ATFR (Live) - 8/05 - Bachelorette 9 - Discussion and Spoilers

Kasha ITA with what you posted, particularly about the Ali/Frank part.

If they had left much of the Brooks stuff on the cutting floor just like they did for Frank then the love story would have been way more evident. Ali was also similarly cut up about Frank _ but it was not shown to us. Roberto even mentioned months after his season was done that he was shocked to see Ali so upset about Frank - well the amount that MF and team decided to show us. In reality she was possibly way worse.

In a way MF did throw Des and Chris under the bus for ratings. Hope that translated for MF well enough.

And let me just say one more time--
MF must think romance is boring and not ratings worthy because he loves creating trite drama. The first few episodes that tanked show us that.
With that being said, I wonder what he will pull out of his bag of tricks next season--JuanPablo Sharknado? Should be fun!

The sleuthing elements were all there....Sad conversation with Drew, only Chris dressed in FRC clothes in a limo, no mysterious legs portending a return of Brooks and a happy Chris photo of what appeared to be a safe house to boot. The caps, though limited, told the story. Go with the evidence, spoilers can be wrong.

If they wanted to sell the Chris and Des love story they shouldn't have shown her tell CH she loved Brooks in Madeira and shouldn't have showed her telling Brooks it was him in the end, that she loved him and still does, that she wanted to give her heart to him and didn't even want the other guys in the picture. Just a week ago she was flat out desperate to keep Brooks around.

I do believe that Des and Chris could be happily engaged and in love now, but that engagement last night was the biggest WTH moment I've seen from this show in a long time. I would have preferred to see Brooks come back, and if she was really in love with Chris, reject Brooks and choose Chris, or walk away alone and choose to date Chris at the ATFR (like Jason and Molly did).

SueSt wrote:Saw Kimmel last night.  He didn't spare the barbs and went right for calling Chris "the second choice."  Also, thought it was interesting that Des had pretapped a silly skit and didn't come back to the show, as finalists normally do and particularly didn't come back with Chris.  Finally, the info on GMA and Kelly & Michael also does not indicate that Chris will be joining Des... so this is interesting to me.  

You must not watch Jimmy Kimmel regularly. Baby Bachelor is a well-loved parody that had its Final Ceremony weeks ago -- it was much better than the real show! Hysterical as hell!! I thought last night's episode of the Baby Bachelor Meets Desiree was awesome -- best bit on television all night!!

noobsleuth wrote:If they wanted to sell the Chris and Des love story they shouldn't have shown her tell CH she loved Brooks in Madeira and shouldn't have showed her telling Brooks it was him in the end, that she loved him and still does, that she wanted to give her heart to him and didn't even want the other guys in the picture. Just a week ago she was flat out desperate to keep Brooks around.

I do believe that Des and Chris could be happily engaged and in love now, but that engagement last night was the biggest WTH moment I've seen from this show in a long time. I would have preferred to see Brooks come back, and if she was really in love with Chris, reject Brooks and choose Chris, or walk away alone and choose to date Chris at the ATFR (like Jason and Molly did).

Yes and no.  Just because we had to look harder this season doesn't mean it wasn't there.  

They spent an entire season reminding us of Des' bad judgment when it comes to men, her past mistakes with men and then they showed us how those types of mistakes pointed directly at Brooks (she always loves the one that doesn't love her back and the many references to how Brooks just wasn't that into her).

Then they showed us the growth in Des once Brooks was "out of the way" and how she could now see the healthy and special relationship that was right in front of her with Chris, who she said all season she was into if you listened without the spoilers ringing in your ears.  She told us Chris was everything she wanted in a man again and again.  She told us they had chemistry.  

Choosing with your head and heart will win out over choosing with hormones any day of the week  

I rarely have hope for these couples in the real world but for some reason this time I do and I am totally happy for them!

Were they are kelly and Michael?

Agree with Kasha. How could they ever have pulled off the surprise ending unless they made it look like the Brooks show.

I just read CH's blog and keyed in on one point.

During the episode in Madeira she said she was in love with Brooks and everyone flipped out about that being left in. What was glossed over was the fact that she also said she loved Chris in that epi.

