Bachelor 25 - Matt James - Jan 25 - *Sleuthing Spoilers*

The producers dropped to an all time low tonight by leaving in Victoria calling the new girls whores and sluts....and I'm already so sick of Matt saying "I like that"

The crazy thing about this season is that these amazing girls are fighting over MATT... Frat boy Matt...    he is not worth the fight in my opinion. ‍�

I was really uncomfortable, especially during the boxing date.  They've done these before and I'm never a fan.  But, this was beyond the beyond.  I thought Matt looked very uneasy.  To me it bordered on misogyny for the viewing pleasure of Chris and Wells and whatever other sickos produce these episodes.  They riled the women up all week, then had to rely on the lead to call a halt to the intense release of all the pent up anger.   The bullying, the accusations/name calling and this fist fight was too OTT.  I watch to be entertained and this "ain't it".

Ruqibabe wrote:The crazy thing about this season is that these amazing girls are fighting over MATT... Frat boy Matt...    he is not worth the fight in my opinion. �

After watching the IG video of him laughing at his friend making fun of Victoria's body in a totally gross, frat boy, locker room way I just feel like Matt is the opposite of a catch. He and Rachael deserve each other (by the sounds of things).

Victoria is just a Cecily Strong SNL sketch waiting to happen

I didn't watch the entire show, so for the most part, I'll only comment on what I did see.

First -- this entire season is starting to have a very low-rent feel to it. There are some lovely, personable, accomplished women, but I feel that they are being overshadowed by the more scummy aspects.

I liked the conversation that Chelsea had about dealing with her hair. It felt personal and relatable (and she does rock the closely cropped hair.) In the Victoria/Katie squabble, I felt that there were no winners. Victoria, per her norm, did herself no favors. IMO Katie is admirable for sticking up for her friend, but would have been better served by simply asking the women to move on, which would have been a reasonable ask.

Bri continues to charm, even in brief appearances. On the evening group date, I really enjoyed seeing Matt talking with a number of women, along with the ITMs from a variety of women. One of my long-standing complaints with the Bach is that not enough of the women are shown, and IMO it goes a long way to see even brief conversations that they have with Matt or with each other. As for fashion, Pieper looked stunning with her black halter-top and updo. She was giving me JLo vibes. Chelsea looked amazing with her off-the-shoulder dress, and Magi always looks elegant. I didn't mind that Victoria was wearing a jacket (which seems like a sensible thing to do in cold weather,) but boy howdy, was that ever the wrong jacket. She looked like a football player wearing it.

The women looked so sad and upset when the new women came in. I can't blame them. I couldn't help but contrast Brittany's entrance with Michelle's. Brittany's was deliberately over the top, and her long smooch with Matt had an icky feel to it. Michelle's entrance showcased her warm and friendly nature, and ended up getting her further in the game. Future cast members should take note. As for Victoria's crown grab, the most charitable thing I can find to say is that she was earning her keep as the season's villain.

Michelle comes off as being very sweet-natured, and therefore a cast member that I'm probably going to like a whole lot. Yes, the chemistry with Matt was there. But from what I'm seeing there are two Matts. There is the Matt that the show presents who is something of a Ken doll -- present and accounted for, but not much beyond that. The show's Matt says all the right things, is rather low key, and comes off as mature and at least somewhat thoughtful. That Matt would be a good match for Michelle. Then there is the Matt of social media, the highly immature overgrown college boy, who gives off a very sketchy feel, and doesn't seem even remotely close to being ready to marry. That Matt needs a much stronger personality in a prospective partner, someone who can call him out when he needs it, which may be frequently.

