‘The Bachelor’: An explosive dismissal in Istanbul, then a Turkish bath
“The Bachelorette” traveled to Istanbul tonight. But the big news was …
SPOILER ALERT: “Bachelorette” Ali Fedotowsky learned that one of her romantic hopefuls still had a girlfriend.
And that cad is …
Wrestler Justin. (Are you surprised?) Ali talked to his girlfriend, Jessica, in Canada, and I was wondering: Why didn’t the show check this out before it got to this point?
Ali confronted Justin in front of the other men. He walked away, and she pursued him. He offered to talk off camera. “Talk like a man,” she taunted him.
He ran away from her. “You’re going to regret this,” Ali told him.
Finally, he sat down and described Jessica back in Canada as his best friend. Ali ripped into him, described his actions as “unspeakable” and told him to leave with a little integrity. And he walked out of the show — while the show played a recorded call he left Jessica, telling her, “I love you.”
Gee, I wished I could see more of Istanbul.
The other men were overjoyed that Justin was gone.
In other developments, Ali went on a date with Ty. She applauded him as a positive person. They went to a Turkish bath, and he gave her a massage. Then they jabbered on about how hot it all was, which made it less hot. But they seemed to hit it off over a meal, and she gave him a rose.
A group date turned into a fight with four oiled-up Turkish men. That meant the four hopefuls had to be oiled up — by Ali — then the wrestling began. The Turks conquered the men. In the next round, the four hopefuls had to wrestle each other. Craig R., who whined that he wanted time with Ali, won.
They went on a scenic date. Too bad the camera stayed on them instead of Istanbul. But Craig R. was incredibly earnest, and Ali proclaimed him a great guy. Yet he didn’t get a rose.
Ali went on another one-on-one date with Frank, and she said it was make-it-or-break-it time. He made it. He wore a sultan’s hat, she played a belly dancer, and they bought a rug. They shared a romantic meal, and she gave him a rose. He seems to have the inside track, and I would put money on him — until I saw the preview at the end.
Then it was time to eject a man. And she sent away Craig R., who really never had a chance.
Next week, “The Bachelorette” stages a highly anticipated reunion between Jake Pavelka and Sanford’s Vienna Girardi. He proposed to her at the end of “The Bachelor.” They recently broke up, and their romantic troubles have spilled out in several magazines.
The action on “The Bachelorette” shifts to Lisbon.
I realize a lot of people pooh-pooh “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”: How do people fall in love on camera under TV production deadlines?
Maybe they don’t. They just luxuriate in their feelings on camera — it’s high school all over again, for adults.
No matter how you feel about the show, it is incredibly important to the bottom line of Disney-owned ABC. And “The Bachelorette” has been crucial to ABC’s fortunes this summer. I have a feeling Jake and Vienna will produce big ratings next week. What do you think?