» 14-10: "After The Final Rose, Part 1" 2009.03.02 Options

[Lisette]

Ryan is such a sincere, class act (I still remember the bachelor party). I loved what he blogged about Jason--and gets some underlying criticism of the philosophy of TB/Fleiss in as well.

Jason took part in a show that preys on those of weak spine and spirit. He fell victim to a program of intense emotional overload intended to create a narrow tunnel of vision from which only rash and irresponsible decisions could possibly be made. I have no doubt he made the decision he felt was right when he chose Melissa. I'll buy his explanation that when the real world with all of its real world influences and realities came back into play he had second thoughts.

At some point, however, Jason needed to realize that the re-entry of the real world meant that he needed to resume his role as a real man. If his feeling for Melissa had changed he should have told her. There is absolutely no excuse for the savage treatment Jason laid on Mellisa's heart. If he truly cared he would have disregarded the request of the show to hold a public break-up. Jason crumbled under the pressure of the production and in the process walked down a path cast with shadows of shame for which he will always be remembered.

I hope Jason reads this. Also this:

Jason had to know the consequences of his choices. His cliche laden explanations, though weak and uninspiring, are his attempt to justify a decision he is convinced he made for love....Still, I would like to believe that when it came right down to it, the majority of the broken-hearted would stop short of blatantly and quite publicly torching the feelings of someone they laid claim to caring for simply to further their own desperate quest for love. and the strength to overcome them. For Jason's sake I hope he found it.

When I read Ryan's thoughts and feelings about this--his empathy and insight---Jason and Molly's reactions and comments seem more cold and shallow than ever. I can't imagine either Trista or Ryan acting like this--maybe that's one reason their marriage has been so successful.

This post has been edited by Lisette: Mar 4, 2009 @ 12:37 am.

[Kittenrescue]

For me as a woman, whenever I get dumped I go straight for dick jokes. I will waive my pinky finger whenever I say his name and call him "pee wee" Herman to friends because I am mature and grounded. I just wish Melissa would have went for a dick joke. Like saying "Dear America, remember when we jumped in the pool, well, don't believe the hype of skringage. It was that size when we jumped in."

You would've loved Brittany Murphey's response to Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher's relationship. She said ... "Obviously to him, age doesn't matter - and for her, size doesn't matter." SLAM!

From Ryan's blog:

Jason crumbled under the pressure of the production and in the process walked down a path cast with shadows of shame for which he will always be remembered.

Excellent point. People won't care that Molly should've been The One and Melissa was just an unfortunate victim of circumstances. Instead of cover stories about Molly & Jason's Love Story they're about deception and heartbreak - and because of that, they'll never attain Ryan&Trista status. If anything, it solidifies the Sutter's as the unbeatable Bachelor franchise pairing.

This post has been edited by Kittenrescue: Mar 4, 2009 @ 8:03 am.

[dietcoker]

At least we are spared Molly being the next Bachelorette.

I think having a sleazeball would be much more entertaining than dull as the H20 diet, Jilllian.

[TWoP Barnes]

NOTE: When you're quoting material from elsewhere, please use the quote tags; provide brief excerpts rather than big chunks of the original; and link your source. This is all covered in the FAQ

However, I give my final rose to TWoP Barnes.

Excellent. Thank you. I have always loved roses, and I heard Jason tell Kimmel he now hates them, so I find myself suddenly loving them even more.

[lulee]

In his interview with People mag., Fleiss said that Jason's actions caught them off guard.

Not to defend Jason, but I'd want a second opinion if Fleiss told me that water's wet.

[karob73]

Long time reader, first time poster on this thread. I completely agree with Palomar about Molly being all lovey dovey with Jason after 10 min. And I'm sorry if this has been brought up already, but I did notice something interesting at the end of ATFR 1. Jason made a comment about how he and Molly were only doing what they thought was right for them. It seemed strange since he had just asked her if they could have coffee and talk. It made me think they really had been communicating while he was "with" Melissa.

[ZulaMay]

RS received the story a few days ago from another source. It was a new source, but confirmed what he already believed based on previous information. It is a long story, but confirms that Jason did indeed pick Melissa intending to dump her for Molly. He contacted Molly soon after he got back from New Zealand to let her know.

