ABC
In retrospect, I am not surprised by Chris Harrison’s warning that this episode is about to be very emotional. I totally agree, tonight was a major “pity party.” I heard a country song playing in my mind, “Don’t pity me – e – e!” When they really mean please do!
First of all, we were privy to the Queen of Cinematic Royalty, Michelle Money’s blast of venom that she hates all the girls. What a hater! As I have previously said, this girl is on a mission, she has a strategic plan. You are welcome to refer to my original intuitive reading of Michelle Money that took place while the show was in the early stage of filming.
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Brad’s one-on-one date with Ashley:
Ashley Spivey and Brad head to Capitol Records to record their own version of Seal’s ‘Kiss from a Rose.’ Ashley acknowledged that this was actually “her special song.” What a coincidence made in the producer’s heaven! Unfortunately, neither Brad nor Ashley were blessed with singing talent, so we had to suffer through a pitiful duet flatter than flatland! With so much in common, these two seem ideal for each other. LOL. As soon as they were done recording, Seal showed up to serenade the couple with a private concert. Afterwards they shared a romantic dinner on the roof of the building and danced to “Kiss from a Rose.”
Now let’s get down to business and discuss what was really going on. Brad’s key phrase for this date was: Ashley is an amazing woman, she makes me feel comfortable. Note that the word “comfortable” will be constantly repeated throughout the entire episode. This raises the question: why did Brad place so much emphasis on being in his own comfort zone? Does being comfortable mean he didn’t feel threatened, that he was in charge emotionally? I feel that this is the case. Ashley apparently intuitively picked up what makes Brad comfortable. Hence, when the time was ripe she pulled out her ‘distraught’ trump card – the ‘daddy story.’ No insult intended, but clearly it was meant to enlist sympathy, make Brad feel a need to console her. It’s like women can see right through this guy. Of course, it was a manipulation, but let’s face it – it worked! Any port in a storm, so they say! Not surprisingly, Ashley received a rose. He really likes this gal.
Group date:
In the beginning of the date Brad puts on an impressive fighting act as he furiously takes on attackers from every side. The girls are stunned by the sudden, abrupt fury of the event. Obviously, they are not aware that they are about to perform stunts of a similar nature. A professional stuntman shows Brad and the group of girls: Alli, Ashley H., Britt, Chantal, Kim, Lisa, Lindsey, Michelle, Marissa, Shawntel and Stacey how to perform the stunts.
Shawntel makes the biggest impression on Brad. During one of the scenes she comes to Brad’s rescue and lays a big smooch on him and says, “A woman has got to do, what a woman’s got to do!” It was more like watching an oral rape of a helpless man, but Brad didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed a little turned on by her kiss. In the next scene Brad rescued Shawntel from a fire. Talk about chemistry, these two combine like fire and air. Later in the night, Shawntel gets the rose.
After the stunts, the group has a night out on the town. Brad sets an example of how to let it rip and jumps into the pool followed by the girls. They all seem to have a great time. Later, Brad and Chantal disappear from the group to have some private time together. Chantal cozies up to Brad and flashes the seal eyes and the “pity party’ begins. Her first line is, “Every time I ‘like’ feel special with you, I have to share you with the other girls.” With that she turns on the faucets full blast! She then shares her ‘daddy dear’ confessional. No doubt she’s drunk. After snorting on his shoulder, she makes a big confession that she has this ridiculous connection and chemistry with him. Brad looks amused but pleased. Falling in line perfectly with the general emotional consensus, Chantal puts on the helpless, humble act, you know, the bird with the shattered wing. Hidden behind her humble pie behavior is another person – the controlling, willful type. But then again, Brad seems to like the personalities that teeter somewhere between insecurity and assertiveness.
However, their cozy conversation is disrupted by the calculating, evil princess, Michelle Money. We’re surprised – but maybe not too surprised to see Michelle come on with a ‘pity me’ performance. Moving in on him with teary eyes she guiltily reveals that she feels selfish for leaving her daughter and joining the show. He gives her a look like, “Oh, really!”
Bottom line: Brad seems to have a knack for drawing out the most pitiful stories from the ladies without really revealing much about his feelings.
