Nick Viall's beyond mediocre reign as The Bachelor is finally coming to an end and trust us when we say that we couldn't be more thrilled.
From day one, ABC's choice to go with Viall over the second and third place finishers on JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette, was risky to say the least. The typical choice to play the lead in ABC's biggest franchise is a handsome, "prince charming," nice guy, who's universally beloved by both fans and the previous Bachelorette. Chase McNary and Luke Pell have all of those qualities. Viall has none.
Still, the choice was intriguing and would make for some crazy drama, right? Wrong. Nick has gone an entire season wearing turtleneck sweaters, having awkward conversations and speaking without opening his mouth, while failing to make any real connections with the women. In his defense, the contestants themselves have been sub par, but who can blame them with Nick at the helm!
Somehow or another, we made it to the finale and two ladies remain: Vanessa and Raven. While we're not counting out en epic collapse and no proposal at all, it's more likely that Viall puts a ring on one of these women's fingers and we're making a case for both of them.
Vanessa
Age: 29
Occupation: Special Education Teacher
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Vanessa definitely wouldn't be a bad choice for Nick. Honestly, our bigger question is why on earth Vanessa would choose to spend her life with him! Vanessa has a great family, wonderful job and just overall has her entire life together. Then again, that seems like the qualities Nick might be looking for.
Looking back at past winners, we see a pattern. Typically, the Bachelor or Bachelorette each pick a contestant they seem to think is out of their league. This has been true for both of the past two seasons, as Ben Higgins was completely enamored with Lauren Bushnell's dull personality and JoJo Fletcher could not resist the swag and media attention surrounding Jordan Rodgers. In both situations they seemed to think that it was too good to be true and couldn't imagine passing up on the opportunity to marry someone so perfect.
While there really are no contestants that enticing on this season, Vanessa would come the closest for Nick. She is beautiful, smart and constantly challenges Nick. They've had the tough conversations unlike Raven, but that doesn't mean they have come to a consensus. The truth is, Vanessa is the clear, smart, choice, but we are not convinced Nick is as ready to settle down as he lets on.
Raven
Age: 25
Occupation: Fashion Boutique Owner
Hometown: Hoxie, AR
Under normal circumstances, being 25 is not at all a red flag, but this season is not under normal circumstances. Nick is 36, which is already far older than most Bachelors. To put that in perspective, Ben Higgins was 27 when he was handing out roses and the contestants considered young were 22. The biggest question here is, is Raven really ready to get engaged to a 36-year-old man when she's just in her mid-twenties?
The Arkansas native is sweet, bubbly, easy to talk to and definitely helps Viall to have fun. Like Vanessa, but unlike a lot of the other women, she avoids conflict and really allowed herself to focus on her relationship with Nick, without coming off as nagging or controlling. Raven is a great girl, just not one we generally see in a finale episode.
We haven't gotten to see her have those real, necessary conversations with Nick. Is he going to move to Hoxie? One would assume the two of them would go search for fame in L.A., but then again after their rendezvous in the mud, maybe Raven has an attachment to her hometown. In the end, we just don't think that she's mature enough for Nick, even if he is the most immature 36-year-old we've ever seen.
The three hour Bachelor finale airs March 13 on ABC.