Usually, the "Women Tell All" episode of The Bachelor isn't one of my favorites. In past seasons, a better title for the show would have been "The Women Tell Us Nothing New." However, Chris Harrison pronounced this season's WTA episode the "most interesting" in 10 seasons of The Bachelor/Bachelorette, and that's probably true. (But, in this context, "most interesting" isn't necessarily saying much considering the "yawnfest" WTA shows of past Bachelor seasons.)

For a change, we did learn a few new things about the women on the WTA show. But, in the best Bachelor tradition, most of what was interesting in this episode was revealed in the preview at the beginning of the show. So, if you changed channels after the first couple minutes to watch another show, you still saw most of the new material.

The producers made a few changes to the WTA show this time around. Instead of bringing back all 25 original bachelorettes, the producers brought back only 12. I suspect this change was primarily motivated by budgetary concerns, but it made sense, since most of the women on the WTA shows of the past never got to say a word during the show. For the record, the twelve women on the show were Anitra, Carrie, Danuska, Geitan, Jenny, Kara, Kerry, Kim, Kindle, Kristine, Megan, and Sarah W. (If at least a couple of those names don't sound familiar, don't feel bad even if you've been watching all season. I watch each episode of The Bachelor at least twice in writing my weekly recaps, and I still had forgotten at least a couple of the women.) Heck, even with the reduced numbers, the producers could have cut their travel budget even further, because at least three of the women barely said a word all evening.

The biggest benefit of bringing back only 12 women was that it allowed a more intimate set and more interaction between the women. Host Chris Harrison sat on a circular stage, with the 12 women on semi-circular couches on either side of him, and the audience on four sides behind. (In previous seasons, Chris sat on a traditional stage, with the bachelorettes in the first rows of the audience.)

Unfortunately, however, the producers didn't make any substantive improvements to the format of the WTA show. Chris introduced the first 10 women, then brought out Kim, then Sarah W, and finally Charlie for questions. Sarah B and Krisily also made appearances on the show via video. As usual, Chris showed a lot of clips from this season of The Bachelor. Despite the promise of "all-new, never-before-seen moments," the clips were mostly rehashes of the same old stuff. However, to be fair, there was at least one real revelation in the clips—Sarah W's "dating rotation." (More about that in a minute.)

Since I know some of you missed the WTA episode, I tried to write a recap in my usual style, summarizing the show in the order things happened. But, I after putting permanent lines on my face from falling asleep onto my keyboard from boredom, I decided I'd better try something different or this recap wouldn't get written before the finale. Instead of the usual, this recap covers each of the people appearing on the WTA show in the order of who I found most interesting, starting with Sarah W.

Sarah W—Rotation is "Fantastic For The Bank Account"

Going into the WTA show, I still had a faint hope that Sarah W would have had a personal revelation from watching herself on TV, and would come on the WTA show a changed woman. (After all, this did happen once before, when Jayne from Bachelor 6 with Byron came on the WTA show, and said she was appalled to watch her temper meltdowns on TV, and that they wouldn't be happening any more.) No such luck with Sarah W. And, the very sad thing is that, after watching the WTA show, I don't think the portrayal of Sarah W as a delusional b*tch was editing—I think that probably is what she is really like.

I have to find at least one good thing to say about Sarah W. So, hard as it is to admit, she did look good on the WTA show. I don't think Sarah W is as uniquely beautiful as she apparently thinks she is, but she is very pretty.

As I said earlier, it's rare that we learn anything new about any of the women on the WTA show, but this show was an exception. In the video clips, Sarah W casually and openly told the other women that, at home in LA, she usually goes on a date with a different guy about five nights a week, in what she calls her "dating rotation." Apparently Sarah W is open about this arrangement with the guys she dates, and guys have asked her in the past if they could be fit into her rotation. However, Sarah told the other women that if Charlie picked her, she'd be willing to "kick out" her rotation for Charlie. (Oh good—we wouldn't have wanted to think that Sarah W was on The Bachelor for the "wrong reasons.")

Certainly a "rotation" dating arrangement is unusual, but I wouldn't have been appalled by it if it weren't for an offhand remark thrown out by Sarah W during the WTA show. Sarah W casually commented that, now that filming for The Bachelor is finished, she is very happy to be back in her dating rotation, because she really enjoys it, and because going on dates every night is "fantastic for the bank account." Bank account? Maybe I've missed something here, but doesn't that make Sarah W a prostitute? Or, at minimum, a gold digger? I could understand dating a lot of guys in search of "Mr. Right," but nothing Sarah W said indicated that part of the goal was to winnow the rotation down to one guy. And, having a lot of male friends that you casually date wouldn't seem like it would be "fantastic for the bank account."

