Every week, Madi Held and Shanna Sweitzer are giving you a weekly review of ABC’s The Bachelor.

This show aires on Monday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC and is about a single man looking for a woman with whom he would like to spend the rest of his life. After extensive interviews and auditions, 30 women were picked to be on the show this season. In each episode, there are group dates and one-on-one dates where the bachelor gets to spend time with the contestants. At the end of every week, there is a rose ceremony where the bachelor narrows down his choices by giving roses to the girls he wants to stay another week. Those who do not receive a rose are then “sent home” from the show. This helps him to then focus on the girls that he thinks will be the best for him. At the end, the bachelor must decide between the two remaining girls which one he’d like to propose to. Many couples end up breaking off their engagement and splitting up, but there has also been a lot of successful couples that do get married and even have children. The show has become super popular all throughout America and on January 2, 2017, the 21st season started with Nick Viall as America’s Bachelor.

*SPOILERS AHEAD, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*

Who is the Bachelor?

Some people like him, but most people hate him.

Nick Viall has had the label of “runner-up” since the 10th season of The Bachelorette where he was turned down in the finale by Andi Dorfman. After the show ended, Nick revealed secrets about his and Andi’s personal relationship in front of her fiance Josh Murray on live TV. From then on, fans of the show, known as “Bachelor Nation,” have lost respect for Nick.

Having interacted with Kaitlyn Bristowe before she became the bachelorette on season 11, Nick showed up mid-season asking her to give him a chance. Because she was afraid of missing out, Kaitlyn accepted him onto the show. This angered all of the other men competing for Kaitlyn and much of Bachelor Nation. Nick then had a target on his back. Despite that, Kaitlyn fell for him and he made it to the end.. again. And he was turned down.. again.

A year later, Nick went on the spin-off show Bachelor in Paradise where former contestants of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette stay at a beach house in Mexico and date amongst each other. There he met Jen Saviano and the two hit it off, making it to the end of the show as a couple. But when it came to the proposal, Nick actually turned Jen down claiming that he wasn’t in love with her and thought she deserved better. After his third time not finding love on the show, Nick was named the next bachelor, which was a huge surprise to all of Bachelor Nation.

First Impressions of girls

Shanna

Okay, I admit Alexis who came in a shark (even though she was convinced it was a dolphin) costume was a little crazy. Despite this, I think she’s really entertaining but she definitely won’t get far on the show. The girls that really stood out to me were Corinne, Danielle L., Danielle M., Josephine, Raven, Sarah, Rachel, and Vanessa.  

Danielle L. seems really down to earth and cool. Plus she has really nice eyebrows. The other Danielle, Danielle M., is a neonatal nurse and you can see she loves her job and that’s awesome. There’s always a girl who’s a little loony and that’s Josephine. I don’t think she’ll get far on the show, but they have to have someone like her for entertainment. There are a lot of girls from the south this season and one of them is Raven. Her accent is really cute, and she’s funny too. She owns a fashion boutique, and I can tell because her dress was gorgeous. It’s always refreshing to have a girl that can be friends with everyone, and that’s Sarah. Her hair is beautiful. The unique girl is Vanessa. She can speak Italian and she works with special needs kids, so she really caring.

Rachel, an attorney, got the first impression rose from Nick, which is a really big deal. She seemed really nice, but I’m not a fan of her. I don’t know, I just feel like she could be hiding something.

Corinne was definitely a trouble maker. She was the first girl to kiss Nick, not including Liz (we’ll get to her later), so she was automatically disliked by all the other girls. She explained in the confessional that she doesn’t care about the other girls, her purpose there is for Nick, and no one will get in her way. She doesn’t seem to care at all about what any of the girls think about her.

Since I’ve watched this show since 2008, I can normally tell which girls are going to be named the “villains” (which isn’t literal). They’re good people, but remember, this show is mostly about entertainment), and Corinne is definitely one of them.

Madi

When meeting someone for the first time, making a lasting impression is something you definitely would want to do. Especially when there are 29 other woman fighting for the same man. So the fact that Alexis dressed in what she called a dolphin costume, but greatly resembled a shark, made an introduction that I don’t think Nick will forget. It must have worked, because she was given a rose at the end of the night.

Corinne will be the drama queen of the show, and if you watched the preview for the rest of the season then you probably see what I’m saying. In my opinion, it seems like she’s only there for her own good and will go to the extreme to get Nick which is hard considering the situation.

Rachel got the first impression rose, which I am somewhat happy about only because it meant Corrine didn’t get the impression rose. Rachel is nice and seems down to earth, but I do sense a little darkness that maybe she is hiding.

I personally like Raven the best. Her personality seems bubbly and fun. You can also tell that she’s interested in fashion and owns her own boutique just based off how gorgeous her dress was.

I also liked Vanessa because she seems to be energetic and fun. She seems to love her job and be very devoted to it.

Liz and her past with Nick

Liz, a doula from Las Vegas, stunned Nick when she walked out of the limo. Prior to the show, Liz had met Nick at a wedding for previous bachelor contestants. The two hit it off and spent time together after the wedding, but when Nick asked her for her number, she denied him. Then she decided months later that she wanted to give him another chance? Seems to us like she just wants to be on the show and cause some trouble. When they spoke and he remembered her, she made the mistake of saying she liked how he’s changed after watching him on Bachelor in Paradise, even though they met before that. We think she’s trying to tell herself she wants another chance with him, but honestly she just wants to be on the show. Liz shouldn’t have come on the show. She clearly just became interested in him again because he became the bachelor, and she knew she’d have an in on the show because it would cause drama.

How’s Nick Doing?

So far we think he’s doing really well. He seems to be handling situations maturely, unlike he has before. One big obstacle on the show is Nick trying to have conversations with 30 girls in one night. It can get hostile sometimes when girls go to talk to him twice, and some haven’t talked to him at all. This can even end in arguments and hysterical crying. But Nick was really good at making sure that all the girls had time with him and it was fair.

Current Standings

Who went home: Angela, Briana, Ida Marie, Jasmine B., Lauren, Michelle, Olivia, Susannah

Who is staying: Alexis, Astrid, Brittan, Christen, Corinne, Danielle L., Danielle M., Dominique, Liz, Elizabeth, Hailey, Jaimi, Jasmine G., Josephine, Kristina, Lacey, Rachel, Raven, Sarah, Taylor, Vanessa, Whitney

Come back next week for our review of episode 2!