When Chris Harrison said that the finale of Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season of the Bachelor would be "the most dramatic yet," for once he was actually telling the truth. On Monday's episode, we saw Arie send Lauren home and get down on one knee for Becca. But shortly after promising Becca he would choose her every day for the rest of his life, Arie decided he actually wanted to choose Lauren.
We then see Arie reveal in an interview that he has been thinking of Lauren constantly since he sent her home. And to add salt to the wound, as Arie was confessing his love of Lauren to Chris Harrison, Becca was telling the camera how much she loved Arie and how she cannot wait for their future. At this point, saying Bachelor nation was infuriated would be an understatement.
Soon we get to see the scene where Arie breaks the news to Becca. Arie walks into the house and is greeted by a warm, excited Becca who is about to experience the biggest blindside of her life. As expected, Becca firsts reacts with anger as Arie never expressed the extent to which he was struggling. Then I could see the news actually seep into her heart and she begins to fully understand what is happening.
The Bachelor received much backlash for airing this raw, emotionally charged break-up, feeling as this was a total invasion of privacy. I also do not think that showing this break-up was appropriate at all. But they did show it and I think the one positive thing that came out of it was seeing how Becca handled herself and how important a strong support system is.
Arie did not handle this situation in the correct way at all. He made many mistakes and if Becca had punched him in the face, it would be completely justified. But she didn't. And the way she handled Arie's huge, mishandled mistake is the one positive that came out of the whole experience.
Becca took the news the best that she could. She didn't say any rash comments towards Arie, she just asked him to leave. The way Becca received the break-up warranted a much harsher response, at least I would not have been that calm.
Through this horrible thing, Becca has always kept her cool and even wished the best for Arie during the After The Final Rose episode. The character Becca showed is something we should all wish to have. She took her heartbreak and made it into an empowering experience that left her a better person and with a killer hair color change.
Not only did we see how strong a woman could be on her own after a horrible break-up, we saw how your girl squad will always be there for you. Becca had an amazing group of girls standing up for her and calling out Arie on his crap throughout the whole episode.
If this is the only thing that comes out of "the most dramatic episode yet," it's a good lesson. Your girl friends will always be there for you.
