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Luke P. Resorts to Gaslighting Through Christianity

In their blowout last night, he fell back on the same pattern: confront, manipulate to gain power (occasionally lying), and then backtrack to save face.

We've all had enough of Luke Parker.

ABC

It's a general truth that a majority of the Bachelor Franchise's contestants are Christian.

There have been virgin contestants, a born-again virgin Bachelor, and then a straight-up virgin Bachelor. Yet, over the past two decades, the show has refrained from airing discussions of touchy topics like religion or sex. Participants on the show have disclosed that many deep conversations regarding such matters go unaired.

Then, last season, one contestant, Caelynn Miller-Keyes, disclosed her sexual assault to the Bachelor, Colton Underwood. The heart-stopping moment became a revelatory scene in reality television. Viewers everywhere could hear, relate, and connect to the moving story. Powerful moments like those are more common now that participants are breaking away from the show's traditional boundaries, storylines, and rules. In turn, production has begun to re-shape the show; while the series has become more sex positive, religion has remained a taboo subject—until last night.

Throughout this season, Bachelor Nation has witnessed an emotional abuser remain on their TVs for far too long—even by the standards of reality TV, it's been alarming. Luke P.'s concerning behavior, from aggression to excessive lying, has prompted viewers to question, "What in the hell are we not seeing?" Hannah Brown and Luke P. have had a connection that viewers cannot not wrap their heads around, but it turns out that viewers were missing half the story. While Luke P. has stirred the pot by repeatedly disrespecting Hannah and his fellow contestants, viewers have questioned if an inexplicable spiritual connection has been drawing the two together.

Finally, the other half of the story was unveiled during Fantasy Suite week. After the two made-out during their day touring Santorini, Luke P. began their dinner by gaslighting Hannah:

"I am very confident that we're on the same page with our morals, and I just want to hear it from your mouth. I've heard people proclaim their faith, but yet they've said things like, 'I'm excited for Fantasy Suites. I want to explore this relationship on a sexually intimate level, and that's what I'm looking forward to.' And to me, that's like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa excuse me? What? There's something I'm missing here. Like I don't believe that's something you should be doing, and I just want to make sure that you're not going to be sexually intimate with the other relationships here. Like, I totally have all the trust in the world for you, but at the same time I just want to make sure we're on the same page. Like, if you told me you're going to have sex or you had sex with one or multiple of these guys, I would be wanting to go home 100 percent."

Hannah Sends Luke P Home After Fantasy Suite Warning! | The Bachelorette USwww.youtube.com

If delivered differently and with more tact, his concerns could've been reasonable. Instead, he began by aligning the other contestants against him and weaponizing his connection with Hannah to make assumptions about how she should act. Then, he backtracked by asserting that he had faith in her and finally threatened their relationship if she didn't live up to his standards. The loaded speech demonstrates his continued pattern of emotional manipulation. When Hannah disagreed with what he said, he continued to backtrack by claiming that he would work with her through anything, even a "slip-up." Similarly, earlier in the season, he informed Hannah that he would stick by her even if she made a "boneheaded mistake."

Time and time again, Luke P. has utilized gaslighting as a way to maintain control in his relationship with Hannah. Whenever he's felt confident in their relationship, he's directly addressed his concerns with Hannah, but when he's felt their relationship was in jeopardy, he's used manipulation tactics to assert what he wants out of the relationship. However, whenever he's "slipped up," the responsibility hasn't fallen on him because he's protested that he was just "misunderstood"—after lying straight to Hannah's face.

Overall, every time Luke P. has been in the wrong, he's asserted his needs, manipulated the truth, and then backtracked whenever Hannah responded poorly. In their blowout last night, he fell back on the same pattern: confront, manipulate to gain power (occasionally lying), and then backtrack to save face.

Whatever good Hannah saw in Luke P. prior to Fantasy Suite week has been washed away. When Luke P. tried to wield religion against Hannah to shame her, she called him out on it. The Bachelorette proved that she had her Biblical receipts, retorting, "You know the story in the Bible when the woman was called out for adultery, and she was stoned in the village, and Jesus said, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. You're holding your stone up at me and asking me what I've done."

