How long has it been since we’ve had a new episode of The Office? Six, seven months? It feels like a sweet forever (probably because the last time there was a new one I got frustrated by sound ish-ahs and barely even watched it). I’m hoping tonight finds us with plenty-o-Andy and minimal focus on Angela’s cats.

A few memorable lines:

– “AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.”

– “You’re only engaged once. Present company excluded.”

– “I am about to give blood, the gift of everlasting life.”

– “I was so nervous about this I don’t think I ate for three days.”

– “What did you do? Not that I approve of any of it.”

– “There has to be a way to get all these lonely people together.”
“A giant net?”

– “Eric. You mentioned before that you’re in tool and die repair. Meredith recently had a total hysterectomy.”

– “You didn’t eat much there, Jimbo.”
“Oh, initially I did.”

– “Are you on email? Cool.”

In the end it was sort of a slow episode, though it was sweet how everyone rallied around Michael and his efforts to find the owner of the pink glove. And I definitely appreciated how Pam ate all of Bob’s fries. But here’s to hoping that Andy gets back from his honeymoon(s) ASAP. We need the funny.

What did y’all think?

I so loved that in “After The Final Rose Part 2” Chris Harrison managed to use the words “amazing,” “dramatic” and “jaw-dropping” within the first ten seconds of the show. We should expect no less.

Chris then made us watch a recap of what we just saw Monday night, LIKE WE ALL HAVEN’T COMMITTED THAT TO MEMORY ALREADY, and finally he got back to the topic at hand: Jason and Molly. He brought out Nikki, Stephanie, Naomi, Erica and Kari to do some damage control (what Jason did to Melissa was fine! totally fine! they don’t fault him at all!), and then Chris went all Phil Donahue by taking some comments and questions from the audience.

I think that Q&A time would have been just as effective if Chris had held up a big sign that said, “DON’T BE MAD, AMERICA. PLEASE DON’T BE MAD.”

Also: I found that I needed to pause the DVR and have a moment of silence and awe for Stephanie’s bedazzled top. OH, HOW I HAVE MISSED HER.

Jason finally stepped up on the stage (it all felt so familiar) and conceded that his decision probably wasn’t a popular one. He told us that he’s not proud of what he did to Melissa, but it was the right choice because he was in love with somebody else. He wondered aloud if it was right to lead Melissa on, and I think we’d all agree that no, it wasn’t – but neither was breaking her heart on national television.

Jason went on to say that he and Molly keep getting better and better and that what he didn’t realize that last day in New Zealand was that Molly was his best friend. That is some sweet irony, my friends, considering that Jillian contended for weeks that she wanted her husband to be her best friend and Jason was all “Nooooo, that’s not what I’m looking for.” Then Jason said that Molly challenges him and he needs that and he wishes Melissa nothing but the best.

I yawned.

And somewhere in Texas, Melissa rolled her eyes.

Molly was the next person on the stage, and of course before she and Chris could talk we were forced to watch another video of what happened Monday night. Molly defended her decision to give Jason another chance, and she went on to say how difficult the last two weeks have been for them because of all the rumors surrounding the show. But she said they’re happier than ever, and Jason is basically her dream come true.

We finally got to see the happy couple sit side-by-side on the couch, and both of them seemed to feel like as difficult as the whole situation has been, it’s all worth it. They’re so happy and so in love and Molly is moving to Seattle. Jason said that he hopes everyone can see that he and Molly (HIM AND HER) followed their hearts, and he hopes people realize that they (HIM AND HER) did what was right for everybody involved.

Methinks he may need to give America a few weeks to come around to his point of view.

Chris presented Molly and Jason with a tent, then Jason gave Chris a hearty high five-ish manshake, and oh, all’s well that ends well, I reckon.

Or well-ish.

The last round of non-shocking news was that Jillian is the new Bachelorette, which is not at all a surprise. However, it’s terribly delightful, because we’ll get to hear her say PROcess, aBOOT and aGAIN for ten straight weeks. So SCORE.

