Bachelor 25 - Matt James - Feb 1 - *Sleuthing Spoilers*

It feels like Matt already chose Rachel as the one.. This is definitely not like Tayshia equal opportunity vibe at the mid point of her season. Jmo

Ruqibabe wrote:It feels like Matt already chose Rachel as the one.. This is definitely not like Tayshia equal opportunity vibe at the mid point of her season. Jmo

Victoria astounded me as she is totally oblivious. Oblivious of polite social convention. Oblivious of what others think of her shenanigans. Oblivious of how her televised persona could haunt her in the future.

Hard as I try, it is supremely difficult to feel empathy for her.

via Giphy

Doats wrote:Victoria astounded me as she is totally oblivious. Oblivious of polite social convention. Oblivious of what others think of her shenanigans. Oblivious of how her televised persona could haunt her in the future.

Hard as I try, it is supremely difficult to feel empathy for her.

I agree. Anna had the grace to be ashamed of her actions, but Victoria seems to have no idea whatsoever why her words and actions are hurtful.

Has anyone noticed that Matt James kisses with his eyes open? I find that unusual. Also, another thing I can't get over is the fact that mostly every single woman uses the work LIKE constantly when they talk. Blah blah blah LIKE blah blah blah LIKE blah blah blah LIKE, etc. I never heard anyone talk that way. I counted one time in a single sentence the word LIKE was used 17 times. WTH???

Ruqibabe wrote:Anna should have resisted the producers after they encouraged her to spill the tea about Brittany.. Their hand smells all over this issue... I give Anna kudos for taking responsibility for her action.. Jmo

She didn’t though. When she ”confessed” to Matt, she downplayed what she did as much as she could. She made it sound like it was an off-hand comment that slipped out of her in the heat of the moment, when in fact 1) she gleefully told Victoria, who she knew would spread it, 2) talked about the rumors in some detail in ITMs and 3) confronted Brittany in front of the group in the most humiliating way possible.

She gets no pass from me whatsoever, producer encouragement or not. I don’t think I will ever forget the ecstatic look on her face when she “spilled the tea”.
JMO

blueblues wrote:

Ruqibabe wrote:Anna should have resisted the producers after they encouraged her to spill the tea about Brittany.. Their hand smells all over this issue... I give Anna kudos for taking responsibility for her action.. Jmo

She didn’t though. When she ”confessed” to Matt, she downplayed what she did as much as she could. She made it sound like it was an off-hand comment that slipped out of her in the heat of the moment, when in fact 1) she gleefully told Victoria, who she knew would spread it, 2) talked about the rumors in some detail in ITMs and 3) confronted Brittany in front of the group in the most humiliating way possible.

She gets no pass from me whatsoever, producer encouragement or not. I don’t think I will ever forget the ecstatic look on her face when she “spilled the tea”.
JMO

How do we know she downplayed her role when we might not be seeing the whole conversation? We need to always remember that we see only what they want us to see. How do we know that she wasn't ENCOURAGED by the producers to tell Victoria? Yes, she is responsible for her decisions but we don't know how things were prepped behind the scene. 
I am not excusing her lack of judgment and her messiness, I understand she is human and likely to screw up multiple times, i am happy that she owned it at the end of the day and graciously exited. Its not really about the mistakes made but the aftermath... JMO

Ruqibabe wrote:

blueblues wrote:

Ruqibabe wrote:Anna should have resisted the producers after they encouraged her to spill the tea about Brittany.. Their hand smells all over this issue... I give Anna kudos for taking responsibility for her action.. Jmo

She didn’t though. When she ”confessed” to Matt, she downplayed what she did as much as she could. She made it sound like it was an off-hand comment that slipped out of her in the heat of the moment, when in fact 1) she gleefully told Victoria, who she knew would spread it, 2) talked about the rumors in some detail in ITMs and 3) confronted Brittany in front of the group in the most humiliating way possible.

