Two weeks ago when Mark eliminated Jayana for little reason and without even bothering to get her side of the story, it became clear that we were heading for disaster (moreso than the show had already presented). Last week, we saw one of the more laughable final fours ever. Maria, who’s been threatening to leave the show for weeks, finally did so. Then Megan, who made the final three without having even been kissed, chickened out on the plane ride. So we pretty much ended up at the final two by default. I figure I’ve come this far, so I might as well watch the rest of the train wreck and see the remainder of the carnage and who “wins”.
Amanda, 25, is the last women standing from the 20s group. I think she’s the prettiest of the lot, but that’s about the extent I’ll go with the compliments. She fell in love with Mark within about two seconds, which continues despite her admission she’s naive for believing him. Jen, age 48, is the last woman representing the 40s. As great a catch as she appears to be, her age will present a big obstacle for a guy who’s looking to have kids. Granted, this is a reality TV dating show, so maybe talking about the couple having children is a stretch anyway.
It’s time to meet the parents in Melbourne, Australia. Jen thinks ahead and brings a gift for Mark’s mom; Amanda gets upset that she didn’t think of it. Jen reveals she’s 48, which again draws surprise, but nobody seems to mind. She seems to be bonding really well with the family, but Amanda just sits there and watches. Mark’s mother prefers Amanda and thinks she’s just shy; his sister prefers Jen.
Mark and Jen go on a gondola ride on their one-on-one date, followed by dinner in a stunning aquarium setting. Jen tells him he’s given her hope again for love. The next day, Mark and Amanda go to see some native Australian animals, then head to dinner at a Japanese restaurant, followed by a return to the room. Amanda acknowledges to the audience that she loves Mark but stops just shy of that with him.
We then get the usual “I like them both, this is the most difficult decision ever, yada, yada, yada,” which goes on for about 10 minutes. And the winner is… Amanda. Not a particularly big surprise. Jen believes it’s all about age.
As this season concludes, the fate of the next season is unknown, but it has shown decent enough numbers for a summer show.
I loved the show but was very disappointed in the pick. Maybe the men should be about 32 and the women should be in their twenties and women should still be child bearing safely ages, 35 to 40. Amanda was a joke and there was NO CHANCE for Jennifer, whom I adored, as he was nearly as old as her child, and could not bare children. How sad.
Yeah, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. He was way too close to Amanda’s age not to pick her.