The Bachelorette Recap: Season 11 Finale!

This is it! This long journey is coming to an end!

2 hours? I knew there was a catch. I know ABC needs the ad revenue, but good grief. Chris Harrison asks if we’re excited and ready to go – you better believe I’m ready to go.

Now the guys are going to meet Kaitlyn’s family. And Kaitlyn’s mom doesn’t like Nick. Uh oh Nick. I’m amazed Kaitlyn’s dad doesn’t punch him. Turns out, it’s Kaitlyn’s mom who grills Nick first. She calls him arrogant from his conduct on the past season. I wanted to cheer – maybe he’ll bail out and it shortens this episode. But then he starts to win her over. My heart sinks. As I’ve said, he plays the crying guy thing well. Snap. Now the talk with Dad, which completely lacks in substance – he pretty much goes like this:

Kaitlyn’s dad – “Are you sure?”

Nick – “Yeah.” (no yes sir, I’m terrified of angering you, sir, because of what you may do to me, sir)

Kaitlyn’s dad – “Ok then.”

Now Shawn’s going to meet Kaitlyn’s family. Kaitlyn’s mom makes a great observation – Shawn’s jealousy issues and the fact that he should’ve known what he was getting into. Yup. Shawn’s visit seems to be going well. And then Mom drags Shawn off for interrogation. Let’s see if Shawn refers to Nick by his name or as “the other guy”. But it goes well. To Shawn’s credit, he asks for Mom and Dad’s blessing before proposing. Shawn is the hands down winner here.

It’s over – unless there’s a shocker, Nick’s taking the final ride of shame this season. Where’s Tony?

Most baffling of all: no tough questions from her dad.

So now a sailing date with Nick – it goes well. Nick would be the winner if not for his buddy, Shawn. He gives her a touching gift – yuck. If Nick goes home, I wonder if Kaitlyn keeps the gift or if Shawn will hit the picture with a golf club. But Nick may still pull out the victory. I can only assume one more date with Shawn’s around the corner. Why can’t they determine the winner by playing one potato-two potato?

Now onto Shawn’s last date. And of course, not too far into it, Shawn’s nervous. I wonder if he’ll interrupt Kaitlyn and Nick later on? We’ll see. Shawn had a gift of his own – a memory jar. Not too bad.

So who had the better gift? Who’s going to win? Onto the big day! And now we’re ring shopping – and the guy brings the ring to the guys. Now that’s how to shop. No stressing over parking. Nick’s already bought a ring, so this step is unnecessary. Could’ve saved 5 minutes from this episode.

Uh oh, Nick is up first. Doesn’t that mean he’s out? And sure enough, just as he gets the ring out of his pocket, she pulls a block, worthy of Dikembe Mutumbo (look it up). Look, Nick hasn’t been my favorite, but watching this guy (or any guy) get his hopes crushed isn’t cool. In case you’ve ever wondered, this is what being a Chicago Cubs fan is like. And she walks him out. That’s it.

And now, finally, after all this, it comes down to Kaitlyn and Shawn. Let’s get on with this. What follows is a great on-screen proposal and the final rose. Yay! It’s over!!!!!

But now, the live studio audience show, with Shawn and Nick together on stage. Hopefully one or the other trained with Kupah. After a nice reintroduction of Kaitlyn and Shawn, Nick comes out for some humiliation. Nick actually seems very likable at this point – hair notwithstanding. Nick doesn’t seem thrilled to hear he gets to talk to Shawn.

So Shawn comes out – and Nick and Shawn actually shake hands! They talk and go into an uneasy truce. Chris tries to get them to hug it out – nope. So much for a brawl.

Then it’s on to Kaitlyn and Nick’s reunion. Awkward. Making Nick watch some of this again in front of people is just cruel. And then he just disappears.

And then Chris wraps up by asking Kaitlyn and Shawn what they’re going to do next. First up – come out of hiding. Let’s hope it works out for them

That does it for the season! This has, at times, been fun, and frustrating at other times. I’m obviously not the show’s demographic, just as I’m not the demographic for many things on TV now. To be fair, ABC is providing content viewers want, but I think there should be a limit on what networks will show on prime time TV (call it the network’s conscience on what to broadcast). As I’ve said before, I can’t help but wonder how Walt Disney would react to this show (and a lot of others), and there are so many inappropriate things on air now. I disagree with much of it, and that’s it. So now it’s back to baseball, so I’m pretty happy about that.

back to watching baseball!

Maybe next time I’ll get asked to recap BattleBots, or even some Disney Jr shows.

What did you think of the season finale? Is there a particular show you would like me to recap?

Chris W. (NDD #300)

Since going to Walt Disney World and Disneyland at a young age, Chris has always enjoyed Disney music, TV shows, movies, and trips to Walt Disney World. But his appreciation of the overall Disney experience has greatly increased over the last few years. While waiting for the next chance to work on his Disney photography skills, Chris passes the time listening to Park/Resort audio, WDW podcasts, and checking out the work of other Disney photographers. To Chris, there are no bad Disney trip photographs or photographers.

Non-Disney pursuits include spending time with his wife and children, watching and listening to baseball broadcasts, and cheering for the Chicago Cubs and LSU. Chris is a third generation professional engineer in Louisiana, working mainly on asbestos, lead, mold and demolition projects. Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWhitePE and you can check out his Flickr photo stream: chris_white2323.