeles, California. Kendall is a Creative Director who spends her spare time doing taxidermy, in her garage. Arie being the good sport that he is participated in the strange, but oddly satisfying activity. This truly shows his interest in Kendall that the average viewer probably would not have seen. Kendall, not only has a nonconventional hobby but she also has a twin sister, named Kylie. Their father referring to them as Kendall and Kylie was honestly very confusing, but too funny to ignore. Kendall struggles with the idea of being ready for marriage at the end of this, but expresses to Arie that she is willing to give it a shot.
Next, we head to the middle of nowhere AKA Minnesota to visit the hometown of frontrunner Becca K. Becca K takes Arie apple picking, which seems so boring compared to Kendall, but there is only so much one can do in Minnesota during the winter. Becca K lost her father at 19 and therefor views her Uncle Gary as the closest thing she has. Uncle Gary is very suspicious, skeptical, and a pastor. Arie expresses his love for Becca and ultimately he gets the blessing of Uncle Gary and the rest of the family.
Form Minnesota we head to Weiner, Arkansas to visit Tia’s very southern family. Tia, a strong front-runner this season, brings Arie to a very southern environment which he embraces whole heartedly. Southern hospitality is alive and well because Tia’s family welcomed Arie with open arms, with the exception of her brother. Her brother thought of Arie as a player due to him being named the “kissing bandit” which alone is a horrible nickname and any person who refers to themselves as the “kissing bandit” needs to relax. Arie once again gets the approval of yet another family, showing that his silver fox look and charms can turn anyone’s opinion of him around.
Lastly, we have the most boring constant to ever grace the stage of the Bachelor, Miss Lauren B. Lauren is very confusing. She claims that she friend zones guy for six months before dating them, been engaged twice, and does not open up easily, yet she made it to hometowns. During their hometown date, Arie and Lauren goes horseback riding in Virginia Beach. Up until this point, all Lauren did was stare and cry; now we see her crying over her deep love of Arie that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Arie and Laurens relationship makes absolutely no sense but Arie is “falling deeply in love with her.” He is so into her that he starts sweating profusely, not exactly his most attractive quality. Arie somehow manages to overcome his fears and gets the approval of Lauren’s father after they bond over past military experiences.
THE ROSE CEREMONY
The rose ceremony commences and Arie looks distraught. He pulls aside Kendall to ask her if she is ready for a proposal and/or marriage. While their conversation is happening the other girls, specifically Tia talk about how it does not make sense that Kendall is still there, making the classic bachelor mistake in being so confident that it ends up being your downfall. Becca K and Lauren get roses and it comes down to Kendall and Tia, ultimately leading to Kendall getting the rose. Tia absolutely was blindsided and the biggest upset of the season happened. Small town southern country girl with a big heart was sent home over the girl who stuffs animals in her spare time. This season is truly shaping up to be the weirdest and most entertaining season yet.