The first solo date of this season of The Bachelor NZ was off to a good start, until a particularly awkward moment turned things upside down.
What happened? Moses whisked Shivani away on a helicopter to check out the Bay of Islands beautiful hole in the rock, followed by a picnic at a winery. It was during this that, after a lovely back and forth in which the pair were laughing and joking, Moses said: can I just interrupt you for a second? Only to point out that Shivani had what he believed to be a booger.
Moses and Shivani hit it off on their solo date until he interrupted her for a second.
But he was wrong!This whole excruciating exchange was for nothing! It was her nose ring! I hate that I had to watch this play out on TV; I go through enough of these interactions in my own life. I have to say, Shivani took it like a champ, giving Moses a bit of stick when he realised it was jewellery and not snot.
Yikes. In all honesty, it wasnt that bad, but nothing much else of note happened this episode. Shivani is a laugh; her banter with Moses was top-notch, and despite that faux pas, he seemed pretty keen on her happy-go-lucky vibe.
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A few general observations: Moses is exceedingly charming, and Im anticipating a lot of the girls getting fairly invested in him. Hes a very generous conversationalist and good listener, and seems really invested in giving each of the girls a fair chance (as he should be). Hes funny and silly, but you can tell he has a serious, more sensitive side, and seems like the kind of guy who takes his feelings seriously. He also reminds me of my uncle Rob, and we all need a Rob.
Despite the snot faux pas, Moses seemed pretty keen on Shivani’s happy-go-lucky vibe.
And the girls: Im already obsessed. TVNZ have done a great job this season of casting a diverse group of women from different walks of life around the country, and one of the most heartwarming joys this episode was seeing how fast theyve formed a sisterhood. While Shivani was out on her solo date, Lou (an angel) suggested they turned her pineapple into a cocktail to serve to her upon her return, which is too cute. Throughout the episode, the contestants were saying in their video diaries how lovely theyre finding the other girls, which, if youre going to get anything out of this whole charade, is a pretty wholesome takeaway: the power of female friendship.
Moses is a very generous conversationalist and good listener.
But this is a competition, so they naturally have to compete at some point, such as in the waka race this episode. It was pretty great to see them welcomed to Waitangi with a pwhiri; while I doubt The Bachelor is a platform on which were going to make any grand strides towards decolonisation in Aotearoa, its certainly lovely to see a local spin on a reality show format truly showcase Mori culture on screen.
Because Art is still here for some reason, he led the winning team in a narrow race against Moses team. Following this, police officer Negin was awarded with some alone time with Moses, which went well. Negin told Moses the story of her parents, which is amazing: her Chinese mother and Iranian father met at an English class, which I need someone to make a rom-com or reality show about immediately because thats beautiful.
Seeing the cast welcomed to Waitangi with a pwhiri was pretty great.
What about the cocktail party? The cocktail party was cute, with Moses chatting more to Sam, who bravely opened up about how suffering three concussions means she has short-term memory loss. He also chatted to Lana, who seems super down-to-earth and was really gracious when she passed Moses over to Kimi, who also seems supremely sweet. This season is honestly just a bunch of huns and I feel like Id rather just watch all the gals hang out rather than compete. Lou warmed my heart when, at the end of the episode, she said: whatever happens tonight, I love you guys.
Whod we lose this ep? I almost forgot – we opened with a rose ceremony in which Moses sent home four women. Kate took it like a champ, smiling away with an its fine. Georgia didnt make the cut, which is a real shame she was a hoot in the first episode and would have been great reality TV talent. Same goes for Freya, who I thought had made a great entrance with her stethoscope trick; she very graciously called Moses a silly man for not picking her (correct) while also calling him a lovely man (also correct). Lastly, Amanda, who told Moses shed been in the running for The Bachelorette, was sent packing, and in all honesty, her one-on-one with Moses at the cocktail party was so stilted that Im not surprised he didnt pick her. Perhaps well see her on the next season of The Bachelorette, but regardless, Im sure all four will find love elsewhere.
Except I saw a tweet flying around that one of the contestants this season is a QAnon supporter, Covid denier and anti-masker, which is alarming. Heres hoping we find out soon enough who it is. Until next week!
OPINION: It was all going so well, until Moses told one woman she had a “booger” up her nose.
