With season 25 of “The Bachelor” now in full swing, Seton Hall students shared their thoughts on how the latest season of the hit series has progressed so far.
This season’s bachelor is Matt James, who is the first Black male lead in the series’ history. After announcing James as this season’s bachelor, Rob Mills, an ABC Executive, said that they received applications at a record-setting pace.
The show, which first premiered in 2002,centers around one male contestant and 32 women competing for his hand in marriage. Ellis Mitchell, a senior sports management and marketing major, said he did not start watching the show until he became a peer advisor at Seton Hall.
“The peer advisors watched every week during Pirate Adventure, and a lot of us still get on calls through Microsoft Teams to share memes and watch together,” Mitchell said.
In the first episode of the season, James talked about his struggles as a biracial man, but is quickly reassured when each woman makes a grand appearance to meet him. Leslie Chan, a freshman biology major, said she thinks it is great that James is the first Black male lead in the franchise.
“I feel the show is starting to display a lot more representation, and I think that it’s awesome,” Chan said. “Lots of people who watch the show might look up to them [the bachelors], especially younger audiences.”
The events in the show include the girls going on group and one-on-one dates with James to prove that they are the one for him. Each woman fights for quality time with James so they can create a closer connection with him.
This season, James personally invites two girls on two separate one-on-one dates, and the rest participate in a group date each week.
Each woman brings their own personality into the show. Madie Phillips, a freshman business management major, said she likes Rachel, Katie, Bri and Michelle because they seem like genuine people who would be good for James.
Mary Wojcik, a freshman nursing major, said the girls this season are a departure from what viewers are used to seeing on the show.
“These girls are more intense and drama-filled, and I believe they are less genuine than the girls from previous seasons,” Wojcik said. “Of course, there are a few women that do not fall into this category. However, the whole vibe of this group is definitely different.”
James gives out roses to a certain number of girls at the end of each episode. The ones who do not receive a rose must leave the show while those with roses continue to fight for James’s heart for another week.
The goal of the show is for James to find his fiance. Some bachelors in the past have not found “the one,” while others have been more successful. Students said they have mixed feelings on whether or not they think James will find his fiance by the end of the season.
“I don’t think you’ll find the love of your life in eight weeks, and a lot of people are using it to brand themselves,” Madison Mindham, a sophomore business management major, said. “It’s selfish intentions.”
Serena Davis can be reached at serena.davis@student.shu.edu.
