‘The Bachelor’ review: Ben Higgins, Becca Tilley, Emily Ferguson, and doubt

For the first time, tonight’s new episode of “The Bachelor” decided that it would be a great idea to spend lengthy amounts of time showing Ben Higgins questioning what exactly he was doing every step of the way … and wasn’t it, in a word, refreshing? We were happy for the most part to see this different side, mostly because it did add a little bit of dimension to everything that we knew already about the guy.

As for the episode itself, we don’t want to lie and say it was exactly. Without Olivia, there wasn’t anyone really there to bring the drama, and most of the dates were very ho-hum. Lauren Bushnell got the first one, which led to everyone being very upset about the obvious connection that these two had. From there, JoJo Fletcher established herself as the chief emotional connection for Ben … not that we think that matters too much, since we do tend to think that the guys pick the person they are more physically into on the show the most.

There was a nice moment in the group date for Amanda Stanton as she got the final group date rose of the season, and in turn had a great chance to spend some time with Ben at a carnival while Becca Tilley and Caila Quinn were increasingly insecure, probably knowing that one of them was likely heading home.

Next up, we had Emily Ferguson going home, which is basically the sort of thing that anyone would have expected in the event that you watch any season of the show ever. If you get the last one-on-one date before the final six rose ceremony, you’re probably going home. Also, anytime you sound too confident, you’re going home. At least she wasn’t abandoned on an island somewhere.

In the end, the other person to go home was Becca Tilley, which also was no surprise since she had been given almost no screen time at all this season. That’s usually a pretty solid indicator that you’re going to be sent home. In the end, Ben made key decisions, and the episode itself was kind of a bore. Grade: C.

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