The plan solidified at around F5. Chris Harrison did not know; the only ones who knew were Jason, Fleiss and a producer/showrunner (Martin, I think).

Melissa was in love with Jason. This is the couple that CH and the crew were cheering for. She thought it was for real, and was making plans to move. When he saw how much she really believed in the engagement, he told the producers they had to move the ATFR up so he could break it off. She had sensed something was wrong, but that was not what she was told when she was called out to LA for the taping. They wanted to get a reaction from her. I think she reacted more strongly at first than what we saw; but she managed to compose herself and that is how we got the final version of the ATFR1.

[fionab]

Jason made a comment about how he and Molly were only doing what they thought was right for them.

Interesting catch, karob. Can anyone confirm this on their DVR? If he said that, it would really be a smoking gun for the fact that they had seen each other or talked before the ATFR.

This post has been edited by fionab: Mar 4, 2009 @ 7:22 pm.

[Madmarsha]

You know, of course, Melissa was not blind sided in the sense of thinking everything was perfectly "rosy". Jason did say she knew things were "different" and there's "women's intuition". So CH and Jason use that in their defense of it not being a little lamb who got slaughtered. But, as CH said, this is unchartered territory. What does that mean? That means that Melissa WAS blind sided because, based on every other iteration of TB, she had every right to expect that the "break up" would occur not only OFF camera but AFTER the usual timing of the After the Final Rose epi. I'm sure, with the exception of a few, every Bachelor couple that broke up ALSO knew something wasn't right in those intervening weeks from the proposal to the final contractually obligated appearance on the show but waited until afterwards to make a public announcement AFTER THE FACT. I'm sure that is what Melissa was expecting. But since there has never been TWO After the Final Rose epis before and she wasn't instrumental in the "need" for a special taping, Melissa was INDEED blind sided as to what was going to do down while the cameras were ON.

[kira28]

Based on what I've read, I don't think Melissa was blindsided by the break up (she and Jason are both now claiming some version of they broke up shortly before the AFR 1.) But she says she asked him if Molly had anything to do with his change of heart and if he had been in contact with Molly. He always denied this. I think she probably caught him calling Molly (because she says she KNOWS of one instance of Jason calling Molly "just to see if she was all right" -his excuse apparently). She doesn't state that Jason TOLD her this so I'm betting she found out some other way and confronted or asked him about it and he told her he was just being a great, nice, sensitive guy and had to call the runner up to make sure he didn't hurt her too badly. I think the thing she was blindsided about is that she wanted to believe Jason when he told her their breakup had NOTHING to do with Molly and then she's on national tv being told or finding out that he left her for that very reason. So he was lying to her for awhile (probably the whole six weeks) and she was shocked and hurt and felt betrayed that a supposed "nice" guy would do this to her. She would have probably been less angry if he just came out and said he wanted to end things with her because he wanted Molly. But instead he probably led her on, told her he had no contact with Molly and then dropped the bombshell with no thought or care to her feelings. So after being mistreated in the past by her ex, she finds out that her "fiance" is a lying, cheating douchebag and has to do so on national tv. She probably didn't expect him to "break up" with her on tv, because if they'd already talked about it she thought they were already broken up. She just didn't know the real reason why and this is what blindsided her and was cruel and unnecessary!

[Squeezer]

I think the thing she was blindsided about is that she wanted to believe Jason when he told her their breakup had NOTHING to do with Molly and then she's on national tv being told or finding out that he left her for that very reason.

Exactly, kira!

I've been contemplating Jason's motivation to do this so publicly. Since it has been established by both CH & MF that they did not require Jason to do this on TV I just couldn't figure out why he would agree (notwithstanding his weak spine and the undue influence to which he was subjected). I've come up with this:

Jason needed a vehicle to introduce his new love to the world and win us over to understanding their side of things. To do this he had to confess it to Mel first, in order to then continue with phase two of the segment. He couldn't very well just rehash with Mel that they just mutually agreed that it wasn't working, have her leave, and then announce to Molly that he wanted a second chance. The scene needed a set up, and unfortunately Mel was a necessary casualty to get there.

