Intro: Monday night’s finale of “The Bachelor” was crazy, to say the least, and for one of the first times ever, when Jesse Palmer said that he was going to be one of the most dramatic finales yet, he was right. With the final two women being Kelsey and Daisy, Joey has a difficult decision on who to give his final rose and, ultimately, propose to, by the end of the episode. Usually, the format of the finale is that the final women both meet The Bachelor’s family and then The Bachelor gets one last one-on-one with each of them before deciding who he proposes to. Once we see who The Bachelor proposes to, we see the After the Final Rose (AFR) which is a segment where we get to see how the newly engaged couple is doing months later, and the newest Bachelorette is revealed.
Meet the Family: First up to meet the Graziadei is Daisy. During the meet the family, we get to see Joey’s mom, dad, two sisters, and his brother-in-law. In my opinion, Daisy’s meeting with the family couldn’t have gone any better. Daisy confidently told Joey’s sister’s that if Joey were to propose right now she would say yes, and that she was 100% in love with him. Daisy also cried with Joey’s mom about how much she loves Joey, and Joey’s mom even told her that she would be honored to be her mother-in-law. After hearing that from Joey’s mom, I knew there was no way that Kelsey was ever going to beat that. When Joey’s sisters asked Kelsey if she was ready for an engagement she started her answer with “I think” and didn’t have the same confidence that Daisy did, which his sisters took note of. Kelsey then talked to Joey’s mom and then dad and she cried both times about how much she loves Joey, and how heartbroken she would be if he didn’t choose her. It felt like I saw Kelsey cry way too much this episode, and it felt like she would start crying, then stop crying, then start this cycle all over again. I really couldn’t tell if it was cute or not, but I could definitely feel how much she loves Joey. Ultimately, Joey’s family told him that Daisy definitely seemed more confident and sure but they both seemed like great women and he couldn’t go wrong. By this point, it felt like Daisy had the one up over Kelsey, but it was so early in the episode that anything could happen.
Daisy One on One: Before this episode, I wasn’t necessarily rooting for either Daisy or Kelsey and thought they were both somewhat okay. I wasn’t that excited when it came to the one on one portion of the finale, since I wasn’t hardcore rooting for either of them. Daisy ended up being the first one-on-one and for their date, they went through a cleansing ceremony and went to a sweat lodge. During the entirety of the date, it was very apparent that Joey was being very careful with his words around Daisy and wasn’t trying to say anything to lead her on, which wasn’t a good sign. The hardest part to watch was definitely when they had to throw their “wishes” into a firepit using stones and Joey’s wish was that they both find genuine happiness whether it’s with or without each other. Yikes. By then I knew it was over for Daisy, and Daisy knew it was over for herself because she confessed to the camera that it hurts that she loves him so much because it was obvious that he was not sure of her. For the first time in the entire season, I really empathized with Daisy. As I said before, I really didn’t care who Joey picked and didn’t have any positive or negative feelings about either of them and thought they were both ok. But at that moment I officially became a Daisy fan, and I felt so bad for her and was rooting for her to win even though her odds weren’t looking very good at the moment. It was then time for the night portion of the date but it wasn’t even a night portion because it lasted only 5 minutes and they were sitting in a hotel room. During that time together Daisy confessed to Joey that she was in love with him which she’s never said before and Joey’s reaction was less than ideal. He basically gave this whole spiel that in summary said “Thank you for telling me”. Another yikes. Daisy got zero reassurance and after saying what he needed to say, Joey said he had to leave and then just left. During that point, I felt absolutely terrible for Daisy and was shocked because everything seemed to be going amazing right before this one-on-one. Not to mention she was the obvious frontrunner the whole season, and I even predicted she would win after watching the first episode, so all of this doubt was really shocking to me. After Joey left her room, Daisy just looked done with everything and looked like she wanted to go home. Daisy then revealed to the camera that her intuition was telling her that Joey was not going to pick her because he loves Kelsey more. This was crazy.
Kelsey One on One: It was the last official date of the season and it was Kelsey and Joey, who went in a spa room in the hotel and got massages and facemasks. This was kind of a perfect date and Joey was giving Kelsey everything that he wasn’t giving Daisy. Especially by now, the writing was on the wall, and it was easy to tell that Kelsey was going to be Joey’s final pick. The spa date didn’t have anything that crazy or interesting, they were just giving each other massages, putting face masks on each other, and having a fun time. It was then the night portion again, and Kelsey also revealed to Joey she was in love and Joey had the opposite reaction that he gave Daisy. He was very reassuring and basically told her “It’s you” without telling her “It’s you”. I do applaud Joey for trying not to lead Daisy on and give her false hope, but I feel like it’s worse to make her feel like she’s not going to be chosen and make her stressed for the rest of the week. But, he’s definitely trying his best.
Daisy’s Choice: Even after Kelsey’s date, Daisy was still having doubts, which is normal to feel. However, Daisy handled her feelings in a way we’ve never seen in “The Bachelor” history. Daisy was confident that she wasn’t Joey’s final pick and everyone watching was wondering what she was going to do. The audience saw a shot of Daisy walking down the hallway of the hotel and I was confident she was walking to Joey’s room right before the proposal to call things off. Daisy knocked on the door and I was very shocked to see Kelsey open it. The two embrace in a hug before Kelsey invites her in and they both talk about their experiences this past week. Daisy shared how she got little to no reassurance from Joey this entire week and wasn’t thrilled to hear Kelsey say the exact opposite. At this point, Daisy looked done, and it seemed to be her final straw. I was sure she was going to just leave at this point and not show up to the proposal.
