I skipped "The Bachelor" last night to watch Betty White's Birthday tribute on NBC, and wouldn't you know it, it was the night that Emily O'Brien -- Duke grad and UNC PhD student -- got a one-on-one date with bachelor Ben Flajnik.
But luckily (?), there's a video (below) of the date on youtube, so here's what happened:
Emily and Ben's date involved climbing San Francisco's Bay Bridge. Emily was extremely nervous and had a tough time dealing with the whole "fear of falling to my death on a reality show" issue. But Ben gave her a magical kiss that removed her fears and they completed the climb.
At their dinner later, Emily asks Ben about his rejected proposal to Ashley Hebert in last season's "Bachelorette" and he explains what was behind that (he loved her in the moment, etc.). Then Emily tells Ben her most embarrassing dating moment, which the rest of us already know if we saw her profile page on ABC's website: she once signed up on an online dating site and they "matched" her with her own brother.
Emily says her two biggest fears are her fear of rejection and her fear of heights, and that she's already conquered one that day. Ben gives her a rose, so Emily shall not be rejected on this good day!
The two of them seem to hit it off. There was champagne and smooching under fireworks. Emily called the date "a step on the path to falling in love with Ben." Ben called the date "perfect" and said "I might very well be able to spend the rest of my life with her."
Meanwhile, the meanest group of girls ever assembled in the history of "The Bachelor" see the fireworks from their hotel room and are upset that Emily probably got a rose.
Those San Francisco Bay pyrotechnics weren't the only fireworks on last night's show. Sometime in the last hour of the show, Shawntel Newton from the Brad Womack season of "The Bachelor" showed up because she said she loved Ben and wanted to be with him. She was the funeral director. Okay, now you remember her.
When she met up with Ben, there was something about what they said to each other that made me think they had met before, but any possible prior relationship was never explained. At any rate, Shawntel essentially crashed the cocktail party and the girls were livid. LIVID! They pretty much all turned into blood-chillingly mean teenage girls. They called Shawntel names, made fun of her physical appearance (for what it's worth, she might be crazy but she's a lot prettier than many of the girls picking her apart last night), and fake-threatened to quit the show if Ben gave her a rose.
One girl (Erika) nearly fainted from stress during the rose ceremony, mustered the strength to stand, then collapsed again when she was cut. Another dismissed girl (some blonde) ran to the bathroom sobbing. (And before you object to me calling these grown women "girls," most of them are behaving like bratty children so they are lucky that's all I'm calling them).
It was the most ridiculous spectacle I've ever seen. It made me embarrassed on behalf of all women all over the world. Emily seems pretty normal, so right now, I'm hoping for Ben's sake that he ends up with her in his final three.
Also, Charlotte's (or Rutherfordton's) Blakeley Shea also got a rose last night. She went on a group date where the women snow-skied in bikinis.
Here's the video of last night's bridge date (until ABC takes it down):
Brooke Cain isn't always proud of the number of hours she logs in front of the TV, but her loss of brain cells can be your gain. From reality shows to sitcoms to the more serious stuff, Brooke keeps her DVR smoking so that she can help keep you in the know. Brooke also tweets for Happiness is a Warm TV (you can follow