I propose this as Jason's motivation--not that anything he has done to this point has any integrity. This is just his screwed up way of thinking. And my demented speculation. Done now.

[Nativenewyorker]

I am sorry, but I can't sit idly by and watch this horrific mess that is presented as mere entertainment, without having an opinion and a point of view. That's why humans have a brain, so that they can think.

What I think about this debacle is that it is one of the most disgraceful, truly despicable things I have had the misfortune to watch. Melissa had NO idea that Jason was going to tell her that he was breaking up with her so he could be with Molly.

I happened to see Melissa's interview on the Ellen show last night online. She was incredibly gracious, classy and dignified. She said that they did break up beforehand, BUT she did ask Jason if there was anything that she should know before she went on the ATFR 1, so that she wouldn't be blindsided. He said no. Liar, liar! That was why she got so angry when he told her that he couldn't stop thinking about Molly and was not going to be with her. I also happen to think that Melissa was giving us more of ABC's spin. I do think she went out there without the two of them having broken up already. I think things were going badly and Melissa had her own suspicions about what was going on. I posted on another site that there is something called
"woman's intuition" and that would have told her that something was terribly wrong. You can sense when a man is not really thinking about you or if his mind is elsewhere. So she was becoming increasingly suspicious. She also was surprised by moving up the date of filming the ATFR 1.

I will always believe that this was all a set-up, most likely starting at F5. It makes perfect sense. Jason was falling hard for Molly, but we saw him having a great connection with Melissa early on. So TPTB get this bright idea to have Jason pick Melissa and then dump her on the ATFR 1 for Molly. After seeing Jason break down sobbing after letting Molly go at the FRC, no one can make me believe that he really wanted Melissa. When have we ever seen TB break down so completely after letting the F2 go? That told us all we needed to know. Also, I saw the look in Jason's eyes when he had to tell Molly and it was all there in his eyes. No way did that man willingly let her go!


When Jason finally proposed to Melissa, it seemed wooden and forced. That was the point at which I knew the fix was in. I am speaking as someone who has NEVER been a conspiracy theorist. But I saw what I saw. All the sources that confirmed a plan or set-up in the works were 100% right. It's the only thing that makes sense. When Melissa said to Jason - something happened - what happened? Well, there it was! The "something" that happened was that Jason made a fake proposal to her and then planned to dump her at the ATFR 1 and choose Molly.

I am glad that Melissa is taking the high road in all this and doing some face saving along the way. She knows that Jason is a two-faced liar and phony creep. She doesn't want pity or sympathy and good for her. She knows that she is well out of this and is lucky she didn't get stuck with this jerk. Molly had to have been in on it for her to be so receptive to taking him back. Those two couldn't even wait until after they got off the set to have their makeout session. They didn't have the simple common decency to behave appropriately under the circumstances. I don't care what happens to them. I don't wish them good or bad. I just want them to GO AWAY! I don't care if they are getting attacked all over the place. They deserve it. This thing stinks to high heaven.

I promised myself that this was going to be the last time I ever watched this show. I am glad that Jason made it so easy for me to say goodbye. I haven't watched a full season of TB for several years, so this is the first time in a while that I went all the way through. It wasn't fun and it wasn't entertaining. Now we even hear that TPTB are saying that it wasn't in Jason's contract that he had to publicly break up with Melissa. So they are throwing Jason under the bus. What Jason said on Jimmy Kimmel was also a lie. The man is a compulsive liar, self-centered, self-indulgent, narcissistic and just generally a loser.

[Squeezer]

Word, word, word, Nativenewyorker. So well put, especially this:

Those two couldn't even wait until after they got off the set to have their makeout session. They didn't have the simple common decency to behave appropriately under the circumstances.

See, I don't think these two even know what decency is, let alone appropriate behavior.

This post has been edited by Squeezer: Mar 5, 2009 @ 7:41 pm.

[Kittenrescue]

I don't agree that they were both respectful of one another. At the walk-out and in the limo Molly slammed Melissa. The worst thing Mel has said is that Jason & Molly don't have the characteristics of people she'd want to be friends with.

This post has been edited by TWoP Barnes: Mar 6, 2009 @ 10:04 pm.