Or, you know, however you say “SCORE” in Canadian.

In all honesty I’m on a little bit of reality television overload, and that coupled with the fact that I’ve been underwhelmed by Idol so far this season means that I’m a smidge skeptical about tonight’s performances. I’m pushing through and blogging about it anyway but THESE YOUNG’UNS NEED TO BRING IT, MY WORD.

Von Smith – “You’re All I Need To Get By” – He has a big voice, but it sounds like he’s sharp to me. Is he sharp? If he could find the right key, this would be awesome. I also appreciate the unconventional song choice – PERFECT for him. He got a lot stronger at the end, and I’m curious to see if he makes it to the next round because I think he could be an interesting competitor with a little more experience.

Taylor Vaifanua – “If I Ain’t Got You” – Okay. Why pick a singer’s SIGNATURE SONG if you’re not going to put a completely original twist on it? Because all I’m thinking as I listen to this is that it sounds like something you’d hear on a cruise ship. And don’t get me wrong – singing on a cruise ship takes skills that I just don’t have – but I don’t think it’s good enough for making it to the Top 12 of American Idol.

Alex Wagner-Trugman – “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” – Oh good grief he makes me laugh. I so appreciate a dry wit. As for his singing, it’s sort of endearing. I especially like when he backs up from the microphone and breaks it down a little bit. Now granted, at times it seems like he’s singing a song I’ve never heard before, but I can’t help but root for this guy. I don’t really think I would ever buy one of his CDs, but I would love to have him over and fry him some chicken. Rock on, Alex.

Arianna Afsar – “The Winner Takes It All” – I’ll say right off the bat that this song choice strikes me as a bit odd, and something weird is going on where it sounds like she’s about four beats behind the band. She’s a darling girl and she looks great, but it just seems like the song is endless. The lyrics are alientating, she doesn’t seem like she’s connecting with the music, and it’s just not a very strong performance. Bless her heart.

Ju’Not Joyner – “Hey There Delilah” – I give him credit for hitting all his notes, but sweet mercy would it hurt to sing something a little more upbeat? I would’ve loved to hear him just knock a song out of the park, but this one sort of plodded along. Vocally he is definitely stronger than the other contestants so far tonight, but the pace of the song is boring. I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE SONG CHOICES.

Kristen McNamara – “Give Me One Reason” – This is an interesting song choice with a fun arrangement, to boot. It also seems like she knows what she’s doing on stage (REFRESHING!), and I am surprised by how much I like her voice. That being said, it doesn’t seem like this song is her – it feels a little contrived and almost like she’s oversinging. I’m on the fence.

Nathaniel Marshall – “I Would Do Anything For Love” – This is the oddest, Flashdanciest arrangement of a song that already reeks of overproduction. I keep expecting for someone to run out and hand him some fire batons or something. He has a nice voice, but it’s like he can’t decide if he wants to sing a ballad or lead us all in a vigorous step aerobics routine. It’s just all over the place.

(SIDENOTE: I CANNOT LISTEN TO PAULA ANYMORE. NOT FOR ONE MORE SECOND. PLEASE CAN SHE STOP WITH THE TALKING. I JUST REALLY NEED FOR HER TO STOP TALKING.)

Felicia Barton – “No One” – Now she’s the exception to the rule, because she’s singing a very well-known Alicia Keys song, but she’s totally making it her own with that big ole voice of hers. Really well done.

Scott MacIntyre – “Mandolin Rain” – Here’s an unusual song choice, and it’s actually one of my favorites from the late 80s (I was a total Bruce Hornsby fan). His performance seems totally heartfelt, but I don’t think he really brings anything distinctive or interesting to the song. It almost sounds like a demo version – sort of generic. But thumbs up for picking a song we haven’t heard every single season, and big props for the “stationary target” remark. So dadgum likeable.

