The Bachelor's fairy tale portrayal of Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph's romance now feels "gross and, frankly, dangerous"

The Muse

In wake of Randolph filing a restraining order and a police report against the former Bachelor, "the final episodes of Underwood’s season look not just awkward, but now, almost sinister, as the show dutifully spun infatuation into something noble and whimsical," says Maria Sherman. "In the universe of The Bachelor, the romantic lead is not just searching for love, but entitled to it, and any action is simply a means of obtaining the desired end result. But when all behavior is forced into the easy narrative of courtship, there’s no room for discomfort, let alone abuse. The Bachelor hopes its audience will side-step this form of interrogation, so the fairytale can continue and the franchise will endure, as if nothing ever happened."