Unfortunately, gaslighting in the Christian community isn't anything new. Too many self-righteous believers still condemn, shame, and utilize their beliefs to shame sinners and preach a narrow way of life. Hannah aptly addressed Luke P.'s hypocrisy by informing him, "Sex might be a sin out of marriage, but pride is a sin too." She continued, "It's like you're holding other people to a standard that you don't even live by."

Faith is meant to spread love and light. Like Hannah said, "I know that I have God in my heart, so I know that everything I do and who I am is light. I am light. Do I make mistakes? I'm not Jesus." Her commentary shed light on the stark contrast between more progressive, inclusive Christians who have embraced the modern world and others who stick to their outdated, hypocritical agendas (like those who are pro-life but don't care about keeping children in cages).

For the formerly apolitical show to air their conversation is a sign that the genre of "reality" TV is still expanding its social consciousness; in particular, it displays that the Bachelor Franchise has solid potential (even after 17 years) to spark new conversations and highlight important narratives. Unfortunately, as portrayed in the previews for next week, the producers seem to allow Luke P. to come back, undoubtedly to exasperate Hannah and continue the toxic drama that is Luke P.'s existence.

ABC's production seems to take a positive step forward by airing their candid conversation, but they still kept around an emotional abuser and then brought him back to let him try to manipulate his way back into Hannah's heart. At least Hannah Brown finally gained clarity and found her way out of a controlling relationship (for now). Hopefully, like other leads who have been forced to endure harmful, disruptive, racist, and misogynistic contestants, Hannah can come out on top, with continued love and respect for herself and her relationship with God.

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Does the Bachelor Franchise Really Need Chris Harrison Anymore?

Chris Harrison may need the ABC shows more than they need him.

Chris Harrison

Photo by AFF-USA/Shutterstock

This week, Bachelor Nation expressed their frustration with the episode's odd format.

The first hour climaxed in the most spectacular fashion: Hannah let the men have it after their petty bickering; but unfortunately, we didn't see what happened next. To the fans' dismay, The Bachelorette had an hour long, mid-season recap.

Last night, like every season, the lead snapped: The "journey" became too much to handle. Usually, the moment occurs when the lead isn't getting what they want, which forces him or her to question why they're even there.

Last season, Colton went AWOL after the woman he wanted, Cassie, left the show. Despite years of on and off relevance, Chris Harrison finally had the opportunity to play a vital role. On Episode 9, Chris Harrison became the season's MVP, jogging after Colton in the Portuguese country-side, juggling two phones while trying to answer his bosses' questions, and asking the tough questions.

Typically, Harrison receives the majority of his screen-time during the show's finale and rose ceremonies. He's the Bachelor's B-grade interviewer and unqualified therapist. Throughout the more recent seasons, Harrison's purpose on the show has been questioned. Leads have become more assertive and autonomous, which has left Harrison with little to do.

As reality programs become more scripted, TheBachelor franchise embraces the slip-ups of leads and expose behind the scenes elements. Earlier this season, Hannah sought her producers' guidance about Luke P. In the moment, they persuaded her to handle it, because viewers don't care about the middle man.

However, last night, Chris Harrison appeared out of the shadows to console Hannah. He played the role the network would want: he convinced Hannah to stay, just like he accomplished with Colton last season.

The next day, Chris and Hannah sat in a cafe to discuss how she felt and if she was hopeful she'd find love. It was difficult to ignore the insincere smize that never left his face.

Since Harrison's screen-time has dwindled over recent years, it's easy to be skeptical of his presence. After little to no screen time this season, the random hour-long recap felt misplaced. The unnecessary segment offered over 18 minutes of Harrison asking questions we all knew the answer to.

Viewers groaned as they watched and tweeted, frustrated that ABC used the episode's remaining hour to review old drama only six episodes into the season. As demonstrated by the negative reactions, Harrison's useless recap reminded the audience that he's only necessary when the show is effecting the lead's emotional well-being. The producers can try to insert Chris Harrison as a confidant, but we all know he wields no true influence.

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"The Bachelorette" Episode 2 Recap: A Crossover Event for Millennials

The gag-worthy event struck a cord and a nerve for viewers, reminding us how the show is attempting to rebrand as inclusive and modern.

Bachelor Nation

via Youtube.com

The takeaway from Episode 1 was "be honest." For Episode 2, it's "be bold." Take a shot whenever Hannah says, "Be Bold."