Kendall Beard – “This One’s For The Girls” – I need to tell y’all that I generally don’t like songs that are designed to rally a group of people. I don’t like girl-power anthems, or yay-America anthems, or support-a-cause anthems. That being said, Kendall is a doll, and she does a pretty good job with this song. I think the beginning was stronger because she got to sing in a lower register, and when she had to go into the high notes it got a little shrieky. But she definitely picked the right song, and she’s cute as can be.

Jorge Nunez – “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” – This is one of my favorite songs, though it’s probably time to send it into Idol retirement (I’m almost positive that it’s made an appearance on every season). This is a nice vocal- nothing terribly ambitious or original, but it’s successful. And that’s more than most can say tonight.

Lil Rounds – “Be Without You” – She is in a completely different league than anybody else we’ve seen tonight. SWEET MERCY. She can’t just sing – she can SANG. She’s confident, poised and GOOD. Love her.

So. What did y’all think?

Remember, if you add your posts to the Mr. Linky, be sure to leave the permalink for your post, not your general blog URL.

My excitement about tonight’s finale has been dampened just a bit because I’ve been running fever for the last 24 hours and nothing sounds better to me right now than SLEEP, GLORIOUS SLEEP, SLEEP THAT RELIEVES MY BURNING EYELIDS. Not to mention that we’ve been planning for weeks for our super-fun-good-time friends the Whittakers to join us for tonight’s show, but we had to cancel our get-together because of the aforementioned fever, the fever that is evil and steals all the fun.

Fortunately the fever has no power over the cheesetacular that is The Bachelor finale. Oh, it makes the cheese a little more melty, but if you’ve been reading here any time at all you know that I’m not really one to complain about melty cheese.

I’ve been so focused on the question of who will get the final rose tonight that I sort of forgot about the part where Melissa and Molly will meet Ty and then meet Jason’s family. I am also understandably delighted that in the first five minutes of the show I get to see both girls do a full 360 degree turn in their evening gowns as well as seeing Ty play on the beach with some strange woman until his daddy shows up.

I feel that we’re off to an excellent start.

Melissa is the first of the two girls to meet Ty, and she and Ty seem to get along beautifully. I wish she wouldn’t use a baby voice when she talks to him, but I think we all know that if she actually becomes a part of Jason’s family, that baby voice will go away the first time Ty leaves peanut butter smeared all over her breakfast room chairs. That’ll put her in touch with her big girl voice super quick, don’t you think?

Next we see Melissa meet Jason’s family, and my first thought is honestly Oh, God love ’em, they’ve been down this road before. At least this time the road led them to New Zealand. Maybe that’s a sweet little second-time-around bonus for them. The subject of Jason not meeting Melissa’s parents keeps coming up again and again and again, and I can’t help but wonder if the producers couldn’t have worked out a private meeting at some point? I mean, would that have been too difficult to arrange? Because I’m thinking that all it takes to make that happen is, oh, A PHONE NUMBER.

Melissa’s visit goes off without any hiccups – she seems totally at ease and comfortable – so next up is Molly. I think Molly’s time with Jason’s family should be especially interesting because while she’s cute as a button and all, she doesn’t give off the same warmth that Melissa does. And since Jason’s family seems like the kind of people who would cry their eyes out every single time they sing “Happy Birthday” to one another, I’m thinking that warmth is probably pretty high up on their list of desirables.

This is just my opinion, of course. Seeing as how I don’t know them at all.

Molly seems super-nervous before she meets Ty, but within minutes everything is golden. They fly a kite, they jog, they sit on the beach. It does make me laugh a little bit that both Melissa and Molly think one day of good times with Ty equals MOTHERHOOD SUCCESS! – because as Big Mama and I have discussed once or thrice, those girls really need to be with Ty on a day when he gets a stomach virus to understand the full depth and breadth of parenting. I’ll even go so far as to say that they need to be with Ty on a day when he has a stomach virus and then Jason comes home from work and asks them what’s for supper and where are the clean towels.

That’s a recipe for the most dramatic Bachelor episode ever, my friends.