Final Rose Ceremony: It was proposal time and we saw a shot of Daisy getting ready, so I knew she was going to show up to the final rose ceremony. Kelsey looked very excited to get ready for the proposal, she had a smile on her face the entire time and she put on a very pretty white dress. Daisy, on the other hand, looked like she was dreading to go, knowing she was about to get dumped. Usually, the way the final rose ceremony goes is, both of the women remaining take two separate vans to the ceremony’s location, and they go at two separate times. The woman getting broken up with always goes first and then The Bachelor’s final pick. So, knowing that information, it was an utter shock when I saw a shot of Kelsey riding in a van, and then a shot of Daisy in a van, and then watching the camera pan out and seeing Daisy and Kelsey IN THE SAME VAN HOLDING HANDS. My jaw physically dropped, and words can’t even describe how surprised I was because that has never happened in all of “The Bachelor ” history.
Final Rose Ceremony Daisy: They get to the final location and Daisy sadly walked out of the van first. She walked up to Joey and he started telling her how great she is and how much he cherishes the times that they have had together. At this point, Joey isn’t making it clear if he’s breaking up with her even though everyone knows the couple’s fate. Then Daisy started talking, and she told him how lucky she was to meet him and be a part of this process and even shared how much she’s in love with him and you can see that she’s starting to well up. But ultimately, Daisy shared in her speech, “you’re not going to choose me.” After hearing that heart-wrenching line Joey started crying, Daisy was crying, and I was trying not to cry. Joey thanks her and tells her she deserves nothing but the best and they tightly hug as they whisper to each other how much they are going to miss each other. Finally, Joey offers to walk Daisy out and she tells him that that is something she’s going to need to do for herself. Daisy walks away with her head held high, and instead of immediately getting into the van, she hugs Kelsey right before her proposal and tells her that her mom is watching over this moment and that she’s so proud and happy for her. Once Daisy left Joey absolutely broke down like we’ve never seen in the show and walked off and threw his jacket on the floor. Daisy walked into the van and told the camera, “If I can love the wrong person that much, imagine how much I can love the right person.” After I watched that I loved Daisy 1000 per cent more than I did already, and was so certain that she was going to be “Bachelorette” because that was such a “Bachelorette” line, her genuine kindness shined through after talking with Kelsey. To be honest, this whole episode felt like Daisy’s “Bachelorette” audition because she made everyone love her after watching the finale.
Final Rose Ceremony Kelsey: It was finally Kelsey’s turn. Kelsey walks down to Joey and he wastes absolutely no time to tell Kelsey that she’s the one. He shared a very heartwarming speech, then got down on one knee and she screamed yes very excitedly. I was very happy for the newly engaged couple and this ending felt very full circle and perfect despite Daisy getting her heart broken.
After the Final Rose: The AFR was the last hour out of three and we just got to hear again from Joey, Kelsey, and Daisy. Joey and Daisy also talked for the first time since their breakup, but nothing interesting or new was said. The only new thing that we saw from Kelsey and Joey is that “The Bachelor” is giving them an all-expenses paid trip. By this point, it was getting very late, and I was pretty checked out and just wanted to know who our newest “Bachelorette” was going to be. Daisy also gets an individual talk with Jesse. During that talk, Daisy revealed when asked, that she is not ready to start looking for love again because for the first time in a while, she is happy and healthy and just wants to focus on herself. She also just got dumped by the man she was completely in love with 3 and a half months ago. That meant that Daisy was not going to be our “Bachelorette” and I was extremely disappointed but also understood, and knew that our newest “Bachelorette” was very very likely to be Maria which would have been a dramaful season.
Bachelorette: During the last 10 minutes of the three-hour special, it was finally time to announce the “Bachelorette,” and our last “Bachelorette” Charity got to share the news. Once Charity started talking, I was bracing myself to hear the name “Maria” until Charity said the name “Jenn.” Me and my friend were watching this together so we both turned and looked at each other with a very confused look. Jenn went home top 6 and didn’t get nearly enough screen time for the audience to be excited about her, because you can’t be excited for someone that you don’t know. She seems like a really nice girl, but I feel like if the producers were planning on picking her for “Bachelorette” they definitely should have showcased her more throughout Joey’s season and that is no way her fault. I was also 1000 per cent certain the “Bachelorette” would be Maria because just based on overwhelming support of her online she seems like the obvious choice. I don’t see why she isn’t “Bachelorette,” because she would have brought in very high viewings and ratings, and the only world I see that she isn’t “Bachelorette” is that she turned it down. But I really don’t think she would turn it down. I’m not upset that Jenn is “Bachelorette” at all, but at the same time I’m not excited, so it will be interesting to go into her season with a completely blank slate. It’s also important to note that Jenn is our first Asian-American lead in all 48 seasons of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” history.
Overall thoughts: I wholeheartedly think that this is the best finale of all time. This finale made “Bachelor” history multiple times, and had the perfect ratio of drama to romance. There were multiple periods throughout the episode where I was genuinely at the edge of my seat and that rarely happens anymore. Usually, the ratio between drama and romance is off, and if there’s too much romance and not enough drama the episode feels dull, but if there’s too much drama and not enough romance, it’s hard to even be happy for the newly engaged couple (if there even is one) and the ending doesn’t feel satisfactory. I left the finale feeling completely satisfied, with all my questions being answered about the season. The only real place I can see people complaining about the finale is the pick for “The Bachelorette” but I don’t count that as part of the finale since it was only the last 5 minutes at the very end. This finale will definitely go down as one of if not the best finales in all of “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” history, and I give it a 10/10.
