Ben H. for Bachelor - Week 8 Power Rankings

Two more women bit the dust last week. After a trip to Ben’s hometown in Indiana (that was almost - ALMOST - as boring as Arlington, Iowa), we are down to the Final 4 women. Our Final 4 (in no particular order) is Caila, Amanda, Lauren B. and JoJo. Emily and Becca were both let go (the former unceremoniously and the latter rose ceremoniously).

We were also treated to what has to be the worst date in Bachelor history. That’s right – a 1-on-1 to McDonald’s where Ben and Amanda not only dined on breakfast for dinner (DID YOU KNOW THEY SERVE BREAKFAST WHEN IT’S NOT BREAKFAST TIME???) but they also got to work behind the counter (every Indiana citizen’s dream, apparently). Producers reallllllllly regret blowing the budget on helicopters and prop planes earlier in the season.

I can't even with this.

Anyway, what will the hometown visits bring this week? Hopefully drama, drama and more drama!

POWER 5

Last week, we reached the Final 5 women (that was soon after trimmed to a Final 4). And since Emily was cut before the rose ceremony, Chase gets a win here because Becca, one of Chase’s POWER 5 picks, did in fact, reach the Final 5 (before she was eliminated). 

That means that two of Chase’s POWER 5 picks (Becca and Caila) and one of mine (Caila) reached the Final 5. That means Chase receives an additional 2 points and I receive an additional 1  to our total scores for our predictive prowess.

POWER RANKINGS

The Rules: We will rank the remaining Bachelor contestants. Points will be awarded each week based on how well each of us predict the contestants going home. For example, if Josh puts CONTESTANT A in spot 7 and Chase puts CONTESTANT A in spot 10 and CONTESTANT A goes home, Josh will get 7 points and Chase will get 10. 

The winner will be based on the player with the most points at the end of the season (this ain't golf, folks). 

After losing Emily (don’t date someone with your sis next time, boo) and Becca (third time will NOT be the charm so don’t even think about it), the updated score almost assures Chase’s victory for this season with only three eliminations remaining:

Chase: 173.5
Josh: 167

Check out this week's rankings below!

1. Lauren B., 25, Flight Attendant, Marina Del Rey, CA – So here’s how the final 4 contestants break down. There is Lauren B. AND THEN THERE IS EVERYONE ELSE. Lauren B. is the leader, the gold standard and the champion-to-be. The B in Lauren B. stands for “Best.” You know… those sneaky producers making it look like Ben makes a last minute call that no one can predict… Here’s my theory on that game-changing phone call: The only way Lauren B. loses this competition for true love is if Ben gets cold feet at the end about Becca. I don’t think any of the 3 girls that have made it this far stand a chance. I’ll put it this way: Lauren B. is kind of like the Golden State Warriors. She’s the complete team. She’s got Steph Curry dropping 40 points in one quarter. She’s making Ben want to propose before hometowns. This is her championship to lose.
2. JoJo, 24, Real Estate Developer, Dallas, TX – Ahh. Wrigley Field. The Ivy. The Bleachers. The Old Style Beer. The romance. I mean seriously…Is there anything more romantic than a baseball field where the home team hasn’t won a championship in over 100 years? Think about it. The beautiful irony of JoJo being in a competition to GET A RING. AND BEN TAKES HER TO WRIGLEY FIELD. WHICH IS LIKE THE ANTITHESIS OF GETTING A RING. Anyway, JoJo did hit a homerun on this date, but I still feel weird ranking her at #2 for the season. I can’t rank anyone at number 2. Getting back to the Warriors analogy, I’m just kind of like “Okay well. Golden State Lauren B. is going to win 75 games and not lose a game in the playoffs. So…” But rules are rules and I have to rank people because Power Rankings would be awful if I didn’t do that. So JoJo is #2. Like the Cubs. But maybe this could be the year…
3. Amanda, 25, Esthetician, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – You have to have a feeling of empathy for Amanda. In the history of The Bachelor Franchise, we’ve seen 1-on-1 dates to pretty much every country with a resort, exotic scuba diving, helicopter rides over beautiful mountain ranges… AND HOMEGIRL GETS BREAKFAST ALL DAY AT MCDONALD’S. Listen. If I were to have ever gone on this show, I would’ve been outraged by a McDonald’s date. And wait. I have to get breakfast because the world doesn’t already know about #AllDayBreakfast? WHERE’S MY MCRIB AND MCFLURRY? Poor girl. If reality television is supposed to do one thing, it is show you that falling in love on television is COMPLETELY different than falling in love in real life. Either way, Ben was all like Ba Da Ba Ba Ba…I’m Loving It.
4. *Caila, 24, Software Sales Representative, Hudson, OH – I want to rank Caila up there in the LaurenB-Stratosphere, I really do. But she’s too much of a wildcard. Is she playing hard-to-get? I mean…If you’re a #SexPanther you can TOTALLY play hard-to-get. But she’s not even making sense. Remember that girlfriend in high school that was all like “I want to date you but I’m just having fun right now and I could totally fall in love with you but there are a lot of other guys out there and I love you but I just don’t know soooooooo…” THAT’S CAILA. She’s awesome. Undoubtedly awesome. But maybe a couple years too young to find true love on reality television. 

1. Lauren B., 25, Flight Attendant, Marina Del Rey, CA – There’s no question after last week’s 1-on-1 date. Lauren B. is a solid #1. She’s even in love with Ben. After only 8 weeks, guys! In this Final 4, there’s no doubt she’s up there with the most dominant Duke, Kentucky, Kansas teams of old. Expect her to cruise to the Final 2. What happens then is anyone’s guess.
2. JoJo, 24, Real Estate Developer, Dallas, TX – JoJo had a solid (and actually pretty cool) 1-on-1 date with Ben last week at Wrigley Field. But according to the previews for this week, JoJo is going to be a victim of the “my brother thinks my boyfriend is a douche because he’s dating three other girls” attack during her hometown visits. If she can calm Ben’s nerves and her own after that (maybe with this quesadilla she brags so much about in her contestant bio?!?!), she may find herself in the Final 2 vying for a Neil Lane statement piece.
3. *Caila, 24, Software Sales Representative, Hudson, OH – Caila is so promising. But she just isn’t thriving in this environment like a true contender. I fear the end is nigh for Caila. If Ben lets her go, we could be looking at "The Artist Formerly Known As #SexPanther," which would be a real shame. The upside – could we be looking at our next Bachelorette?
4. Amanda, 25, Esthetician, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – Things working in her favor: her personality????? Things working against her: 1) Ben meeting her kids and suddenly realizing he is 26 and isn’t ready to care for two small humans, 2) her voice, which Ben suddenly realizes is too high pitched to live with forever, 3) the fact that one of her first dates with Ben was working a McDonald’s drive-thru (like what the actual f***?), 4) her self-proclaimed "most outrageous thing she has ever done" is a decently long hike in Hawaii. Yeah, okay. Girl is getting the BOOT.