Spoilers of week one, of course, but nothing further. Only theories and opinions presented, so strap in, there’s turbulence ahead.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Bachelor has returned to Monday nights on ABC, and I could not have thought of a better bachelor to ring in the new decade than Peter Weber (well, besides Mike, let’s all have a moment of silence). Although I’ll admit I was not the most thrilled with this decision initially, night one changed my entire perspective because Peter is Ben Higgins 2.0. Cute and goofy, Peter radiates man-next-door energy. He is so kind and respectful to all the women while still being grateful and humbled to be the bachelor. I really, really hope this experience does not go to his head and, like Ben, he remains his sweet, compassionate self through this entire journey and after his experience.
Two things that stuck out night one as possibly confirming Chris Harrison’s seasonal claim that this is the most shocking and dramatic season yet: Peter being part Cuban, and Hannah Brown showing up not once, but twice. With a little hip-shimmy and homemade cooking, Peter’s family could not get any more likable than this montage. Their love for each other and their support of their son is infectious; they really are a top Bachelor family in my book. Honestly, I wish I saw more of this and less of Hannah at this point. However, Hannah’s limo entrance was anticlimactic in the best way possible. She hands Peter back his “co-pilot” wings that he gave to her on her season of The Bachelorette and wishes him good luck in his journey. A beautiful ending of closure …or not really. It’s later revealed how hard and devastating that moment for Hannah was.
If you’re a diehard viewer like I am, you know The Bachelor likes to tease every season with a shocking twist. This season it’s the presence of Hannah B. She makes two appearances in the first episode: coming out of the limo and on the first group date. Although we’ve already covered how harmless the first encounter was, the first group date proves to be a little much for our former Bachelorette and her mascara. After initially reciting an awkward monologue about how she had sexual relations with our Bachelor four times in a windmill in front of all the women currently dating him, we find Hannah crying backstage with Peter quickly coming in to comfort her. Hannah admits she still has feelings for Peter, how hard it was for her to see him when she got out of the limo, and that she messed up when she sent him home in Greece. Peter stands strong and says he’s not a third option. However, he does mutter something along the lines of asking Hannah if she would join the other women in the mansion for his season. Yikes!
Although it would be impossible for Hannah to casually join the mansion and ride out the rest of the season as one of Peter’s women since she’s simultaneously filming Dancing With The Stars, that doesn’t stop the theories from flying all over the internet. Admittedly, I got most of the information behind these theories from Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconneti’s “Almost Famous” podcast, who even told Peter these theories on their second to the latest episode. Peter is tough to crack, so no confirmation or denial was given. Firstly, there was some initial suspicion surrounding Hannah’s potential unresolved feelings. Fans knew she was on the entire season of DWTS, so there was no way she would join the mansion. However, a popular fan theory before night one was Hannah showed up to tell Peter: “Hey, if this whole thing doesn’t work out for you, call me” or something along those lines. After seeing the night one premiere, along with the usual teasers for far in the season, fans have a new Hannah Brown theory. Rumors are swirling that Peter’s final rose ceremony hasn’t happened yet. As in, Peter’s not engaged nor has he given out the final rose yet. Fans are speculating that Peter was torn between his last remaining girl and Hannah. But, since Hannah was still filming DWTS, there was no way he could test his feelings for her. With this, Peter’s current season ends with him continuing to date two women until…who knows.
All fans want is a normal, cliche ending, but I highly doubt that is what we’ll get. I’m still on the fence with whether I want Peter to end up with Hannah or not. I don’t know enough about these women to know much about them, but that doesn’t stop me from having hard and fast opinions about them. Let’s keep it short and sweet dive into it:
The women I like: Alayah (she’s pretty, unproblematic, and loves her grandma), Kelley, Katrina, and Ashley P (the emotional support cow).
The women I don’t like: Hannah Ann (I predict she’s going to be the coy villain who doesn’t know she’s being the villain), Savannah (her limo entrance was kissing a blindfolded Peter, we don’t stan non-consensual kissing in 2020), Mykenna (also seems to be a villain and her eyebrows are too bold), Victoria (definitely the one who got too drunk and cried night one), Tammy (I was on board for her creative and raunchy limo entrance, but, like Savannah, kissed him without consent, boo).
So, good thing Peter doesn’t care about my opinion because I would have made some very different choices than he had night one. (*cough* WHY did Hannah Ann get the first impression rose for stealing him four times?) With all that said, I’m really looking forward to this season. I think it’ll be entertaining at the very least with hopefully a good story or two to come out of it. I think Peter will be an incredible Bachelor and I hope Hannah’s makeup team got her waterproof mascara if she’ll keep making cameos. Until week two Bachelor Nation!