SPOILERS ahead from The Bachelor 2020, aka Bachelor Peter Weber's Season 24.
Every season of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette now comes with a live "After the Final Rose" special. However, usually by then we're catching up with the lead and whoever he or she had picked a couple of months ago during filming. It sounds like Peter Weber's The Bachelor 2020 continues right up until the live "After the Final Rose" special. As in, Bachelor Peter might not be done, even though his final rose ceremony was taped back in mid-November 2019. The ABC executive in charge of shows like The Bachelor just heavily hinted in that direction with some new comments.
That might explain why spoilers suggest Bachelor Peter and his "character building" scar do not have a "normal ending." It might also explain why Peter was pretty sure no one would be able to spoil his ending. Maybe there is no ending yet!
In late November, shortly after filming was finished, spoiler guru Reality Steve told The Bachelor Season 24 fans about Bachelor Peter Weber's final two -- Madison Prewett and Hannah Ann Sluss. Steve knew that much but not what happened after that.
Reality Steve still hasn't confirmed an ending, although he said he thinks Bachelor Peter is now dating one of those two women -- Madison (who seems like the obvious choice) or Hannah Ann (whom Jimmy Kimmel "predicted" to win).
So Peter is reportedly NOT single, NOT with Hannah Brown, NOT with Victoria F. or anyone else who comes back. And apparently Peter is NOT with one of The Bachelor producers, even though that's the random new theory spreading online. I happen to love that theory, even though Reality Steve shot it down.
Rob Mills is ABC's Senior Vice President of Alternative Series, Specials & Late-Night Programming. That's a fancy title that just means he's basically the network's reality TV boss. ET asked him about all of the rumors about Bachelor Peter Weber's finale -- including the one about Peter ending up with a producer. Here's what Mills said:
Well, I hate to get in the way of a good rumor, so I’m not going to confirm or deny about whether he ends up with a producer! I don’t know how we’d ever top that though! But, it is crazy. What we’ve seen about the finale over the years is that the 'finale' is really on that night when the show goes live. There’s a lot of craziness, it’s a roller coaster, but I would say even now the roller coaster hasn’t ended, and it won’t end until after 'After the Final Rose.'
The roller coaster won't end until the "After the Final Rose"? Unless I'm reading too much into that -- always a possibility -- it does sound like we're in for a live ending, which will air after the pre-taped finale. (UPDATE: There are also these new Madison spoilers to add to the story.)
When will the finale and "After the Final Rose" special air? Sounds like we're on track for sometime in early March, probably another Monday-Tuesday two-nighter, but that hasn't been announced yet.
That would fit with the recent tradition of shocking "After the Final Rose" updates. In the olden days [pulls up rocking chair], after The Bachelor finale, the happy couples used to just talk to host Chris Harrison about the next steps in their relationship. Sometimes things go off-script, the way they have the past few seasons with Bachelor Arie dumping his chosen one for his runner-up; Bachelorette Hannah Brown dumping Wrong Reasons Jed; and Bachelor Colton's fence jump + Cassie quitting mess.
The ultimate off-script mess came from Bachelor Jason Mesnick's 2009 finale. He proposed to Melissa on the pre-taped finale but the "After the Final Rose" showed how he dumped Melissa and asked out his runner-up Molly. (Jason and Molly are now married with a daughter.) That season is now on Netlfix, by the way, and it's still the only season on Netflix.
Bachelor Peter Weber still not being done picking someone is currently just a theory -- one of the many theories on how his mysterious finale ends. After all, the full season promo -- which might be deceptive, but still -- shows Chris Harrison approaching Peter Weber in Australia, where they taped the final rose ceremony. The final rose is shown sitting there as Harrison says they all just learned something. What's the news? Apparently that pregnancy theory is out, even though it was a funny one. I have other theories over here.
As a reminder, here's part of what Bachelor Peter Weber told THR about the finale:
I’m really excited for this season because I’m very confident that no one is going to be able to spoil it. There’s a reason I believe that — and obviously I can’t say it, otherwise it gives it away. I’m very confident that Reality Steve and all of these people, they’re not going to find out what happens — there’s no way they’re going to find out. And I’m very excited about that because I think that’s what this show has wanted for a while and I’m excited that for my season there’s a really good chance that happens.
Here's what Chris Harrison previously told ET about The Bachelor Season 24 ending, also using the roller-coaster analogy:
This season will take you on a roller-coaster ride like no other, and right up until the end when Peter and I sit down and have to have a very tough heart-to-heart -- actually a couple of them that final week, it really is like any season that we've had before. When you have a Bachelor like Peter, it's a very raw, emotional ride and the way this ends, no one will see coming. I can say that because we didn't see it coming.
Chris Harrison also noted how different Bachelor Peter Weber's 2020 finale is compared to the 2019 drama:
This is very dramatic, but in a very different way than, say, Colton’s season, whereas there was this crazy feat of athleticism where he jumped the fence, and Hannah’s was, obviously the twist at the end of hers with Jed and what happened. This is in a more emotional, gut-wrenching way.
Gut-wrenching and emotional. As a reminder, here's what Reality Steve said when revealing Bachelor Peter's finale would not have a normal ending:
[O]n that final rose ceremony day, it was not down to those two, he dumped one, chose the other, and they got engaged. It is not a normal ending this season. That's not to say he might be engaged now, that's not to say he might not be engaged. That I haven't found out yet. But what I know is on November 17, there was not Hannah shows up, Madison shows up, he dumps one, gets engaged to the other. Did not happen. So that's the best I can do right now for the finale.
That's still the best he can do as of Monday, February 10, when Bachelor Peter Weber whittles his group of girlfriends down to the final 4 for hometown dates. We're finally meant to start seeing love stories develop at this point, after non-stop drama. The drama certainly isn't over, but I think we're about to see Peter + Madison and Peter + Hannah Ann in a way that might even approach making sense for him to pick one of them -- and maybe even get engaged to one at some point AFTER whatever happens at the final rose ceremony in Australia.
This show is C-R-A-Z-Y and the past two years of dramatic endings probably means the next Bachelorette for 2020 will have a dramatic ending too. Unless we get lucky and she has a "normal" season. If that's the case, don't you dare complain that it was boring or the producers will go back to forced, manipulative drama. Save the nuttiness for Bachelor in Paradise, guys!
