Spoilers ahead for the Season 23 premiere of The Bachelor on ABC.
Another season of The Bachelor means another batch of beautiful women looking to catch the eye (and the heart) of a leading man. Former Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise contestant Colton Underwood was not all Bachelor fans' preferred pick for the new leading man role, but he has officially kicked off his latest search for true love on reality TV. A new "villain" of a contestant emerged after only the very first night of the season, and she may be around a lot longer than her fellow competitors would like.
Here's why real commercial real estate agent/hip-hop DJ Catherine Agro has already earned the ire of the other Bachelor ladies and why Colton might keep her around anyway.
Like the other 29 women vying for Colton's heart in the three-hour Season 23 premiere, Catherine attempted to do something memorable in her quick meeting with the leading man. While some women showed off their knowledge of languages, brought props, and -- in one memorable case -- dressed like a sloth, the 26-year-old Fort Lauderdale native brought her dog Lucy along and handed her right over to Colton.
She wanted Colton and Lucy to get to know each other, and she certainly guaranteed that Colton would remember her, as he was left holding a Pomeranian after she went to join the other women in the Bachelor mansion. (Luckily, host Chris Harrison stepped in to dog-sit.) Bringing her dog was over-the-top but not the only instance of a woman getting creative to meet Colton, and the woman who (rather awesomely, if you ask me) faked an Australian accent might be the boldest. Catherine earned her status as Season 23's first villain later on in the premiere.
After Colton met all the ladies, he moved on to the portion of the evening when he could take a lit bit of time and speak to the women one-on-one, and it was this portion of the interview that had Catherine rubbing her competitors the wrong way. When she felt that her conversation with Colton was cut too short, she went over and interrupted his chat with another woman to pull him back.
Now, if that was the only instance of Catherine demanding extra attention from Colton, she might not have earned the status as villain. After all, there are 30 women and far fewer roses to be distributed, so only the assertive competitors were likely to make an impression on Colton. As it happens, however, Catherine interrupted Colton's conversations with other women on two more occasions, and the other women understandably weren't happy about it.
Another competitor by the name of Onyeka pulled Catherine aside to put her in her place and explain how her behavior was upsetting the others, but it didn't make much of an impression on her. Given that Colton didn't have all that much time to visit with a whole lot of ladies, Catherine monopolizing his time meant that some might not have gotten any time with him at all. Not the way to make friends on Night #1, Catherine!
When the time came for Colton to distribute the roses and decide who would be back for another round of wooing, a lot of the women were clearly rooting for Catherine to be sent home. Colton waited until his very last rose before he bestowed it on Catherine, to the dismay of all the women who would be going home, and the women who are moving on probably aren't her biggest fans either.
None of this necessarily points toward Catherine as a major contender for Colton's heart in the long run, but Chris Harrison took a few moments to chat with Colton about the shenanigans of Night #1, and Colton had this to say when asked for his thoughts about Catherine's interruptions:
I'd been on the other side, so of course I knew it was stirring some stuff up. But I appreciated it. She let me know that she was there for me and she wasn't afraid to go get what she wants.
While Catherine's behavior was upsetting to the other women, Colton didn't have anything unkind to say about it later on. In fact, he apparently appreciated that she was going for what she came for, no matter how many of the others got in her way. He did seem to be feeling the awkwardness of the situation while at the cocktail party of Night #1, though, as he said "Third time's the charm" and then "Fourth time's the charm" for Catherine's last two interruptions.
If Catherine does stick around for the foreseeable future, she'll have to change her behavior if she wants to make some friends. Of course, competing on The Bachelor isn't about winning the friendship of the other women, but allies can go a long way in the Bachelor franchise, and none of the women moving on with Catherine seem likely to give her the time of day unless she makes some kind of friendly overture.
Personally, I kind of enjoyed Catherine's brand of bonkers in the first episode. Turning up with her dog certainly was memorable and just the kind of move that would keep her at the front of Colton's mind, even if not for her beauty or her grace. Also, as somebody who wasn't a big fan of Colton after his time on The Bachelorette and who didn't warm up to him on Bachelor in Paradise, I'm more inclined to blame Colton for the situation.
Instead of simply and rather meekly saying "Third time's the charm" and "Fourth time's the charm" whenever Catherine showed up to try and pull him in for more one-on-one time, he could have told her no and continued his conversation with the woman across from him. The women of Season 23 obviously are more likely to turn on each other than the man they want to propose to them, but I'm more unimpressed with Colton than Catherine at the moment. Just don't pull an Arie, Colton!
It should be a wild ride seeing what happens next. In her Bachelor biography, Catherine says that she doesn't have any tattoos because "you don't put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari," so I'm guessing we're not done with her trying to keep the spotlight on herself. Find out for yourself when new episodes of The Bachelor with Colton air on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
#VirginityWatch2019 has already kicked off, and the sneak peek ahead that aired during the episode indicates that Colton will be very busy getting busy, perhaps all the way to the Fantasy Suite. If you're still in the market for some other viewing options, check out our midseason TV premiere guide.
