The Bachelor 20 - Ben Higgins - Episode 8 - HTD - Discussion - *Sleuthing - Spoilers*

julychild wrote:From Ben's blog today...

"… but what happens on one hometown in particular changed everything. "

Which hometown, and what did it change?

Amanda's imo. Reality set in. After months away her two girls are not happy and then there's camera's all over. They aren't trained circus animals so I think things went horribly wrong. Maybe Ben says goodbye at the door and leaves Amanda home to tend to her girls.

I don't think Becca stood a chance for anything other than F5. Even that, she was lucky to stay that long. There was zero interest IMO from Ben.

ForeverLove wrote:

julychild wrote:From Ben's blog today...

"… but what happens on one hometown in particular changed everything. "

Which hometown, and what did it change?

Amanda's imo. Reality set in. After months away her two girls are not happy and then there's camera's all over. They aren't trained circus animals so I think things went horribly wrong. Maybe Ben says goodbye at the door and leaves Amanda home to tend to her girls.

ITA. I think Amanda was his initial pick for F3 over Caila, but then Amanda's HTD changed it all. 

I also think the drama JoJo's HTD brings will just widen the gap between JoJo and Lauren. Didn't Ben say he hates drama?

Mess.

I hope Jojo & clan get a reality show (so I don't have to watch, and Jojo isn't lead)

Fingersandtoes wrote:

ForeverLove wrote:

julychild wrote:From Ben's blog today...

"… but what happens on one hometown in particular changed everything. "

Which hometown, and what did it change?

Amanda's imo. Reality set in. After months away her two girls are not happy and then there's camera's all over. They aren't trained circus animals so I think things went horribly wrong. Maybe Ben says goodbye at the door and leaves Amanda home to tend to her girls.

ITA. I think Amanda was his initial pick for F3 over Caila, but then Amanda's HTD changed it all. 

I also think the drama JoJo's HTD brings will just widen the gap between JoJo and Lauren. Didn't Ben say he hates drama?

When I think of the possible bad outcomes of Jojo's HTD and knowing he still kept her, I hear Taylor Swift's , boys only want love if it's torture. Don't say I didn't warn ya. Also the cliche, if it ain't worth fighting for, it's not worth keeping. Ben might feel compelled to "fight" for Jojo but the gamble is still there. Lauren's easy going love is too good to be true . We know the cliche attached to that one too. Ben can't believe how compatible he is with Lauren and the love they found . That's his dilemma imo.

ForeverLove wrote:

julychild wrote:From Ben's blog today...

"… but what happens on one hometown in particular changed everything. "

Which hometown, and what did it change?

Amanda's imo. Reality set in. After months away her two girls are not happy and then there's camera's all over. They aren't trained circus animals so I think things went horribly wrong. Maybe Ben says goodbye at the door and leaves Amanda home to tend to her girls.

I think what changed is that seeing Amanda with the girls and knowing he has much stronger feelings for someone else/or more made him realize he couldn't keep her from her girls any longer so he sent her home. I think it has more to do with that than him not being into that kind of life...

GuardianAngel wrote:I don't think Becca stood a chance for anything other than F5. Even that, she was lucky to stay that long. There was zero interest IMO from Ben.

IMO if we look at Becca from Ben's standpoint that's totally true. I remember a post you made a while back:

GuardianAngle wrote:As I have stated several times, the info given to me, she was one of 5 that Ben sort of agreed to having
return. He didn't want any of the 5 returning.

But in spite of this (Ben not wanting any returnees) they cast Becca - for some show related reason, not Ben's. IMO the show wanted Becca to go farther, and perhaps this was planned and perhaps Ben agreed to it at one point. But after Becca told Ben not to blindside her he realized it would be better to send her home before HTD - knowing that he would never pick her. Thus setting up the apparently "certain" HTD with Becca that never happened.

Miyala wrote:I think what changed is that seeing Amanda with the girls and knowing he has much stronger feelings for someone else /or more made him realize he couldn't keep her from her girls any longer so he sent her home. I think it has more to do with that than him not being into that kind of life...

I agree for reasons related to what I wrote above. IMO Ben showed us some of his thought process back on Kaitlyn's season when he asked if he was just "spinning his wheels". He didn't want his time (and emotional investment) wasted if there's no chance at the end, and he has (JMHO) time and time again this season sent girls home when he realized he is just making them spin their wheels.

Ben has only a certain number of (to borrow a legal term) "peremptory challenges" - situations where he can keep who he wants to keep and send home who he wants to send home based on what he wants to do. But he still has to follow the elimination sequence the show has dictated and which he signed a contract to do so he has to keep 4 for HTD, 3 for FD and 2 for LCD/MTP/FRC. Again JMHO but I think if Ben truly had his own way he would have eliminated more girls at this juncture (maybe all but one?) if he could have - but he couldn't.

ETA

Tiggerlgh wrote:My gut is they wanted Becca there similar to Nick.  But Ben wouldn't/couldn't let that happen so he let her go vs  Caila.  It also ties info Becca supposed to get a HTD then didn't at the last second.

I agree. F2 on The Bachelor is sort of a dead-end road as the show might see it and while they may have brought Becca in as a producer pick for a "screen test" to see if she could make a good lead, they decided she wouldn't and she was planned to be dead-ended as F2. IMO they wanted Amanda, Caila and JoJo in the top 4 to give them a lot of flexibility from which to pick the next lead. For the reasons I've posted above, Ben threw them a curve ball by sending Becca home when he did.

All - JMHO

Kashathediva wrote:The scripting involved is very enlightening. JoJo's family have now been through 2 reality shows. What is the possibility this is all spontaneous reaction? I say 0.

Kashathediva wrote:I know reality tv takes many re-shoots. This show has used cue cards. Even if everything taken out of JoJo's mouth is sincere and honest, the HTD's are pretty planned and detailed as they only have a window of taping. The ex did not show up on that date and time by whim.

Add to your list of TV gimmicks that they pull off without us truly being aware, the B-Roll. That's a term I recently heard and had to look up because I had no clue what it meant; I found this:

In film and television production, B-Roll is supplemental or alternative footage intercut with the main shot.

So, lots of tricks and gimmicks used to make things we see on screen seem like they happened spontaneously when in fact they were all part of a storyboard to create a TV show. IMO there's a lot of things about JoJo that just seem planned. It all makes me consider how UnReal this show is and how real UnReal is.

^

ITA. This 'suddenly' appearing ex has made me look at JoJo in a completely different light. IMO There's a sl for her that will go beyond trying to win Ben's heart. From the little time she's spent with him, she's talked about the ex a lot, and then he appears on the show too. Leaves me to wonder if JoJo's goal is being the next lead, what will the ex get out of this. And IMO  the PBTP are in it too.  I'm also wondering if Ben is in the plan too.

But if Ben is in on it, what's with the I told two women I love you drivel

I have no clue.  


But the ex appearing is preplanned IMO. I doubt they'd keep Ben in the dark completely.

Idlemess wrote:But if Ben is in on it, what's with the I told two women I love you drivel

IMO it happened but perhaps not exactly the way they are making it seem. I know that it's difficult - when you're with someone for whom you have feelings and they are telling you they love you - to not say it back. As I seem to recall I don't think Ben realized what he said in the moment (this came out from CH either on the Live show or an interview shortly after it but I would have to dig to find it) and only afterwards when it was pointed out to him did he realize the mistake he'd made.