Bachelorette 7 - THE EDIT - Discussion

JBF wrote:
We now know the reason why. Yes, this season's editing threw everybody in a loop, tossing the "rules" out the window.

Ashley's family had to see this play out and this required a completely different dynamic. Ali's family accepted both Chris and Roberto, so it didn't really matter that one finalist's "connection" was presented mostly as "hot" while the other as "amazing husband" to fool viewers. This season it DID matter in order to save a relationship in which the lead places such an importance of criticism and family approval (cf. first "When was the last time you cried?" discussion in Mickey's 1 on 1 date in Las Vegas), because Ashley chose the man they disapproved of based on FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

In addition, last season's hometown presented a HUGE Red Flag in regards to Ashley's family relationship. She brought Brad home and he won them over. Yet, Ashley stated this in her PI: I think my family has an inflated sense of my confidence. I think they see me in these situations when I’m, like, comfortable. They do NOT see me when I’m out of my element.

[snip for brevity]

Excellent post! About Ashley's family, I think she's their golden child (dance, skating, Penn, and now FAME!) and they don't necessarily realize how much comfort and support she needs sometimes. OTOH, JP immediately became her support system and said "it was normal and it's going to happen" regarding her "bad day" about Bentley.

Also, like you said, the show basically communicated that JP was the only one for her starting with M&G:

M&G- cupcake talk, something totally unique to Ashley and their potential relationship versus talking about the other guys' careers or their own hopes, etc.
2nd ep- coin flip kiss, everyone else in F4 is MIA.
3rd ep- her "rock," once again, everyone but Mickey, Ryan, William, and Bentley is MIA. We were spoiled so we knew they were irrelevant.
4th ep- Ben gets GDR but she spends the entire time worrying about JP and grilling him on whether he's leaving her. Then Ashley and her prudish self go further on that beach with him than she did with anyone else until she got to the FD with him.
5th ep- freaks out over him getting pummeled, cheers when he wins, only one she cuddles with, and then of course, more grilling about leaving her and some Chinese food.
6th ep- self-explanatory, only one who matters about Bentley, "100% yours now."
7th ep- everyone who throws a fit or misbehaves is told "see ya!" JP is rewarded with a rose and kisses for his tantruming.
8th ep- "Smitten with your son," and some mauling on the floor while he's defenseless.
9th ep- FD time! Oh and just in case we forget, some more grilling if he's leaving her or not serious.

It was all there from Day 1. Thanks, show, for finally getting something right!

ETA: Iron, we share a brain. It's cool!

Alanna wrote:It was all there from Day 1. Thanks, show, for finally getting something right!

Agree with it all, but had to pinpoint this line.

I think we can sleep soundly knowing that Fleiss provided us at least one Emmy-worthy edition. That makes stomaching whatever crap he dishes out on Bachelor Pad and the next Bachelor so much easier. Ha ha!

I hadn't really thought about it, and it's always hard for me to believe that MF really has a heart, but you're right, JBF, that there is no way anyone who truly cares about Ashley could have watched the show unfold and not see that JP would be good to, and for, her, which is obviously what happened in Chrystie's case. Not to mention that Ash was completely gaga over him, and thus, picking anyone else instead would have been a recipe for disaster.

And I also agree with Alanna that her family no doubt sees Ash as both the achiever who can do it all, but also still the baby/child in the family, and didn't realize that she needed/was ready for a relationship with a strong mature man who would support her unconditionally, rather than a fun loving playmate/boyfriend to act goofy with.

I think the editing was odd. They had interactions with Ben to show if they wanted to. It didn't really have to be romantic but showing them talking to set Ben up as a potential f1 later on. Instead they chose to play up the Bentley thing and the roast drama. I don't know what the deal was unless they decided to run with the obvious f1 after the Bentley backlash but that doesn't make sense because it was already past the first episodes by then.

I do think the average viewer is still not as sure it's him as JP fans here have been. My coworkers missed the end like a lot of people so I'm not sure how many are going to the finale knowing who it's going to be. The one who likes Ben thinks that Ashley may pick him because he's a better match with her. She hates to be spoiled but I feel bad I can't warn her.

One thing I don't believe is that Fleiss did this to help the couple. I know he likes his success stories but that's not his focus which has always been about drama and ratings. If he really cared he wouldn't have gone so far with the Bentley fiasco. Ashley really took a hit with that but hopefully the media won't focus on it.

I think one of the reasons they chose to show the love story is because they did overplay the Bentley drama, and after losing so many viewers because of it, chose to go this route in order to reel them back in. I also think part of the reason is the disaster Brad and Emily turned out to be, they wanted to get viewers back on board with this show, what better way than give them the flat out love story they've been begging for for years. And then there's the fact that they had no choice but to show it, because as far as story telling, that was all they had, other than the drama they created to camouflage it.

I'm sure Fleiss has a heart in there somewhere, but I don't know if his reasons were because it was better for the couple, although he has to know a successful couple, for however long they may last, is the key to keeping this franchise going. I'm sure he knows that in the end, that's what viewers want to see. While he's never really seemed to care before, and has stated such in interviews, this was his way of drawing viewers back in. After Brad and Emily and their trainwreck of an ATFR, and the Bentley overload, this show was in trouble. So while it benefited Ashley and JP, it benefited him more to show things the way he did.

