Once you've watched as many seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette as I have, you start to think you know the deal, and you can predict what's going to happen on any given season. But Nick Viall's season of The Bachelor is not what I expected at all, even in the least, and it's really throwing me for a loop. I feel like I finally started to really get to know Nick on Bachelor in Paradise, after two seasons of seeing a more dramatized version of his personality on Andi Dorfman and Kaitlyn Bristowe's seasons of The Bachelorette, and I assumed I'd see BIP Nick when I turned on my television for his season of The Bachelor.
But instead, I got this entirely new version of him, who's somewhere between the easy-breezy, straight-talking guy we met on BIP and the tightly-wound, competitive, sometimes-villain of The Bachelorette, and I can't get my head around it. Every time I think I've figured out his frontrunners, he sends one of them home — or all three, if he's in the mood — and I'm left scratching my head, starting all over again from square one. He's a tricky Bachelor, and his season has gone accordingly; here are the 14 ways Nick Viall's season of The Bachelor is so not what I expected.
1. It's Kind Of Boring
I was led to believe that this would be the most dramatic season ever, Chris Harrison, but it's been mostly crickets since Nick sent his former hookup Liz home, and Corinne is working hard, but it's not her job to make the show compelling all by her dang self.
2. The Women Are Bonding
Some seasons of The Bachelor can get pretty intense and competitive between the contestants, but this particular batch of women has really impressed me with how well they get along with and support each other. It seems like some real friendships will come out of this season of the show.
3. How Long He's Kept Corinne
I predicted that Corinne would be sent home in Week 5, as is usually the treatment for "villains," but she's made it all the way to Hometowns, defying my expectations.
4. There's No Real Villain
And speaking of villains, there doesn't seem to actually be one this season. Sure, Corinne is being portrayed that way, but if you take a quick gander at Instagram, she has photos with pretty much all the ladies both mid- and post-show, and seems to be on great terms with them. Fooled again!
5. He Ignores Rose Ceremonies
Is nothing sacred?? First we were just ending episodes with cliffhangers and starting them with Rose Ceremonies, which was traumatic enough, and now we're just flat-out skipping them altogether. I hope you know what you're doing, Nicholas!
6. That Big Ol' Spoiler
While I'm really excited that Rachel Lindsay is the next Bachelorette, I am bummed that ABC decided to make the reveal while she was still in the running on Nick's season.
7. He Hasn't... Ahem... Gotten Intimate With Anyone Yet
Considering he's the first sex-positive Bachelor, I'm shocked that Nick hasn't done the deed with any of the contestants. It seemed like things were going to happen when Corinne went to his room on the Feb. 13 episode, but he ixnayed it, which I wasn't expecting.
8. He Doesn't Seem To Have A Specific Type
Usually by this time in a season, the star has whittled down the contestants into a collection of strikingly similar-looking humans — JoJo Fletcher's final four leap to mind — but Nick's final four is as diverse in personality as they are in appearance. What a pleasant surprise!
9. No One's Walked Off The Show
This isn't meant to be insulting to Nick, but it feels like every single week, someone threatens to quit, whether because of Corinne, or Nick's decisions, or that infamous volleyball date, so I'm surprised no one has followed through.
10. How Rapidly His Feelings Change
He seemed so into both Danielles before he sent them home, and he was really physical with Kristina and Whitney on their respective dates before each of them got the axe, so things must clarify themselves really suddenly in his head, like a light switch going on or off.
11. We Never Let Go Of This Whole "He's Done This Before" Theme
I figured at some point, the show might back off the constant reminders that this isn't Nick's first rodeo, especially as he gets closer to potentially proposing, but they just keep pounding it home.
12. They Brought Chris Soules Back To Give Him Advice
And speaking of "doing it before," if you have a Bachelor for whom things haven't worked out in the past, like Nick, do you really want to bring back Chris Soules to give him advice? Ben Higgins and Sean Lowe I get, because they're engaged and married from their seasons, respectively, but Chris Soules is hot off a broken engagement himself. I was surprised that producers elected to trot him out instead of someone like Jason Mesnick, J.P. Rosenbaum, or Chris Siegfried, both one-half of successful Bachelor or Bachelorette couples.
13. All The Crying
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of men being open with their emotions, but I've been surprised at how much crying we've been seeing from Nick in the past couple episodes. It's not a bad thing at all, I just assumed that he wasn't that invested in the process, because that's what was coming through to me at first, so to see him break down so much recently drives home that I must have pegged him wrong.
14. He Doesn't Talk About Jen Saviano
I get that he had more time with Kaitlyn and Andi, but Nick's relationship with Jen Saviano was A) his most recent and B) really built up on the show, so I'm confused as to why it's suddenly being so downplayed, post-Paradise.
So yeah, I'll admit it, Nick, you have me a little baffled. Not that I won't keep watching your season, because you know I will, but it's certainly not what I expected.