I think we tend to discount a lot of the "clues" when we believe we know the conclusion as "just in there for the suspense" or whatever. I also think that if we re-watched the entire season right now we would probably say "Ooooh, it was right there all along".

I recall her saying Chris was everything she ever wanted. I do recall her saying she had crazy chemistry with Chris. But I discounted it because I believed the spoiler.

It's there. We just didn't pay attention to it.

Dr_Hottie wrote:Agree with Kasha. How could they ever have pulled off the surprise ending unless they made it look like the Brooks show.

IDK I still think they could have edited differently because the foiler did work. Production didn't need to make it look like the Brooks show. Des "loved" him and I think if anything they hid much more they could have shown. We didn't see the hot and steamy make out in AC and it finally came out at the end she had been writing him notes all season. It's that kind of stuff I hear that makes me realize that editing didn't have to do the work to sell the Des/Brooks love story.... Des flat out told him she loved him and it was only him. Her actions all season, such as the letter writing have supported that. I really don't know what other editing could have been down to turn that around. Again, I'm glad the spoilers were wrong for the sake of sleuthing, but I don't think she should have decided to get engaged in Antigua.

Kudos to them for the surprise ending, but I think it was at the expense of the love story. I'm not just talking about Brooks either... like Kasha said, Bryan, Bryden, Ben, and James. They really did not do her any favors and while she picked a really amazing guy who truly loves her, this season was just terrible and boring with the only intensity was watching the countdown to 10 and realizing there wasn't enough to time for Brooks to come back. haha

Oh well, on to JPG's season! It's time to bring sexy back.  

Ariela wrote:

Alanna wrote:

sfrank wrote:

atem wrote:I think it totally can work out between Desiree and Chris S.  However, if Brooks had indicated he would have proposed, she would have picked him.  I know people don't want to admit it, but that is the case.

So happy for Desiree though!

I am with you atem! Trista said it best tonight "I hope Des asks herself what she would do if Brooks came back & that the answer is that she would choose Chris". Only Des truly knows the answer to that deep down.  I think Chris and Des and a really shot of making it work. Best wishes to them.

I think if Brooks had proposed back in Antigua, she would have 100% chosen him. Now, however, I think she truly understands that love doesn't have to be a wild, uncontrolled forest fire to be "real" and that the love she has with Chris is the "real" love while whatever she wanted from Brooks wasn't only hollow and empty and based on nothing but the initial burst of flame, but also one-sided. Live and learn and it seems it's finally clicked for her. Compared to Jillian, who only understood it after years and years, Des is a quick learner. Also Brooks did her a favor Ed was too selfish to make by bowing out when he should have.

It's not that love has to be wild. It's that she lights up when she's around Brooks. When Des and Brooks talk, they are a match made in heaven; it's natural and fun. Brooks is not in love with her, but they have everything else. With Chris it's sweet, kind of BFF. This is the type of love people who have been married for a while have- a soft place to fall. Is she going to miss the excitement that she had with Brooks, or will she be fine with a steady, sweet rock of a guy? Some would call it settling.
Des is basically saying that she went with what she needed instead of what she wanted.

Ariela, you captured exactly what I feel about this between the two guys. I think the question Trista posed is a smart one and would hope that Des seriously contemplated it within herself. I think Brooks had a very strong like and caring for Des at the least, and had a slow progression towards love, but not within the timeframe and context of the season wrapping. I believe had they met outside the bachelor bubble, and began dating I think Brooks would have completely fallen for her. I hope he's not now regretting anything, and I hope for Des that she will have no regrets. It was so bittersweet to me to see the two of them on that couch last night.

noobsleuth wrote:If they wanted to sell the Chris and Des love story they shouldn't have shown her tell CH she loved Brooks in Madeira and shouldn't have showed her telling Brooks it was him in the end, that she loved him and still does, that she wanted to give her heart to him and didn't even want the other guys in the picture. Just a week ago she was flat out desperate to keep Brooks around.

I do believe that Des and Chris could be happily engaged and in love now, but that engagement last night was the biggest WTH moment I've seen from this show in a long time. I would have preferred to see Brooks come back, and if she was really in love with Chris, reject Brooks and choose Chris, or walk away alone and choose to date Chris at the ATFR (like Jason and Molly did).

^^^This. That is why I was left doubly unsatisfield with the ending.