6/20 Show Thread: Episode 5 *West Coast Spoilers*

[nennie]

Maybe they have paid Ashley big money to act this stupid and naive. Or as the old saying goes sometimes you just can't fix stupid.

[moflan]

Who was sent home last night?

Both BenC and William were eliminated at the 2 and 1 date and Nick was eliminated at the Rose Ceremony.

[moflan]

So... after kicking out two guys at once, she has an extra rose. But instead of saving it to keep an extra guy at this week's rose ceremony, she burns it. In past seasons when something this "outside the box" happens, the star has kept the extra rose in order to prevent an elimination.

Ashley must be ready to whittle the choices down...

Buy William, you had the CUTEST dimples.

Remember, though, that she received an extra rose at the last ceremony so now she is at the number she should be for this many episodes in.

I feel badly for the one guy who is eliminated at the Rose Ceremony, though. At least they can console one another when there are a couple of them leaving. When there is just one man who has to leave, it seems less humane than when there is safety in numbers.

[nanarama]

Sorry in advance for the long post….

Watching the show last night and listening to Ashley's voiceovers about Bentley and then speaking with Chris Harrison about needing closure with Bentley reminded me of the Zeigarnik Effect. I have pulled and quoted what I believe to be relevant information from PsychWiki. Zeigarnik Effect - PsychWiki - A Collaborative Psychology Wiki

"The Zeigarnik Effect is the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts about an objective that was once pursued and left incomplete. The automatic system signals the conscious mind, which may be focused on new goals, that a previous activity was left incomplete. It seems to be human nature to finish what we start and, if it is not finished, we experience dissonance."

"There is a tendency or “need” to complete a task once it has been initiated and the lack of closure that stems from an unfinished task promotes some continued task related cognitive effort. The cognitive effort that comes with these intrusive thoughts of the unfinished task is terminated only once the person returns to complete the task."

"Memory is a good indicator as to whether people continue to be interrupted by thoughts of incomplete tasks. Constant thoughts of incomplete task components cause it to be retained in memory better. Interruptions that cause a person to fall behind in their objective also cause anxiety that brings about constant thoughts of unfinished business."

Ashley is really insecure and anxious. She has mentioned more than once that she has anxiety in the pit of her stomach and that she is particularly insecure about whether people are there for her and whether they are being honest. Her picker is definitely off and she doesn't have enough life experience in the romance department to know what she doesn't know and to trust what she does know. The obsession over Bentley may be more attributable to the Zeigarnik Effect than the actual person of Bentley. He pulled the rug out from under her and totally messed with her head with the dot, dot, dot. She needs closure on the Bentley situation where she makes the decision to let him go and not when he takes himself out of the running. Until that loop is closed in her subconscious, it will be like a pop-up window on her cognitive RAM that won't close permanently until she chooses to dismiss it. We won't know until next week whether that is the case. My hope is that when she sees him again, she sticks to her guns enough to ask him questions that won't allow ambiguous answers. I'd love it if he then stood in at the rose ceremony and she eliminated his sorry ass. If she doesn't then she shall reap what she sows and can sabotage any success she might have had by "trusting the process" and "having no regrets".

Thanks for putting this theory out there. It would explain a lot. While I (and many others) want to whack her on the head to knock some sense into her, she may just need "closure," one of the most over-used words in the English language.
Here's the thing though: the previews for next week make it look like more happens in the Bentley issue than her just confronting him in his room. Now, whether she comes clean to the guys afterwards about the obsession she been dealing with or Bentley stays - even worse - the guys don't look happy. Can you imagine how it would sting if they're sticking around, isolated in scenic locals - except when they get to come out for a date - away from family, friends and jobs and all B has to do is re-appear and she runs to him?
There seem to be some quality guys - J.P., Blake and Constantine stand out to me. To get this show back on track, she needs to confront B, be told he's moved on and she needs to also, and then do her best to make it up to the men for her lack of honesty - just as she's been requiring it from them. And if she could manage to let go of some of that insecurity in the meanwhile, that would be great, too.

