- Will Blake be functioning enough mentally to show up for the finale?
- How medicated will he need to be?
- How will they address Garrett's "issues"?
- How will Becca defend Garrett?
As Chris kicks things off, the applause for Garrett is louder than Blake, which is disheartening. Really? Chris can't promise us the most dramatic finale EVAH, but he can promise the most emotional. Did you know that apparently Arie and Lauren were down in the Maldives for the finale and they all met up? It didn't make the final cut but WTF? Seriously? Can't you let Becca find her happiness? What were they hoping to achieve with that and to make matters worse, it wasn't even included. Obviously it wasn't included because Lauren is a robot and Arie is so boring.
Becca's Family
The filler's done and we finally kick things off. No, wait. First we see Becca's family. Did they fly down the odd uncle? Becca's sister looks better this time around. I wish they'd introduce these people. Becca tells her family she loves both of guys and the family is glad she hasn't told either of them she loves them. Because it sucked when Arie did it to her. In case you'd forgotten.
Garrett Meets the Family
Garrett's ready for a grilling. I'm pretty sure the uncle's not there. Who's the odd guy in the dark blue shirt? Is that THE uncle? He looks different from what I remember. I don't recognize him without the cane but he looks so creepy. Becca's mom pulls her aside and asks how much work she really needs to do today. Does Becca really want her advice? Becca says not really, just let her know if there are any red flags. Garrett, for his multiple faults, comes off really well in comparison to creepy Uncle Chuck. This guy weirds me out. Uncle Chuck grills Garrett on his failed marriage. Wow, Garrett's already sobbing. Chuck asks Garrett if he's cried with Becca yet. I can't even look at him, Chuck's so creepy. This guy makes my skin crawl.
Next up, Becca's sister grills Garrett. OMG, he starts crying again. Because I don't trust the editing of this show, it's unclear if these are happening back to back or what. The sister's ready to dump her fiancee because Garrett's so emotional and she wishes her own fiancee wasn't so much of a robot. Next, sister talks to Becca. Does sister have a name? Sis loves Garrett. She tells Becca what they talked about and that makes Becca tear up. We don't see Garrett talking to mom at all.
Blake Meets the Family
Blake's ready to meet the folks. Becca genuinely seems giddier around Blake. Also, how tall is he? He's way cuter when he smiles than when he's stressed. The poor guy is sweating so much. Blake tells the whole family about how hard this process has been. Sis talks to Blake first and her vibe with him is definitely more guarded. She doesn't seem to like him as much as she liked Garrett. Sis talks to Becca and thinks that Garrett would be a good dad but Blake would challenge her more and be a better teammate, which I think is an interesting observation. Becca acknowledges her sister's observations and how for a long time Blake was the answer for her. It's funny how despite the fact the sister seemingly bonded with Garrett more, she thinks that Blake would be a better match for her. Becca acknowledges this and says that Garrett would be a bigger risk. Also, goofy dads are great. For the kids. They can be annoying for moms. Just saying.
Blake talks to Becca's mom and begins one of his downward spirals as he fixates on her mom's questions of what he'll do if Becca doesn't pick him. He can't think of anything else. Next up is another random uncle(?). Chuck's next and he asks Blake if there are any red flags with Garrett. This sets Blake off and it would set me off too. Becca's meet and greet with Arie's family went like this too, except they were asking Becca more questions about Lauren. And telling Becca, "I think both of you are fine, Arie wins either way." Blake doesn't think this is going well and spirals into a depression. He acknowledges he could be over thinking things but usually he's right about this. He asks Becca if she's okay because she seems off. She brushes it off. Blake has 36 hours to go into a tailspin.
Post break, the family asks Becca how they can help her make a decision. They immediately tell her that her and Blake are more equals. Creepy Chuck says Garrett "has a beautiful soul" and that he's a poet. What? They worry that Garrett wouldn't challenge Becca enough. Becca--listen to your family. Becca's mom starts crying and tells Becca she just wants her to be happy. Becca asks Mom what she thinks Dad would think and she says he would like both.
Garrett's Last Date
Becca has her last date with Garrett and they head out on a boat. He asks what the family said about him. She talks about how much her sister liked him. He starts to respond to that but first they see some dolphins, which is pretty cool. If they go back to the discussion, we don't see it. They frolic more. All of them--Becca, Garrett and the dolphins.
As they head into the evening portion of the date, it seems pretty low-key. Garrett looks forward to changing diapers with her. How about you change diapers on your own? Garrett says that if Becca picked Blake, he'd be crushed but he just wants her to be happy. She asks him if he has any remaining questions and he doesn't. She starts talking about her dad and how much Garrett reminds her of his dad. He starts crying again. He loves her Minnesota accent. Insert eye rolls between every sentence in this paragraph.
Blake's Last Date
Becca and Blake bike around the island. Blake admits he might have overreacted a bit after meeting her family and he's fine now. No really. They also frolic. They have a semi-serious conversation and Becca seems distant and vague with him. Oh Becca. You're going to destroy him. But she can't imagine saying good-bye to him.
Becca and Blake head into the evening portion of the date and he made her a time capsule of their relationship. Can we point out that Garrett didn't do anything like this? Jason gave her that book too. Just sayin'. Overall Blake thinks the night went really well. He's finally stabilized and she's going to stab him in the heart. He's preparing himself for proposing.
