The Bachelor: fantastic cringe

You should create a separate streaming platform for it: next to Netflix, Videoland, HBO Max, and Disney+, I would like ‘Cringe TV’. Because who doesn't enjoy guilty pleasures like Temptation Island, Love Island, and now of course also The Bachelor?

The two bachelors are totally different in every way. First, we have Paul with his neat little haircut in a tailored suit, slightly posh accent, and his job as a lawyer. In contrast, there is Rien: bun in his hair and a loose blouse à la Ibiza (where he just happens to live). Our first encounter with him is the moment he shows us his bare butt before diving naked into the sea. A man who is one with nature, he probably wants to say.

We can't ignore the fact that there were rumors circulating about Paul last week. He supposedly has never been a lawyer, but a jurist. It feels extra cringe when he is asked in episode 2 which branch of law he actually works in... It became clear to me early in episode 1 that he can chat extremely well, so perhaps he dances just as easily around the truth. Super awkward too that Paul keeps nervously touching his neck and face while he is talking. This kind of nervous behavior is coincidentally also one of the signs by which you can recognize that someone is lying...

Rien was also not spared by the gossip channels, but it was mainly about all the different professions he had previously claimed before he called himself an entrepreneur. Rapper, model, presenter, influencer, real estate dealer; Rien is a jack of all trades. It feels extremely uncomfortable that he constantly calls everyone ‘darling’, despite the fact that he may have spoken to all the ladies for a maximum of five minutes.

Anyway, it seems absolutely horrifically awkward to be on a date with multiple women at the same time with one man, but that awkwardness is exactly what makes this show so delightful.