How did Clayton Echard's Bachelor season become a train wreck?

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-di...-a-train-wreck

"Clayton’s season has been shaky from the start—partly because the Bachelor himself appears to have been no one’s top pick," says Laura Bradley. "He didn’t make it as far in Michelle Young’s Bachelorette season as leads typically have in the past (although the tenure required for contestants to become a lead has become more flexible in recent years), and many fans had hoped the franchise would choose another Bachelor of color. Michelle’s season did, after all, give the franchise an embarrassment of options. It also didn’t help that Clayton barely had any screen time during Michelle’s season, another detail that made his selection puzzling at best." Bradley adds: "But much of the frustration with Clayton at this point is of his own making. He has seemed easily swayed by producer meddling, much like former train-wreck Bachelor Peter Weber. Despite the show’s insistence that he’s an earnest communicator, Clayton has struggled this season to match the depth some of his contestants have brought to their conversations. And worst of all, he’s been so unspeakably terrible at sorting through any of the house drama."

ALSO:

• The Bachelor has spent the last several days in damage-control mode after being slammed by fans with accusations of gaslighting and narcissism
• Host Jesse Palmer says neither he nor Clayton Echard knows how the season ends

Clayton Echard: The worst Bachelor ever?

"Congratulations are in order! On Monday night, Clayton Echard officially beat out some stiff competition (hi, Juan Pablo and Pilot Pete) to secure the impressive title of Worst Bachelor Ever," says Jordan Julian. "The first episode of the excruciating two-part season finale opened with the aptly-dubbed Rose Ceremony from Hell, in which Clayton continued to show no remorse for his disastrous break-up from Susie last week. He was back on his self-pitying bulls***, claiming that he’s just trying to be honest while in fact lying through his blindingly white teeth." ALSO: Colton Underwood says a Bachelor producer texted him a head's up that Cassie Randolph was appearing on last night's episode.

Clayton Echard's messy, shark-jumping Bachelor season made the show good again

"With its 26th season, The Bachelor finally jumped the shark. But unexpectedly, I’m back in," says Stephanie McNeal, adding that with Echard's season, "we watched a well-intentioned but emotionally unintelligent himbo try to navigate three relationships at the same time and enjoyed what happened when it inevitably blew up in his face." Producers seemingly made a bad choice in picking Echard to be The Bachelor after he placed eighth on Michelle Young's Bachelorette season, says McNeal. He seemed "extremely unprepared for the shark tank of The Bachelor, with all its quirks and strange rituals." But his inexperience ended up highlighting the absurdity of the show. "Previous leads have had clear favorites from the beginning, or have at least been able to fake it enough to come out the other side with a successful match and an intact reputation, but this was too tall an order for Echard," says McNeal. "Confusion and terror appeared on his face in every one of the final episodes; he was being told that he had to give each relationship a fair shot, but also needed to choose just one woman in a matter of days. He seemed totally out of his depth, and thus, the mayhem began...By casting a lead who took the show completely off the rails, the producers have made the most entertaining iteration that they have in years...Maybe producers should just keep leaning into the mess. I thought I was done with this show and its tired antics, but this season I couldn’t get enough. If this is the future of The Bachelor, I’m all the way back in."