I'm so glad ABC ditched the big red carpet arrival and live watch party they tried last year. This time around we're back to the regular format: A review of Ben's journey, shots of him driving and looking pensive, some intro videos of selected women, then, drum roll please, the limo arrivals.
I thought Ben handled himself well, but really. How weird must it feel to stand there as each successive woman gets out of the limo and tries to be memorable? I assume he got coaching, from producers and/or the show's resident shrink, on how to remain calm, handle everything as it comes, no eye-rolling or doubling over in despair, etc. My fave arrival gimmick? Huey the horse, of course, of course,
Unfortunately, Huey's owner didn't connect with Ben and was sent home roseless at the end of the first night.
Ben is cute and he's clearly trying hard to be a nice guy. He also strikes me as young to be the Bachelor, and most of his women seem to be younger than usual, in their early 20s. (The twins are 22.) Reality Steve has some fun info about age ranges and averages for all the previous Bachelors. Oldest? Byron Velvick, 40. Youngest? Jesse Palmer, 25. Oldest women on Ben's season? Breanne and Maegan, both of whom are now gone, and Amber, all 30 years old. Based on a quick scan of RS's charts, the oldest woman ever to compete on the show was "Melinda" from Byron's season, who was 39. Check out the charts here.
Ben's parents seem cool. Since Ben was in Kaitlyn's final four, we should have seen them on a hometown date, but remember the big change? For some reason, only Nick and Shawn got to introduce their families to Kaitlyn, not in their hometowns but at a hotel in Utah. It was very strange. Ben is clearly close to his parents, who were in the audience last week when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and on the Live after-the-show show. I haven't decided for sure if I think that's charming or if it reinforces how young Ben seems to be. And being the Bachelor isn't easy. Last Monday, Ben was live on Good Morning, America and Live with Kelly and Michael in New York, flew cross-country to Los Angeles, taped the Jimmy Kimmel show, then ended a long day appearing live on the new aftershow. Not for the faint of heart.
Ben started with 28 women, the usual 25 plus the second twin, and in a surprise arrival, Becca and Amber, Bachelor veterans from Farmer Chris's season. If you've forgotten, Becca made it all the way to the final night, only to be rejected by the farmer and sent home in floods of tears. (For the record, the woman Chris proposed to, nurse Whitney Bischoff, is long gone, They lasted until May or so.) So why are Becca and Amber there? Continuity? Because Ben is so irresistible? Nothing better to do? Probably some combination of all of the above. Maybe they're hoping a little more exposure will put them in line to be the Bachelorette. After the slut-shaming Kaitlyn experienced this summer maybe a virginal Bachelorette's time has come; Amber would address the show's diversity issues. We'll have to see how they do as the season plays out. Generally, coming in third, making it to hometowns and being sent home after the Fantasy Suites episode is the best path to getting hired as the Bachelorette.
Who will win this thing and get engaged to Ben, at least for a little while? Jimmy Kimmel made a prediction and apparently he's got a pretty good track record. He says Caila comes in 4th, Olivia is 3rd, Lauren B is the runner up and Jo Jo is the big winner. Is he right? Meet me back here next week, same Bach time, same Bach channel, and we'll keep watching to find out.
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