The Group Date: Exciting Takeaways

In the best kept "secret" since Kylie Jenner's pregnancy, Alyssa Edwards and Alaska, the Drag Race sensations, were featured on this past episode. Let's not forget Miss J. Alexander, the runway fanatic and America's Next Top Model phenomenon! All three were guest judges on a panel for the first group date of the season: a pageant. The men on the date endured a thong contest and a talent portion to win the title of Mr. Right!

The challenge was to be yourself and, again, be bold. It was their chance to fight hyper-masculinity and show vulnerability in what Hannah called "showing up!"

As an audience, we got to ogle alongside the fabulous guests and Hannah. The men strutted their stuff, some with singles tucked in their thongs—thank goodness for John Paul (fuck yes) Jones.

Ass-slapping aside, the free-for-all moment felt like a gross callback to the gender-flipping narrative of last season. If Colton had been a woman, would all the jokes have been acceptable? And if Hannah were in the position of these men, strutting down the runway in a bikini, would it seem more like a Magic Mike showdown or a Playboy Bunny drool-fest?

Although the segment was fantastic fun, the guests this week felt reminiscent of Billy Eichner's appearance, following a pattern of gay guests serving as forms of entertainment, sideshows, and commentators.

While watching, it's hard not to remember how heteronormative the show continues to be with 20+ seasons. For a show to consider itself a reflection and evolution of American dating since the early 2000s reaffirmed the question: When will other sexualities receive representation beyond fluff?

Many missteps aside, the talent portion fulfilled the fun quota. Watching John Paul Jones on a unicycle and Mike Johnson walk in heels just to "walk in her shoes" ( swoon) reminded the viewers that this season is about finding a guy that goes all in.

Meanwhile, the narrative arc between Jed and Luke P. was only festering. The heart-throb singer-songwriter from Nashville, Jed, sung his way to what viewers would see as the top until Luke P. "performed." A collective groan was heard nationwide as Luke P. not only did not perform a talent, but annoyingly professed he was in fact already falling in love with Hannah after spending a total of two hours with her!

In the evening, Hannah continued her infatuated mess with Luke P. because, "He's saying everything my heart wants to hear!" The red flag may not be waving in her face yet, but the other men were surely aware of his games. Mike Johnson, the stud, put it best, "You a dog. I don't want her emotions to be rattled." But after a soothing and genuine conversation between Jed and Hannah, Jed won the night and this round.

One-On-One: Snooze

Tyler G., who Hannah described as "Tim Tebow but hotter," got the first one-on-one. They flew in a helicopter and slung some mud (you know, typical date stuff). Tyler G. may seem well-meaning, but nothing was memorable about this date beyond Hannah's strung-out syllables trying to fill the silence. Out of compassion and understanding, Hannah gave him the rose. Next!

Second Group Date: Fine

The season is going to be an active one. The second group date was a roller derby competition between the green team and the orange team. Lots of men fell, but the nose ring guy fell hard and got up to win the whole thing.

Like every season, the injured man gets extra attention. So, Dustin (nose ring guy) had his moment and a smooch with our Bachelorette. It was quite steamy.

Cut-to-Cam (you know, the man whose catchphrase is "ABC: Always Be Cam," but it might as well be what viewers have memed " Anyone But Cam"). The googly-eyed software engineer showed up uninvited, bringing cheap flowers to a shocked and visibly confused Hannah.

The men did not take kindly to this. Not just one, but three men interrupted Cam's talking head to set him straight.

Some of the best lines:

Tyler C. to Cam, "I'm gonna go back to my girl."
Cam to Garrett, "I respect you coming at me."
Kevin to Cam, "I hope it pans out."

The men, Kevin especially, seemed the utmost frustrated by the distraction of Cam's presence. With Hannah giving the rose to Dustin, the evening ended with a mediocre goodnight.

The Rose Ceremony: Justice for Nugs

The evening began with an anti-climatic speech by a tear-shedding Bachelorette. No one knew what was happening. "I'm just so blessed," she said. Okay?

After an odd start, Kevin finally had his one-on-one time—just to be interrupted by Cam. Ugh, Cam. He invited Hannah AND Kevin to a magical little heart shaped blanket where he goes on to expose his surprise (nuggets) and then the bigger surprise (honey mustard)!

