There's a New F1 in Town and Fort Has It First

[Truelovealways]

Interesting concept. I guess all the Bachelors for 15 seasons weren't REAL Men and all the Bachelorettes for 6 seasons weren't REAL Women. Since they've all done the same thing and to more than just the F2 and some in more definitive ways. So, will Ashley as the Bachelorette and any future Bachelorette/Bachelor leads. Perhaps the Bachelor franchise is not the show to be held up to the standard for real men & women since the concept from the beginning has been to find one person to fall in love with and mislead the viewing audience and the other bachelor/ettes about who that beloved one is. It's been this way since the beginning. Brad didn't start it nor will it end with him.

ITA what was he supposed to do pick them both . At this point it doesn't matter what Brad says or does he can't win no matter what

[Alanna]

Oops would that be considered a Freudian slip - LOL

I figured!

[hooked4]

I am sure if you ask Ali, her final decision was not even close. If you ask Jake the big fake snake, even his decision was not even close. For goodness sake, even Jillian knew it would be Ed all along, despite having quite the prize Reid... but I digress! The show wants us to believe the lead is torn to pieces right up until the final minutes. But really, the heart rarely works that way. We typically fall in love with just one person at a time. As much as I have liked Chantal this season, there is not one thing that comes to my mind that leads me to believe Brad was falling in love with her!

[sanlee]

I am sure if you ask Ali, her final decision was not even close. If you ask Jake the big fake snake, even his decision was not even close. For goodness sake, even Jillian knew it would be Ed all along, despite having quite the prize Reid... but I digress! The show wants us to believe the lead is torn to pieces right up until the final minutes. But really, the heart rarely works that way. We typically fall in love with just one person at a time. As much as I have liked Chantal this season, there is not one thing that comes to my mind that leads me to believe Brad was falling in love with her!

Ali already said that if Roberto wasn't there, she would have walked away alone. She got hated for saying that too.

[Alanna]

Ali already said that if Roberto wasn't there, she would have walked away alone. She got hated for saying that too.

I think Ali is retconning big time because she was all over Frank and he was her type, but of course she would never admit to anything about that.

Anyway, I don't think anyone wants the leads to be torn. They just want the lead to "suffer" while letting the other person go and not have it be "easy." At least, that's what the crux of it is to me.

[hooked4]

Interesting concept. I guess all the Bachelors for 15 seasons weren't REAL Men and all the Bachelorettes for 6 seasons weren't REAL Women. Since they've all done the same thing and to more than just the F2 and some in more definitive ways. So, will Ashley as the Bachelorette and any future Bachelorette/Bachelor leads. Perhaps the Bachelor franchise is not the show to be held up to the standard for real men & women since the concept from the beginning has been to find one person to fall in love with and mislead the viewing audience and the other bachelor/ettes about who that beloved one is. It's been this way since the beginning. Brad didn't start it nor will it end with him.

My greatest wish right now is that Chantal would be the Bachlorette - just so that some people could see her cold-heartedly string along the F2 after having fallen madly in love, "he has changed my life forever" with her F1. Happens every season, it would happen with Chantal too!

[jamabae]

You raise a good point. I certainly wasn't trying to hurt F2 at all. Speaking more of Brad's love for F1 as being real and not a spontaneous decision. His motives were questioned the first time around when he didn't pick anyone and his ability to "commit" or "Fall in love" have still been questioned this time around. I'm just trying to point out that he did fall in love this time. And not in a fake, for camera, type of way. But a way that that the loyal viewers of this show hope to witness every single season. He fell in love but now so many people don't like the way he fell in love. They want it on their terms, not his.

The show wants to lead to give every relationship a chance and to live every date and interaction in the moment. As much as someone can do that, he tried. For the record, Brad has said in interviews that he started falling in love early and he fell hard. He has never implied since that he was falling for 2 girls.

Nevertheless, it's a tough road for the F2 every season. But, I can't think of any F2 that hasn't landed on her feet and ultimately been better off.

Re Bold: I, for one, and I'm sure I can speak for a few others, have NEVER seen a story like this unfold on TB. There is maybe a season or 2 that comes close, but IMO, this has been, by far, the best of them. And we haven't even hit the finale yet. I have even joked with friends that I almost don't want to watch the FRC in case something "bad" happens. I'd almost rather just go on with my life believing that they are happy somewhere in world.

No lead can make everybody (viewers) happy. It's a show, first and foremost. To me, the story is even sweeter knowing he only truly fell in love with one girl. There will always be an F2, regardless of whether or not the lead has strong feelings for him/her. Luckily and happily for Brad, in making this "show," he was able to find love. As there STILL would have been an F2 if he hadn't.

[Truelovealways]

I think Ali is retconning big time because she was all over Frank and he was her type, but of course she would never admit to anything about that.

Anyway, I don't think anyone wants the leads to be torn. They just want the lead to "suffer" while letting the other person go and not have it be "easy." At least, that's what the crux of it is to me.

How do we know that it wasn't hard for Brad to let Chantal go?? Even though the race wasn't "close" doesn't mean it was a walk in the park for him to break her heart. He cared about her as a person and a friend so I don't think it will be easy for him to let her go. He has said many times that he doesn't like hurting people and I believe him

[ButterflyFaery]

ITA what was he supposed to do pick them both . At this point it doesn't matter what Brad says or does he can't win no matter what

I have been saying from the get go that both of the F2 were great ladies to choose from that he was one of the few that had a win/win situation....Chantel is my favorite but I can live with that he fell in love with Emily...but when his friend made his comment yesterday about how it wasn't a choice at all...I felt like he was telling Chantel (since we knows she reads the boards) you don't matter...your feelings aren't important and here ..let me just rub your nose in it a bit more..and that really turned me off

[framikmin]

My point is that Brad was supposedly true to himself the first go around and did the noble thing. So given he was in love early and hard (his words not mine) why couldn't he do the same thing here.

If the Bachelor is being just a show it would then reflect the SHOW itself is paramount and not the people this go around. So why are we all rooting for either F1 or F2? It can't be both. I'm just wondering when it's a show and when it's the people.