Chris Harrison blogs 'The Bachelor': episode 5

Let’s jump right in with some political views this week. Kidding people, settle down. Kay, I love your enthusiasm, and thanks for answering questions for me. But as I used to joke back when I was a sportscaster, don’t let facts get in the way of a good story. I need to assist you on a few of these "answers" you gave out. After the rose ceremony, the girls are taken back to a hotel. Usually they get back to the hotel early in the morning so they get some rest and then go home that day or the next. We don’t keep contestants in town until much later in the show. The girls bring their own dresses for dates and rose ceremonies. If you really pay attention, and it appears many of you do, the girls often wear the same dress twice or borrow each other’s for dates and ceremonies. Obviously, if the date entails the girls getting new gowns then it’s up to the talented Carrie Fettman (he’s handled our wardrobe on this show since season 2) to get their sizes and get them fabulous clothes. We also help the two girls get dresses for the final rose ceremony. We do offer makeup and hair for the first couple of rose ceremonies but many just do their own. One of my many, many talents is walking out and clinking a glass. I have broken one glass in all my years of skillfully tapping a knife or backwards spoon (a couple times we haven’t been able to find a knife, so they gave me a spoon that I turned around. I told you I had skill) on the champagne flute. It was last season and Deanna and the guys got in the hot tub during a cocktail party. They were pretty far away and it was loud, so I had to tap it harder to make it louder…well on the second tap it broke. Being the pro I am, I quickly recovered and finished the job. One last question to answer this week about becoming friends with the bachelors and bachelorettes. One of the greatest aspects of this show for me is how many new friends I have made. I would list them all but there are too many and I would hate to leave anybody out. My wife and I have remained close to Trista and Ryan and are excited about the birth of their second child. We were honored to attend Andrew Firestone’s wedding last July and look forward to the birth of their first. Gwen and I consider Andrew and his wife Ivana to be very good friends of ours. I know it’s a TV show but these are real people we’re dealing with, and its been a pleasure getting to know them.

As you could probably tell, I woke the girls up early to give them the news that they were off to Jason’s hometown of Seattle this week. They literally rolled out of bed and onto the couches. I always love when they moan and groan when I get them up early. I remind them that I drove home after the rose ceremony, got up at 7 A.M., got the kids ready for school, showered, got dressed, drove back to the house, and them memorized the message we wanted to tell them. We all stayed at the Fairmont Olympic hotel in downtown Seattle. It’s always nice for the girls to move out of the house and get a change of scenery. The girls were put in the presidential suite. The one-on-one date with Melissa really demonstrates why this season is so good and why it is so unique. We’ve obviously never dealt with a single parent calling off a date like that before. It added a little realism into a very surreal situation. I think it also showed a lot about Jason’s character that he would change the date to accommodate Ty. I also very much respected his decision to tell Mel that it’s too soon to introduce any of the women to Ty. I think you can see justhow protective Jason was of Ty during this process. I got to see it all the time but I was glad you guys got to see the relationship between this father and his son. Melissa handled the whole ordeal like a pro and scored major points with Jason on this date.

The group date took the women to a local radio station. I’ve done many interviews with Jackie and Bender over the years on Kiss FM in Seattle. They are married and are always a blast to be interviewed by. Jason spent his time with Molly walking around downtown Seattle. This walk took quite some time to shoot, so Steph and Jill were left to sit and wait until they returned.

Naomi finally got her first one-on-one date this season. I’m glad she got this time alone so her head didn’t explode. In the middle of the date, we cut back to the girls in the suite listening to Stephanie talking to her daughter Sophia. This was cute and all, but what was on Melissa’s face? Pretty bold move going on national television wearing a mud mask. I will say her pores look fantastic! Back to Jason and Naomi climbing a huge rock wall. Then they settle in for a romantic fireside fondue date in the middle of the REI store. Naomi took full advantage of her one-on-one time and finally seemed to relax a little bit. It’s tough for these women when they know the other girls are getting quality time and forming a strong relationship and you’re not getting that time. I know it may seem trivial watching from the outside but it’s intense for these women living through this. One really funny behind the scenes note from Naomi’s date that you won’t hear anywhere else: When the sea plane landed and pulled up in front of them, Naomi walked up and said "Cool, I’ve never ridden in a helicopter before." The sad news we had to break to Naomi is that she still hasn’t!

