‘The Bachelorette’ implodes as the star leaves the show: A guide to a chaotic episode

Even if you aren’t a regular viewer of ABC’s extremely popular and endlessly frustrating reality show, you might have heard something about how the star, 39-year-old Clare Crawley (the oldest Bachelorette ever, as the show likes to remind us) left the show in the middle of production after immediately falling for one of the contestants — something that has never happened in the show’s 18-year history.

Such drama has been rumored for months. Indeed, that was what happened — and it was even more unhinged than expected. The two-hour episode involved Crawley simultaneously breaking up with 16 men, who are not thrilled with this news; a surprise proposal; and the introduction of the second Bachelorette, Tayshia Adams. Here’s everything you need to know.

How did it all fall apart?

The Bachelor universe is all about getting engaged to someone you barely know. Typically, the lead starts with about 30 prospects, and gradually narrows them down until there’s a finalist (and a marriage proposal!) within about six weeks of filming. It all moves incredibly fast, and often those proposals quickly dissolve in the months between filming and airtime.

But even for “The Bachelorette,” Crawley and Dale Moss’s love story was exceptionally speedy. On night one, Crawley gave Moss her first-impression rose, remarking that she sensed a special energy between them and that she felt she had met her husband. On last week’s episode, which was just this season’s third installment, a group date essentially became a one-on-one as Crawley and Moss disappeared for extended make-out sessions. Another group date, a roast, featured the other men ripping into Moss for being an attention hog.

So at the start of this week’s episode, host Chris Harrison sits down with Crawley to have a serious talk. Because, as he puts it, “these are good guys and they’re not dumb. … They know what’s going on. The path we’re on right now — we can’t continue.”

Crawley spills all: Because the season was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, she had time to check out all the contestants on social media. She learned a lot about Moss and instantly connected to him — like her, he had a parent who died young, and he also has a family member living in a medical-care facility. Then when she met him in person on the first night, their chemistry was immediate. Crawley doesn’t hold back, as she admits she is “head over heels” for Moss.

“I feel like Dale is my match,” she says, in tears. “He meets me on the level emotionally of what I’m looking for, everything I want out of a relationship, everything I want out of life.”

Crawley swears she didn’t make contact with Moss before filming. (Harrison sternly interrogates her on this point.) But it doesn’t matter, because she knows that he is the one, and she hopes he feels the same way. She has no interest in the other men.

“So in your mind, right now, is this over?” Harrison asks.

Crawley pauses. “Yeah,” she says quietly.

“Okay. Okay,” Harrison says, with the barely contained glee of a reality host who knows madness is about to take place. “Congratulations — you’ve just blown up “The Bachelorette.”

How did Moss react?

Some men might be taken aback to learn that a woman they just met a few days ago is in love with them. Not Moss. When Crawley requests him for a special one-on-one date (canceling a scheduled rose ceremony and really ticking off the remaining 16 men), and she tells him that she’s in love with him and only him, Moss reveals he feels the same way.

“I’m literally trying to convince myself to be open-minded and try my best to be present in every conversation with everybody. But every time I wake up, I think about you. And when I go to bed at night, I think about you. I can’t even put it into words, like, how you make me feel,” Crawley says. “All I know is that I’m so falling in love with you.”

“When we met, I felt love, and that’s what I came here for. And I’m falling in love with you through this process,” Moss says. “I’m not afraid to say that at all.” Romantic music swells and they furiously make out.

Usually, this process on “The Bachelorette” drags on for weeks: Who will be the first to say they’re “falling” in love? Who will get a Fantasy Suite Date? Crawley and Moss rolled that all into one. After their date, the camera cuts to the morning after, panning over her red dress on the hotel room floor, the two of them cozied up in bed, talking about how they always want it to be this way.

Later, Harrison shows up to get the details and Crawley tells him she’s officially done. She’s met the man of her dreams. Slight problem: She still has 16 other boyfriends. Before she and Moss can get engaged, she has to send the rest of them home.

How did the other contestants react?

Imagine 16 men who waited for months for the chance to leave their isolated pandemic existences so they can date a woman on national television. They arrive at a resort in Palm Springs, Calif.; quarantine; pass coronavirus tests; and then all of a sudden they get to interact with strangers, including one they might fall in love with. But before they can get close to her, her heart chooses its target on night one. They stick around, hoping for time with her so their own connections can grow. Instead, she addresses them as a group to say the contest is over before it’s barely begun. The men don’t take it well.

After all, this isn’t usually how the game is played. The lead doesn’t just stop, mid-process, and announce she’s found her winner; everyone else can be dismissed. Some of the men profess to believe her and wish her well. Others doubt her chosen man is all that serious about getting engaged. A Canadian wildlife manager named Blake whines that he bought a book about dementia (which Crawley’s mother suffers from) and now he won’t even get to trot out the things he learned specifically to try to get close to her!

Crawley doesn’t care. She doesn’t want to waste the men’s time, she tells the group as she breaks up with them. This is a woman who knows what she wants. From the very beginning, she’s told us who she was. Frankly, why is anyone surprised?

Finally, Harrison tells the remaining men that, if they want to stay, their “journeys” toward love will continue this evening. What does that mean exactly? He doesn’t say that they’ll be getting a new lead, or who it will be, just that the show will go on. Though they don’t know what’s coming next, we’re jealous they spent only one night in a haze of indecision and uncertainty. The viewers at home have been through three.

What happened to Crawley and Dale?

This is “The Bachelorette,” so no one can leave without a Neil Lane engagement ring. Even if you have known each other for only about two weeks. Harrison FaceTimes the show’s signature jeweler so he can have a ring ready as soon as possible.

Crawley has a moment of panic about getting engaged so quickly and whether she’s putting too much pressure on Moss. (No, this is probably fine!) But in the end, Crawley gets what she was looking for.

“You made me feel like everything I’ve ever been through, all the ups and downs in other relationships, it was all worth it because I’ve got you right now,” she says.

“From the moment I stepped out of the limo, I knew this was special. And I know you and I, we both felt it immediately, and there was absolutely no denying it,” Moss says. “The best is yet to come. I’m not going anywhere, and I want to make you happy each and every day. … Clare, will you marry me?

They pledge their eternal love for each other, and then it’s time to move on, because the show has 16 angry men waiting. But they won’t have to wait long.

What will happen next?

As Harrison stands outside the resort, a limo pulls up. Out walks Adams, 30, a finalist from Colton Underwood’s 2019 season of “The Bachelor.” She’s absolutely stunning in a dark green sparkly gown. A peaceful transfer of power.

But so many questions remain. How much time did Adams have to prepare for this last-minute role? Did she have to quarantine before arriving in Palm Springs? Does “The Bachelorette” have a chain of command? Will the men who came here for Crawley open their hearts for Adams?

We’ll be here, waiting for every last rose to be counted.

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Source:WP