The Bachelor finale was a bigger disaster than anyone could have predicted

An engagement, a breakup, a reunion, and all-out family warfare. The Bachelor finale had it all.

Bachelor host Chris Harrison touts every single season as “the most dramatic ever,” but this time around, he wasn’t lying.

Peter Weber’s unpredictable season as The Bachelor came to a close on Tuesday night, and the final two-episode delivered an engagement, a breakup, a reunion, and the start of an all-out war between the Bachelor’s new partner and his mother.

In part one of the finale, 23-year-old Madison broke up with Peter and walked away from the show, explaining to Peter that they simply are too incompatible to have a stable long-term relationship. Peter was heartbroken, and had appeared to be favoring Madison as his first choice, but a few days later he proposed to 23-year-old Hannah Ann, who accepted.

At the time, Peter seemed fairly certain that Hannah Ann was “The One,” remarking that she’s the “most beautiful spirit” that he’s ever met.

“I am choosing Hannah Ann because I am 100 percent certain, and I want to choose her every day.”

Things changed when Peter and Hannah Ann returned to the real world. It was revealed that Hannah Ann and Peter went through a period where they didn’t see each other for a month (Chris Harrison later said they hadn’t talked for a month, but given their conversation, it seems like they were still in contact). The issue was that Peter could not get over his breakup with Madison, and that he could not fully “give his heart” to Hannah Ann. The engagement was broken off, and in a fiery segment on stage on Tuesday, Hannah Ann roasted Peter for taking away her first engagement.

“If you want to be with a woman, you need to be a real man.”

This somehow wasn’t the wildest moment of the episode. Afterward, Chris Harrison revealed that he had flown to Auburn, Alabama, to meet with Madison and inform her of Peter’s situation. Madison was ready to give her relationship with Peter another try, and accompanied Harrison back to Los Angeles to meet with him.

The entire time this video package was playing out, and for the majority of the show, Bachelor producers kept a reaction camera on Peter’s mother Barbara, who had expressed on Monday’s show that she strongly preferred Hannah Ann over Madison. Barb didn’t disappoint with her facial expressions.

After Madison and Peter announced that they intend to resume their relationship, Chris Harrison interviewed Barb – who didn’t hold back. Barb criticized Madison for her behavior in Australia on the day she met with Peter’s family, and reiterated that she believes the relationship has no chance.

“He’s going to have to fail to succeed…. Everyone that knows him knows it’s not going to work.”

Barb was booed by the live audience and excoriated on Twitter, but I can’t help but feel that Bachelor producers crossed a line of decency that could have profoundly negative effects on the Weber family in the long-term.
Peter’s mom mentioned during the episode that she had received “DMs” over how she acted on Monday’s show, likely signaling that she had also seen the waves of criticism from fans who felt she manipulated Peter, or hated on Madison. She probably entered part two of the finale already feeling under attack, which is why her discussion with Chris felt more like a battle. It made for memorable TV, but it absolutely did not need to happen.

The Bachelor keeping a camera on Peter’s mom and show her reaction to the entire show was amusing for a few moments, but excessive and gross as it went on. She was made to be a laughingstock on national television, and I somehow can’t believe that will lead to a healthy relationship with her son’s new girlfriend. Before Peter and Madison walked off the stage on Tuesday, it already felt like he was going to have to choose between his new love (who he has serious compatibility issues with) and his family because of the way the finale was staged.

Good luck to the happy couple. They’re going to need it.

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