The Bachelor Zach Shallcross had a rough week five, which culminated in a not-so-great rose ceremony. Zach’s journey had been going relatively smoothly. There was no standout “villain,” not much fighting, and The Bachelor was forming connections with some of the women.
Unfortunately, Zach ended up with coronavirus (COVID-19) in London, after a very romantic date with Gabi. The group date was canceled, and the “cocktail party” and rose ceremony were done over Zoom.
The most awkward rose ceremony in ‘Bachelor’ history?
The first baffling thing that happened was when Jesse Palmer revealed to the women that their collective boyfriend came down with COVID-19 and didn’t suggest any of them get tested, especially Gabi, who had just spent the day with Zach.
Because The Bachelor wanted to spend time with the contestants, they had a virtual cocktail party where he Zoomed with each of them separately.
Zach said afterward, “It surpassed all my expectations. It was full of laughs, joking around … With this virtual time together, it was telling for how a lot of relationships did progress.”
Then came the bizarre rose ceremony where each woman went up to the TV screen and took their own rose. One looked more uncomfortable than the next.
The most awkward part was the goodbyes with Mercedes and Kylle, who did not receive roses. Each looked like they didn’t know what to do in front of the screen and were disappointed that there was no hug goodbye.
Should ‘The Bachelor’ have postponed the rose ceremony?
The ladies missed out on their group date, and Charity didn’t get her 1-on-1, but they decided to do a virtual rose ceremony anyway.
“It feels really difficult having to send anyone home during this time,” Zach teared up as he spoke to Palmer. “And I wish I could be there to do that, to be in that moment, because they deserve that, and that’s the annoying thing.”
Zach was upset, but did it have to be this way? Could the ceremony have been postponed for a few days when The Bachelor was out of quarantine? The women probably would have preferred to spend more time with Zach when he was feeling better, and the rose ceremony would have been a lot less awkward.
He told them, “Now, obviously, we are at a rose ceremony tonight, and it’s virtual, and I would literally do anything to get out of this room and be there with you … But I really hope you can see my heart as I do navigate through this difficult decision.”
They could have seen his heart a lot better in person.
Will there be a 2-on-1 date on ‘The Bachelor’ this season?
“One stays, one goes…” We have not yet heard Jesse Palmer utter those words that signal the dreaded 2-on-1 date.
These dates are usually reserved for the two women (or men on The Bachelorette) who are feuding in the house. The Bachelor will take them both on the date and try to decide which one is there “for the right reasons.”
Surprisingly, there are no major feuds (so far) this season. This may be why there hasn’t been a 2-on-1. But, if they had postponed the rose ceremony so that it could have been live, it may have given Zach some time for a 2-on-1 date to help narrow the pool of contestants.
Hopefully, all will be back to normal for week 6.