Molly meets Jason’s family and is very! wide-eyed! and enthusiastic! about how much she loves Jason! and how ready! she is! to settle down! Jason’s siblings and sister-in-law seem to love Molly, so Jason and his mama sit on the grass underneath a quilt and talk about who’s the better choice for him. Jason cries. His mama loves on him and gives him some advice. He cries some more. And I am convinced in this moment that I’ve never seen a finer two minute span of reality television in my life, oh thank you ABC.

Apparently Melissa and I are on the same page because she calls her parents and asks if they can talk to Jason on the phone. The only thing I’m wondering is why she didn’t ask them to do that very thing WHEN JASON WAS IN HER HOMETOWN, but hindsight’s always 20/20, I reckon. Then Melissa and Jason take a boat ride in the freezing cold rain and go back to her condo. She tells him that her parents want to talk to him, he is delighted, and I get a feeling way down deep in my bones that this is going to end badly for her.

I do not like that feeling, by the way.

The next day Jason has a date with Molly, and since it’s raining she takes charge and changes their plans (DO YOU PEOPLE REMEMBER ME TELLING YOU THAT SHE LIKES TO BE IN CONTROL?). I won’t give the play-by-play of their massage time, but afterwards they fix dinner and she gives him a book entitled “A Fairytale Love Story.” Y’all, I had such a moment of pure happiness when I saw that book because do you remember when Jesse made DeAnna “A Book of Thoughts”? I LOVED “A BOOK OF THOUGHTS.” And I think Molly took a play out of Jesse’s playbook, BUT WITH AN EVEN BETTER TITLE.

THIS IS THE BEST SHOW EVER.

Next Jason calls Melissa’s parents, and I so appreciate how he tells them “I know you aren’t comfortable with the cameras” while the cameras are in fact filming every word he says. And then, a black car pulls up, and I AM SO DELIGHTED by the sight of DeAnna Pappas that I have chills. Or maybe that’s just the fever. But let’s forget all that and please consider the following question: WHAT IN THE SAM HILL IS SHE WEARING? Is she now selling real estate in New Zealand? Is that why she has on a business suit?

DeAnna tells Jason that she should have looked farther down the road than “fun,” and she tells him not to follow his heart but to lead it. I have absolutely no idea what that means, but I really don’t care because I’m so puzzled by her jacket. Is it shantung? Is it taffeta? The mind boggles.

Jason picks out a ring and then stands on his balcony and tries to make up his mind. I don’t know about y’all, but I can’t help but think “CAREFUL! FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, CAREFUL!” when he’s holding that ring so close to a two-story drop off. MIND THE DIAMONDS, YOUNG JASON. MIND THE DIAMONDS.

Then Molly and Melissa put on their prom dresses, and Jason and Ty put on their suits. I keep waiting for Jason to run crying into the glass wall on the balcony, but it never happens. I can’t help but feel a sense of disappointment, but I get over it quickly when I see that Molly is the first one out of the limousine which, as we all know, is Bachelor Doom (except for that one season where they faked us out, but that is water under the reality television bridge at this point). Jason tells Molly that he has to let her go, and she tells him that he’s made a mistake – a big one.

Then her eyes turn into daggers of fire and all of New Zealand goes up in flames.

Molly leaves, Jason cries, and we finally see the balcony scene. He seems geniunely heartbroken. Meanwhile, back in the limo, Molly says that Jason has made a mistake about five times, and she doesn’t blink at all. I am frightened.

Melissa arrives and looks like she wants to throw up a little bit. Jason tells her that he’s in love with her, and I just appreciate so much that she screams when he goes down on one knee. Then he gives her the final rose, she’s the happiest girl in the world, he’s the happiest man in the universe, Ty runs out to see them and they live happily ever after.

Or do they?

We jump straight to “After The Final Rose,” and we immediately find out that Something Is Awry. Jason says that he and Melissa aren’t right for each other. And not only that: he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Molly.

I AM NOT VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS.