I'm sure he will go back to his old ways in the next show. Which is one of the reasons, that as much as I would love to see Ben as the Bachelor, because he is such a great guy, I hope he tells them to piss off, because I just don't trust them to not ruin him, the way they have done some of the past contestants who have gone on to be the primary. I don't want to see that happen to Ben.

Alanna wrote:

Love_Me wrote:I have a question that might need to go in the general discussion thread. Do you think TPTB went back to basics these last few seasons? Do you know what I mean by that? Also, why are the Bachelorette couples these last few season able to keep it together with their F1, but the Bachelor leads have not been able to?

I'm not sure what you mean by "back to basics" necessarily, but I think each season has a different edit because of the people involved. One thing that remains constant is the immediate establishment of the F1 and lead's relationship and showing it in every episode starting with M&G. This was never more obvious than this season when Ben was MIA in the most critical episode (3) while JP was the shining star. I think it's because they just didn't have enough footage of Ben with Ash that would be convincing enough though, so it's really the lead and her behavior that pushed for this edit IMO.

Totally agree. I know a lot of people like looking at the edits, but I don't see how they can be consistent from season to season when the leads and contestants are so different! But yes...immediate establishment of the F1 seems to be a given. I would think they want the audience to see that someone has been a viable F1 from day one...and not come on half way through as a back-up of sorts.

So many great posts on this thread this AM! I think there were a number of variables that contributed to the edit this year.

- Ashley acknowledged that she can't really hide her feelings. The editing team can do a a lot of cutting/splicing but they can't perform magic!

- The Brad/Em downfall played a big role in the edit, imo. Regardless of what he says, Fleiss wants the couples to work out. Definitely helps move the franchise forward.

- You can't highlight Ben in the first few episodes if the interactions are not there or are insignificant. IMO Ben only came to the forefront in later episodes because others that Ashley had initial interest in had left.

- Bentley! Fleiss overplayed his cards on that one and needed to get back to building up Ashley's securities pronto! JP was the "knight in shining armor" who helped do that.

I think if anything, I have learned that you never know what Fleiss has up his sleeve. I've watched this show from its inception and never thought I would see the type of love story I did this season. I don't know if we'll get another one so quickly so I'm going to savor every last minute of the show next week.

I believe Ashley pursued both Constantine & Ben as F4 contenders because she knew they weren't really emotionally available. It would make her final decision that much easier. She is a smart cookie. :cc4:

agentcurls wrote:I believe Ashley pursued both Constantine & Ben as F4 contenders because she knew they weren't really emotionally available. It would make her final decision that much easier. She is a smart cookie. :cc4:

Agree. I posted way back she took the Groban twins to the end as she knew they were least invested and the ones who JP knew she would not connect with on an emotional level and just the friend vibe. Boy, did I get beatup on here that day, still have bruises.

klarson79 wrote:

Alanna wrote:

Love_Me wrote:I have a question that might need to go in the general discussion thread. Do you think TPTB went back to basics these last few seasons? Do you know what I mean by that? Also, why are the Bachelorette couples these last few season able to keep it together with their F1, but the Bachelor leads have not been able to?

I'm not sure what you mean by "back to basics" necessarily, but I think each season has a different edit because of the people involved. One thing that remains constant is the immediate establishment of the F1 and lead's relationship and showing it in every episode starting with M&G. This was never more obvious than this season when Ben was MIA in the most critical episode (3) while JP was the shining star. I think it's because they just didn't have enough footage of Ben with Ash that would be convincing enough though, so it's really the lead and her behavior that pushed for this edit IMO.

Totally agree. I know a lot of people like looking at the edits, but I don't see how they can be consistent from season to season when the leads and contestants are so different! But yes...immediate establishment of the F1 seems to be a given. I would think they want the audience to see that someone has been a viable F1 from day one...and not come on half way through as a back-up of sorts.

Girl, I tell ya you are always right there wording my thoughts better than I could. Yes a jealous F1 is out of character for this show. That's not what I was trying to argue. It's not even about the quality of the time with the lead spent it's about the quantity. It's pretty simple. JP and Ben are the F2. Ben was MIA the first 3 episodes. He cannot be F1. These are the editing facts that have not changed. Same formula different characters. Don't get me started on jealous characters and why certain people are edited with certain personalities... I have no clue! LOL

Gina wrote:

agentcurls wrote:I believe Ashley pursued both Constantine & Ben as F4 contenders because she knew they weren't really emotionally available. It would make her final decision that much easier. She is a smart cookie. :cc4:

Agree. I posted way back she took the Groban twins to the end as she knew they were least invested and the ones who JP knew she would not connect with on an emotional level and just the friend vibe. Boy, did I get beatup on here that day, still have bruises.

Thanks you for posting that, Agentcurls. My feeling exactly.
Gina, I must have missed that beating--I would have defended you.

As far as patterns go, the only one that has held absolutely steady since Jill's season (now 5 in a row) is that the F1 gets a solo date on episode 3. Next season maybe we should start with that and work backwards to see if we can prove or disprove it.