Defending Juan Pablo: Was He Too Much Reality TV For Us?
We are a nation of reality TV junkies desperate for happy endings; realistic or not. Last night we sat glued to our seats, wasting precious hours of our lives in anticipation of whom Juan Pablo would choose. Will he propose to Nikki or Claire?But when he refused both, instead dismissing Claire and giving Nikki simply a rose, (to "assept," sorry, being a bit cheeky here), I'm not sure who was more disappointed; them or us? Making his situation infinitely worse, he then clearly ticked off Chris Harrison with his refusal to tell Nikki he loved her on national television, despite Harrison's unrelenting attempts.Reality TV left a very dissatisfied audience; something "The Bachelor" doesn't want. After all, we tune in for true love conquering all, right?The premise behind "The Bachelor" is the idea that by placing twenty or so of who seem to be well-educated and attractive women together to humiliate themselves in a competition against each other to win a man, after approximately ten weeks of falling madly in love in outlandishly unrealistic settings, they are supposed to end their journey with a proposal and eventually a wedding in front of their friends, families and a television audience of millions.Clearly, this season, something went horribly wrong. So, then, is Juan Pablo a bad guy? Is Nikki blind?Listen, Juan Pablo might not have been the best choice for our latest "Bachelor." I do think that a language and cultural barrier was in play because he just "didn't get it" a lot of the time, and perhaps he "wasn't in it for the right reasons."Although it was all an "amazing" experience, perhaps trying to find the love of your life and the future step- mother to your daughter in this type of environment wasn't his best idea. If he were "just being honest" he might admit that he really enjoyed kissing multiple gorgeous women in multiple gorgeous settings, and despite his best attempts to really "put himself out there" just didn't feel it "100%" in the end. It's all "ok. It's fine."If I'm "just being honest," his ending is the most realistic ending to a "Bachelor" or "Bachelorette" season I've ever witnessed. Let's face it; although we would have all preferred the dashing knight proposing to the "winning" woman, followed by the gushing all over the couch during the live dramatic, "After The Final Rose," we all know all too well the way of Brad and Emily and countless others.So let's hear it for Juan Pablo; he's just being real...Your thoughts??