[nanarama]

So... after kicking out two guys at once, she has an extra rose. But instead of saving it to keep an extra guy at this week's rose ceremony, she burns it. In past seasons when something this "outside the box" happens, the star has kept the extra rose in order to prevent an elimination.

Ashley must be ready to whittle the choices down...

Buy William, you had the CUTEST dimples.

Cute or not, I was so glad to see William leave. I liked him early on in the second episode during their one-on-one but then he lost me. He was pretty much what he claimed to be: a thirty year old kid. While I thought he might have gone too far in the roast - and reports say he went on for much longer than what we saw - it was his PI's that were the most telling. I felt he was a young man who was much less mature than the others appear to be-with a bit of a mean streak. His behavior when he was eliminated was a classic example of why I don't care for him. After being back-stabbing and then gloating, he broke down with: "Woe is me," "My life stinks." I think he needs to take some responsibility for his life. If the same thing keeps happening to him in relationships, maybe there's a reason why.

[jacobson00]

I am sorry but Bently has to be a Plant!!! there is no way this is real. Remember they need ratings and make it interesting.
Ben C really wasn't into her. William could be Ashley's best gay (ops) friend

[Photobabe]

I like the post by Moflan very much.

I can understand Ashley having an instant crush on someone. Haven't some of you experienced a "love at first sight" moment? Usually, when that happens the hot flame of instant attraction quickly burns out and the relationship ends. Occasionally, it turns out to be the real thing.

In Ashley's case, it didn't end with finality. He added that blasted ... which made Ashley think he had real feelings for her. So, to her, there was the hope that, like Ed, he would return and she could have her happy ending. That's why she can't get it out of her mind. It's unfinished. It's Zeigarnik Effect.

[bee stung lips]

Both BenC and William were eliminated at the 2 and 1 date and Nick was eliminated at the Rose Ceremony.

Wow..Ashely was on a roll last night. Guess William cooked his goose a couple of weeks ago at the roast.

[Eastcoastmom]

Cute or not, I was so glad to see William leave. I liked him early on in the second episode during their one-on-one but then he lost me. He was pretty much what he claimed to be: a thirty year old kid. While I thought he might have gone too far in the roast - and reports say he went on for much longer than what we saw - it was his PI's that were the most telling. I felt he was a young man who was much less mature than the others appear to be-with a bit of a mean streak. His behavior when he was eliminated was a classic example of why I don't care for him. After being back-stabbing and then gloating, he broke down with: "Woe is me," "My life stinks." I think he needs to take some responsibility for his life. If the same thing keeps happening to him in relationships, maybe there's a reason why.

ITA with this... definitely saw his mean streak and his immature ways. Who wants to be with a 30 year old kid anyway? Better to say he'd like to keep his childlike innocence or playfulness or some such thing but to want to be a 30 y.o. kid? That was very off-putting to me. And considering that his dad was an alcoholic and died in such a horrible manner, William would be wise to lay off the booze, imo. He definitely looked bombed back at the house when it was just he and Ben C and the others were on the group date. He was definitely drinking and his eyes looked all glassy.

[psucashcow]

For anyone who thinks that Fleiss has skewered Ashley worse than any other bachelorette....one name....Jen Scheft. The whole Thailand, Thailand, Thailand rant was kept in and embellished. She earned the name She Whose Name Should Not Be Mentioned or something like that. Other than Trista, there really aren't too many that don't go thru the Fleiss grinder to get their 15 minutes of fame and a paycheck and/or exposure. I faced it a long time ago that Fleiss is a sadist and really enjoys messing with people because he can.

I'm really glad that SciFi channel's lineup will be airing in a couple weeks and then I will have a legitimate reason to not view the rest of the season. I'll just stop by here to read Arielflies' recaps.