Because let me tell you something: it is double-dead-dog wrong for a man to go on national television and blindside his fiancee’ with the news that he’s breaking up with her. Double-dead-dog wrong. YOU CAN’T DELIVER THAT KIND OF NEWS IN PRIVATE? So Jason gives Melissa the whole “it’s not you, it’s me” line, and she makes no bones about how angry she is at him. She hands him the engagement ring, and I’M SORRY, THE LEAST HE COULD DO IS TO TELL HER TO KEEP IT.

(I can’t even get over what a train wreck this is.)

(Because this is a train wreck of epic, gigantor proportions.)

(And I feel like I shouldn’t be watching because it’s all so deeply personal but yet I cannot turn away.)

Chris leaves the set to give them a moment to themselves (with the cameras rolling, of course), and Melissa tells Jason to leave her alone. She storms off, Jason cries some more, and something deep down inside me thinks that Jason might have some issues he needs to address before he asks Molly to give it a go.

Melissa is far more gracious than she should be when she’s in the limo, and Jason continues to cry back in the studio. Chris walks back in and says it’s time for Molly. I sit right here in my living room and wonder if it’s okay to be watching this, HOW CAN I BE WATCHING THIS, THESE PEOPLE MUST BE ROBOTS AND CLEARLY WE’RE ALL BEING PUNK’D. So Molly goes through the whole I-still-have-some-questions-for-him / I-still-have-feelings-for-him scenario with Chris, and Jason comes back out and after about two minutes Jason tells her that he’s ended things with Melissa and could they maybe have another chance and maybe GO OUT FOR COFFEE OR A DRINK SOMETIME.

REALLY? COFFEE OR A DRINK? BECAUSE SIX WEEKS AGO SHE WAS RUBBING YOU DOWN WITH MASSAGE OIL AND NOW YOU WANT TO GET SOME COFFEE?

Then Jason says that he doesn’t want to live his life with regrets and that “all we have is today, and when I think about living in the moment, it’s with you.”

(I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING IF MOLLY WOULD HIT HIM WITH A PILLOW RIGHT NOW. JUST HIT HIM WITH A BIG OLE PILLOW. But instead she’s holding his hand. And then they kiss and THIS ALL SEEMS SO INAPPROPRIATE.)

Chris brings everybody back to “reality” by pointing out that America is watching this, and America is floored. Jason acknowledges that what has happened “isn’t the classiest or coolest thing” (YA THINK?), but then he tells Molly that he’s still falling in love with her and it will never stop. Then they kiss and hug some more.

(I need some more Advil.)

Cue soaring music.

Couple exits stage right.

And scene.

I’m going to attempt to watch tonight’s American Idol, but I’ll warn you in advance that it may be difficult for me to hear the contestants over the INCESSANT BARKING of the elderly labrador retriever who lives with us. I mean, I don’t know if there’s a pack of squirrels that are invisible to the human eye running circles around her right now or what, but trust me: she wouldn’t be this alarmed if she were suddenly confronted by a band of thieves at three in the morning.

In fact, if she were suddenly confronted by a band of thieves at three in the morning, she would probably just lick them and then go back to sleep.

But the invisible squirrels?

RAWR RAWR RAWR RAWR RAWR.

RAWR.

WHOO WHOO RAWR.

Here we go.

Jasmine Murray – “Love Song” – Maybe it’s appropriate that the dog won’t stop barking since Jasmine hails from Bulldog Country. I like this song a lot, and I also like the fact that it gave her the chance to show a little attitude and confidence on stage. It was weird at the beginning, but there was a fun little section about midway through that enabled her to show off some sassiness. So while I probably wouldn’t have picked this song for her, I thought it was a not-bad performance.

Matt Giraud – “Viva La Vida” – He’s my favorite contestant hands-down. And my word, he’s a brave one for taking on some Coldplay, but I think maybe it wasn’t such a great idea. There was a pretty rough patch about three quarters of the way through, and more than anything else it’s just difficult for an audience to get on board with that type of song unless Chris Martin is the one who’s singing it. I wish he’d picked an old Doobie Brothers song, some Stevie Wonder – something that was more soulful and played to his strengths.

