Bachelor Peter Is Going to Ruin His Own Dang Season—Here’s Why
Is this nice guy *too* nice for his own good?
There’s a famous saying that goes: “nice guys finish last.” And as much as I hate that particular saying (for the record, nice guys are great—date them), in the case of Peter and The Bachelor, it may actually be true.
On the fourth episode of The Bachelor, the season 24 lead found himself in some seriously toasty water with just about every woman left on his season (which, for the record is now 15). The reason? His indecisiveness. After sending Alayah home in episode three, following several of the women voicing their concerns that the beauty pageant queen was fake, the controversial contestant showed up at the most recent cocktail party in Cleveland to chat it out with the Bach lead. After defending herself to Peter and arguing that she hadn’t been given time to explain herself post-accusations, Peter made the decision to not only allow Alayah to return, but gave her the coveted group date rose. Which in and of itself is in poor taste, but to do so after a date that had the remaining 13 women tackling each other while engaging in sports?! The audacity!!
Walking back in to the group date, hand in hand with Alayah, I’m not sure exactly what Peter expected. Did he think the women would have baked her a “Welcome Back” cake? No, they were PISSED. It didn’t help that Peter pretty much pulled a “’K, bye!” dropping Alayah in like a bomb and then hightailing it out of there.
But it really went off when Deandra, an actual goddess, voiced what all the women were thinking at the cocktail party the next evening. “I’m sorry Peter, but I’ve never felt so under-recognized by somebody,” Deandra said of the return of Alayah. “And for us who went on the group date, who busted our ass out there on the football field, and literally have the physical bruises to show, and then for you to come to the cocktail party and ignore us, half of us that didn’t get the time, and then walk in hand-in-hand with Alayah, it was like the biggest slap in the face. Like, I can’t even look at you.”
SAY π IT π LOUDER π FOR π THE π PEOPLE π IN π THE π BACK π #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/0y7u5gPc6Q
— Brett S. Vergara (@BrettSVergara) January 28, 2020
After several of the other girls legit went in on him (with very enthusiastic nods of support from Mykenna and her massive hair clip), Peter was pretty much left speechless, telling the camera: “I’m messing up so bad, this is just backfiring in my face,” and later summing up what everyone at home was pretty much thinking: “I’m worried that these women are going to walk out.”
Which, honestly at this point, would we blame them? Because Peter is seriously effing this whole thing up—here’s why.
The main issue: Peter is straight up indecisive
While fans have been pissed at former Bachelorette Hannah Brown for indecisively flip flopping from former BF to former BF (to recap: she chose Jed Wyatt, dumped his lying ass, then asked out runner-up Tyler Cameron, only to break up with her former beau and show up on Peter’s season) all in the name of following her heart, Peter is taking it to the extreme.
Not only has the recent drams highlighted that he can’t seem to make and stick to a decision, but earlier in the season we saw Peter go through a similar personal dilemma when Hannah made her appearance on the show—waffling between his remaining feelings for her and the new connections he was making on his season. He even went so far as to ask Hannah if she’d come and compete on his season, which would not have only been super disrespectful to the other women, but further highlighted just how unable he is to make a decision.
Which stems primarily from Pilot Pete’s insecurities
We knew the repercussions from Luke P and his wild toxicity would have to extend far beyond Hannah Brown’s season of the franchise, and it looks like the ghost of Luke P has settled itself firmly into Peter’s season—not to mention his psyche.
Early on in the latest season, Peter made it *very* clear that he was nervous about having a “female Luke P” on the show—as in, a contestant who completely gaslights the lead and creates drama—telling the women: “My biggest fear in all this is falling for someone and then getting to the end and realizing they’re not really who they were showing me.”
And while the first episode had Bach nation fans making a comparison between Luke P and Hannah Ann—specifically due to the latter’s aggressiveness—as of late, it’s become *very* apparent that the Luke P of season 24 is Alayah. After being sent home in episode three, thanks to the aforementioned fake-ness, she came back to the Bach group armed with not only her big personality, but the greatest weapon of all: internet access.
Omg. And Alayah comes back having access to the internet. She has all the power. #TheBachelor
— Francesca (@BarstoolFran) January 28, 2020
Within *literal* minutes of being back in the Bach fold, Alayah made sure to spill the beans to all the women about Victoria F’s history with musician Chase Rice, something the contestant hadn’t revealed to the other ladies. It was rude AF of Alayah, and also so calculated. Such a Luke P move. Which is something Peter seemingly realized. Talking to Alayah during the cocktail party, Peter is pretty much pleading with the pageant queen to confess her motives, asking why the other women have issues with her, saying: “What is it? It has to be something that I’m not seeing.”
