We’ve arrived to the end of Mel’s journey to find love as the Golden Bachelor. Although I haven’t really though he was a great lead, just not opening up to the awesome cast of women he had, but I’ve really enjoyed this season as I have the first two golden season.
Mel’s down to his final two women, Cindy and Peg. I like both of them, but during fantasy suites week it was pretty clear. His date and fantasy suite with Peg went great, with him finally telling her about his feelings for her and opening up to her. His conversation at dinner with Cindy didn’t seem to go great though, with Mel just deflecting that there was still another woman there and that he couldn’t tell her it was going to be happily ever after because of that, with a wishy washy “if there’s a will there’s a way”, just to cut this week.
We pick off right where we left off with that conversation at the dock. Cindy asks Mel if there’s a will, and he just says “yeah, of course, and that it’s a difficult time and situation” and that he’s torn between her and Peg. He tells her that their relationship needs to develop over time and that he doesn’t need to propose. Obviously Cindy isn’t happy with that, and I can’t really blame her with him telling her that it could be two years. He tells her that she has a choice too, and she says that she wants her guy to feel like he got struck by lightning, and she decides that waiting around for him isn’t what she wants. Cindy rightfully sends herself home. That sucks. I really liked her. They should absolutely make her the next Golden Bachelorette. Cindy was far and away my favorite woman of this season.
Right after that dinner, Jesse comes to talk to Mel, talks a little bit of sense into him and Mel’s a bit off on that whole conversation though, saying that she quit. Can’t blame her for leaving after that conversation whatsoever though. Jesse asks him if he had another chance to talk to Cindy, if he’d ask her to stay. Nick Schmaltz made it 4-2 Mammoth with 9:51 left in regulation off a nice setup from behind the net from Clayton Keller.
Back to the studio, with Cindy talking to Jesse on the hot seat. She says she was glad to watch that conversation back for the first time and was grateful to see it. She says that Mel did not go find her, and she was glad that he didn’t, since her decision was already made. Jesse asks what she had to hear from Mel that night to get her to stay, and she said that she needed to hear the “ands and because” and the specifics of how she would relate and fit into his life. Cindy says that she didn’t need to convince a man to love her and that she has no regrets for leaving.
Mel joins Cindy on the hot seat to bring closure to their relationship. She tells him that she was very disappointed that he wasn’t ready for an engagement, not just with her, but for all the women. Cindy says that Mel said more to Jesse than he did to her, and he just deflects it about that Peg was still there and that they had to still develop it. She says that’s fair, that they just weren’t aligned. He’s coming off as an asshole in this convo, and it’s just pointing out more that he shouldn’t have been the lead. Cindy handles it wonderfully, so classy and perfect.
We’re back to Mel’s journey continuing with Cindy gone in Antigua, with just Peg remaining. The next morning, Mel goes to talk to Peg in her suite. He tells her everything that happened the night before and that Cindy left, and that he still wants him and her. He says that he wasn’t prepared and ready to commit to a proposal. That also makes Peg nervous about Mel’s lack of commitment with Cindy, giving her a bit of a concern about what Mel is actually looking for.
Mel goes to talk to his boys and a lady that’s his friend from college. He tells them that there’s just one woman left and about Cindy leaving after he couldn’t commit to getting married. In a confessional, his friend says that she respects Cindy leaving but that she could tell that it was bothering Mel. It’s the first time Mel’s kids are meeting someone Mel’s dating since he got divorced. It all goes well. Mel’s friend Diane tells him to not let his analytical brain get in the way of his heart.
At the final rose, Mel gives Peg a Niel Lane ring, not proposing or either saying I Love You, but staying together to see how their relationship could work. She happily accepts the final rose.
How anti-climactic. But in a way, I kinda love it. This franchise forces couples into engagements after like six weeks, without actually experiencing the real world together. It’s just not realistic, and although there’s a bunch of great couples still together years and years after being on the show, way way more fail. Cause it isn’t realistic to go from this vacation bubble, with such heightened emotions, to navigating the world together as a couple.
Back to the LA studio for After the Final Rose. They both say that they fell in love with each other and are still happily together.
This was a solid season and I enjoyed watching it. I still don’t think Mel should’ve been the lead, but that did lead to an unconventional ending, that the more I think about it the more I like that they actually took a more real world approach to it. Gotta respect that.
We get a little preview of Taylor Frankie Paul as the next Bachelorette, which I don’t know what to expect out of. I’ve never watched Secret Wives of Mormon Wives, but the fact that she’s already a celebrity coming into this is something we’ve never had in this franchise before. It’ll be interesting.
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