As for the allegations against Brittany -- I didn't see that part, but I read the recaps. I think in cases like that, the wisest course of action would have been to leave it alone. At the most, what could have been said was, "I've had a lot of Chicago area peeps reach out to me. They say that she's active on the club scene and *really* loves to party. Doesn't sound like she's ready for marriage, but who knows?" That would have raised some question marks without throwing Brittany under the bus.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6SMltlW03wcQaIf3BrTxvF?si=EC4G9mzwRPKRjcvafzlsqQ

I said it that the whole Sarah discussion wasn't as it seemed.. The ladies had an intervention.. editing did their magic. As Chelsea said, It was a 2day event compressed into a 10mins with the most dramatic part featured and sound bite added.. why do the producers think we want massive edited drama? It just icky... 
Chelsea also said that it wasn't only Katie that addressed issues or reach out to the new girls.. Kayie is great but these producers are definitely setting up Katie to be the Bachelorette.. **IMO**
From 39:00 to 53.00

Ruqibabe wrote:https://open.spotify.com/episode/6SMltlW03wcQaIf3BrTxvF?si=EC4G9mzwRPKRjcvafzlsqQ

I said it that the whole Sarah discussion wasn't as it seemed.. The ladies had an intervention.. editing did their magic. As Chelsea said, It was a 2day event compressed into a 10mins with the most dramatic part featured and sound bite added.. why do the producers think we want massive edited drama? It just icky... 
Chelsea also said that it wasn't only Katie that addressed issues or reach out to the new girls.. Kayie is great but these producers are definitely setting up Katie to be the Bachelorette..**IMO**
From 39:00 to 53.00

I can believe that other girls reached out to the newcomers, because I didn't see a whole lot of overt hostility, mostly sadness, which I get. I was watching Rachael in particular, and she just looked so sad. But she didn't say anything that made the edit, nor did most of them.

I'm not feeling Katie as a prospective Bachelorette. Of the women who have been spotlighted, the only one I can see as yet is Bri. Apart from that, IMO the producers may have to reach back to a previous season.

Ratings:

ABC | The Bachelor (5.1 mil/1.4, read recap) was steady and led Monday in the demo. The Good Doctor (4.2 mil/0.7, read recap), which won’t be back with new episodes until Feb. 15, ticked up.

https://tvline.com/2021/01/26/tv-ratings-the-neighborhood-season-3-highs/

Bekah from Chattybroads made an observation. She said a lot of conversations on this episode was copied and pasted. She said a lot was out of context and placed for the most dramatic effect. The key one she pointed out was when Victoria said 'you can go home'... they felt maybe it was moved from a different conversations for the most dramatic effect. 


https://open.spotify.com/episode/76iWO2Mx3f5iyVf89Z6iHD?si=8y8G4CNwRQ-JD-7-41cJ1A
The producers also tried to edit out Abigail because she covered her mouth afterwards. I guess the producers are trying to organize the most dramatic effect without compromising other bystander. Victoria footage is being used at will. why cant they show things in their natural state instead of over manipulating to get drama? We loved Tayshia because of the love story.. we loved Matt when he was with Michelle yesterday. Drama sells but toxicity sets us 10 steps back..

For those of you who commented on Chelsea's hair, please take a few minutes and listen to her on Rachel & Becca's podcast.

https://art19.com/shows/bachelor-happy-hour/episodes/6e17f3f4-5940-42e3-9961-9ae6c3eb9515

Chelsea had long hair prior to last summer. She shaved her hair and felt liberation, something Rachel commented that most black women can relate to. Black women invest A LOT of time and money into making their hair accommodate social views of what beautiful hair looks like and it's not a typical black woman's hair. Also, the dress she wore on the first night was from a young designer whose designs she modeled several years ago (she mentioned he was 15 when she first wore his designs). He loaned her the dress. Both Rachel and Becca said she WORE that dress and it took a lot of confidence to wear. Chelsea grew up in a suburb of Atlanta and most of her school classmates were white. This podcast really made me think she'd be a fantastic bachelorette!

Convo about her hair starts around 29 minutes. The Chelsea part of the interview starts at 15 minutes in.

Ashley I's Cosmo recap: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a35313134/bachelor-matt-james-season-25-episode-4-recap-analysis/