The Monitor: 'The Bachelor's' Jason Mesnick dumps Melissa for Molly

Have you ever seen a dead woman walking?

Such was the sensation watching the Monday night finale of the 13th installment of "The Bachelor," in which Jason Mesnick’s decision to choose Melissa Rycroft over Molly Malaney to propose to was drawn out for the usual two hours. This season, though, the normal suspense was replaced by something very different: preemptive sympathy.

For at least two weeks, spoilers about what developed after Jason’s proposal had spread from Internet fan sites to the tabloid weeklies. Melissa got the ring, but she did not get Jason’s heart; he had dumped her and reconnected with Molly.

So when Melissa spoke with her mother from the couple’s romantic getaway in New Zealand — her parents had refused to appear on camera to meet Jason when he visited Melissa’s hometown — it was hard not to wince when she confessed, through tears, "I’ve completely fallen for him. I absolutely told him I loved him, and that was huge."

And when, after the proposal, Jason, Melissa and Jason’s son Ty all jumped in the pool together after Melissa had shouted, "I’m gonna be a Mesnick!," it was hard not to reflect upon how perfect moments are fabricated just like the imperfect ones and are as subject to unraveling.

Jason’s eventual flip-flop isn’t without precedent — the ninth bachelor, Lorenzo Borghese, took up with his season’s runner-up after things with the winner didn’t pan out. But as a single, divorced father who himself had his heart broken on “The Bachelorette” last year, Jason seemed to be the person the least capable of wounding someone else in this context.

Still, there was Jason, six weeks after the taping of the season finale on the follow-up show "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose," letting Melissa go and, in essence, his old self as well. "Everything I was ever looking for at that time in my life was Melissa," Jason told Jimmy Kimmel, in an interview that aired after the finale. "Even the way she looked, I would say, was exactly what I was looking for."

Or in other words, cutting off Melissa was little more than a ritual dumping of Deanna, the bachelorette who’d spurned him.

In the finale, Deanna  — whom Melissa closely resembles, in both appearance and temperament — visited Jason in New Zealand without explanation, warning him, "I wouldn’t say follow your heart, I would say lead it," her artless, loveless way of hinting that she’d made a mistake by picking the puckish Jesse over him. (Her face was shown first through a security camera, as if to affirm she was indeed the criminal the show has made her out to be.)

It’s unclear which of those directives Jason ultimately opted for, probably because neither romance felt particularly intense, even if Molly’s massage date in New Zealand did recall the Zalman King oeuvre (though not as much as Jason’s hot tub dalliance with second runner-up Jillian a couple of weeks ago).

Depth of feeling this season was only conveyed through loss. When Jason eliminated Molly last night, he practically doubled over in pain, bawling. And on the follow-up show, Melissa’s hurt was clear. "You’re such a bastard,’ she whispered, as a hangdog Jason lamely tried to explain himself.

"After the Final Rose" is typically the lone hour of "Bachelor"-related programming in which the connection between the chooser and the chosen feels credible. This year, though, it was instead about demystification.

Cameras zoomed in on Jason and Melissa’s faces with telenovela intensity, capturing the alternating currents of affection and chill between them. And the uncommonly frank conversation between the two produced details that, on a show preoccupied with fantasy, rendered their love comfortingly mundane. "Don’t call me," Melissa told Jason. "Don’t text me."

Later, on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Jason, in characteristically clumsy fashion, suggested that Melissa and Molly had made about as much of an impression on his 4-year-old son as had members of the show’s production crew. (Jason is to Kimmel as Spencer Pratt was to David Letterman last year: an easy punching bag. Asking Jason about his son Ty, Kimmel teased: "Is there any chance you will dump him and replace him with a blond child?")

Jason suggested to Kimmel that he and Melissa had broken up before the taping of "After the Final Rose," and that their televised split was essentially a contractual formality. That in turn suggests that, as tabloids have hinted, Molly was not exactly surprised to learn that Jason wanted another shot with her.

That chain of events might explain the lack of spontaneity in their connection last night, after he revealed to her that he’d ended things with Melissa. The dumper and the dumped made up, more or less. They kissed. They promised to give it an honest try. And yet, without the familiar cues — the applause, the music, the rose — you could be forgiven for mistaking this for an unhappy ending.

— Jon Caramanica

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Comments

[eanderson74]

Here's hoping this relationship will go the way of the dodo bird and I sincerely mean it. Jason may have followed his heart but he certainly gave a bad lesson to his son on how to treat women.

