The Companion Pod: The OC

This week's Bachelor episode didn't provide all that much intrigue. Five new women were introduced which got us thinking about what other Bachelor Curveballs have happened in past seasons, so we take a walk down memory lane and revisit other times when things didn't go as planned. We couldn't not talk about the newest rumor in the house and how Anna decided to handle the entire situation. She handled it very poorly. We also couldn't not talk about Victoria and the fact that she's 27 years old; in other words, she old enough to know better. We wrap up trying to figure out which contestants could possibly be Bachelorette leads. The pickings are slim.

Episode 3 was a bit of a bore, so we decided to dig into some of the rules and tips we'd give to contestants (love hunters) and the show's lead if we ever had an opportunity to coach them before going on the show. Sarah could have used a lot of these before heading to Nemacolin Resort to fight for Matt's heart. Oh, and Chris is writing Dirty Books now.

Sponsor: It's Just Sop

Tension and toxicity abound in the second episode of The Bachelor... if you ask Victoria. If you ask anyone else, things are pretty normal and Victoria just needs to leave. We start this podcast with a 15 minute fashion breakdown by Tiff. Then we get into production getting in all the hits: hot tubs, flying machines, fireworks, wedding shoots. We wrap up talking about Matt's performance on the first two episodes and then talking about some of the women that found the camera for one reason or another this week.

After a long two week lay-off from the Bachelor franchise, we're all swooning over Matt James. In this episode we talk about our first impression of Matt and the themes that appeared in his highlight package and discussion with his mom and Chris Harrison. Then we run through the entrances that stood out to us, the Queen Victoria conundrum, and our front-runners.

It's almost time for hometown dates, so the stakes have been raised... big time. Tiff and Sean break down the many faces of Tayshia in this particular episode: she's stone-faced, awkward, supportive, mad, and anxious. Bennett's story arch isn't quite over yet, while Riley and Ben share some personal information with Tayshia.  

Tayshia is crushing it as the Bachelorette. JoJo is the substitute teacher as Chris Harrison leaves La Quinta to help his son move into college. The dates intensify, so this week we go discuss each man individually, picking apart their performance on the episode while Tiff tries to remember which one is Spencer. 

Tiff and Sean talk about Tayshia's fantastic start as the Bachelorette. She plays by the rules, but holds the line when guys try to push the limits. Chasen and Ed get sucked into the drama, which ends in a fight club type set-up that Ed bails out on. Bennett doesn't represent Harvard well at the start of the episode and then, like every freaking Harvard grad, things turn around for Bennett. We wrap up talking about the wrestling group date as and the appearance (and disappearance) of Noah's mustache. They finish up running through the remaining guys and offering brief thoughts on each of them. 

Ivan said it best, "I like Tayshia more than Clare already." Indeed, Ivan, Indeed.

The pre-season is over, we're finally onto real Bachelorette episodes. Clare is gone and Tayshia is here to find love. We rave about Tayshia's energy and ability to draw out the personality of the men because she actually cares about the process. We do have a Clare and Dale interlude, which was annoying. We didn't have a rose ceremony, again, which was also annoying. But Massachusetts is repping hard with Brendan, Montel, and Peter. And we, of course, have a new guy with a target on his back, and a rose on his lapel. 

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The Bachelorette has been broken, and Chris Harrison is here to fix it. On this episode of The Random Division, Tiff and Sean talk about the heavy lifting Chris Harrison has had to go at the La Quinta. Has he played much golf, or is he too busy playing father, brother, friend, and producer? We also discuss Clare's assertion that Claire and Dale didn't connect on social media before meeting on the show and how the Non-Dale's react to the fast pace of the show. Finally, we have Tayshia next week and predictably, all the guys show up for the next babe ABC is ready to roll out, and we are ready for Tayshia!

In the second episode of Clare's undoubtedly short season, we see the gaps that exist in the Bachelorette world when there are no helicopters, cliffs, celebrity cameos, concerts, or crowds. The dates lacked energy, and need the guys to strip, unpack deep childhood issues, and throw on a blindfold for a quick awkward hug. Tiff and Sean dig through the episode and really just hope we're not talking for much longer about Clare and can get on to Tayshia.