Don't worry, they said. We'll get someone else for After The Final Rose, they said. We won't make you sit through any more Chris Harrison than you have to following that disastrous interview with Rachel Lindsay, they said. Yet, The Bachelor finale brought us more Chris Harrison than the season premiere, typically the episode that features the longtime host most predominately.
How did the grand totals add up? In the season premiere — an episode that sees Harrison introduce the show, introduce the new bachelor, and introduce the group of women vying for his affections (and, this season, introduce the Nemacolin) — the host logged 8 minutes and 36 seconds of screentime, not counting voiceover and scenes from the season ahead.
In The Bachelor finale? Harrison logged 13 minutes and 13 seconds of screentime not counting voiceover, figuring to be a more prominent presence than in previous season enders. (Even more bizarre was listening to Harrison tease throughout the finale, "...and more, during After The Final Rose... [which I'm not at].")
Part of that reality made sense — Matt James' post-Michelle break-up break-down demanded a mediated on-screen conversation. That said, considering The Bachelor wanted to take the attention away from Harrison during this finale, some conversations between the host and finalist Rachael Kirkconnell seemed unnecessary at a minimum, and triggering at worst. And as for the advice Harrison delivered to James following the bachelor's very practical conversation with his family, during which James' mother and brother urged him to be thoughtful before he proposed? My colleague Allison Piwowarski said it best when she wrote, "Chris did everything in his power to undermine Matt's mom's concerns, making it Chris' second worst move of the season. (You know the first.)"
The editing makes the series' insistence that it would heed the concerns of contestants and viewers seem insincere, particularly on the heels of Harrison's resurgence into the news cycle. Less than 20 days after saying he would be "stepping aside" to educate himself on matters involving race, the host appeared on Good Morning America, presumably to test the waters prior to a possible Bachelorette return. But to call the waters choppy would be an understatement — the negative reception to the interview, which GMA host Michael Strahan called "surface level," undoubtedly led to the decision to have Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe host The Bachelorette.
Still, his omnipresence on The Bachelor's finale proves that the franchise isn't quite done with him yet — and there hasn't been any confirmation that the franchise is done with a capital "D" with Harrison.
But with the refreshing change of pace Emmanuel Acho offered during the After The Final Rose, will Harrison's journey actually end now? We'll find out after the (true) break... from Harrison.
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Image: ABC