Bachelor Canada: After the Final Rose (for real?)

Never has an After the Final Rose episode been more truthful. Maybe. There was no mention from the host, Tyler Harcott, that there would be any future seasons of Bachelor Canada, Bachelorette Canada, or Bachelor Pad Canada. Was that it? Time will tell. If this really was the final rose handed out, at least they quit while they were ahead with a solid effort all round.

I feel a bit sheepish writing this one after potentially being called out on national TV. Whitney said the whole thing has been tough on her, that people are nice to her face when she's recognized but that some "tough guys" hide behind their computers. "They think they know me," she said, but all they do is focus on her eyebrows or the protruding vein in her forehead.

Ouch.

Now, I'm sure there are others blogging about Bachelor Canada she could be referring to, but my computer doesn't get the internet so I wouldn't know. But I felt a tinge of guilt. I know I've mentioned her eyebrows. I wasn't sure about the vein thing so I went back and checked. I couldn't find a reference to it in my blog, but maybe I missed it.

A few weeks ago I was reminded how real people are on TV and they have the ability to do a Google search for their name and might stumble across an insignificant blog written by an insignificant nobody (how's that for self-esteem?!). In 2010, I blogged about another American network reality TV show and recently met one of its competitors. I had forgotten writing about him, but he remembered. He had read it from his home in New York City and quoted what I wrote about him. It wasn't vicious, thank God. And he said he was happy I was covering it. But it just drove home the point that even though I think I'm speaking to a handful of like-minded fans in this non-revenue-gaining forum, the people I'm writing about (and sometimes slagging) might be reading. And their families.

So let me share where I'm coming from.

In no way do I think I know anything about the real people involved with the show. All I know is what the editors give us and what the individual decides to put out there. That's what I'm commenting on. I try not to be vicious. Believe me, sometimes I say things while watching that I never put into print just because it's below the belt. I try not to comment on anything too personal. But her eyebrows are a style choice (something she can control) and her fake boobs are a decision she made. Fair game, I say. Plus, she's clearly and objectively a very good-looking woman.

But some responsibility lies with the contestant. In Whitney's case, I liked her in the first episode. But she chose to get catty and competitive and rude. That won't go unnoticed. Nor will I say she's just playing a character and isn't really like that in real life because I simply don't know. All I know is what I see. If you don't want to be called on poor behaviour, don't exhibit it.

Her tears on this episode are a common sight for the villains. They regret their actions and regret their newfound reputation. Let that be a lesson to future fame-hounds. You'll go a long way by being a decent, kind person – or at least faking it on TV. Viewers don't shit on the sweet, normal contestants.

It's too bad Whitney's feeling the brunt of it, but it'll blow over. And if I were ever to meet her, I'd be nice to her, too.

Now onto the show.

We start by seeing upcoming highlights of the very episode we're about to watch, including seeing Bianka and Brad making lovey-dovey eyes to each other. Then the show begins and the host, Tyler Harcott, teases the audience with, "Have things turned out?" Hmm, I wonder. One thing the American producers have taught the Canadian ones well is to make sure any sense of surprise or anticipation is shot dead.

This was only a one-hour episode so there was no dilly-dallying. Brad came out in the first segment and he was smiling ear to ear. He said he was so happy he could "pull a Tom Cruise and get up on a chair." I hope, for Bianka's sake, that's where the Tom Cruise comparison ends.

In the next segment, Whitney came out to no boos. Canadians are a polite people. Well done. And, eyebrows notwithstanding, she looked smokin' hot. But that was never an issue. I don't think she did herself any favours on this night. Once again she was incomprehensible, sticking to her talking points in the face of evidence to the contrary.

Despite how bad she feels, she says she has no regrets about doing the show. That's a bit of a disconnect but I'll let that one slide. She claims she learned so much about herself. She knows she's indecisive and can never make up her mind, even in routine decisions about where to eat. Yet she says she wants to get married and have a family. That's going to require at least one very important decision. Maybe she wasn't ready for the show.

She also revealed that despite the immediate connection she felt with Brad, she said she realized she didn't feel confident he was the guy she wanted to marry in Penticton. I had to go back in the blog archives to find out when that was. It was episode 4, I believe, after Brad got back from Mexico on a group date. He met Whitney in Penticton and they went rappeling down a cliff. She went first. Coming back to you? Yeah, it was ages ago.

So she wasn't confident then but continued to act in a way that suggested the complete opposite. When Brad came out in the following segment, he called her on it. He wondered if she was acting the whole time. He recalled going to PEI with her and asking her if she saw a future together with him and she responded in the positive, 100%. Then that night she called her sister saying, "I don't see a future with him."

Case closed, right? Whitney's got some 'splainin' to do. But she stood firm and kept on point: She "never once acted." Okay, so then... what, exactly? We realize she doesn't express herself well, but surely she can do better than that. Instead she tried going on the offensive: "You had a choice to keep me on the show, too," she said. Aha! Gotcha, sucker!

Uh, not so much. He kept her on the show based on what she was telling him and on the physical connection he felt. It wasn't as if he knew she was making secret calls to her sister back when it happened. But we got no answer to the apparent incongruity.

When the offensive tactic didn't work, she played the sympathy card. The tears came as she whimpered, "You have no idea the stuff I go through now," and talked about how she's been portrayed. But here's the thing, Whitney, if you're reading: the editors can do a lot, but they can't work with what they don't have. If you never made that call to your sister, if you never slagged the other women, if you never turned on the charm around Brad, they couldn't create that. So yeah, it sucks that you're having to go through this now, but you had something to do with it, too.

The next segment was Brad with host Tyler Harcott. I liked this segment because Brad was asked questions from fans across the country. Someone asked if the order he hands out the roses reflect a preference for the women, which is something I've never heard addressed before. He said he goes in the back, looks at the photos, selects the girls, then decides "who can I make sweat the most." Funny answer and truthful, too. I suspect he gets some help in that decision, too, but talking about the process is tricky. Baby steps.

Other tidbits about Brad he revealed: His full name is Bradley Charles Smith. His most prized possession is his Queens University football jersey. His worst habit is he bites his nails. The funniest gal was Ana. His favourite Bachelor host is Chris Harrison (in your face, Harcott! – I'm sure he was half-joking but I liked that he answered straight while Harcott was pleading in jest). The best kisser and smartest among the women was Bianka (naturally). She also smelled the best. And his fascination with the deep V t-shirt hinged on the fact that it showed off his tattoo.

Next came Bianka and she radiated happiness. They looked like a really nice and in-love couple. Brad choked up numerous times talking about her, but they also both have a great sense of humour. Nothing much to report here except Brad said they recently took a 10-day trip and "almost eloped." Also they plan on getting married "as soon as possible."

I'm not sure the record for successful unions the American show has, but it's somewhere south of the Mendoza line. Far south. So wouldn't it be nice if the first ever Canadian show ended with success? And if this is the last season, they'll have batted 1.000.