The Bachelor: Grant Ellis Struggling As The Lead Proves Producer Interference Might Be An Issue (Are They Setting Him Up To Fail?)

Now that the first couple of episodes of The Bachelor season 29 have aired, viewers have noticed that Grant Ellis is struggling with his role as the lead. Grant, a 31-year-old day trader from Newark, New Jersey, started his journey on The Bachelor with 25 women. On the premiere night, he narrowed the group down to 18, giving Alexe Godin his first impression rose, which automatically earned her the first one-on-one date due to a new twist.

On The Bachelor season 29, episode 2, there were two group dates: one basketball date and one singing R&B date. The basketball date included ten women: Alli Jo Hinkes, Allyshia Gupta, Beverly Ortega, Chloie Costello, Juliana Pasquarosa, Natalie Phillips, Parisa Shifteh, Sarafiena Watkins, Vicky Nyamuswa, and Zoe McGrady. The R&B singing date featured Bailey Brown, Carolina Sofia, Dina Lupancu, Ella Del Rosario, Litia Garr, Rebekah Garrett, and Rose Sombke. While Grant formed some strong connections, he also made choices that could potentially harm his relationships with some of the women.

Producers Should Have Stopped Zoe From Stealing Grant So Quickly

She Derailed The Entire Date

The Bachelor franchise loves group dates because they always tend to cause the most drama. That was the case for the basketball date during episode two, where Zoe managed to make every other woman in the group furious. Each contestant lined up for their chance to shoot a basket in the hoop, but once it was Zoe's turn, she took the opportunity to steal Grant for some alone time.

It seems like Grant didn't know how to deny Zoe, so he went outside to spend time alone with her while the rest of the women stood on the court stunned. It caused a lot of tension throughout the rest of the date, with some girls eventually confronting Zoe and urging her to have some respect. While the producers love drama, they should have stopped Zoe from completely disrupting the date to do her own thing.

Grant Seems Underprepared As The Lead

He Can't Handle The Pressure

Just like the basketball date, the other group date had a few setbacks. After the women got together to perform for Grant on the R&B singing date, he was tasked with picking a winner and chose Carolina. While the rest of the contestants were fine with not winning, the situation got a lot more awkward when Carolina straddled Grant and started making out with him while singer Mario performed.

While the women weren't as vocal about being angry with Carolina, it made the situation much more uncomfortable. Once everyone reunited, tensions were high, which Grant immediately noticed--but he didn't know how to fix things. Because the entire premise of the show revolves around the lead being able to manage the emotions of multiple women, he should have been better prepared for situations like this.

Producers Aren't Helping Grant Be A Successful Bachelor

This Just Isn't His Environment

Grant has already faced a lot of struggles in the first two episodes of The Bachelor. Even though there have only been two group dates so far, they were both filled with drama, which isn't a good look for the lead. Instead of looking for love, it seems like a lot of these women are just trying to make one another mad, which could be because some of them are producer plants.

The Bachelor gets accused of having producers plants every season, but with this group of women, it's a lot more obvious. Contestants like Zoe and Carolina seem to be stealing time with Grant not because they want to spend it with him, but because they want to come out on top. Grant is already having a difficult time as the lead this season, and with women intentionally stirring the pot, things are only going to get worse.