Getting to the End
Becca prepares for her final decision and she reads a letter from her sister. Garrett picks out his ring. So does Blake. Does Neil Lane show the two guys the exact same rings? This is always a process that has befuddled me. Thankfully they have seriously shortened this segment. Neil Lane generally seems like he can't wait to get the hell out of there. They continue to draw things out as the three of them get ready. They make Becca walk on the sand in her beautiful dress. Before we get to the first breakup, Chris warns us that it's ugly. She's obviously picking Garrett.
The cameras keep going back and forth between Blake and Garrett. Sadly, it's Blake that gets off the boat first. Oh BECCA. Poor Blake, who finally got some meds and calmed down. How much is she going to let him go on before she cuts him off? She's not acting like she's going to break his heart. I've seen enough of these final episodes, and if I were Blake I'd have no idea what's coming. Now her face is starting to look a little sad. Cut. Him. Off. Please. Is she obligated to let him talk? Because this is cruel. He's sweating his ass off and she finally cuts him off. I think he might faint. How is she holding it together and not sobbing right now? She walks him out. It's weird. The fact that she keeps telling him that she thought it was going to be him for a long time isn't helping. Can somebody get this guy a handkerchief? A tissue would fall apart in about ten seconds. Blake slumps away.
Becca's having a panic attack as she should, because when she finds out about Garrett's Instagram, she's going to wish she chose Blake. Somebody has thankfully gotten Blake a towel and he's sobbing. All of his insecurities come back like a tsunami. You think they're going to commercial but no, they show Blake on the stage with Chris. Poor, poor Blake. Chris sticks the knife in a little and asks how it felt when he realized he wasn't chosen. Chris reminds Blake he has to "kindly" asks Blake if he'd stick around. I'm a little surprised they didn't show more of Blake sobbing.
Now we have to watch Becca choose Garrett. UGH. No wait, they force Blake to talk more. Chris says we haven't seen anything that raw before but I strongly disagree. That being said, Chris continues to twist the knife. As we all know, this is also Blake's opportunity to audition for the Bachelor but I don't think he'd be a good Bachelor. Chris and Blake talk and talk and talk. Before we get to see the final proposal, Blake and Becca face off for the first time since they broke up.
Becca finally comes out. She's clearly nervous. Blake essentially asks if there was something he did that changed her mind. For whatever reason, she thinks that Garrett fit into her life better. He asks her what it was about their future that seemed so bad. I'd like to know that too, Blake. She basically says he was too anxious and in his head. Which is valid. I could definitely see that and it was essentially the same thing that Andi said to Nick. It's pathetic how much of past shows I remember. Becca tells Blake she didn't want to hurt him, so it's unclear why she made him say everything he did. I always like that Andi broke up with Nick before the proposal. And obviously Rachel broke up with Peter before the proposal too. However, I've heard Rachel talk about this in past podcasts, and she wishes she hadn't done that because the producers ended up focusing on their breakup even more.
Chris asks Blake what will help him move on. Ummm, to see Becca dump Garrett? Blake says he doesn't want anything from Becca and he's stronger from the show and anti-anxiety meds. Blake's mom and sister are in the audience giving Becca dirty looks. As sympathetic a character as Blake is right now, he still hasn't won me over for the next Bachelor.
Chris gleefully tells us while Blake's still on the couch that we get to watch Garrett's proposal now. Becca keeps saying how ready she is for this moment. Blech. Once again, the final rose goes to the guy who got the First Impression Rose. Garrett goes on and on and on. She cuts him off and I think he's starting to think that he's the one getting dumped. She tells him she loves him and he's giddy. He has yet to actually propose. He finally gets down on one knee. The ring is odd looking. I haven't seen a close-up yet but it looks ugly. They gush. She gives him the final rose. I hate to say that Becca has daddy issues, because I usually reserve that snarkiness for somebody that's damaged. But the fact that he reminds her so much of her dad is telling to me in why she chose Garrett. I have friends who lost their fathers at a young age so it feels dismissive of those friends to type that. Ugh, whatever. Do you think they made Blake's family stay and watch that?
Garrett and Becca come out and seem happy despite Garrett's issues. Remember how miserable Nick and Vanessa were? Becca's ring might be the most hideous ring I've seen on this show. She can't keep her hands off Garrett, so if rumors of her regretting her decision are true, then she's a fantastic actress. Also, let's be honest--Life and Style isn't exactly the most credible of sources. They show a montage of the weekend getaways Becca and Garrett have had while waiting for this episode to air. This is BS because one of the big things we learned from Arie's break-up with Becca was that the cameras were there and that didn't usually happen. But I guess now the cameras are always close since you never know if somebody's going to want to breakup with somebody else. Will they discuss the Instagram topic?
Post commercial break, Chris tees it up so they can address the ginormous elephant in the room. Garrett brings up his Instagram likes and kind of pulls the standard non-apology we see so often these days: "I'm sorry if my actions offended you." Which as we all know, is not an apology. More importantly however, he says that Becca is educating him on the error of his ways. This seems genuine and I don't see Becca standing by him if he wasn't going to change his views. She claims that the whole event brought them closer. Time will tell if this is true or not.
Anyway, no immediate wedding plans. They're going to ride out the Bachelorette wave--live in Minneapolis for a bit, then Reno (only shortly I hope for her sake), then ultimately California. And perhaps get some Corgis. As a consolation prize for everything that Becca's been through, Chris gives them a trip back to Thailand. Next he gives her a mystery present, which I guess is a minivan. If it's really a minivan, it would be super weird. Sure enough, it is. It's an old one though.
Thankfully the prize we get for getting through this is of course...BIP! I don't mess around with BIP so expect more timely updates. Unfortunately I stumbled across some spoilers and needless to say this should be an interesting season.
No comments:
Post a Comment