She gets no pass from me whatsoever, producer encouragement or not. I don’t think I will ever forget the ecstatic look on her face when she “spilled the tea”.
JMO

How do we know she downplayed her role when we might not be seeing the whole conversation? We need to always remember that we see only what they want us to see. How do we know that she wasn't ENCOURAGED by the producers to tell Victoria? Yes, she is responsible for her decisions but we don't know how things were prepped behind the scene. 
I am not excusing her lack of judgment and her messiness, I understand she is human and likely to screw up multiple times, i am happy that she owned it at the end of the day and graciously exited. Its not really about the mistakes made but the aftermath... JMO

What we see her admit to with Matt is what she said in the group setting (and she immediately knew that was a bad decision). Could she also have admitted to spreading the rumor to Victoria – and to the world? Technically yes, but I see no reason why they wouldn’t have been happy to show that too.

In addition to the multiple voiceovers about “one single mistake”, we actually see her say “he doesn’t need to be with someone ... that can come out of their mouth”, again focusing on the confrontation in front of multiple witnesses. This supports that it was all she admitted to.

If producers encourages someone to interrupt a conversation for the third time, or tell the lead that someone is “fake”, then I’d call it bad judgement to do that. If they say go slander this girl so that she might lose her job and friends, and have trouble dating for a long time, it takes a bad person to obey IMO.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see how she handles WTA.
All JMO

luvnunity wrote:I thought Michelle handled it pretty maturely.  It's not anything any of the other girls aren't saying.  They are all salty when they see Matt go on dates or show affection.  She didn't whine and pout or throw a tantrum.  She didn't bother him with how she was feeling.  He asked and she told him that she was finding it hard but knew it was something she was gonna have to get used to.  

On the subject of Michelle and her story arc, I have a question for those who are knowledgeable on the topic.  Has there been any seasons where the Lead and one of the contestants have parallel arcs?  We see her now saying she's afraid of getting hurt and this was Matt's conversation with his mom on night one.  She's saying she has to get to know him to see if they are a good fit, not so much trying to be the last woman standing.  That's the luxury of the Lead.

Is Rachael's arc better identified after this episode?  If I'm honest, I care nothing about her so I don't pay a whole lot of attention to her.  But, I'd still like to learn...

I don't know what Rachel's story arc is - she says she has never had confidence etc - but she is getting constant assurances from Matt - and now he tells her he is falling in love with her. She doesn't act like someone with confidence problems - imo. I can't see that she has much to worry about. Michelle might not being feeling the assurance from Matt - and then she sees Rachel come back with all the packages - that's got to be a little unsettling...

Anna said she was getting texts from friends warning her to watch out for Brittany prior to going on the show. Anna didn't privately "out" Brittany in the heat of the moment - it was calculated and strategic in a group setting IMO.

Each contestant is encouraged by producers to do things, from their limo exit though every moment they are on the show. Nothing new. They all decide what they will and won't do or say.

If it's really not about the mistakes, but the aftermath that should apply to all the contestants IMO. **edited**

I'm so glad the drama is gone, at least most of it.  MJ is a mess.  She's the real bully because she actually tries to intimidate the other ladies.  The other 2 were catty and petty, but MJ was the brute.  Not a good look.

Nick Vials recap of last nights episode had some good points.  They noted that Matt and Rachael's connection seems Puppy Love-ish.  I tend to agree.  It's like they WANT to be in love because they are attracted to each other but it's not really based on much (that we can see).  Yes, it appears that Matt has chosen Rachael already, but is it ever really that simple on this show?  I think we are dealing with someone that knows the show and knows what to say and when to say it.  
That little exchange between Matt and Michelle, was she just kissing his face or was she telling him something?  I kinda heard whispering but wasnt sure.
Poor Kit.  That's all about that date...
Pieper has been a sleeper for me.  I didn't see her connection with Matt coming.  
I do feel that Matt leads these girls on, unnecessarily because he usually just matches what they say.  I know that's the nature of the show, but sometimes he's just a parrot repeating back to them what they say to him.  This is a definite weakness to me.  
Poor Katie, I feel has secured her spot in the Friend Zone.  There's no way up from here.