Note: I have not yet watched Episode 3 of the Bachelor, so some of what I write may be obsolete by now. Also note that there are no spoilers whatsoever below (beyond episode 2). I have not even watched the previews for next week's episode.
Episode two of the Bachelor/ette is always interesting to me because the story lines from week two are SO different from the story lines at the end of the season. Remember last year's Bachelorette when episode two was ALL about Chad? I can't quite remember, but I felt like episode two of Ben's season was all about Lace's need for more validation. This episode felt to me like the revealing of two major villains and their friends and enemies...
Public Enemy #1
Name: Corinne Olympios
Age: 24
Occupation: Business Owner (took over for dad)
Closest Friend: Lacey
Biggest Enemy: Taylor
Female Parallel: Olivia (on Ben's season)
Male Parallel: Nick (on Kaitlyn's season)
This episode, Corinne was crowned (tiara-ed?) the villain. I actually felt a little bit bad for her because it's so obvious that her competitive nature gets the best of her. She is also Type-A plus (because Type A isn't good enough) and cannot stand the loss of control. It also appears that she has a penchant for imbibing a little too much.
So a quick recap...
The first group date was a "bridal photoshoot" with like 10 of the contestants as either brides or bridesmaids. The brides were: Alexis (shotgun), Corinne (beach), Danielle L (Traditional), Vanessa (80s), Sarah (elopement), Hailey (biker), Taylor (Princess), Brittany (Adam and Eve), . The bridesmaids were: Lacey (Traditional), Jasmine (80s), Raven (80s), Elizabeth (80s)
The photographer, Franco LaCosta, was going to take pictures of Nick with each. The one who had the "most chemistry" with him (as
Everyone except Corinne seemed to be having fun with the premise and things escalated as more and more brides (and then bridesmaids) started kissing Nick. Enter Corinne. She became more and more visibly agitated as woman after woman got time with Nick, kissing him, making eyes, etc. The second to last woman to go was Brittany in an Adam and Eve wedding - both wearing briefs of leaves and nothing on top. (Quick side note... is it anything more than coincidence that the last time a contestant had to get naked for a photo shoot was Andi on Juan Pablo's season?)
Corinne was not to be outdone. For their "beach" wedding, Corinne insisted on going into the pool with Nick and then taking off her top. But that wasn't enough for her, she took it the next step of posing with Nick behind her, wearing his hands as her bra. She needed to "beat" Brittany and all the other women.
Nick looked a bit uncomfortable posing for pictures in front of all the other women like that. And when it was announced that Corinne won for "best chemistry", his voice did not sound enthusiastic. We (Andree and I) felt that Taylor should have won, but that the producers likely manipulated the results to give us a better villain.
At the cocktail party that night, Corinne interrupted other women's time just because "she needed to get more of Nick." Once again, I think that she couldn't stand the notion that other women were "winning" by getting more time and having a chance to make a connection. I found it interesting that she chose to interrupt Alexis and Taylor... Type A Plus's always have a reason for their actions... it isn't just impulsivity. Alexis and Nick seem to have a total goofball connection (she dressed as a sha...dolphin and then was selected to be the shotgun wedding). Taylor and Nick had DEFINITE chemistry during their photoshoot. I wonder if Corinne was even slightly worried that if she interrupted Danielle L that Nick wouldn't grant the interruption.
Corinne took particular exception when she got re-interrupted by Taylor because it was a loss of control prompting a mini-meltdown. I found it fascinating to hear Corinne give the following speech to all of the women:
The speech:
Guys, we're all here for the same reason. I cannot stress this enough. It's gonna get uncomfortable. It's gonna get crazy. It's gonna get weird. But you have to get used to this. We're gonna interrupt each other. You're gonna interrupt your friends. You're gonna make your friends feel weird. You're gonna make your non-friends feel weird. But we're here for one reason, and that's Nick. And you have to go and do what's good for you, and you have to be true to yourself. No matter how it makes other people feel, you have to be there for yourself. So, just remember that. No matter how weird it gets, you're here for Nick and that's it.
