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"After The Final Rose" - November 24

We are back live with Chris Harrison as we have one more hour to dissect this series. He calls it the most emotional proposal that they have ever have. Byron and Mary will be reunited for the very first time. We also get to see Mary's hometown - and we get special news from Mary and Byron. Also appearing - Tanya - and her family, who gets to confront Byron as well. We get one more catfight before we end the season.

But before we get the claws, we first get the felines as Mary comes to shake Chris's hand. She was first nervous about not wanting to fall in the pool - and then was hoping that everything would be alright when he held her. We get to see BONUS foota...no we don't. We get to see the same thing that we saw 10 minutes ago - without the Spanish proposal. Well, filler is good. She was amazed when she saw her own proposal. She says that she has her fairytale ending.

Chris says that since the secret is out, there's no reason to separate them anymore, so Byron comes out. They bound into each other and Byron whirls her around. He says that he was optimistic about the situation and figured that there would be gold at the end of the rainbow, while Mary, who wanted to leave twice, was glad that she stuck around.

Chris shows Mary the footage of her family watching the final episode. Mary says that his proposal in Spanish meant a lot to her, and Byron says that he wanted her family to feel involved as well. Mary's family is now on live, and her mom says in Spanish that she is happy that they have another son in the family. AwwwwBarf.

Mary's family is still there - but we see Byron's mom, Joan, in the audience, She said that she was convinced that Byron was going to select her. Mom knows best...

We switch over to Byron, who once again gets on his knee and asks her to wear the ring again, to which she, of course, says yes. He has another surprise - and he gives her the final rose again, as Mary thought she lost it. He also has a journal that he kept throughout the show, and he reads a passage from it. The passage was from the spirits of his guardians angel telling him that Mary is the one. AwwwwwBleagh.

They are asked if there is a definite date. They say no, but sometime within the next year. Byron says that they want to be a couple first and live together before getting a definite date. They are asked where they are going to live, and Mary says that Byron will be living with them in Tampa. Byron decides that the wedding will be in Florida, because he couldn't bear taking Mary from her family. In addition, the fishing tour starts in Florida, so she can go to a lot of their tours. If the wedding does happen, I am sure that ABC will be salivating for the wedding plans...

But with dreams fulfilled, we have dreams shattered. Next up - Tanya. She gives a weak wave and sits down with Chris. We get footage of Byron rejecting Tanya, Tanya with the family, and then Tanya in the limo. She said that she felt played, because she thought the chemistry was strong.

We get to see Tanya's mom and family in Texas. Peggy says that she loves her and she is in a win/win situation. She says it was tough keeping the secret for 3 months as well. Peggy thought the end was heart-breaking and it didn't turn out the way that she thought it would. Tanya said that she was hopeful, but never 100% sure - and now she knows why.

Tanya requested - and now gets - some one on one time with Byron - without Mary there. He comes out and they share a little hug. Tanya asked (which we didn't hear) how long it was since he knew that Tanya wasn't the one, and he said 8-10 days (which now explains why she said that she wished she was cut sooner) and she says that because of that, she felt lied to. Byron says that he didn't say that (and I guess we'll have to listen to the tape) and he thought the question was when he had feelings for Mary. Byron keeps going and Chris has to stop him to the point where Tanya was wondering where the off button was. Ouch.

She says that that's why she felt betrayed - but now she understands where he was coming from. She reiterates that he was there to find his true love, and she is happy if he found it in Mary. In the audience is Mandy (one of Tanya's friends), who was wondering if he was falling in love with Tanya, or if he always kisses the women. Byron says that she loved everything about her, but she never opened herself up to the point that he was falling in love with her. Tanya says that she was opening up - but she did relate that it may not be the way he wanted it. Becky, who is in Texas, asks Byron why he said that he wanted to have Christmas in Texas when it was going to be a lie. Byron says that it wasn't a lie, but it's a hope, and he needs to be open to all of those possibilities. Becky says ok, but you can tell that she wasn't satisfied with the answer.

Mary then comes back in and rejoins everyone. Mary says that she was in that position, and she feels for Tanya. She says that the heart feels for what it does, and everything happens for a reason, adding that Tanya will find true love somewhere. Byron even says that Tanya can start dating now. Tanya laughs and wishes them all the best.

It's time for questions from the audience. Mary and Byron are asked what the first thing they want to do when they are together - and they say walk out hand in hand. They are asked what their wedding colors are (Wha?) and they say that they have no specific colors. With that, Tanya leaves the stage.

Chris decides that he wants to liven things up - so we get to see a blooper reel. We get Byron proposing to Chris (Wha?), Byron reeling in a sound microphone, Byron spitting on more than one occasion, and Byron saying 'There's Something About Mary' and cracking up. They were asked about their most embarrassing moment, and Mary says her wedgie on the dune buggy. Heh.

Chris has an engagement gift for them - a 2005 Pontiac D6. Sweet. They toast to Mary and Byron and their futures together - and hopefully lasting longer than any of the Bachelor's other relationships. Mary's family toasts to them as well.

Chris gives us all a quick shill to catch the Bachelorette 3 - and then wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We get Mary hugging her friends in the audience and the audience kibitzing. Fade to black. End of series.

My take? Well, I did like the changes in the show. I liked the format change, as it did promote more of a love connection - and by getting older people, you know they are in it for the love. In addition, by saving th families until the end, less people get hurt, which is always fine by me. The editing was also much better this time around, because when we see people eliminated, we know why they are gone.

That being said, this season has had some serious flaws. Once again, we find out more about the women rejected than the women selected, and the only reason why we know anything about Mary was because we got her back story in The Bachelor 4.

The series commits a fatal error though - the bachelor they selected is just not intriguing, charismatic or even likable. Not even the selection of Mary can help that, and we don't learn anything more about Byron from day one to now. The ratings back my opinion up - this series got the worst ratings of all of them, and for the first time ever, the finale didn't even win it's time slot.

So what to do? Focus more on the winners and the Bachelor. Sure, it's fun to get screen time on the b!tch, but when she leaves, you leave us with characters that we don't know - or care - about. Give us a reason to care for the bachelor - and the woman that he eventually selects.

For mostly the same reasons, I give the Bachelor 6 the same rating that I give the Bachelor 4 = C+. The producers have tinkered with the format, which is good. Now tinker with the contestants and give them enough personality that we want to watch them.

They have started on the right track by giving us Jen Schefft, the winner of The Bachelor 3, as the focus of Bachelorette 3. We'll find out how this happened and Jen's adventure in New York, as we continue the series in January. Thanks again for reading my recaps, and we hope to see you then.