After a roller coaster of a season, The Bachelorette is coming to an end as Tayshia Adams decides between her final contestants. The big question looming — other than who she’ll choose, of course! — is whether we’ll get the usual “After the Final Rose” to find out what’s been happening with Tayshia and her winner since filming wrapped a few months ago. The episode is listed on ABC’s calendar in its usual, two-hour time slot for Tuesday night, but it’s unclear what the exact layout of the episode will be. Here’s what the official synopsis for the finale has to say:
“After a shocking rose ceremony, Tayshia is excited to introduce the remaining bachelors to her family. Will the men win over her family? Her father voices concerns that she might make a big mistake. When proposal day arrives, Tayshia is so overcome with emotion that not even Chris Harrison can read her tears. Will Tayshia bravely step into the future she has been dreaming of or will she be too scared of repeating her past?”
From this synopsis, it sounds like the bulk of the episode centers on Tayshia introducing her final contestants to her family and deciding on the recipient of her final rose. There’s no mention of any “After the Final Rose” episode or live check-in with Tayshia, whereas there’s usually some mention in the promos or synopsis. Some seasons have specifically listed “After the Final Rose” as its own episode, while others haven’t, so the lack of specificity in the episode listing isn’t really an indicator either way.
It does make sense, however, that there’s no “After the Final Rose” this year, or, at the very least, not in the way we’re used to seeing them. This whole season has been very different due to COVID-19 filming restrictions that have wiped out the globe-trotting travel, crowded date locations, and traditional hometown visits that are a part of every other season. “After the Final Rose” traditionally involves the season lead, their final two contestants (at least), host Chris Harrison, plus a packed live studio audience for reactions to all the drama. On the one hand, it makes sense that it simply wasn’t feasible to film something like that this year. On the other hand, they did manage to have a “Men Tell All” episode — and, if they really wanted an “After the Final Rose,” could they do something virtually? We’ll find out for sure on Tuesday night, during what is sure to be an unusual finale capping off an unusual season!