Brad’s date with Emily:
I was amused when one of the girls described Emily as an itsy, bitsy, Barbie Doll with the soul of Mother Theresa. You want to hate her, but can’t. There we have the double entendre again. Anyway, Emily Maynard and Brad take a private jet to a vineyard in Santa Maria, California where they fly kites and have dinner in a barn. However, the atmosphere seems to be tense. Brad complains that he doesn’t know how to read Emily. He can feel a wall and states that she is deflecting his questions, that is, putting them off. Brad’s persistence to dig deeper seems to make Emily uncomfortable. I don’t think she liked Brad’s approach. She squirmed because instead of opening up himself Brad took control of the situation and made her feel like a defendant in a court room. She doesn’t like to be grilled to the third degree.
Mysteriously, a cool wind chills Brad suggesting something deep is taking place here. We know she has a personal story to share that has scared other men off. After an awkward pause, she opens up and says that as much as she likes to be on the show, there has been an elephant in the room. Supposedly this implies she has a lot of emotional baggage. Emily explains that she’s been in love only once in her life and her beloved died in an airplane crash. Additionally, she shares that her only reason for living is her little girl. As she tells her story, she compulsively sips wine while Brad nervously swallows. If you recall, I made a reading on Emily and her potential relationship with Brad while the show was being filmed. Back then I intuitively picked up on the true reasons why Emily can’t fall in love again. On October 8, 2010 I wrote the following:
“Even though she obviously has been alone for a while, she is still subconsciously grieving over the loss of her former boyfriend. Aquarians tend to fall in love once in a lifetime and find it difficult to fall in love again. In Emily’s case, she may be holding on to the memory of Rick so much that it impedes her ability to open her heart to another person. Moreover, her ‘ideal’ mate has to measure up to the bar set by Rick.”
After watching this episode, I became convinced that on a deeper level Emily is still grieving the loss of her boyfriend. She is subconsciously sending out a message that she doesn’t want to fall in love again just to lose that person. Brad expresses his sympathy and the atmosphere seems to warm up a bit. At the end of the date Brad says that they had a major breakthrough. He feels that there is an intense connection between them and that Emily could be the women he could spend his life with. Emily receives the rose.
Brad’s therapy session:
Apparently the producers felt a need to invite Brad’s therapist to the show. The therapist points out that Brad needs to open up to the ladies and become accessible, emotionally vulnerable. Brad readily agrees with his therapist. The actual truth is, there is too much focus on the ladies breaking down their walls to make Brad comfortable. However, I am yet to see Brad fully opening up without first encouraging the ladies. It seems like he needs to be the ‘father confessor,’ that is, the one in charge. He doesn’t like to go first – it’s like he’s hiding behind their confessions. This is why Emily felt uncomfortable.
In summary, Brad seems like a humble guy, sincere and unpretentious, but I sense hidden beneath the surface is a powerful person who is emotionally elusive and enjoys being in control.
The Rose Ceremony:
In a surprising change of protocol, before the Rose Ceremony, Brad actually apologizes to Chantal that he let her down, admitting that he failed to open up to her. As they are having their special moment together, Michelle Money intrudes on their privacy. She takes Brad aside and has a little jealousy scene, complaining that he kisses too many girls. Brad replies that he made that mistake of not kissing enough girls last season and he won’t repeat it again! He’s going to take every opportunity this time!! He admits he likes the playfulness of Michelle, but his body language tells a different story. As Michelle leans into him, he braces himself against a frontal attack by raising his leg protectively as if to ward her off. She senses a victory, making him squirm defensively. I get the impression that Michelle is just like Brad, that is, she likes to emotionally dominate her victim.
On a final note I’d like to share a few insights into Madison, the vampire girl and her final exit fiasco. The real problem with the vamp trip is that her original plan was to come off as the sexy, powerful, mysterious vampire queen. After discovering that this masquerade wasn’t going to work on Brad she tried to switch mid-drama to the highly successful ‘pity party’ act perpetuated by the other women. She told Brad that she was going to leave because there were ladies more worthy of Brad than her. She was strategically playing a game of offering herself as the sacrificial lamb in hopes that Brad would beg her to stay. But alas, her strategic move failed all together. I don’t think he really cared. In some ways her exit and his response reminded me of the final act of Gone with the Wind, “Frankly dear, I don’t give a dam.”
Rose Ceremony Eliminations: Kimberly Coon, Madison Garton and Sarah Powell.
NAHU’S PSYCHIC JOURNALISM~
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