As Bachelor alum and FLARE writer Sharleen Joynt so aptly pointed out in her recap of the recent episode: “[Peter] seems incapable of simply letting women dislike each other, without assuming there must be some greater malice at play. He is his allowing his paranoia about being duped to intersect with the entitlement he evidently feels as Bachelor, and that’s where things are really going awry.”
But the issue is that in trying so hard to make the right decision and not get duped, Peter is letting himself fall into a similar trap that Hannah B did with her season’s villain—something she was repeatedly called out for. Letting said villain and said drama consume the rest of the experience will prohibit Peter from making connections with anyone else. Peter’s insecurity is entirely disallowing him from getting to know any of the other women—and as Sydney pointed out, the important details like their middle names—because he’s so caught up in sorting out whether or not specific people are really there for the right reasons. Hey Peter, just cut her and move on! Real Q: Do you even want to be in a relationship with someone who causes this much chaos around them?
And the fact that he just wants to please everyone
And not only are his insecurities over being duped getting in the way, but so is the fact that in the process of trying to cut through the BS, he’s still simultaneously trying to please everyone. There’s no denying that Peter is a nice guy. As far as we know, he doesn’t have a secret GF, hasn’t tried to scam his way into a million bucks via a football pool and isn’t gunning to date Jennifer Garner. He’s safe, simple and super wholesome. I mean, did you see how legit excited he got to see the women playing football?! It wasn’t even a creepy ogling of them piling on top of each other, but a true appreciation for their athleticism and the fact that they were playing a game he loves. It was super cute, and is a trait that we’ve seen consistently both through Hannah B’s season and the first few episodes of his own. He’s handled all the “drama” (no matter how manufactured it may be) like a pro.
But in many ways, it’s this willingness to please everyone that is simultaneously his downfall. In trying to figure out whether or not some of these women are “there for the right reasons,” Peter has been trying to straddle the line to keep everyone happy. He did it by first kicking off Alayah (after asking for the honest opinions of the other women), then by allowing Alayah to “explain herself” and come back on the show. Once confronted with Alayah and her claims that she was wrongly portrayed, Peter pivoted real quick, trying to appease her feelings. Which is sweet, but doesn’t get him any closer to making a decision that’s best for him—and as respectful as possible to all the women.
And this desire to make sure everyone is happy was perfectly exemplified in the awkward AF throuples therapy session Peter hosted between Alayah and Victoria P. Did no one else feel like they were sitting in on a very intimate couple’s sesh between the two ladies, as Peter sat off to the side counselling them as they worked through *their* relationship? This show is about Peter and the women, not the women and their relationships with each other!
But Peter’s nice guy routine is blowing up in his face—literally
As nice as Peter is trying to be, his tactics aren’t working, and a lot of it has to do with the way he’s handling all the drams. In his scramble to appease everyone, he inevitably ends up upsetting one person or another; either by literally throwing them under the bus (essentially blaming his decision to send Alayah home on Victoria P), upsetting them (Alayah) or making them feel disrespected (the rest of the women).
And, in the case of Alayah, crowdsourcing opinions about her and then blaming your decision on being “influenced” by said crowdsourcing isn’t a good look. It makes you look like you don’t have a spine.
And highlighting one of the show’s biggest truths
Maybe more than any Bachelor before him, Peter’s insecurities have not only highlighted the fact that he can’t make a decision, but also the fact that to actually make a decision in a show like The Bachelor–where you’re literally dating 25+ women at one time—you have to be a little bit of a jerk. Or at least put yourself and your gut first. Because newsflash Pilot Pete: You can’t please everyone! And also, no matter your decision, you can’t always know you’re making the right one—no matter how many people you crowdsource opinions from.
Peter: βI absolutely know what Iβm doingβ
Narrator: βPeter did NOT know what he was doingβ #TheBachelor— Francesca (@BarstoolFran) January 28, 2020
At some point, you just have to act on your instincts—no matter who it hurts or the inevitable outcome (just look at Hannah and Jed). This is a show based on the highest of stakes; it’s already enough of a gamble to think you’ll find forever on a reality TV show. So just make a damn decision already.
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