By: Juliana Marie Swift

Disclaimer : This is a bachelor recap which means there will be spoilers for the finale and possibly from the entire season, so you’ve been warned and read at your own risk!

Here we were at yet another two-part, two-night dramatic finale, and part one is the real moment we’ve all been waiting for: finding out who Barb is crying over.

Is it bad that I was more excited to find out who Peter’s mother was crying over rather than I was to see who he actually picked in the end? Possibly, but this season has been far from the best, and to be completely honest, after the whole season and what unraveled on the finale, I don’t think he deserves either of them. This season has been messy from night one, and this finale was no exception, so let’s get into it.

Part 1

We opened with how we open all Bachelor finales: with Chris Harrison and a live studio audience. Chris told us yet again how truly dramatic this ending would be, because according to him, no one knew how this would all end, “Not even Peter.”

It was time for our final two to meet the family! Never before has there been a family that was so invested in a bachelor’s journey. When Peter sat down to talk with his family about the final two women, he revealed to them what had been going on with Madison and they were not happy to say the least. When he told them that Madison said she didn’t know how she would be able to continue with the process if he was intimate with anyone else during fantasy suites, his family reacted negatively. It was at this moment that his family completely wrote off Madison and decided to never look back.

Barb and the rest of the Webers met Hannah Ann first. I honestly think she really does love Peter so much, and you can tell because of how emotional she was. She cried meeting Peter’s family and constantly told them how much she loved him. This was probably one of the sweetest family meets ever – super simple and cute, and you can really see how much his family LOVED her.

Right before Hannah Ann left the Webers, we saw Peter having a conversation with his dad about Madison while on the family meeting date with Hannah Ann. We saw him clearly struggling with his feelings because he said he loved them both and he wasn’t sure what to do. As a viewer it was CLEAR that he loved Madison more, but she hadn’t expressed her love to him like Hannah Ann did and he was spiraling big time.

Now onto Madison re-meeting the Webers for the first time since Peter Sr. and Barb’s vow renewal during week one. Madison and Peter had a very serious conversation before she met the family since this was their first time talking since fantasy suites and the night ending early. Apparently no one this season knew how to talk about and resolve issues.

Madison meets Peter’s family. Photo Credit: ABC

Nothing actually got sorted out between the two of them, because the only thing Peter heard out of the entire conversation (that apparently was so long it made them three hours late to meet the parents) was Madison saying she loved him. After she said this it was like nothing else she said mattered, which sure, was cute in some senses (I guess?), but this was just one of Peter’s many red flags and signs of immaturity. Madison was clearly struggling with this, but tried to be strong. When she walked in to meet the parents for the second time she was smiling – blind to what the future held.

Here was where the episode really got crazy. Peter’s family, who LOVED this girl week one, was interrogating her and really ripped into her. One by one, they started naming all of Peter’s immature traits to Madison, in an attempt to show her who their son really is. Let’s look over the list, shall we? He lives at home, is gone a lot, parties a lot, drinks a lot, has sex a lot, goes out dancing a lot, and the list goes on. All season, everyone has been talking about the immaturity of the girls, and yet, here we were with the most emotionally immature 28-year-old bachelor.

Now, with that being said, there was nothing wrong with all of the things he does, like partying. However, when you want to get married and have kids, you’re not going to be able to do all those things, and it’s clear that he has a lot of growing up to do. Peter’s family was trying to scare Madi away and honestly, it worked.

After Madi left, it happened. Barb brought out the dramatics, started crying for literally no reason at all, and roasted Madi to Peter’s face. I’m sorry, “Bud’s” face. Barb was sitting there convincing Peter to choose Hannah Ann, and we finally got the “bring her home to us” moment we all had been waiting for. I was nothing short of shocked that it was about Hannah Ann and not Madison. The rest of the family agreed that Hannah Ann was the right one for Peter, but the only one not convinced was Peter himself. Another sign that he clearly loved Madi more.

After the Barb tears, Madi and Peter had a one-on-one. Madi removed herself from this journey because although she loved Peter, after talking with his family she believed their lives were too different and she couldn't give Peter what he wanted. So she left him alone in the Australian desert. Peter was heartbroken, and Madi looked like she regretted it almost immediately after it happened.

Then, we had our final one-on-one date with Hannah Ann. An adorable date, but Peter was still obviously distraught and Hannah Ann could clearly see he was beaten up.

Hannah Ann and Peter in the season finale. Photo Credit John Fleenor/ ABC

During the night portion she broke down because he gave her close to no reassurance after all she did was tell him over and over again how much she loves and trusts him. Now, this was after Madison already left and he told Hannah Ann, not that she left, but that his heart was being pulled in two different directions. Who wants to hear that? No one. Ever. Yet another sign that he wanted Madison. The episode ended with Hannah Ann the least confident she’s been all season.

