"Usually The Bachelorette frames the winner as the final contestant, whichever man who makes it through the gauntlet of group dates and fantasy suites and emerges as the last dude standing," says Kathryn VanArendonk. "But Hannah, this season’s leading woman, is the first person in the franchise’s history to complete her season by refusing to declare herself in love with someone and get an overwhelmingly positive reception from the show’s audience. (A dozen years ago, when Brad Womack ended his Bachelor season by refusing to propose to either of his two finalists, it earned him a vicious villain edit and a second season as Bachelor so he could redeem himself.) Hannah Brown, Bachelorette, is the undoubted winner of The Bachelorette. The reason for that comes down to Hannah herself, because she’s hardly the first woman on this franchise to be subjected to a batch of absolute wieners. The show has routinely filled out its cast with dubiously eligible guys, men who are racists or potential sociopaths or just totally underwhelming drips...But unlike many past Bachelorettes, Hannah eventually swatted them all down with a resilience and self-possession that flipped her heartbreak on its head."
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TOPICS: Hannah Brown, ABC, The Bachelorette, Ratings, Reality TV