[LARRY LEGRAS]

RE: BACHELOR
Where are the writers? Did anyone else get bored by the same dialogue and repeat scenes? I had to tune out untill the last few min and then really didn't care about the results. How about editing out redundant dialogue and tedious faux emotions??? Just a thought..

[Mckenna Smith]

I thimk that he Changed his mind because he couldn't stop thinking about who he truely loved!!

[Amy]

Jason is a wishy-washy player masquerading as a "good guy", which is worse because at least with an outright player you know what you're getting at the outset

[vicccccc]

no no jason..... how could u do that to someone when youve alreasy experienced it urself???? srry but i say hes rong

[Alan]

I wonder why Jason divorced his wife who now appears to have no interest in raising Ty. I think Melissa is the winner to find out now that this guy is a fraud. If he didn't try hard enough to keep his marriage together why should he be expected to try to keep a relationship with any woman. If he really cared about Ty he would have made an effort to keep Melissa. What does "heart" have to do with it when you have a responsibility to your son. My heart says I should be a movie star but my responsibility to raise my son says I have to drive a taxi. Grow up Jason.

[Brian]

This is just entertainment!!!!! These people and their ilk need to leave us alone. I can no more believe this than a Barack Obama speech!

[Marie]

Melissa will look back on this experience and thank God that Jason did what he felt was right because had he led her on and broken up later, it would have been much more painful and difficult for her. I don't blame Jason for ending the relationship, but I do blame him for the WAY he ended it. No one knows what transpired between them the six week ATFR but the two of them, but Jason should have handled the situation with a little more class. Melissa was deeply hurt--it was all over her face--and Jason was only thinking about reuniting with Molly. Melissa, hold your head up high because you have NOTHING to be ashamed of. Everything happens for a reson, and YOU will find the RIGHT GUY for you.

[Debbie]

This show is a joke. Honestly, it seemed like Jason was trying out for a daytime soap opera. All that fake emotion.....but he is great at crying on cue. Young and the Restless, you should hire him!

[Big Sam]

Another downward step for commercial television. Meaningless, boring prattle being sold as pithy bon mot between two strangers who behave like re-united lovers in a 1950's movie constantly on re-wind.

BRING ON THE INFOMERCIALS!

[Tartallini]

I think it's safe to say that instead of looking for love, Jason and his ladies need to be looking for good therapists...and I need to start looking at other programs to watch besides the Bachelor!

[joe]

What an amazing journey!

[Kat]

Ha! Jason is a total loser and that whole After the Rose thing seemed insanely fake.

As for Jason on Jimmy Kimmel, he seemed really flippant about the whole thing if you ask me. There's video of it here:: http://squareeyes.blinkx.com/?p=403

[James]

I feel Jason did the right thing. Better to break it off now... rather than later... it will hurt, but time heals.

[Maynewoman]

That was the Bachelor...I thought I was watching the Biggest Loser!! That boy doesn't know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt!

[Allison]

I have a lot of respect for Melissa. She dealt with it well. She kept strong while letting him know how much of a jerk he really is. I feel so bad that she kept blaming herself, and saying that since she's been dumped so many times there must be something wrong with her. Melissa, there's nothing wrong with you, girl, you just haven't come across the right guy to appreciate you for the sweetheart you really are. Keep your chin up, he'll come along some day. And as for Jason, screw him. How dare he make out with Molly and shove his tongue down her throat just minutes after dumping Melissa. He needs to not date for a while, because he still doesn't know what he wants. He thinks that he can last forever with a girl just because he's so "taken" by her eyes. But you know what--that's ALL he has with her, nothing else. And what that attraction to her eyes gets old, there will be nothing left with Molly.

[fred fred]

Why would you even discuss this who cares why he did what he did

[wendy]

iamsoo shocked about jason dump to mleissa so i think that melissa feelsoo sadly bec jason choices molly .. so my question is jason going marry molly yes or no???

[CB]

Come on folks? Can't you see through the typical NFL cheerleader personality. She's cutesy. immature and dumb! Her parents were the smart ones in not getting involved. Apparently she's made a habit of picking the bad boys. No substance and was way caught up in the moment of being on TV than finding an everlasting partner.

Molly has herself grounded, is mature and has a wholesome appeal to her. I'm glad Jason saw the light, but I'm sure there could be a few more disappointments for him in the future. He needs to take a lot of time to really know what he wants.

[amber]

What a freaking loser! He has some major commitment issues. If he gets married he will probably end up in a divorce because he doesn't know how to make things work and stick to the vows or even commitment of an engagement. He will never be happy for long term. I will never watch another episode of this show unless Melissa is the next Bachelorette.