Katie gets engaged but still appears to have some ex baggage on the Bachelorette finale
Katie’s Aunt Lindsey, we have just one question: Who hurt you?
TV Reviews Finale
I don’t know about you guys, but three hours is a lot, right? I feel like this “Finale/After The Final Rose” could have been cut by an hour at least. As it stands, we got a breakup, a proposal, and a really painful couples therapy session. Also a lesson about how never to cross Katie’s Aunt Lindsey, never, ever.
On the upside: Okay, Blake was never going to be my first choice—or fifth—but he was kind of winning me over by the end there. Maybe it was the way he kept saying “aboot” like a true Canadian, but I could see how the chemistry between the pair could going to work. Plus he’s a wildlife manager. Hard not to like. I feel like the inevitable result was so obvious that the whole “Greg may be getting cold feet” plot at the end seemed completely fabricated. Granted, after evil Aunt Lindsey, even Tayshia and Kaitlyn wondered if Katie’s family had scared him off (although Tayshia seemed kind of embarrassed to read that from the teleprompter). I kinda hate people like Aunt Lindsey, the ones that think they can say whatever they want (telling Blake “you’re nothing,” for just one example) under the guise of, “Hey, I’m just being honest.” No, you’re just being a jerk. Good on Blake for handling it as well as he did. At least Katie’s mom seemed nice.
But then Katie had her post-show showdown with Greg, and we can see that maybe high-volume no-holds-barred conflict is just a thing in the Katie family. This pains me, because I really liked Katie all season, but I did not like her performance tonight. We know she has a pretty prominent Twitter habit, so maybe she just read way too many rumors about Greg’s acting career or that he was there for the “wrong reasons” or whatever. But someone who is engaged to someone else should not have that much simmering resentment toward an ex. And since Greg was calmer, he stated his case clearer, that he just wanted her to put aside all the Bachelorette stuff for a moment and talk to him like they were in an actual relationship that night. Not saying he was completely in the right, but neither was she. (Let’s not forget the old “I just love looking at you” line after he tore his heart out.) Although Greg was spot-on when he said tonight that if he was the one, Katie would have gone after him or said what he wanted her to say (she said it to Blake, after all). But overall, it was the most uncomfortable thing I saw on The Bachelorette all season, and if I was Blake that conversation would strike me as a red flag in my fiancé.
I know that this is the point of the entire show, but I hate the way the Bachelor franchise holds up the engagement at the end of the season like a shiny new car or something. Yes, it makes for fun planning errands like going ring shopping with your old girlfriend/matchmaker, but no matter how you look at it, it’s really soon. And most of us realize that love at first sight takes a lot of work to last. So, honestly, best of luck to the happy couple, I wish them all the best in Canada or Africa or wherever they end up. And here’s hoping Blake will be stocking up on alcohol for future holiday family gatherings (that’s what I do for mine).
Stray observations
- Justin’s breakup was inevitable, but it was still kind of sad. Even he wondered if he made it to the finale two by default.
- Tayshia is a beautiful woman, but what was up with that backless ringleader jacket?
- “More with Katie and Greg when we return”: No thank you.
- Man, the crowd really seemed behind Greg at the end there, right?
- Lighting that creepy Zozobra thing for Blake and Katie’s final Bachelorette date was just odd. Honestly, what a weird finale.
- I’m in Chicago, so honestly I did miss some of the beginning due to tornado reports. But why couldn’t those have happened during the Katie-Greg battle?
- One moment where you just know that Blake is a nice guy: Making sure Katie was okay after the “contentious” conversation with Greg.
- Also liked Katie’s shoutout to Tayshia and Kaitlyn, who are 100x better than Chris Harrison and will be hosting Michelle’s season as well, yay.
- And that’s a wrap on Bachelorette season 17, everyone! Thanks for reading, it was fun (kind of?) but I always really enjoyed your comments. Please come back next week when I drop in on the Bachelor In Paradise premiere to see how our old pals Connor, Tre, and James are doing. And that Bachelorette promo for Michelle looked fun, didn’t it? Should we give this show yet another chance?
14 Comments
It’s time to burn all our fears away!Pay no attention to anyone who may or may not be inside!