Remember last week's recap, when I tried to figure out what had happened after dinner on Sarah W's fantasy date with Charlie, that would cause the producers to show us nothing of the final part of the date? Not to mention that Charlie went into the rose ceremony having no second thoughts or guilt about sending Sarah W home. Was Sarah W's "dating rotation" the reason for this?

I had to think for awhile about whether my being appalled by Sarah W's dating rotation was applying a double standard, knowing that Charlie has the reputation of being a "party boy." But, I don't think I am. To me, having a regular "schedule" of dates that bring financial benefit is different from either serially dating or casually dating a lot of women. The difference is the "financial benefit" aspect. If we knew that Charlie was a gigolo, who was getting money from women he dated, I'd be just as negative. Charlie has been accused by some of mooching off his parents and his brother. I have no idea if that's true or not, but I don't think anyone has accused Charlie of taking money for dating women.

Other than the "rotation revelation" there was nothing surprising in anything Sarah W said, or anything the other women said about her. Sarah W apparently doesn't feel the least bit bad about her final remarks in the car after Charlie sent her home, and can't see what the fuss is about. And, although the other women confronted Sarah about her final remarks, the womens' comments appeared to have no effect at all on Sarah W.

In the end, Jenny summed it up best when she said to Sarah W, "I think you've taken one too many rides on the Kukoo Kunuku bus."

Kimberley—"Someone Buy That Woman a Shirt"

I thought Kimberley got a raw deal on the WTA show--Chris made more fun of Kim than I thought she deserved. But, Kim, as usual, took most of the comments with good humor. For example, Chris introduced Kim by saying, "For god's sake, someone buy that woman a shirt!" when she came out on stage wearing a low-cut, blue, sparkly, bra-style top. (For the record, several of the other women on the show were also wearing low-cut tops, but they were usually low-cut blouses.) I agree that, on The Bachelor, Kim was sexually aggressive, wore revealing clothes, and was not a particularly stunning conversationalist. But, unlike Sarah W, Kim was basically an easygoing and nice person.

On the WTA show, Chris played up the tension in the house between the two bachelorettes from Edmonton--Jenny and Kim. In one of the video clips, Jenny said to Kim at a rose ceremony, "Canadians aren't all about bikinis and being a bikini model." Chris asked Jenny, "Are you saying that the way (Kim's) acting is giving an entire country a bad name? Jenny replied to Kim, "You represent Canada like a [bleep] moron." On the WTA show, Kim said to Jenny "You are not my friend, nor will you ever be. If you don't like the way I dress or the way I act, that's your problem, not mine."

When I watched the WTA show, Jenny came across has having overreacted. However, I heard a tape of an interview Jenny gave to a local Edmonton radio station after the WTA show, and she gave some background that helped explain her comments to Kim. Jenny said in the radio interview that every time Kim made a dumb remark, she'd laugh it off by saying "It's just a Canada thing." Jenny was afraid that that the other women, or people watching the show, would think that everyone in Canada was like Kim.

As much as I liked Kim, I will grant that she was over-the-top in both her wardrobe and her behavior with Charlie. On the WTA show, Chris showed additional clips of the women modeling Kim's very suggestive clothes while she was away. Personally, if I'd been Kim, I would have been angry to hear that the other women had been going through my clothes, and parading around in them making fun of me. But, it didn't seem to bother Kim that much. In fact she said she found it flattering that the women needed to put on her clothes to look and feel sexy. Of course, the other women objected to this, with Kindle, for example, telling Kim that she didn't need Kim's clothes to feel sexy. Krisily summed it up best at the end of the film clip of the "Kim fashion show," when she said, "There is a line of Kimberley clothing. It's called 'lingerie.'"

As for Kim's sexual aggressiveness, she even managed to scare "party boy" Charlie. At one point in the film clip on Kim, Charlie told the camera, "Kimberley said she's comfortable with her sexuality." Then he laughed and said, "I'm still trying out if I'm comfortable with Kimberley's sexuality."

