You know something has gone terribly wrong in The Bachelor universe when you find yourself unable to stop clicking back from the "After the Final Rose episode to A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila because you find more people on the latter show more human, likable and relatable.

But that's what I found myself doing last night as I cringed my way through what could possibly be the most awkward "After the Final Rose" ever.

Last night's episode appeared to be a complete failure for most viewers, as Brad Womack seemed unable to give any response that helped make things clearer for the audience or for the women.

I was initially willing to hear what Brad might have to say. After Monday's episode, I thought I might possibly understand why he did what he did, and expected to hear something in the "After the Final Rose" episode that would confirm my thoughts and make it more clear for most of the viewers. Instead, I found myself, like many, more confused at the end of the show than I had been before.

My impression at the end of Monday's episode was that he felt like – due to the positive qualities that DeAnna Pappas had – he should be in love with her, and so he was willing himself to get there. But at the last moment, realized what he really wanted wasn't just the right woman “on paper,” the catchphrase from this season, but someone for whom he had that all-encompassing feeling of romantic love.

Haven't many of us been there? You're dating a really great guy or girl. Your parents love him/her. Your friends love him/her. You think the person is a great catch; you know you are lucky to have met him/her. You try to feel excited about the relationship, you wonder what's wrong with you that you just don't feel it…but ultimately you don't, and you have to move on because that person deserves to be with someone who IS excited to be with him/her.

With that in mind, I thought, well, yes, Brad has handled this in a spectacularly clumsy fashion and the process I described above was a lot more damaging than normal because it played out on TV for the poor object of his lack-of-affection.

But I didn't (and still don't) know how much he was strong-armed into things by the show, how limited he might have been by the contract, and how much editing built the picture of him stringing the girls along…so I went into the show at least willing to hear him out.

Right up until the point we learned that he asked for DeAnna's father to be flown out.

It's one thing for him to be passively swept along in The Bachelor machinery. It's another thing entirely for someone to actively campaign to involve family members in the charade.

While some have commented that he must have had bad intentions all along, I'm always reluctant to attribute that to someone when I can't really see into their heads and know what they were thinking.

But seriously: what WAS he thinking?

I think most of us came away from this final episode of The Bachelor still not really understanding this. All I can imagine, looking at the situation as charitably as I can, is that if it isn't all behind-the-scenes manipulation, and Brad totally created this situation all of his own doing, then the best I can say is that he must be very separated from his own emotions.

I just can't imagine that an internal red flag or warning siren didn't go off when the discussion of flying DeAnna's father started. Even if he was trying his best to fall in love with DeAnna, wouldn't a normal person's subconscious at that point send out some kind of distress signal? “Hold up! Wait a minute! I didn't want to say anything before but now that you're inviting the father…um, haven't you noticed that YOU ARE NOT IN LOVE WITH THIS WOMAN?”

But I guess it didn't, and now Brad Womack has to deal with the fallout of being possibly the Most Despised Bachelor yet.

For me, I think I'm going back to watching A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. Sure, it might be IN bad taste, but at least it doesn't leave such a bad taste (even with the gross eating challenge!) as has this season of The Bachelor.


- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of ABC)