Ha ha ha, what a mess. I feel like Katie clung to Blake because she lost both Greg and Michael A. in (APPARENTLY!) the span of a week, and Andrew still left even after she offered him a way back. Blake made her feel nice, and I guess there are worst reasons for dating someone. It’s just that…wow, yeah. That Greg confrontation was harsh. It was not the reaction of someone who’s over the other. It’s the rage of someone who is deeeeeply wounded by a former love. And that’s fair. But she wasn’t the only one hurt. Greg made his case, and I believe that he was being genuine about his feelings and needs. They were never going to work, though. Their communication styles are too different. They were both too volatile.Overall, the season started our promising and ended up a huuuuuge bummer. Katie got too wrapped up in being the Perfect Bachelorette. She wanted the show to have its fairy tale ending, by the book, and sadly I think it hurt the season. Oh well. Hopefully she and Blake are happy, and she gets the number of Tayshia’s stylist. You can’t be outshining the Bachelorette with your clothing and style, Kaitlyn & Tayshia!! You’re damn good hosts, though.I might actually watch Paradise this year. I’ve finally watched enough that I recognize most of the people. Thanks for the reviews! What a weird finale.
Still lookin’ for that LoT review. Or at least an explanation as to why it’s been skipped this week.Is anyone actually editing this site now?
Not sure what the delay was, but it’s up now-
Ah thank you.
Maybe it was the way he kept saying “aboot” like a true CanadianY’all still pretending that’s the vowel sound you’re hearing?
Americans gotta cliché, how else to understand a big, scary diverse world without reducing everyone else to manageable bullet points?
Why get so worked aboat it, eh?
I give it 60 days, max.
This season felt like it was entirely edited and produced to give the Katie/Greg fight and break-up maximum impact (similar to Rachel’s season, where there was so much focus on Peter because his breakup was the most interesting and dramatic thing that happened, so they made it seem like she would pick him for most of it). As a result, it’s hard to tell how deep or genuine Katie’s feelings for Blake are: based on just the show, it felt like she convinced herself she was in love with him to recover from the hurt and humiliation of Greg and Michael leaving. I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume a lot of moments with Blake were cut in editing, but it made for an underwhelming and honestly depressing final episode, where the whole thing felt like one long slow march to get to that Greg sit-down. And that sit-down…Jesus that was atrocious. It honestly made me dislike Katie. Her feelings are totally valid, but it felt like she came into it less with the intent to resolve things or find closure and more with the plan to humiliate Greg and win over people on social media. It was genuinely uncomfortable, and I hope those two are never in the same room with each other ever again.
I feel like all this obsession about Greg undermined her ending with Blake…I couldn’t feel happy for them because it felt like Blake was winner by default rather than the person she always wanted. It could all chalk up to editing, but she did not do herself any favors with the fight with him on stage. Ultimately though Greg AND Katie made mistakes in their arguments; couples don’t always fight at their best. Best of luck to Katie and Blake, I guess?
Obviously this show, and the people on it, are always fake and performative.But for this entire season Katie was almost shockingly up-front about the fact that her primary concern was playing the role of “Bachelorette” as written, and following that TV narrative to its prescribed conclusion.It’s not surprising she wound up with Blake. Of all the guys he was the most aware of what is role as a contestant was. (He has the practice after all.)
I still stand by Katie. Greg was nasty and selfish, and Katie was right to go after him. Maybe it was over the top, but I think it was genuine and motivated by hurt–it’s the first time she’s seen him, so why shouldn’t she go after him? Overall this was a great season, and I’m so excited for Paradise (and my beloved Abigail), and Michelle’s season too.
Katie lost me a little with her whole Greg drama. It didn’t help that her definition of gaslighting was … a stretch. I don’t get the impression that Greg was being dishonest about how he felt and he was pretty consistent in what he wanted to hear. The fact that Katie was able to so quickly then tell Blake she loved him either signals she was desperate after losing Greg or that she didn’t feel it for him. Whether Greg had an acting career or not, he also isn’t wrong – If Katie was in love with him at a time that was days away from a possible proposal, she should have been able to say as much. If she wasn’t in love with anyone, she should have been able to say that. She came off much more as playing the game than Greg did and at that point in the season, it wasn’t a good look. I’d be on Katie’s side more if she hadn’t then immediately sent someone home and told another person she loved them (and possibly slept with them). Maybe she and Blake will live happily ever after, but she still seemed VERY hung up on Greg.