Arie Luyendyk Jr., lead of the 22nd season of The Bachelor, has been intriguing fans of the show with his awkward laugh, almost uncanny resemblance to white bread, and his repeated decision to break the unwritten bachelor law that one is not supposed to tell the contestants that he is “falling in love” with them.
However, it would be a shame to allow this questionable season to cast too much of a shadow over a new production that The Bachelor producers had previously shared very few details about. On Tuesday February 13th, ABC premiered yet another spinoff series from The Bachelor franchise titled The Bachelor Winter Games. Set in Manchester, Vermont in a cozy resort filled with rustic embellishments and warm fires, a large group of fan favorites from past Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons come together to not only compete in mock winter Olympic games, but to find love. This new series takes on an international twist by including former contestants from not only the American version of The Bachelor, but also former contestants from all over the world. This includes contestants from China, Canada, Sweden, Japan, the United Kingdom, and many more. The premiere was filled with many contestants hoping for redemption, a handful of couples already forming, and an unprecedented twist at the end.
The beginning of the episode focused on introducing the men and women featured in the season. Some memorable contestants include former Bachelor lead Ben Higgins, who is just coming out of his public breakup with Lauren, the winner of his season and now ex-fiance. Another American is Dean Unglurt, who had his reputation torn to shreds on season 4 of Bachelor in Paradise when he led on two women for the entire season. Dean claims that he has done a lot of self-reflection and is hoping to be decisive this time around. Also looking for redemption is Ashley I. from Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor. Ashley claims that she is looking to shed her reputation of constantly crying and being dramatic. Spoiler alert: she hasn’t matured. Standouts on the international side include Ally Thompson from New Zealand.
This new series finally includes several female contestants with realistic body types. Bachelor nation has always failed to include women who are anything but slim and it is refreshing to see some body diversity on the show, albeit Ally Thompson is the only woman with a realistic body type. An international male who has caught the eye of both Ashley I. and Bibiana is Kevin Wendt from Canada whom Ashley describes as “a cross between Tom Brady and James Marsden”. That love triangle is sure to be a heavy focal point in episodes to come. The addition of Yuki Kimura was an interesting choice by producers considering that she doesn’t speak English. She seems to get along fine with the fellow contestants, although I did find myself cringing during certain parts when it was clear that her lack of a translator was resulting in her being used for comedic relief. However, Yuki is in good spirits throughout the whole episode.
The premise for the show in and of itself brings one word to mind: strange. This can be clearly exemplified through the whole opening ceremony which had all the contestants walk in together, each person representing their country in front of a crowd of Vermont natives. This ceremony not only included “national trademarks” such as a moose for Canada and a Santa from Finland but also included the singing of the Bachelor Winter Games National Anthem. Need I mention that the WPI pep band got to march in the parade? Did someone say random? After the parade the contestants competed in a “biathalon” where they cross country ski and shoot at a rose shaped target to fight for a date card. None of the contestants are very good at skiing; watching people awkwardly ski in a tiny circle for 20 minutes is about as fun to watch as you would expect. The dates themselves got so little air time they barely even mattered. The big shock came during the cocktail party when all the contestants entered expecting a typical Bachelor in Paradise-esque rose ceremony only to be told by host Chris Harrison that the men and women will be voting each other off for the week by ballot. This brings a lot of stress to the party and ultimately ends up with Bachelor nation yet again completely ignoring how blatantly racist the show always turns out to be. Of the three black contestants on the show, Josiah is targeted by all the women all night and the other two, Lauren and Eric, are sent home by the end.
The show not only was filled with racist undertones, it was also filled with American contestants sharing their painfully ethnocentric views. This is exemplified when Chris Harrison and the others gawk over how in the Chinese and Japanese versions of the show, only the winner gets to kiss the lead or when Clare delivers the worst quote of the episode in a shocked voice “You can actually fall in love with someone from another country!” Although the show is clearly just a production made to be yet another Bachelor nation viewing “guilty pleasure” it is hard for any educated viewer to not feel frustrated at so much of the show’s lack of cultural sensitivity.
All in all, The Bachelor Winter Games was a very odd and sometimes uncomfortable viewing experience. Chris Harrison had a beard the whole time and everyone was sponsored by North Face. I cringed and I was confused… it’s honestly a pretty terrible show, but will I keep watching? Probably.