This speech was intended for one person and one person only, Corinne. She was speaking to herself under the guise of speaking to the group. It was her method of re-gaining control over a situation that made her feel uncomfortable. Re-read the speech and listen to how it sounds if she's addressing herself and trying to convince herself that she didn't do anything wrong and is completely justified for cutting off other women.
Public Enemy #2
Name: Nick Viall
Age: 35
Occupation: Professional Suitor
Closest Friend: Chris Harrison
Biggest Enemy: Liz (the Doula)
I was reflecting on this episode and somehow feel that Nick also got crowned a villain in his OWN season. And I felt that this episode highlighted Nick's worst qualities - his indirectness, his passivity, his over-analyzing, and his complacency.
Nick sent Liz the Doula home during the group date... not because of her outfit (which would have been a valid reason)... not because they had sex nine months prior to the taping of the show... but because she couldn't articulate a reason for why she was interested in him now when she could have called him any time over the last nine months. Absent of anything that really made sense, Nick concluded that she was in it for the tv time. We'll see when she turns up on Bachelor In Paradise IV.
The dismissal of Liz did not make Nick a villain. Nick became a villain when we saw how poorly he confronted the Liz situation. We've seen hints of his inability to be direct here and there... the awkward confrontation with Andi on "After the Final Rose", the lack of direct response when Josh swooped in on Amanda during Bachelor in Paradise III, even after Corinne cut into other women's time repeatedly days prior. On this group date, Nick could not look Liz in the eye and it became awkward for everyone watching. Nick has a hard time confronting difficult situations - he becomes passive and indirect.
I feel like Nick likes being pursued and that, in turn, feeds his ego. It almost seems like he's trying to encourage the women to break the rules - to interrupt each other and ultimately to sneak into his room. But he doesn't realize that he needs to be in a lead position and define his rules/desires. It's almost like he'll say yes to any of the women and that starts to lose its luster for both the quality women on the show and for us watching.
I think that Passive Nick becomes Villain Nick while he's the lead. Until he becomes more enraptured by specific women and decides what he wants, I think he's going to be almost unbearable.
By the way, in case you missed it, this was the moment that Nick decided to let Liz go:
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Heroine #1
Name: Danielle Maltby
Age: 31
Occupation: Neonatal Nurse
Hometown: Nashville
First off, I NAILED it when I guess who would be getting the first one-on-one date. Granted, I named four people, but I guessed her.
Second, it already seems like everyone in the house loves her. She has a quiet confidence to her and a lot of wisdom. I wonder if she comes across as too quiet or non-emotive for Nick's tastes. She is clearly smart and sweet, but I get the sense that Nick needs someone who is edgier to hold his interest. She doesn't seem like the woman who will sneak up to him for a kiss because she's too thoughtful of the other ladies.
Other random thoughts...
I was really impressed by Raven's reflection about Nick and everything. I feel like she was selected for the show when they thought that Luke would be the lead, but it's interesting to see if there is some chemistry between her and Nick.
Once again, the producers gave us a little tease that Danielle L will be the eventual winner. When Nick mentioned that he might be finding his wife, she was the first woman shown.
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I loved Taylor's reaction in her individual camera time, especially the "and my brain". Smart women are much more attractive!
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I hated seeing tears in Alexis's and Taylor's eyes...
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I probably should have done a whole section on Taylor, but I didn't. Her and Nick's kiss was the best of the episode, in my opinion:
For as much as Corinne's interruptions are played up, it's not as bad as the producers make it out to be. We saw in the final outtake of the night that Nick and Alexis had much more time together than originally let on. (It appeared at first that they had two minutes of talking before Corinne barged in.) Instead, we saw in the outtakes that Alexis was throwing a birthday for her implants and they had time to celebrate and eat cupcakes.
Predictions:
- We're going to see more of Vanessa soon. There was some other producer magic hinting that we'd see more of her.
- Next one-on-one date is going to one of these four: Lacey, Raven, Alexis, or Taylor.
(speaking of Lacey, she's Jewish!! Yay, one of my people!) Here's one of my favorite moments of hers:
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