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Bachelor Takes the Low Road Monday

The word is out on what ABC calls the most stunning, shocking, dramatic and emotional finale ever for ABC's The Bachelor, airing Monday night. This season's star is Jason Mesnick from Kirkland, Washington who lives with his brother and four year old son. He almost got picked last season by bachelorette Deanna Pappas, but Deanna picked Colorado Snowboarder Jesse Csinscak (my favorite) instead. Then Deanna dumped Jesse. You can read my last interview of Jesse here and you can see Deanna make a inconsequential comeback on Jason's show Monday.

The internets have been on fire about the finale for a month now. Tonight, it seems, there's no more debate, the ending is in the bag and those who were in attendance for the taping of the final aftershow today, which will air March 3,have leaked the details, despite being warned they would face a $5 million penalty for doing so. [More...]

No one told me, I read it over at Reality Steve's place, where the furor began last month when he smelled a setup.

Here's what went down today at the taping, according to Steve, and while some were skeptical of his leaks early on, the mood has changed online and almost everyone is crediting him both with being correct and getting the scoop. [Spoilers below]

Jason, on holiday with his two final faves, Melissa and Molly, has to choose one. He chooses Melissa and proposes. This is at the Final Rose show at the end of Nov. On Dec. 4, Jason gives a giddy interview announcing he's engaged and in love. In early January, the show begins airing, and due to ABC releasing some promo photos that were pretty easy to sleuth out (see FORT and Jokers), everyone figures out the final two were Melissa and Molly and Jason picks Melissa and rejects Molly. Everyone settles in for a boring, predictable season.

Fast forward to March 2, this Monday's finale. As predicted, Jason picks Melissa and Molly leaves in tears in the limo. Melissa and Jason go off to plan their life together which will involve her preparing to move to Seattle to be close to Jason and his little tyke. Molly goes home to Wisconsin where she works for Kohls.

By mid-Jan., something's up and they move the after-show taping up six weeks to Jan. 18. (This will air right after the finale, and is what ABC has promised as the emotional stunner.)

Then the rumors come out from Reality Steve that Jason will dump Melissa on national tv during this show, blindsiding her, and he will tell her he wants to try to make it work with Molly.

Even more bizarre, when Molly is told this at the after-show (if she wasn't already in on it, which seems to be hotly disputed still), even though she supposedly hasn't seen this guy that just dumped her at the Final Rose Ceremony two months ago when he proposed to Melissa instead of her, she gets over her shock within minutes and agrees to give him another chance. Now, the couple say they are madly in love and Molly's moving to Seattle, ready to be a stepmom for Jason's kid.

Molly, take a listen, will you? It's Dwight Yoacum, a nice country singer, explaining why your reaction should have been, "I aint' that lonely yet." There's still time to run for the hills.

Once there was this Spider in my bed
I got caught up in his web
Of love and lies
He put his chains around my heart and soul
Never to let go
Oh but I survived

You keep calling me
On the telephone
You say you're all alone
Well that's real sad
And you keep leavin'
Notes stuck on my door
Guess you're hungry for some more
Boy, that's too bad

CHORUS:
Cuz I ain't that lonely yet
No I ain't that lonely yet
After what you put me through
Oh I ain't that lonely yet

Nothing left you can do to try and bring me back
Cuz everything you do
Just brings me down, oh yeah and I
ain't that lonely yet
And Melissa, I hope you are counting your lucky stars. You dodged a big bullet.
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  • Display: Sort:
    I just can't imagine falling in love (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    on television.  I just can't.  It's a complex process and then when you consider many of the obstacles that crop up in our everyday lives....falling in love with an audience and finding out that it is a solid lasting lifetime love and not just a 15 minute love, I think it would be a miracle.

    Reality TV never appealed to me (none / 0) (#1)
    by Fabian on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 04:10:22 AM EST
    because it's obvious the audience is being manipulated and possibly the players as well.  

    Heck, if I was going to cast a reality show, the first thing I would do is to screen potential cast members the same way they screen potential astronauts.  When I find out who the most level headed, steady, dependable candidates are - I'd throw them out.  No drama there!