Part 2

The second part of the finale started and we were back with the live studio audience except this time Peter’s parents, Kelley, and Neil Lane were there. Why were Kelley and Neil Lane there? We never found out. Probably because they felt bad about not inviting Kelley to the Women Tell All and Neil Lane only got .2 seconds of screen time this season.

Cut to the actual episode where Peter decided he was going to propose to Hannah Ann, said all of these beautiful things about her, called her dad, and asked for his permission (at this point my entire family was screaming “NOOOO!!!” at our TV because we knew he didn’t really love her).

We saw Hannah Ann struggling to actually go to the final rose ceremony because while she knew she loved him, she had no idea how he felt about her. Then Chris went to Peter and said he wasn’t sure if she was going to show up at all – Peter was distraught. However, about two minutes later she walked down the dirt road in her high heels to Peter and looked more nervous then she had all season.

Peter waiting to propose. Photo Credit: Getty Images

Then came the proposal and Peter brought up Madison in the middle of his proposal to Hannah Ann. What girl wants to hear another girl’s name in the middle of her proposal? Or in the middle of any romantic situation at all? Hannah Ann was so surprised, you could literally see all of the different emotions she was feeling. Confusion, love, happiness, shock. She loved him so much and was so sweet – she said the cutest, most wholesome line of the entire season, “Oh my word! I get to love you forever, oh my word!!” I cried, knowing what was going to happen next because we were only 20 minutes into the episode and there was no way they would stay together because we all know he wanted it to be Madison at the end. Hannah Ann was too good for Peter. There, I said what I said.

Then we saw one of their “Happy Couple” weekends and Hannah Ann could tell immediately something was off. He ultimately ended the relationship and engagement because he could not give Hannah Ann the love she was giving him, and instead of retreating she stuck up for herself in a truly beautiful and articulate way. Her real stinger was, “You took away my first engagement.” I could not even imagine how horrible that must have felt for her to know that her fiance was in love with another woman, which is ultimately why they ended it. He realized what we all knew: that he wanted Madison. He tried to hug her as he walked her to her car, gave her empty apologies, and she gave him the hand. Truly amazing. She didn’t retreat back into him at all.

We then went back to the live studio audience portion where Hannah Ann and Peter saw each other for the first time since they ended the engagement and it was great. Pilot Pete tried to play victim yet again, but Hannah Ann didn’t let him. She called him out for mistreating her, taking away that moment from her, and said he seriously needs to grow up – I couldn't agree more. She also dropped a bomb by exposing that he reached out to Hannah Brown after their engagement to get “closure” because apparently he didn’t get enough already.

Peter and Hannah Ann at After the Final Rose. Photo Credit: Getty Images

It was after all this that we could clearly see that the editors and producers really gave Hannah Ann a bad edit; they made her seem so dull, irrelevant, and tried to give her the villain spin, but she never actually did anything wrong. She is so articulate and strong, and I wish we got to see more of that all season.

Next, Chris paid a visit to Madison in Auburn, Alabama and gave her the lowdown on the situation. Madison explained that she made a huge mistake and would love a second chance with Peter, so they took her to LA. She surprised Peter and they talked about how they knew that they’d hurt each other in the past, but they love each other.

And then they brought her out and put her in the hot seat with Peter. When Chris asked them what was going on with them now, it was unclear, but it seemed like they’ll be dating and taking things slow.

Things took a turn for the worst when Chris Harrison gave Peter’s mom, Barb the platform to talk. She ripped Madison apart on live television. She said not only that she does not approve of this relationship, but she doesn’t think it’s going to work out and she STILL thinks Peter should be with Hannah Ann – even after he has continuously said he loves Madison and wants to be with her.

Madison and Peter at After the Final Rose. Photo Credit: Getty Images

Madison was good at sticking up for herself while also being respectful and kind. Meanwhile Barb was extremely disrespectful, petty, and childish. And the line that really got to me, was when Chris asked Barb how they can give this a shot and turn the page, and she responded with, “He’s going to have to fail to succeed.” This made it clear that nothing was changing her mind. Not even professional moderator Chris Harrison.

The finale ended how most episodes this season ended, with unresolved issues and feeling incomplete in a way. So, here’s hoping for a better Bachelorette season in May because let’s face it, The Bachelorette is almost always better than The Bachelor.

In conclusion: Hannah Ann deserved better, Madison should have never left, and Peter is now on my list of top 5 worst bachelors.

Be sure to look out for Juliana’s weekly recaps when “Listen to Your Heart” premieres next month!

The Bachelor Finale: A Broken Engagement, Unresolved Feelings, and an Angry Helicopter Mom

Part 1

Part 2