Bachelorette 5 Thoughts and Comments

[sueb1961]

Yes, that's very true, but the guys did all get to go to Vancouver and see Jillian's home turf by spending all that time in Canada.

It was not her real house. She also said that she didn't do many of the activities they did on the group dates before.

If I remember right during Byrons season didn't they meet with both sets of parents together on location. And they are still together. Maybe Ed's parents will bring pictures with them.

[kygirl93]

Thank you, that's what I have been trying to say, but I guess I wasn't stating it clearly. Not having a HTD was a missed opportunity for both Jillian and Ed, IMO.

No no, I think we were all clear on what you were saying, but I just don't agree...

[joliepaige]

CH said to Jillian that she will not get to meet Ed's family in the discussion about him returning. Jillian made a point to say to CH that she couldn't consider a proposal from Ed unless she was able to meet them, or at least talk to them before making a decision. I thought that clearly set up an 11th hour phone call to Ed's family ala Jason/Melissa's mom. And that phone call will probably look a lot like the one between Jake and Tanner in the airport - completely one-sided and we won't even know if there is anyone on the other end of the phone.

Exactly. I thought the same thing...this seems very familiar.

[Starshine_16]

Not having a HTD was a missed opportunity for both Jillian and Ed, IMO.

That is my opinon too Cheeky.

[cheekychook]

I agree with you in part. I believe that simply meeting the parents in a neutral location may even enhance the experience of the visit. You would eliminiate the stress, burden and preparation for having a camera crew in your home, preparing appropriate spread of food/drinks and having the entire event filmed in your private residence. By the time they have moved things around and cleaned up, there is probably not a "true" picture of the home environment and things are staged at that point. Given the choice, I would opt for an all expense paid visit hosted by the show at a restaurant or rented villa where I could go and relax and have a good time meeting the families/participants despite it being on camera. I see merits of both types of visit as long as Jillian gets to "meet the parents".

All that said, the HTD visits did turn out pretty well but they didn't get much air time due to the Wes girlfriendgate drama

I guess I, as a viewer, have always felt like I have a better handle on the contestants after seeing their home town dates. It is interesting to see the style of the homes, the types of meals they choose to serve, the family photos that get shown, the dynamic of siblings in the kitchen or around the dining room table. Those things, for me personally, give a different view of the family than a gathering in Hawaii will. That's just me. I just assume that if I learn more from just watching it on tv Jillian would have probably had an opportunity to learn more by experiencing it that way. Obviously any meeting of the parents still "counts" there are just aspects of being at a home that, IMO, make it more personal and more telling. As I've said, she has all the other guys' HTDs to compare....this meet the parent experience IF it even happens, will be different.

[Alexxxx]

I wanted to comment on the whole "meeting the family away from their home" thing. The first time I remember it happening was Jason's season & it seems to have happened on this season. Jason's family was flown to NZ to meet the F2...I'm pretty sure they don't have a house there. Supposedly, Jillian's parents met her F2 in Hawaii. I'm guessing that they don't have a house there. The guys will meet her family in a situation that is away from their typical environment, just like when Jillian meet Ed's parents (if that even happens..I don't even know if they meet). I guess I just don't see the difference. If it's good for the goose..........

ETA: Sub, you & I had the same idea.

Maybe the difference is the "point of view" that the story is being told. We're supposed to be viewing this from Jillian's point of view, right? She's the one doing the choosing. So she needs to gather all the info about the guys that she can so she can make the best decision. The guys are the ones that have to meet her qualifications. She also needs for her family to meet the guys so they can help her with her decision, but the family doesn't have to see them in their home environment. They can't take Jillian's whole family along on all the HTDs. A meet-n-greet in HI is the best compromise.

IDK, I don't have a strong opinion about this one way or the other, just throwing out a possible scenario/solution.

[albean99]

We HAVE NO IDEA what happened between Ed and his boss. I have said before that it sounds more to me that Ed's boss wasn't prepared for Ed to be gone more than anything. For all we know, he came back "did his thing" in his words, then went above his immediate boss for a higher level approval. Or he quit. Or he went completely AWOL. WE DON'T KNOW. But it's pointless speculation at this point, because he's back, obviously Jill wants him back, TPTB don't mind letting him back (or actively want him back, or forced him back, whatever you choose to believe).

And I fail to see why this is so much more "farcical" than some of the other stuff we have seen--burying doves? Really? Helicopter and zip-lines as "regular" dates? No way. Frankly, this is the most "real" thing I have seen on the show in ages. I have often wondered who the heck are these contestants who can put their lives (and jobs) on hold for two months to go through this process. Most "real" people cannot do that, unless they are independently wealthy or unemployed, and most of the people I have ever dated were neither.

I said the same thing after Ed left, that it was the most real thing I had seen on the show. The producers have no problem manipulating situations and asking questions over and over off camera until they get the answer they want on camera but that doesn't mean anything out of the ordinary must be dismissed as scripted out of hand. The whole dating on tv situation is unreal so I guess something that smacks of real life seems odd.

As far as no htd is concerned, it is what it is. Jillian will have plenty of opportunity to see where Ed lives if she picks him. I think it's more important to her to meet his parents which obviously could happen. There have been a lot of situations in past shows where they didn't use the parent's house because of the size, met friends instead of family (Melissa and I think all of Byron's), and generally have been an unreal situation due to the cameras. Maybe they'll bring Ed's parents to meet Jillian and her folks. That's also happened before and possibly Kiptyn's parents will come as well. Again it's Jillian's judgement that matters and not ours.

[nennie]

It was not her real house. She also said that she didn't do many of the activities they did on the group dates before.

If I remember right during Byrons season didn't they meet with both sets of parents together on location. And they are still together. Maybe Ed's parents will bring pictures with them.

You right sueb it wasn't her real house so does that make the date she had with Kip fake.

I have yet to understand the tit for tat that is going on with where the parents are introduced and met. I know many instances where the parents in life outside of a show didn't get to meet their childrens intended for months and it didn't seem to make a difference.

[cheekychook]

It was not her real house. She also said that she didn't do many of the activities they did on the group dates before.

If I remember right during Byrons season didn't they meet with both sets of parents together on location. And they are still together. Maybe Ed's parents will bring pictures with them.

I didn't say it was Jillian's real house---I know it wasn't. I said "home turf" meaning that she got to show the guys around Vancouver and the parts of Canada she loves. They got to see a general overview of the city she lives in and the places she loves. Didn't she call one her "happy place"? In contrast she has stated that she's never even been to Chicago. I doubt she's been to Detroit either. She probably has no idea what either place is like, so those are brush strokes left out of the painting she's seeing of Ed, IMO. Maybe Ed's mom will show up with a whole photo album. I hope she does. I think Jillian should have as clear a picture as possible before she makes any decisions regarding any of these men.

[ironcat]

I agree with you in part. I believe that simply meeting the parents in a neutral location may even enhance the experience of the visit. You would eliminiate the stress, burden and preparation for having a camera crew in your home, preparing appropriate spread of food/drinks and having the entire event filmed in your private residence. By the time they have moved things around and cleaned up, there is probably not a "true" picture of the home environment and things are staged at that point. Given the choice, I would opt for an all expense paid visit hosted by the show at a restaurant or rented villa where I could go and relax and have a good time meeting the families/participants despite it being on camera. I see merits of both types of visit as long as Jillian gets to "meet the parents".

All that said, the HTD visits did turn out pretty well but they didn't get much air time due to the Wes girlfriendgate drama

I admire your attempt to make lemonade out of lemons. Bravo!!