In all of the uncertainty and turbulence of 2020, one thing is for certain. Reality TV must go on. And for “The Bachelorette” Clare Crawley, her love life depends on it.
Longtime fans of the show will remember Clare as the runner-up from Juan Pablo’s season of “The Bachelor” back in 2014. She has also appeared in “Bachelor In Paradise” Seasons 1 and 2, and “Bachelor Winter Games,” where she met her former fiancé Benoit Beauséjour-Savard. Beauséjour-Savard and Crawley did not end up staying together in the long run.
After several unsuccessful attempts at love on past Bachelor shows, Crawley was named as the next season’s Bachelorette during Peter Weber’s “Bachelor” season finale. Crawley is the oldest Bachelorette the show has ever had at 39, but that doesn’t seem to inhibit her.
Season 16 of “The Bachelorette” premiered like any COVID-bound season would: Chris Harrison facetimes Clare to inform her that she has been chosen to be The Bachelorette. Clare is excited, but breaking traditional Bachelor convention, that excitement quickly fades as it is announced that filming will not begin due to the pandemic.
Scenes of Crawley passing the time in her house and staring out her window longingly flash across the screen, until finally, she receives another phone call where she finds out that her season can begin filming.
The Bachelor franchise is notorious for their extravagant travels to foreign countries during filming, but this season looks a little different. There is no traditional Bachelor mansion this time: the entire cast and crew are staying at the beautiful La Quinta Resort and Club in La Quinta, California.
Clare is tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and maintains a self quarantine, although she does get to bring her dogs— a Bachelor nation first. After Crawley’s negative test result, the 30 eligible men begin to arrive at the resort, all being tested and quarantined.
“No one else in the world is able to find love the way you’re doing it right here,” Chris Harrison reminds Clare. Clare talks about how difficult COVID-19 has been on her— she hasn’t been able to see her elderly mother, and she felt as if this day would never come. But Clare is sure of one thing: she’s 39, and she knows what she wants.
The men arrive in mostly the traditional limos, but some have more extensive first entrance strategies than others. Tyler C arrives in an old station wagon, Bennet follows in a Rolls Royce, and Eazy jumps through a tarp that reads “Your future husband.”
But all of the entrances seemed to pale in comparison to Dale Moss, a former pro football player. He greets Clare with a relaxed smile. Clare is visibly shaken by Dale’s presence. After he walks away, she turns to the cameras and says, “I definitely feel like I just met my husband.”
This declaration did not come as a surprise to fans of the franchise. There have been rumors circulating for months that Clare and Dale fall in love instantly and leave the show together, leaving producers to allegedly bring in Tayshia Adams as the new Bachelorette to replace Clare. Watching Clare and Dale’s immediate chemistry, it seems that these rumors may have some truth to them.
Chris Harrison walks out to Clare, asking her to explain what she has just said about Dale. “Every other guy I felt confident with,” Clare shares. “But with Dale, everything else went dark around me….I’m 39. I know these things.”
Clare still has to greet another group of men before heading inside. The evening is full of cocktails, toasts, and awkward first date questions. What is undeniable is her connection with Dale, most notably when he receives the coveted first impression rose.
There is, of course, some brief drama between two contestants Tyler C and Yosef. Tyler C accuses Yosef of some shady Instagram DM-ing, but Clare seems disinterested by the entire thing and ends up sending Tyler C home with 7 other men during the first rose ceremony, per standard convention of the show.
The first episode finishes with an explosive preview of what is to come during this season of “The Bachelorette.” As expected, there are lots of tears, conflict between the men, and anger towards Clare and Dale as it seems that the other contestants will soon figure out the extent of their chemistry. This suspicion of the two seemingly leads to them being accused of talking before the show, something that is extremely prohibited. In this same preview, Chris Harrison tells a tearful Clare, “You just blew up The Bachelorette.” Another limo pulls up to the resort, where Chris Harrison meets it, but as the door opens, the face of the passenger is not shown. The audience is left to wonder: Who could it be?
It seems that Clare will not be having a typical season of “The Bachelorette.” By announcing such a climactic statement on the very first night, “I think I just met my husband,” Clare is already breaking the “rules” put into place by production. If she truly has met her husband, she will not be able to continue filming for the rest of the season, and the production team will be forced to bring in some type of outside source to continue the show. This makes Clare’s season one to watch, and maybe just the most dramatic season the show has ever had.
One thing is for certain, Bachelor Nation is looking to be entertained this season after the unsuccessful quests for love during Peter Weber’s past season of “The Bachelor” and Hannah Brown’s past season of “The Bachelorette.” And I think we can all acknowledge how nice it is to take a break and divulge into a COVID-free reality TV escape.
You can watch Season 16 of The Bachelorette on Tuesdays at 8pm on ABC.
Featured Image courtesy of Dino Lendo via Flickr Creative Commons
