The Bachelor 2020 Final Thoughts

Greatest. Bachelor. Finale. Of. All. Time.

Warning: SPOILERS from The Bachelor 2020 season finale coming.

Source: The Bachelor Season Finale Footage

So I’ve watched 13 seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette (starting with 2014) and this was easily the best finale I’ve ever seen from the franchise. Here are some of my highlights as well as final thoughts:

• Accurately predicting the outcome: Before we move forward, I’d like to congratulate myself for accurately predicting the outcome of the season. Starting week 4, I had Madison as the favorite for seven weeks straight. Before the season finale, I gave Madison a 71% chance of winning. I also predicted that the most likely outcome was that Peter would end up with Madison but they wouldn’t get engaged.
• Hannah Ann dragging the shit out of Peter: Hannah Ann showed up tonight in a way that we’ve never seen before. Peter absolutely should not have proposed to Hannah Ann in Australia given how conflicted he was and how strong his feelings for Madison were. The fact that he wasn’t open with her about Madison’s departure was not good at all. At the finale, Hannah Ann tells Peter that she needs someone who is “true to their words [and] not torn and conflicted 90% of the time,” and that “if you want to be with a woman, you need to become a real man.” Peter basically had nothing to say because he knew the extent of his carnage.
• Barb’s live reactions: In Bachelor world we often see live reactions of cast members to footage in the finale. But rarely have we ever seen so much from one person, let alone the Bachelor’s mother. Based on the look of things, I kind of wonder if Barb wants to disown Peter and adopt Hannah Ann as her daughter — she really adores that girl. One of the funniest reactions was she started enthusiastically clapping when Hannah Ann (her son’s ex-fiance) tells Peter “if you want to be with a woman, you need to become a real man”. Barb also absolutely despises Madison for some reason. It was like watching Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg at the Democratic debates. You could just feel her strong contempt whenever Madison showed up on screen.
• Madison vs. Barb showdown: This was an epic onstage fight for the ages. In most other Bachelor franchise finales, Chris Harrison does a good job bringing warring factions to at least a temporary reconciliation. That was not the case at all tonight. Barb brings up some interesting details about how Madison made them wait three hours to meet her, told her that she wasn’t madly in love with Peter, and said she would not accept a proposal in four days. As she says all this, you can see Madison start giggling on stage. Madison defends herself, saying that she’s not going to apologize for being truthful about her feelings since relationships are a two-way street. The audience seemed to very strongly be on Team Madison, as they have been all season. When Chris Harrison tried to patch things up, Barb laid down the hammer, saying “Chris, he’s going to have to fail to succeed. All his friends, all his family, everyone that knows him knows that it’s not going to work.” LMAO.
• Peter and Madison’s Future: Good luck with this one, Peter! Obviously Madison and Barb absolutely despise each other, and it’s hard to see that changing any time soon. But I think the biggest risk for them ironically is something that both Madison and Barb caught onto in Australia. Peter and Madison are very different people, and they may not be compatible outside the show. The example that’s highlighted throughout the show is that Madison is very religious while Peter is a big partier who enjoys “line dancing.” It’s just very hard to get to know someone enough in 6 weeks to be confident that you’re truly compatible for marriage in the real world!
• Clare Crawley is the new Bachelorette! Clare has been on quite a few previous seasons of Bachelor shows, and has never given up on finding love. Initial fan reaction seems pretty positive — it’ll definitely be different to have a lead in her late 30s who may have a better idea of what she wants. For some reason she didn’t get to meet her first 5 suitors at the finale, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about them soon. Check back here for my Bachelorette power rankings starting in May!