Tayshia's Final Rose

As a long-time fan of The Bachelorette (and previous recaper), I’ve taken it upon myself to recap Tayshia Adam's season. So here it is: my Rose Recap of Season 16 Episode 13: The Finale.

The end of any season is always bittersweet for me. But those post season blues won't last long because Matt's season starts in just two short weeks. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves there's time for one final recap of Tayshia's season.

After showing up at Tayshia's door, Ben gets invited back to the rose ceremony. Tayshia had me convinced that she wasn’t even into Ben until she kissed him as he walked out the door so I guess that I'm not the mind reader I thought myself to be.

At the rose ceremony, Zac and Ivan get caught up on Brendan's surprise departure and Ben's equally surprising arrival. Tayshia pulls Ivan aside and breaks up with him, which is a move I stand behind, especially when it's this close to the end, it's more personal and intimate than being left at a rose ceremony after not hearing your name. Ben and Zac are our final two.

Ben is set to met Tayshia’s parents first, and Tayshia has the pleasure of explaining to her parents how Ben was part of her top four, but not her top three, but one of her top two. Despite Tayshia’s parents hesitations, Ben wins them over by being his earnest self. Overall, it was fine but not write home about. Zac has the chance to meet Tayshia’s parents next and it is equally as nondescript as when Ben met Tayshia's folks. Meeting the lead's parents never gives me any insight because I think this footage is most likely to be edited to fit the narrative that production wants.

As a whole, this portion of the episode felt pretty nonchalant until Tayshia’s dad showed up to her suite to tell her that he’s concerned that she might be making the biggest mistake of her life and setting herself up for a situation similar to her first marriage. Instead of providing any clarity to me, Mr. Adams left me feeling confused, and if anything, I think he made Tayshia feel more anxious about the prospect of getting remarried.

For Zac and Tayshia’s final date they get a dance lesson, and it’s probably the closest either of them will get to Dancing with the Stars, but I love watching people of dance so of course this was one of my favorite dates of the season. Afterwards, Zac and Tayshia talk about the future and Zac's sobriety. Tayshia uses Zac's full name a lot, which I personally find endearing, and they both say I love you.

Before going on a date with Ben, Tayshia ends things with him, so I wonder if she kept Ben as a way to prevent Ivan from getting more hurt or if she kept Ben because she thought he might be The One. Either way, I will always appreciate the lead breaking up with someone before they make it to the proposal location, because there is nothing worse to watch than someone declaring their love only to have it be trampled seconds later.

From there the season has it's typical beats: Zac meets up with Neil Lane, shows up to the proposal, gives a heartfelt speech, becomes , gets down on one knee, and accepts Tayshia’s final rose.

There was no After the Final Rose this season, which makes sense with it being so close to the holidays and traveling is more complicated this year, but I wish we could have at least gotten some footage from a Happy Couple Weekend. At time of publishing, neither Zac nor Tayshia have posted anything on their social media, so I don't know the status of their relationship, but that could be because West Coast gets their episode two hours behind the premier. No matter what, I hope nothing but happiness for Tayshia, our unexpected Bacelorette.

See ya in 2021.

xoxo, Cyber Claire