But, despite the fashion show, I got the feeling that Kim was basically well liked by the other women. One of Anitra's comments on the WTA show echoed a comment I had made about Kim during the hometown date episode. Anitra said to Kim, "You're gorgeous. I think you're a sweet girl. And I wish you would put more of that out there, because if you ask anyone out there (now) 'When you think of Kim, what do you think of?' they're going to say,'Boobs.'"

Charlie—"Did You Get More Than You Bargained For?"

One of the highlights of the WTA show is supposed to be the appearance of the bachelor, as he faces the women he sent home. This time around, Charlie made his required appearance, but it was very short and not particularly eventful. When Charlie came out on stage, he admitted that he hadn't wanted to come back, and he was a little more quiet and subdued than usual. However, Charlie wasn't completely subdued. When Chris asked him if he got more than he bargained for on this season of The Bachelor, Charlie quipped in reply, "Yeah, I definitely did. I never was looking forward to seeing you, (Chris)."

Charlie's manner may have been a little quieter on the WTA show, but his clothes were the same. Charlie wore the same orange shirt we've seen all season, along with a beige jacket and jeans. Couldn't the Bachelor producers cough up enough money for a couple of new shirts for Charlie?

Unlike some previous bachelors, Charlie was asked only two questions by the bachelorettes. First, Kim asked Charlie whether she was too wild for him, "Couldn't you handle me?" Charlie laughed and replied, "I think I could handle you just fine," then gave what I thought was a nice answer to Kim. He told Kim that he had a great time with her, that she is one of the most honest, down-to-earth girls, and that he personally had no problem with how Kim dressed (giving Kim a smile as he said this). But he said that he thought that if he had stronger feelings for another girl, he couldn't take Kim to Aruba. (I wasn't sure exactly what Charlie meant by this comment. The obvious meaning is that Charlie didn't pick Kim because he had stronger feelings for another woman. But, it also sounded to me like Charlie could have meant that if he'd taken Kim to Aruba, she might have tempted him into doing things he would regret later.)

Sarah W then asked Charlie at what point he felt that they didn't have a connection anymore. Charlie was pretty blunt with Sarah W, and told her that he felt the connection teetering downward, and that he felt like Sarah W was putting on an act sometimes. Then, Charlie said, "Obviously, to you guys, you could call it a competition, but it's not for me. I'm trying to find someone for me, and I found two girls that were more for me than you were."

To make up for Charlie being a little subdued onstage, Chris showed a tape of bloopers and outtakes from the show—mostly scenes of Charlie clowning around that were similar to those we saw all season. In one scene, however, we learned that Charlie didn't give Sarah B her first kiss in Aruba. There was a scene of Charlie and Sarah B in the hayloft on their horseback riding date, where Charlie begged Sarah B for just a little kiss. Sarah B let Charlie give her a short kiss on the lips, then Charlie kiddingly protested, "Well, I don't want to do THAT little of a kiss." I did have to wonder if Sarah B's reaction to Charlie's request for a kiss wasn't influenced by the fact that, in the hayloft scene, he was more than a slurred in his speech. I don't necessarily find drunk guys attractive—maybe Sarah B doesn't either.

After showing the video clips, Chris reminded us again that Charlie is still dating Krisily and Sarah B and will make his "big decision" live on the finale show. At this point, Charlie looked REALLY uncomfortable, and seemed very glad that he got to leave the stage soon after.....Charlie didn't seem to be looking forward to the final rose ceremony.

Danuska—"What's Up With the Sunglasses?"

One of the first women Chris talked with on the WTA show was Danuska, the tall blonde model that Charlie sent home in the first episode.....Chris congratulated Danuska on "one of the best lines in Bachelor history," that is, Danuska's comment to Krisily at a rose ceremony about the "body shot" Krisily did for Charlie. Danuska said to Krisily, "That doesn't make you a bitch. That makes you a slut." In hindsight, that was a good line, but, Danuska left the show so early in the season that the comment seems like old news now, and almost tame in comparison with some of Sarah W's comments.....Chris also asked Danuska why she wore sunglasses all the time. She explained, ""When your room gets bum-rushed at the *ss crack of dawn, and you open the door and there's a camera crew with a huge light in your face, (you ask) 'Where are my sunglasses?' After I saw how annoyed everyone was getting (with my sunglasses), I'm like, 'I'll just keep them on.'"