Kevin, obviously frustrated, walked away with the leftover nuggets. The men were pressed enough for Kevin to let off steam just as Cam re-enters the scene. How did Kevin handle his frustration? HE THREW THE NUGGETS AT CAM! Not to say Cam didn't deserve it, but why waste perfectly good food on a fool!

Meanwhile, the real contenders were battling it out. Luke P. took Hannah away to show her he's good with his hands ( eek). She loved it so much that she took off his shirt. Insert Jed. Not only were the viewers basically watching soft core porn, but so was poor, sweet Jed.

Hannah, noticeably embarrassed, had no idea what to do. One startled twitter user even confused Hannah's f-bombs for an emergency flood warning.

Hannah then slinked out of the mansion to manage the dilemma. Jed, like the class act he is, may have been in an uncomfortable situation, but took the moment to relate to Hannah. Jed knew jealousy gains nothing.

At the rose ceremony, nothing exciting happened, unless you find excitement in pain-staking close-ups on the faces of men we're supposed to care about as they sweat out the inevitable moment when Cam receives the last rose. Obviously, The Bachelorette needed to keep their lesser villain to rattle the other men.

Afterwards, the real villain snuck upstairs to interrupt Hannah's confessional. Luke P. whisked Hannah into his arms to manipulatively assure her that she can trust him. Their undeniable sexual connection left Hannah's chest booming, but what about her heart?

NEXT EPISODE ON THE BACHELORETTE...

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CULTURE

Bachelorette Season Premiere Recap: 30 Mediocre Men and a Beauty Queen

This is going to be a very mild ride.

Hannah Brown kicked off her journey looking for love last night on The Bachelorette's season 15 premiere.

At a time when most of the television that we've grown up with is coming to an end, the formulaic corniness of The Bachelorette is a comfortable place for indulging in all of the best romantic reality TV tropes. Following the broadcast of Colton Underwood's quest to lose his virginity, though, this season feels a little more milquetoast than past ones. It seems like The Bachelorette franchise has abandoned all hope to pedal out any sort of commercialized diversity in favor of returning to their roots––having a pretty white woman search for love in a sea of mediocre men.

The Insecure Pageant Queen

The episode starts off with Hannah showing host and skit king Chris Harrison around her hometown. Like a true Tuscaloosa, Hannah peppers in a "Roll Tide" whenever she can and then stands awkwardly in a field of hay. Hannah gives a little context on how she's always loved performance and pageantry but felt like she was never enough.

Hannah Brown may seem like an unlikely choice to be the Bachelorette. For one, she's not exactly a great public speaker. The former Miss Alabama may unleash her inner Hannah Beast when the time is right, but on the whole, she can sometimes get a little tongue-tied and awkward on screen. Who could forget her painfully stilted attempt to formulate a toast with Colton that made him look like a skilled orator by comparison? Or her Bachelorette debut on After the Final Rose when she could only manage to nervously giggle and say, "I Like That!" when meeting five of the guys for the first time. But it seems like they are using Hannah B's awkwardness as a ploy to market her as an adorkable beauty queen looking for someone who will love her despite any flaws she may have.

That seems to be what this season is hammering over our heads. Hannah had alluded to her struggles with striving for perfection on Colton's season, but she's really driving home the point of her vulnerabilities this season, as she's looking for someone to love her just the way she is––a beautiful, blonde, beauty pageant queen. How will she ever find someone who will accept those conventional standards of beauty?

Audition Tapes From Hell

The best part of any Bachelor or Bachelorette premiere are the introductions and first impressions where guys dress up in animal costumes, spew corny rap songs, and use bad puns in an attempt to stand out amongst 29 other men who all look exactly the same. This season, the producers really pushed for the men to vlog their audition tapes, and the result was expectedly cringey.

Tyler's intro kicks things off with him sanding down some wood while shirtless before breaking into dance. The contractor from Florida proudly states that he was two classes away from being a dance minor at Wake Forest and then compares himself to Kevin Bacon.

Pilot Peter is certainly a frontrunner. Coming from an aviation family (which he mentions multiple times), Peter shows up in full uniform and appears to sweep Hannah off her feet.

Mike Johnson is the handsome Texan who hasn't made time for love because of his busy work life, except for one woman: his adorable great grandma. If nothing else, keep MJ around for hometowns, so his grandmother can get more airtime.

