One Gal’s Thoughts: 'Bachelor in Paradise' - Week 2

Since discovering the show during season two, I have looked forward to watching Bachelor in Paradise every year. At first, I felt a little silly getting so involved in a dating show, but now I unashamedly admit that I love it! I have watched a couple seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but they just don’t compare to BIP. Single guys and girls coming in at all times, looking for love makes for just the right blend of romance, comedy, and drama.

In case you don’t know the format of Bachelor in Paradise, I’ll give you a quick breakdown. The show starts with an even number of men and women who are available. Every other week, either the men or the women have “the power” and are the ones to give a rose to the person they would like to continue to date. Throughout the week, new men and women will come on the show resulting in an uneven amount of men and women, meaning whoever does not get a rose will be going home at the end of the week. The newcomers are given a date card, meaning they can ask anyone out on a date. As you might imagine, temptation and love triangles pop up all over the place. In every episode someone is interested in or loses interest in a potential mate. Singles are rushing to find someone who will give them a rose so they can at least stay until the next week, creating lots of juicy drama.

I have to include a little disclaimer here that I do not typically judge and analyze people this way in my everyday life. I know these people are real people, but they do come off more as fictional characters when watching the show. I think editing plays a big role in the impression I get while watching BIP, so remember, this is all in good fun! All of these singles are so much braver than I could ever be.

My Favorite Men

So far, my favorite guy on the show is Joe the grocer. Of course I have never met him, but by the way he is presented on the show he is very sweet, modest, and funny. He’s also easy on the eyes with a million dollar smile and adorable dimples. I also really like Venmo John. He is a sweetheart, smart, and I’m assuming successful. He makes interesting conversation and asks questions to the women unlike some of the other male contestants who mostly talk about themselves.

My Least Favorite Men

Since I didn’t watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette this year, the only exposure I have of most of these people is from watching Bachelor in Paradise so my impression of these guys is limited just to these first few episodes. Right now, I am really not a fan of Jordan, but I can appreciate the humor he brings to the show. Whether I am laughing at him or laughing with him, I don’t really know. I do know he seems pretty shallow and arrogant. I do think he handled his break up with Annaliese in a surprisingly mature way, however. I also am not loving Chris. His chat with Jordan at the end of the second episode of week two actually made me gag. Listing all of the women you are going to attempt to hook up with in one day is not attractive. It is bad enough that he is being so gross. What makes it worse is that poor Tia put her faith in him and seemed like she thought he was a good guy. Maybe it’s just me, but I also don’t like the way he narrates all of the situations as if he is an expert. Just stop.

My Favorite Women

This season, I like many of the women, but the ones who have stood out to me are Jenna, Bibiana, and Kendall. Jenna seems like a lot of fun. I was a little disappointed when she showed interest in Jordan, but they actually hit it off pretty quickly so we’ll see where that goes. At first I was a little put off by Bibiana’s goal to to get a black box put on her butt all season due to wearing revealing bikinis, but her personality is pretty likable. She is funny and seems like a down to earth girl. I am surprised that she hasn’t really found any potential mates yet. I like Kendall because she seems like a nice, normal girl. I like watching her and Joe together. They have easy conversation that I can get on board with.

My Least Favorite Women

To be honest, so far none of the women have stood out as characters that have rubbed my the wrong way. Some of them are a little less memorable than others, but if I had to choose my least favorite right now I think I’d have to choose Caroline. Like I said, I only have a limited impression of her, but the way she acted on her date with John was a little odd and I didn’t like that she kept bringing up the fact that John is not her “usual type.” It almost seemed like she wanted to make sure viewers knew she usually dates big, brawny guys, not guys like John who are on the skinny side. Be that as it may, these are very small offenses compared to the way the men talk about the women, so she is still okay in my book.

Couples with the Most Potential

It is still so early in the show so it is tough to say who will stay together or not. So far, I think Jordan and Jenna make a good match, but I have a feeling it is not going to last. I like John and Jubilee together, especially since they both have a computer programming background. They seemed to make an easy connection. We haven’t seen much of them, but I also think Joe and Kendall are a good match. Really, I think Joe would get along with anyone since he is just so easy-going.

Cringeworthy Moments

BIP is nothing without it’s awkward, hard to watch moments. When Jenna arrived and Jordan’s eyes lit up I really felt for Annaliese. It was pretty obvious that he was smitten with Jenna and Annaliese was basically forgotten. However, I don’t think the two of them were a match made in heaven anyway, especially with a seven year age difference, so it was probably all for the best. Another moment that was tough was when David brought Jenna the birthday cake. I kept yelling, “Just go away!” at my TV, especially once Jordan was sitting there with them. Despite the awkwardness, based on the week three preview I do think David surprisingly planted a seed in Jenna’s head that he might be a good match for her.

The worst by far had to be the whole Colton, Chris, and Tia situation at the end of part two. Chris was all over Tia a few days earlier, talking badly about Colton and making himself out to be her hero. Then he just goes and makes out with Krystal because he’s “never kissed a blonde?” No, thank you. I thought maybe he would go talk to Tia and have the all too common “We’re in paradise so I want to explore my options” conversation, but he he just went and bragged about how he made out with Krystal to the other contestants. The love triangle storyline hasn’t been the most interesting to me so far, but I am now looking forward to Tia ripping him a new one.

We’ll see what week three brings and maybe you can look forward to this gal’s thoughts again next week.