Megan and Kara—"Congratulations on Being the First Women Ever Dumped By the Bachelor on Individual Dates"

The title above was how Chris introduced Megan and Kara near the beginning of the WTA show. For their part, Megan and Kara didn't seem particularly heartbroken, and gave each other "high-fives.".....Megan has gone back to her original brunette, and wore a T-shirt with the saying "Brunette Is The New Blonde."....Kara's nine-year old daughter Kaitlyn was sitting in the WTA audience. Chris asked Kaitlyn what she thought of watching her mom on TV, and Kaitlyn replied, "I thought it was cool seeing her, and I felt very special when she talked about me." Kaitlyn was very cute and sweet—a definite "feel good" moment on the show. However, maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I hope they took Kaitlyn backstage out of hearing range for the rest of the taping of the show. The Bachelor has never been intended to be appropriate for children, and some of the comments made later in the WTA show were things that a nine-year old of today has probably heard before, but that I'd hope a parent would try not to expose her child to, if possible.

Kristine—Swimsuit Model/Top Secret Investigator

From sweet Kaitlyn, we moved to Kristine, the goth-looking swimsuit model/private investigator sent home by Charlie on the first episode.....Chris showed a short clip of Kristine telling Charlie about her job, and then asked Kristine for clarification about her dual roles as swimsuit model and private investigator. We didn't learn anything new about Kristine's real job. But, for the record, on the WTA show, Kristine never actually said that she worked for the U.S. government......Kristine replied to Chris' question by saying, "I'm an investigator, and it's top secret, so I can't really expound upon that."....Chris went on to ask Kristine a couple of kidding questions like, "Ever shot anybody?" but Kristine stuck to replies like, "I'm just not at liberty to discuss (that). I actually got called into headquarters, and they're very concerned."......Hmm. Since we got no new information from Kristine, and she appears to have had her sense of humor surgically removed, maybe she does work for the U.S. government......Chris appeared to be freaked out by Kristine, because he finally gave up questioning her, and never even brought up her poems to Charlie or her comments that she was falling in love....It looked to me like Kristine gave Charlie a kind of longing look when he got up to leave after his appearance on the show, but that may have just been my imagination.

The Remaining Women—Jenny, Kindle, Anitra, Carrie, Geitan, and Kerry

Of the remaining women, only Jenny and Kindle, and to a lesser extent, Anitra, were active participants in the WTA show. None of the three got their own interviews with Chris, although Jenny was asked about her comments about Kim. But, all three women had some pointed comments for Sarah W.

As for Carrie, Geitan, and Kerry, they might as well have saved themselves the trip to LA. Except for a sentence here and there, and a few reaction shots, they might as well have not been on the show.

Video Greetings from Sarah B and Krisily—From Laredo Bay, Mexico

As a preview for next week's finale, Chris again showed the film clips we've seen before of Sarah B and Krisily's visits to Montauk to meet Charlie's friends and family, as well as the women's dismay at hearing that Charlie would not be making his decision right away, but would continue to date both women.....Chris asked the other women what their reaction would have been if they had been in Sarah B and Krisily's place....Kim said that it would have been way too hard for her to share Charlie with another woman for two months, particularly in a long-distance relationship.....Kindle liked the idea of Charlie dating both women after filming was over, because she felt it was more like reality.

Then Chris showed tapes of Sarah B's and Krisily's comments--neither of them was happy. We saw a less "sweet" side of Sarah B in her reaction. She told the camera, "I like to be in control of things, and in this situation, my hands are tied. I'm just kind of like 'This s*cks'. I do think it's [bleep] that I have to continue this, knowing that (Charlie's) with some other girl, someplace else.".....Surprisingly (at least to me) Krisily was more accepting of the situation. She said on the tape, "It definitely hurts now, but if, in the long run, I get to share the rest of my life with Charlie, and know that it's not going to ever end, then it's totally worth it."

Chris then asked the other women whether they thought Sarah B or Krisily would benefit more from the extra time to date Charlie after the show.....Kindle said she thought that Sarah B would benefit more, because she and Charlie started as friends, and Sarah B (unlike Krisily) didn't go in immediately and say, "I'm in love with this guy."....However, Kim commented that she thought Krisily is going to win. And, to the surprise of Chris and the other women, Sarah W agreed with Kim and said that she thinks Krisily is the better match for Charlie. Sarah W went on to say, "I don't like Krisily, but I think that (Krisily and Charlie) are better together because she worships the ground he walks on and guys love that."

