A Man's Perspective - Week 8

A few random thoughts from week 8 - The "These girls do something besides tan and drink champagne" episode.

- I think the highlight of this week's episode was seeing the portrait of Shawntel and her sisters. Hopefully 80 years from now, that picture is on display sitting right next to their urns.
- On second thought, the intro to Shawntel's Chico hometown date was the highlight of week 8. That commercial was CLASSIC!! I thought it was an SNL skit at first
- I love when reality television hits the streets of New York. In every other state, you see random people stop to look at the camera, smile or waive. People on the street in NY just keep walking and see the cameras as an inconvenience.
- Why wouldn't Brad kiss Emily? Did he really think little Rickey was going to wake up? If she can fall asleep with a cameraman two feet from her bed, I doubt she is going to hear you smooching downstairs.
- So let me get this straight, ABC really needed to fly all four girls across the country for one of them to get dumped??!! I suggest a rose ceremony over Skype after the hometown date. Save one of the girls a trip. You could have the girls watch the rose ceremony with their family around, just like they do when they announce the teams that are selected into the NCAA basketball tournament each year.

Quote of the Week - Week 8

Brad - "Can I walk you out? Can I hold your hand?". I didn't hear any good quotes for week 8, so this week's award goes to Brad as the worst breaker upper EVER! I don't know if it is the questions or just the tone of his voice, but his consoling the girls after he breaks up with them is driving me crazy. And one more thing, don't put your hand on Shawntel's bare leg after you break up with her!!

Not a lot of advice for the girls this week and I doubt there will be for the rest of the season. These four girls made it this far because they have for the most part known how to conduct themselves on a date. They have made it past the dating stage and are entering into the relationship stage. For some people the relationship stage can last for years before marriage, for others it can be weeks. Clearly, any guy that goes on the Bachelor measures relationships in weeks rather than years. At this point Brad just needs to pick the girl that is right for him. Is he looking for the girl next door (Ashley), the beauty queen (Emily) or physical chemistry (Chantal)?

Advice for the Bachelorettes

Ashley - This is what I was thinking during the lunch scene. "She has really white teeth...she noticed Brad's crown. Oh yea, she is a dentist." Funny how you forget what these people really do for a living. Also shows why these hometown dates are so important. Brad gets a glimpse into what life with these girls might actually be like once the show has ended. Ashley's great relationship with her family was no surprise.

Chantal - She does a really good job of presenting herself. She is confident, she smiles a lot, she is well spoken, but not too choosy with her words, so she always comes off as genuine. Maybe a little emotional, but isn't every woman? Wow, what a house! Chantal obviously comes from money. I like that I didn't know this until this episode. My only advice for Chantal - You are a very attractive girl, but you need someone to give you the honest truth about what you wear every once in a while. That rose ceremony dress was not flattering. I didn't like your hair either. I liked the instant connection Brad had with wealthy businessman Mike O'Brien. Once your daughter is an adult that can make her own decisions, you don't need an overly protective father. A good father-in-law relationship should be friendly and not a father/son relationship.

Emily - Not much to talk about here. Emily is still super hot. She finally seemed natural when she was with her daughter. The only problem with this hometown was Brad. He obviously has little experience with kids and he is talking way too much about being Rickey's dad. Is it Ricky or Rickey? Interesting that once you have kids, the home town date doesn't include the Bachelorette's parents.

A few words for our parting Bachelorette

Shawntel - Hometown dates should give Brad a little taste of your life away from the show and to introduce Brad to your family. The key word is "little". Note to Shawntel - your job is not your life. I can understand bringing Brad to the funeral home, but spending the entire afternoon there shows Brad that your work might just be your life and if so, you have nothing in common. Shawntel's conversation with her dad made me feel sad for Shawntel. I think it would be hard to bear the responsibility of a community that needs you. It restricts your freedom. As a guy, I would never want to be the reason for a daugher and her parents not getting along. I think this would be a dealbreaker for me. So my advice to all (2-3?) of my readers is this...if you have to choose between your parents and a guy, don't have that conversation in front of the guy. I like Shawntel and believe she will be better off without Brad.

Oh and here are the results from a quick google search on why Chantal lives in the most amazing home that I've ever seen.

O'Brien, 51, now owns one of the Northwest's biggest auto empires with eight dealerships in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and Kirkland selling Lexus, Land Rover, Jaguar, Toyota and Acura vehicles. His new Bellevue Lexus dealership, at the end of auto row and bordering Interstate 405, could hold several football fields. He's been hugely successful.