Bridget Hamlin

The first episode of “The Bachelor” Season 28 began with an emotional scene of Joey Graziadei crying and looking heartbroken at the final rose ceremony, accompanied by “When the Party’s Over” playing in the background. This set the tone for the rest of the season, leaving the world with the question of whether or not Joey would find love.

Thinking back to that episode as I watched the finale, I expected to experience an ending for Joey that “has never happened before on Bachelor history”, as teased by the producers countless times. Instead, I knew which girl won within 10 minutes of the show.

The episode starts with Daisy Kent and Kelsey Anderson meeting Joey’s family for the first time. Both interactions went very smoothly, and Joey’s parents and siblings seemed to have loved both girls a tremendous amount.

However, things took a turn when Joey had his final one-on-one date with Daisy. During this, Joey’s demeanor was off, and he did not reassure her at all. Instead, he made small comments essentially stating how sometimes things are not meant to be, foreshadowing his decision. 

With how obvious Joey was acting, Daisy knew she was not getting proposed to. Not to mention, he acted the complete opposite with Kelsey, confirming what everyone had thought. With how early on this occurred, it made the rest of the episode feel predictable. 

However, what made the episode have a little bit of flair was when Daisy reunited with Kelsey at her hotel room and told Kelsey that she knew she was going home. It then panned to a shot of them riding in the limo together, on their way to Joey. This was the thing that “had never happened in Bachelor history” that the producers were referring to.

Although I enjoyed how Kelsey and Daisy came together and demonstrated the epiphany of women supporting women, I felt this episode lacked entertainment. The scene of Joey crying, which was teased for months, was simply because Daisy told him she knew she was not his person and then walked away, aka what Joey had practically experienced every episode prior. Even though I knew the ending may not be the most dramatic due to how past seasons have gone, I still expected more than just a Joey and Daisy breakup.

Overall, watching “The Bachelor” will always give me a dose of serotonin, and it is always fun to guess who wins the final rose. It felt like the whole world, including myself, had been rooting for Daisy since the beginning. So, to know she made it to the final round felt rewarding.

 I think everyone can admit Kelsey and Joey seem like a pretty great couple. Even though it was not the ending many people wanted, there’s no doubt their chemistry is unmatched. Now that this season is over, Bachelor fans can stay tuned to see how Jenn Tran handles being the next Bachelorette.