‘The Bachelor’ Season 22 leaves fans wanting more love, less train wreck

What better way to start the new year than with a brand new season of “The Bachelor”? Season 22 kicked off with a new bachelor, who happens to be a former contestant on “The Bachelorette” that nobody seems to remember. The reactions have never been mixed, especially amongst students and staff.

“The Bachelor” has intrigued fans since it first aired on ABC in 2002. Between the extravagant locations contestants view on dates to the fueling drama, viewers can’t get enough of this reality TV formula. Yes, it’s obvious there’s going to be a villain that takes up 90 percent of the screen time and yes, we know the girls are going to say “I’m falling in love with you” after the second episode. Although that part may be predictable, people were caught off guard with ABC’s choice of the newest bachelor: 36 year-old Arie Luyendyk Jr. It almost makes people ask themselves if they him choose by raffle.

“I wasn’t excited about him,” biology teacher Shavon Hendrix admitted when she heard the news.

As a former race car driver, he has certainly been in circles–especially with his love life. After appearing on season eight of “The Bachelorette,” Luyendyk got his heart broken by Emily Maynard, finishing as the runner-up; Such an emotionally scarring event. Luyendyk never found the same type of love after that, so he laid low by selling real estate instead of racing. Without being featured on T.V., Luyendyk has hit rock bottom, one can only guess he was cast out of pity. According to host Chris Harrison, Luyendyk is, in that signature Bachelor phrasing, “ready for another shot at love.”  

“I think Arie is a really nice guy. I thought he was cute,” freshman Mackenzie Fortino said.

OK, Mackenzie, but the guy has more gray hair than Barack Obama after the end of his second term.

The controversy over whether Arie is an agreeable choice has shaken the community of fans, commonly referred to as Bachelor Nation.

The reactions varied over social media as well, and fans have been in their feels on Twitter.  Some like former bachelor Sean Lowe were genuinely happy to have him. But as for the rest of longtime fans, this is worse news than when “Bachelor Pad” was canceled. One tweet even noted that the last time Arie was on TV, “Twilight” was still a thing (@maddiecrichton).

Although the government is going insane and kids are ingesting detergent, the biggest and most heated question is who will capture Arie’s heart? Ever since the release of the season’s official trailer, fans are skeptical over some of the competitors.

Between the four girls named Lauren and a barrage of girls with blonde hair, there is disappointment about the lack of diversity.

Sophomore Aliyah Rodas had to do a double take when she saw the new cast on Twitter.

“[Are these] different shots of the same girl?” Rodas questioned.

More specifically, all eyes have also been on three distinct women: Chelsea Roy, Becca Martinez, and Krystal Nielson. All of the girls have stirred up major drama in only the first four episodes.

Recently, the show’s destination was in a location pretty close to home: Fort Lauderdale, where they visited local favorites such as Las Olas Blvd. and the W Hotel. No dolphins were hurt during filming, mostly due to the fact that Nielson’s voice scared them off.

Krystal Nielson may feed the homeless, but she is on the bad side of many of the girls after she “stole extra time.”  Longtime fans know that once you betray the golden rule, you never go back. On the most recent episodes, she brought her attitude to a whole different level. After Nielson attended a group date at a bowling alley, she was upset when Luyendyk allowed both of the bowling teams to go to the after party, instead of taking just the winning team. She then had her “first argument” with Luyendyk, and as Luyendyk called it, “their last.” The drama level is at a 10, Nielson–bring it down to a 6, babe.

After her downfall, she was finally sent home a few episodes ago and the girls couldn’t help opening of a champagne bottle in celebration– and neither could the viewers.

Single mom Chelsea Roy calls herself mysterious. Arie calls her mysterious, but there was no question to if he solved the mystery on this week’s episode. Somebody call the Bachelor Police because we did not see this one coming: Roy was eliminated! This elimination wasn’t quite expected, yet neither was this season’s bachelor choice.

Becca Martinez made quite an entrance when she pulled up the first night in a Mustang. She has caught Arie’s attention, but he had quite a reaction when he found out that she was only 22 years old. He questioned whether she was ready for marriage since there is a 14 year age gap. But despite his doubts, production (sorry Arie) chose to keep her around. Being the bachelor can be hard.

As for this last week’s episode, things definitely haven’t been as spiced up as they were with Krystal around. But yesterday, it was hometowns. And to nobody’s surprise, things still didn’t get interesting. It was as boring as ever: Arie meeting the families in an awkward manner the and scripted “I love your daughter” lines he repeats. Nonetheless, nobody legitimately cared.

This season of “The Bachelor” is different than ones in the past–and people want to know if this season could be the season that defies the norms. Will Arie choose the blonde girl or the other blonde girl?

Overall, the drama has certainly brought everyone into Bachelor Nation whether they wanted to be included or not. Freshman Robert Swartz was not excited to be dragged into it, that’s for sure.

“My grandma forced me to watch it,” Swartz said.

Whether you like him or not, Arie just hasn’t met everyone’s expectations. As Mackenzie Fortino so eloquently put it, “Wait, what’s his name again?”