Then, both Sarah B and Krisily had video questions for Sarah W......Sarah B asked Sarah W, "Why did you tell me at the bowling alley that I wasn't going to be in the final four? The way you made it sound was as if Charlie had told you that. Obviously it wasn't true, but it hurt my feelings."....Sarah W's answer to Sarah B's question was "Liar! Pants on fire! Sarah B made up this whole final four fantasy. I never said that Charlie told me the final four."....All the other women gasped in surprise at Sarah W's comment, saying, "You (said it). We watched it on TV." Even Chris stepped in and said to Sarah W, "You at least alluded to (the final four). And when Sarah B (thought she was going home), you didn't say anything to the contrary. You let her believe that."....Sarah W continued with an explanation similar to the one she gave Charlie, saying, "Sarah B had explained to me in full detail for days that her relationship with Charlie was more of a friendship type of thing. And so why would I include her name in (the final four)? And then (Sarah B) runs right up to Charlie and says, 'Sarah W just predicted the final four without including my name in it.'"

After a few more comments, Chris gave up, and went on to Krisily's video question for Sarah W. Krisily (smiling) asked, "Sarah W, are you still blaming me for Charlie sending you home? Or have you realized that you've just got to be real?" Sarah W answered, "Yes, Krisily. I am partially blaming you for me going home." Chris asked Sarah W why she still blamed Krisily, and Sarah W replied, "I think (Krisily) was, like, the leader of the 'I hate Sarah' pack.'"

On those last words, Chris ended the WTA show, thanking the women for the "most interesting" WTA show ever, after 10 seasons.

Next Week on the Season Finale of The Bachelor

Correction from last week's recap: The season finale of The Bachelor on Monday May 16 IS three hours, from 8:00 pm-11:00 pm Eastern/7:00 pm-10:00 pm Central on ABC. The first hour will be the filmed portion, including Sarah B and Krisily's visits to Montauk, New York to meet Charlie's family and friends, as well as a final date with Charlie in New York City. Then, the second two hours will be the live final rose show.

Unfortunately, the preview scenes of the finale shown at the end of the WTA show were virtually identical to those we've already seen, and didn't tell us anything new. However, ABC press releases provided a little additional information. According to a press release, Krisily confesses to Charlie's mom that she is falling in love with her son, and Sarah B "butts heads" with Charlie's friend Jack, who tells Charlie that she seems too controlling. Both of the women are unhappy about the fact that Charlie will continue to date the two women after the show ends. To help quiet Krisily's fears, Charlie gives her a photo of their trip to Aruba as a memento. Sarah B also voices her concerns to Charlie, mainly about how intimate Charlie will be with Krisily.

Then, Charlie will make his final choice during the live final rose ceremony. The ABC press release suggests that Charlie will indeed choose one of the two women. "Whom will he choose? Will he propose? And, how will he explain his choice to the woman who will leave brokenhearted?"

Spoilers and Speculation

I'm just as confused as I was last week about whether Charlie will choose Sarah B or Krisily. I can see arguments for and against either of the two women woman. We got to see a few new photos this week of Charlie with Sarah B and Krisily, and I (like several others) have been looking at the photos trying to analyze body language. The problem is that we don't know exactly when the photos were taken, but they were probably taken before filming of the show ended. Since Charlie continued to date both women, a lot could have happened after the photos were taken.....One thing we do know is that, unless Charlie's brother Jerry has been deliberately trying to mislead us (which is always possible), Charlie has apparently fallen in love with one of the women.

In the radio interview with Jenny this week, I was interested to hear some of her thoughts about Charlie's possible pick. Jenny thought that Sarah B had grown up in a background more like Charlie's than Krisily's background, but wondered if Sarah B might be too conservative for Charlie. However, Jenny wasn't sure how conservative Sarah B actually is, because, for example, she had no problem with drinking alcohol on the show.

As of the end of the Aruba dates, I would have guessed that Charlie liked Sarah B more than Krisily. But, I thought it was interesting that both Sarah W and Kim thought Krisily was the better match for Charlie. Certainly Charlie and Krisily have gotten along well since the beginning of the show. Remember on the bar date on the first episode when Charlie and Krisily confessed to each other that they are both dyslexic? Although Charlie has never admitted it outright, I suspect it's been tough for him to grow up in a family with both a successful father and a successful brother, so he might be looking for a woman like Krisily who isn't "high maintenance" and appears to love him for exactly what he is.

Whichever woman Charlie chooses, the live finale should make for great TV. Until next week!