Joe the Box King has big Tim & Eric energy. The Chicagoan comes from a proud Italian family and is a lover of all things box related. He has a thick Becca K midwestern accent and pops out of a huge cardboard box, filling the screen with a wholesome vibe and plenty of packing peanuts.

We don't deserve Old Matt Donald, the farmer who hails from California and grew up in a deaf family. He arrives on a tractor and sings about a "bro bro there and a bro bro here."

Connor's claim of being interesting is that he's half-Asian and half-White. He also speaks French.

Luke P. is the season's most visible frontrunner. He's a beefy Channing Tatum type who, after having lots of sex in college, had a spiritual awakening in the shower and realized he wants to settle down.

First And Worst Impressions

Soon, it's time to meet the rest of the guys IRL. When Chris Harrison asks Hannah what her type is, she replies that Southern guys are most comfortable for her but maybe not her best choice. Chris urges her to try "new flavors," and soon the guys roll in.

Connor S. kicks things off with a fence jump. Devin joked about being a virgin. John Paul Jones' name is John Paul Jones and his friends call him John Paul Jones so Hannah can call him John Paul Jones, too. Brian is a sweet math teacher susceptible to voice cracks when he gets nervous.

Connor J. introduces himself in French, which I'm sure he thought was very suave. Hannah said "bon jore," in the thickest possible Southern accent. Ryan rolls in on roller skates. Luke P. wants to let everyone know he has a lot of testosterone by climbing on top of the limo and roaring at Hannah, in reference to her signature Hannah Beast roar from last season.

Grant is basically a 30-year-old Jeff Spicoli, and he ambles in eating a hot dog and holding a bottle of mustard. I love when The Bachelorette producers shade the contestants with their lower third. There was Heather from last season whose bio read "never been kissed" and Grant's simply reads "unemployed."

Cam won the first impression rose on After the Final Rose for his cringey rapping (giving Hannah G a run for her money) and he whipped out his cheesy bars again for his second impression. Both times, it was hard to watch.

Chasen is a pilot who rolls up in a tux and says that women love men in uniform. Then Peter arrives in full aviation garb and makes good on that claim.

Next, Hannah redeems her toast skills by making a semi-coherent one, and soon enough Luke P. makes his presence known to the other men by stealing Hannah for a minute.

The (Planted) Drama

As Joe the Box King speaks lovingly about boxes, Hannah goes through the motions of an otherwise pretty tame first cocktail party. That is until Demi and Katie from last season swoop in to shake things up. Demi's gotten word through DM that one of the men here has a girlfriend and in what is possibly the most obviously planted and scripted ploy I've ever seen in Bachelorette history, Demi and Katie set out to find the culprit. They let Hannah know that Scott is dating someone and he might not be here for the right intentions (that phrase has scarred me after Colton's season).

Hannah rips Scott a new one and then effectively drags him out the door like a dog, as she sternly says, "Come On!" in her Southern drawl and sends his ass home. Although it made for good TV, it seemed like a pretty transparent ploy by the producers to present Hannah as someone who won't take smack from any man, despite her traditional-seeming sensibility. If anything, it brought Demi back, and that's good enough for me.

Hannah cries and paces around for a while before the rest of the men get the memo that they should maybe check up on her. Luke P. comes out to comfort her but doesn't take his cue when she says she's freezing (twice!) as he stays toasty in his cobalt blue suit jacket. Not exactly one for taking the hint, I guess, but Hannah awards him the first impression rose.

The rose ceremony comes and a lot of the guys are salty because they think the Scott situation ate up precious time when they could have been making an impression. Oh well. Mike, Connor S., Matthew, Connor J., Jed, Dustin, Joey, Devon, Peter, Dylan, Matteo, Jonathon, Tyler C., Tyler G., Darren, Luke S., Garrett, Grant, Kevin, and John Paul Jones make it onto the next round. We say goodbye to The Box King, Old Matt Donald, Voice Crack Brian, Second-In-Command-Pilot Chasen, Roller Boy Ryan and Thomas (who I don't remember speaking at all in the first episode).

They wrapped things up with a sneak peak of a tear-filled season with Hannah asserting that she's had sex. Buckle in for a very mild ride.

Sara is a music and culture writer.

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