Jason surprised the women the day of the rose ceremony by stopping by to talk to Jillian. He took her to a little coffee shop just outside our hotel that had the best pastries. It’s kind of cliché, but looking out of the coffee shop over Jason’s shoulder is another coffee shop (Starbucks), the only thing we were missing was Green Day.

I was really happy with how much of the deliberation you got to see this week. This gave you a glimpse of not only how long we usually talk but also how in depth our conversations are. This was by far the best deliberation site we’ve ever used. Jason and I sat on the back porch of his house, right on the water. The shots you saw from far away were from our crew who were shooting off the bow of a ski boat floating in the sound. I was constantly impressed with how well Jason knew these girls and how intuitive he was. He really seemed to understand them and what they were going through. Jason’s house was only about a ten minute drive from the Fairmont hotel, which is where the rose ceremony was held.

The actual ceremony was held in the presidential suite. The hotel management secured the floor for us and only our crew could come down to the side of the eleventh floor where we were shooting. The ceremony was held in the main room of the suite and we set up our control room in the master bedroom. After I talked to the girls, there wasn’t a lot of room for me to maneuver, so I walked into the dining room behind Jason and sat behind the china cabinet so I would be out of the shot. Usually during rose ceremonies I go into the control room so I can see and hear everything that’s going on. But the later we get in the season the shorter the ceremonies become, so I stay close and at the ready to deliver those magical words you all yearn so much to hear each week…"Ladies, Jason this is your final rose." (Gives me goose bumps even typing it…just magic.) Below I’ll get into the true facts behind the most famous line in all of television (okay, maybe that’s a little far). Jason let Stephanie go in one of the most emotional, painful rose ceremonies I’ve ever sat through. Jason summed it up best in his impromptu, eloquent speech after the rose ceremony. Steph was very well liked by the cast and crew and she left quite an impression on us all. Deep down I think Jason just wasn’t sure he saw a future with Stephanie and felt going to her hometown and drawing this out any further wasn’t fair to anyone, especially Steph and her daughter Sophia.

Next week we head to hometowns but come back to Seattle for the rose ceremony. Just wait till you see Jason and the drama in big D! Now let’s deal with the 500 pound elephant in the room. I started saying "this is your final rose tonight" from the very beginning. It was in the script. It was put in not as a math aid but rather as a dramatic scene setter. Over the years, I admit it has become cliche and even a bit funny. I always enjoy walking out during the first rose ceremony of every new season and delivering this line. There’s something about it that really makes the people on the show realize "holy crap, I’m on The Bachelor and I’m at a rose ceremony." At first it’s a novelty and it’s entertaining, but when the numbers dwindle and we’re down to five girls like this week and only one women is going home, all of a sudden the mood changes. When I walk out you can hear a pin drop and you can see the look in the eyes of the girls who don’t have roses, and they realize after all this they could now be going home alone. I thought about getting rid of this line as it became a little tired, and during Charlie O’Connell’s season we did leave it out, but it just didn’t feel right and so we brought it back. It is definitely the number one thing people say or ask me about out in public. It’s hard to put into words but it’s just one of those things, like roses and the word amazing, that just belongs in this show and as long as I’m around it will remain. One final note before I bid you farewell this week. Some mentioned that you saw me on Ellen last week. I would have given you a heads up in last week’s blog but it all happened pretty fast. Ellen is a huge fan of our show and has always been so good to us. She gets a special copy of our show the weekend before it airs so she can watch it and talk about it on Monday’s show which airs on Tuesday. I have done a ton of these shows over the years and I think it’s safe to say Ellen is the best at what she does. She’s smart, funny and actually listens instead of just worrying about what her next question will be. Yes, I have a small professional crush on Ellen but I feel like we’re all close enough now that I can tell you these things. Sorry it was all Bachelor talk this week. We’ll deal with the economic crisis and the state of politics in Illinois next week. Until then "People, Chris, this is your final rose tonight."

Watch our exclusive deleted scene below and then read Kristen Baldwin’s ‘Bachelor’ TV Watch.