It Really Was the Most Dramatic ‘Bachelor’ Season Finale Ever

By Emma Chance | TV | March 27, 2024 |

By Emma Chance | TV | March 27, 2024 |

I ran out of patience for The Bachelor a while ago, but even I have to admit that this season, and its finale especially, were historic, at least in the context of the franchise. And it had nothing to do with the leading man.

Joey Graziadei, despite his being praised for being, I don’t know … sweet, I guess? A decent communicator? Nice to look at? He really didn’t do anything for me, as is typical of the men of Bachelor Nation, with a few occasional exceptions (I’m still waiting for Mike Johnson’s leading season.) I paid close attention to Graziadei’s first few episodes just so I would know what everyone was talking about, then fell off towards the middle as usual when it gets boring and they go on a bunch of helicopters and stuff, and then picked back up for the finale, where the last two women standing were Daisy Kent, the fan favorite, and Kelsey Anderson. Basically, everything you need to know is that Daisy saw the writing on the wall leading up to the big proposal and could just tell Graziadei wasn’t that into her, or at least not as much as he was into Anderson.

And now we get to the historic part. Usually, the finale is two hours of hopeful women staring out of windows, wishing to be proposed to, constantly interrupted by check-ins from the live broadcast where the host says stuff about how suspenseful it all is. The ladies get driven to where they’ll either get engaged or dumped—usually at a very staged, very windy tropical location of some kind—and then they either celebrate with their new fiancé or get carted off again, praying they saved the receipt for their finale gown. Kent, however, didn’t see the point in all that.

Now, Kent is not the first woman to go into her final dumping, sensing what was about to happen. Lest we forget Gabi Elnicki stepping out of the car and into a mud puddle and saying, “When it actually matters when Kaity arrives, don’t do that to her.”

But Kent is the first finalist to go to her competitor’s room, tell her what’s up, and then ride with her in the car to the proposal site, clutching her hand all the way.

The most dramatic moment in Bachelor history
byu/clementinesd inBachelorNation

She is the first person to interrupt the Bachelor’s dumping speech and basically say, “I’m gonna let you finish, but I’m actually breaking up with you because you don’t love me as much as I love you and you’re clearly not choosing me, and that’s fine!” Then she marched away in her slinky red dress and let the lovers get on with it.

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A post shared by Daisy Kathryn Rae Kent (@daisyykent)

“I think we were both just really emotional at that moment, and we wanted each other’s support through that drive there,” Anderson says of the decision to ride in the car together. “In the video, you only saw us gazing out the windows, but we had great conversations in the car ride, and we were hyping each other up.” She also says she built a “strong connection” with Kent.

“I think that a lot of people watching the show think that it’s a competition. We’re all competing for Joey, but it’s a joint decision. I’m choosing Joey as well as Joey choosing me.”

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A post shared by Joey Graziadei (@joeygraziadei)

I am here for the positive female friendship representation!

But that wasn’t the only history-making moment of the finale. It was also announced that Jenn Tran, who competed for Joey’s heart, will be the first Asian American Bachelorette for season 21.

“It’s incredible, and I feel so, so grateful and so honored to be the first Asian American Bachelorette in this franchise. Growing up, I always wanted to see Asian representation on TV, and I felt like it was really sparse. Any time Asians were in the media, it was to fill a supporting character role, fulfill some sort of stereotype, and I always felt boxed in by that,” Tran said of the announcement.

“I was like, ‘I don’t see myself onscreen, I don’t see myself as a main character.’ And now to be here today sitting in this position saying, ‘I am going to lead my own love story—I am going to be the main character of my story.’ I just can’t help but think of how many people I’m inspiring and how many lives I’m changing.”

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After producers totally fumbled questions about diversity casting earlier this month, this is a step in the right direction.