‘The Bachelorette’ finale: Brooks Forester’s absence and the problem with spoilers

We imagine that many of you have a shocked look on your face, since for most of the season, Brooks Forester was pegged as the winner of “The Bachelorette” thanks to the connection that he had with Desiree Hartsock. The entire internet was set ablaze over the idea that Brooks was going to come back this season and propose in the end … if that was going to happen at all.

Let’s start this story off with a little bit of context. We’ve never posted outcome spoilers on this site. We never have. It’s not an insult to Reality Steve or anyone else that comes up with details about who wins or who doesn’t; it’s just almost impossible to guarantee that a “spoiler” is correct, and it’s also unfair for people who want to be surprised to come online and be bombarded with “winner” spoilers from various sites without seeking it out. That has always been the problem with rampant spoilers on this show. It’s one thing for them to be isolated and avoidable, but too many click-hounds have been desperate to capitalize on them for their own personal gain that it’s plagued the internet.

If nothing else, we hope the Brooks debacle stops some of the rampant spoiling of various shows online, since even the most thorough spoilers are going to be wrong many times given how guarded some secrets are. We’re sure that Steve or whoever else will come back next season and have most of the information right again, but we’re still not going to post any of it here. It’s not out of some sort of entitlement, but respect for those who want to watch this show organically.

Photo: ABC