    If I want to watch a rigged game, I'll watch wrestling where at least the wrestling is real.

    Confession time (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Fabian on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 05:54:41 AM EST
    I do watch one reality game show.  It's called "Fetch - with Ruff Ruffman" and it's on PBSKids.  Kids are given challenges - anything from swinging from a trapeze to rating a roller coaster to finding all about skunks.  They are rated on how well they do on their assignments and can earn bonus points for creativity, courage, teamwork and other positive traits.  One of the tricks of the show is to change an assignment on the fly to see how they deal with it.

    The prizes aren't all that impressive, but I think the real prize is simply being on the show.  A chance to learn barrel racing would have been worth a vacation to Paris for me when I was a kid.

    Are the contestants screened?  Most definitely.  There are no whiners, malingerers or drama queens on the show.  That's not the point of the show.  There are a bunch of kids who are willing to do things they have no previous experience with.  Since that's the point of the show, that's probably what they screened for.  Is the show edited?  Of course it is.

    Is the show rigged in favor of any contestant(s)?  I don't think so.

    My kids get to learn about everything from how to beat a rip tide to how to herd sheep and they get to see other kids doing it!  Priceless.

    Parent

    I think the time for Molly to run for the hills (none / 0) (#3)
    by ruffian on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 06:23:36 AM EST
    was before she subjected herself to this process in the first place. At this point, what has she got left to lose? Seattle is a nice enough place to see if it works out. Kohls may still be there when she gets back to Wisconsin, then again who knows in this economy?

    Jeralyn--quick question (none / 0) (#4)
    by NJDem on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 08:19:32 AM EST
    if the show's producer's had this plan the whole time--to break Melissa's heart on national tv--can't she sue for intent to cause emotional distress or something?  

    [Note: I am not a lawyer, just grew up in a family full of them :)]

    Maybe it's my bias, as I was rooting for Jason last season, but I can't believe he would be so irresponsible regarding something that would effect Ty.  I guess we'll find out for sure Monday...

    I'm sure all participants (none / 0) (#5)
    by Fabian on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 12:21:44 PM EST
    have to sign a detailed contract.  Corp would absolutely require it.

    It's hard for me to take any reality show seriously.  I just think "Jerry Springer" - the narrative is set, the story edited to create certain responses in the audience and you never know the whole story.  

    I wonder what Jerry thinks about the whole reality show industry.  

    Parent

    I'm not buying the setup part (none / 0) (#6)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    just yet. It may just be what unfolded. And there may be a few twists and turns still to come. But if the premise is correct, my point is that Jason fell in love with three women in a year (Deanna, Melissa and Molly) and that should be enough to send anyone contemplating giving him another chance to say, forget about it, we're done here.

    The only contract online is one of a past contestant from 2002....it's at Smoking Gun, 17 pages and they pretty much sign away all rights under the sun. I'm sure it's been tweaked since then, but I doubt it's so different we'll see a lawsuit.

    Parent

    I don't think so (none / 0) (#8)
    by kaybeel on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 01:58:20 PM EST
    They said in the season opener that he marries the girl he chooses.  I was under the impression they were already married.

    i don't think that's right (none / 0) (#9)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 02:43:36 PM EST
    He says he's found his true love. He said he was engaged on Dec. 3 or 4, a month before the first show aired. (He proposed in New Zealand on Nov. 25, the date the final rose ceremony was taped.)

    By Jan. 18, the date the first after-show was taped, something had changed. (This will be shown on Monday, following the two hour finale.) The final after show was taped yesterday and will air Tuesday, March 3.

    No marriages, his final one is moving to Seattle. She's not there yet. And he's said it's too soon for wedding plans.

    Parent

    I don't have it on my DVR anymore! (none / 0) (#10)
    by kaybeel on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 03:05:56 PM EST
    So I can't tell you if I am remembering correctly or if I am insane.
    Anyway, I'll go with the prediction the finale is a wedding.

    Parent
    Jason'a a wuss. (none / 0) (#11)
    by Angel on Sun Mar 01, 2009 at 10:59:43 AM EST