Jeanine Vailes – “This Love” – This performance immediately felt like karaoke to me. I think Adam Levine’s voice is so distinctive that it felt strange to hear someone doing essentially the same arrangement he sings but with a vastly different voice. It was the wrong song for her, and I have no idea who she is as an artist after hearing her sing it.

Nick Mitchell – “And I Am Telling You” – No. Just no. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Allison Iraheta – “Alone” – SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL THE “IDOL” PEOPLE TO RETIRE THIS SONG. I CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE. That being said, she has a big voice, even if I felt like she was screaming at me a little bit. Still, it was the best performance so far tonight.

Kris Allen – “Man In The Mirror” – When they ban the Heart songs, could they ban the Michael Jackson songs, too? I actually really liked the arrangement of this song – just a hit-o-funky – and he did a decent job with it. I was actually surprised by him and felt proud of him for overcoming that rough beginning. Yay Kris Allen.

Megan Joy Corkrey – “Put Your Records On” – First, we need to address the hip-shaking behind the microphone. It was odd. I think she has an interesting voice, and she was fun to listen to during the verses, but the chorus was a little bit of a train wreck both times. She’s cute and talented, though – I’d like to see more of her.

Matt Breitzke – “If You Could Only See” – This song is over ten years old, I still love it a bunch. As far as this performance, it wasn’t bad if I closed my eyes, but he seemed a little awkward on stage, like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with the microphone and his hands and, well, himself. There just wasn’t a whole lot of energy on the stage, and for that reason the performance wasn’t terribly memorable.

Jesse Langseth – “Bette Davis Eyes” – I’m going to try to be unaffected by the fact that I despise this song. Didn’t even like it back in the day when I’d watch the Kim Carnes video on Night Tracks. That being said, this was a pretty interesting arrangement and performance, mainly because I felt like for the first time tonight someone put an original spin on a song. But I don’t understand why in the world someone would pick that song. I’d much rather hear her sing something bluesy and / or jazzy. Just my opinion.

Kai Kalama – “What Becomes Of A Broken Heart” – I need to get this out of the way: I adore his hair. There. I said it. As far as his performance, I thought it was pretty good, though he smoldered at the camera a lot. It was pretty karaoke-ish; tonight I’ve noticed that people have seemed perfectly content to sing these songs the way people have always sung them. And I think they need to take some chances. SURPRISE US PLEASE, THIS IS GETTING MONOTONOUS. Bottom line: this performance didn’t give me any sense of who Kai Kalama is as a singer. And I was a little bored.

Mishavonna Henson – “Drops of Jupiter” – Love this song a million times. And I liked this performance because I felt like she put her own little spin on an already-great song. What I didn’t think she did was captivate the audience – she wasn’t terribly engaging or dynamic on the stage. I’m sure that could develop over time (see: Carrie Underwood).

Adam Lambert – “Satisfaction” -Well at least it wasn’t theatrical. (Ahem.) I mean, don’t get me wrong: he can sing. But that was Sam Harris meets the Rolling Stones. And for that reason alone, it was a little weird for me. Again, he can definitely sing. Loudly. And good for him for having some charisma. But it was a little much for me.

All righty, people – feel free to chime in on the Linky. And please (PLEASE) leave the link to your post’s permalink and not the general URL. If you didn’t blog about Idol, then chime in via the comments – I’m curious to see if y’all were as ambivalent about tonight’s show as I was.

It was an amazing season.

And there were amazing girls.

And there were amazing connections.

It was all so incredibly amazing.

So. Now that we have “The Women Tell All” out of the way, it’s time to make some amazing Bachelor-related predictions.

(And yes, I’ve read all the rumors.)

(I just don’t know that I believe any of them, though I can’t figure out why we need a second “After The Final Rose” next Tuesday night, so I figure something VERY DRAMATIC AND AMAZING is going to happen.)

What do you think, internets?

Melissa or Molly?