Bastard!

"Reality" TV amuses me to no end. I know I've expressed this before, but the anthropologist in me is fascinated watching how people react to unusual situations.

I've been on plenty of tirades about the Bachelor. Although I love watching it, it's so cruel...and unrealistic. While it is entirely possible for you to meet your soul mate and love of your life on a television show in which you are courting several people at the same time over the course of a few weeks, it's highly unlikely.

Here's what happens... All of these contenders are thrown into this surreal situation of dating the same guy. They come into it expecting to fall for him, so they do, especially when thrust into all of these over-the-top, fantasy, fairy-tale romantic dating situations. I have no doubt they develop real, true feelings. Whether or not it's the type of love that lasts through a lifetime of actual reality is another matter.

Being a romantic at heart, though, I was excited to see Jason become The Bachelor this season, and was convinced he could find his happy ending. At least I wanted him to, and I wanted to watch it happen.

So I watched every episode, enjoyed all the cattiness (because of course that's what makes the early episodes truly interesting), and picked my favorites. Early on, I predicted Stephanie, Jillian, and Melissa would be the final three. Though I adored Jillian, I figured Melissa was better suited for him and he ultimately would choose her.

Molly threw me. I couldn't stand Molly from day 1. I don't think she's at all attractive, her hair looks like a rat's nest half the time, and her laugh is annoying. Every time he have her a rose, I was shocked. I couldn't believe that he seemed so torn between Melissa and Molly on the finale, and his reaction to cutting Molly loose floored me.

But then he proposed to Melissa, they seemed so happy, and all was right with the world. Happy ending achieved, despite DeAnna's pitiful attempt to get him back. THAT was ridiculous; she looked like a fool, and shame on ABC for making that out all season to be a bigger deal than it was.

That's what ABC does best, though. Every rose ceremony has been "the most dramatic ever." Thus, despite ABC's claims that the "After the Final Rose" special would be so shocking and emotionally charged, I had very low expectations.

Then, the bombshell dropped. I was truly shocked, but I can see Jason's point entirely. You are rushed into a decision between two women for whom you clearly have deep feelings. That bitch DeAnna comes in and says, "If you have one certainty and one kind-of wild card, go for the certainty. Don't follow your heart, lead it." Had she not said that, I really think he would have picked Molly to begin with.

You spend however many weeks in this unrealistically romantic situation, and it's easy to get caught up in that. Of course the chemistry changes when the relationship shifts to real life, especially when real life is a long-distance relationship. If he really couldn't stop thinking about Molly, and he really didn't feel that Melissa was right for him, I see no point in him continuing a charade. I understand Melissa being perturbed that he didn't try harder to fight for their relationship after proposing to her, but he proposed under durress. I wouldn't want to be with a man who was so deeply in love with another woman.

However, there are a couple things about the "After the Final Rose" show that I don't buy. For one, I don't believe for a second that the break-up happened then and there. Who does that? I think it was over before the cameras started rolling, and the big on-screen split was for dramatic effect. When she spat, "You bastard!" I rolled my eyes. Hello! Soap opera! As my Jason and I discussed in the car this morning, the only thing that would have made it more soapy would have been if she'd slapped him and said, "But I'm having your baby!" Better yet, "Fine! I'm having Chris's baby!"

I also don't believe that Jason and Molly have had no contact whatsoever. That hello hug was not a hello hug between people who are seeing each other for the first time after having broken up, and the way she smiled at him when he came out was not the way you smile at someone who broke your heart. Maybe I'm just a bitter bitch, but I don't think it works that way. Then there are all the Internet reports that claim Jason and Molly have been spotted together in Grand Rapids multiple times since Christmas.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the whole crazy turn of events. I'm looking forward to seeing what nonsense goes on in the "After the After The Final Rose" show tonight.