By Spencer Ford
Contributing Writer

Ever since the series first aired in 2002, “The Bachelor” has been taking reality TV by storm and only seems to be getting more popular with each passing season. With spin-off series like “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise,” one thing seems to remain a constant in this series–each person is set to play a certain trope.

According to Google, a character trope can be defined as “common attributes or even entire stock characters.” So what exactly does this have to do with “The Bachelor”? A look into this season’s women will tell.

Starting off with Matt James, the current bachelor, his season seems to be filled with these character tropes. A common one that is not only used in James season but also in nearly every season prior is the trope of “The Girl Next Door.”

The girl next door is usually the fan-favorite. She’s a “good girl” and often from a small town. She appears to be innocent and always seems to be kind as well. This season, Rachael Kirkconnell seems to be playing this role. 

Kirkconnell is often seen as being nice to the other girls and also appears to be very shy. She is seemingly innocent. This is evident for Kirkconnell during a group date where the girls were required to write a “fantasy story” about James, and she said it made her uncomfortable.  Kirkconnell also fits this role as she is from a small town in Georgia. 

The next character trope that is a commonality in the series is “the villain.” The villain herself is not necessarily a bad person, or evil per se, however, they are portrayed by the show to be an alpha type, a bit catty and stop at nothing to get what they want. Victoria Larson is considered this season’s villain

Larson’s job is listed as “Queen,” on not only “The Bachelor” website but also appears whenever she speaks during the show. This fits Larson well, as she showed up on night one wearing a crown, announcing to the other women that “the queen had arrived.”

Larson is often at the center of this season’s drama. Just recently, we saw this with fellow contestant Sarah Trott who Larson seemingly was rude to after a group date gone wrong. 

Larson has a big personality, and her presence is well known in the house. She knows what she wants and doesn’t mind stepping on others to get it, which is why it appears the producers have chosen her to play the villain role this season. 

The wild card. The party girl. No matter what you call it, this trope tends to be the girl who is unpredictable. You never know what her next move will be, and one thing is for sure, she knows how to have fun and have a good time. Katie Thurston fits this arch.

Thurston immediately caught the eyes of viewers this season when she made her entrance carrying a NSFW object. After that entrance, Thurston has repeatedly surprised viewers, becoming a quick fan favorite. Though Thurston may not exactly be a “party girl,” she fits this arch due to her fun nature and high spirits. You never really know what her next move is going to be. 

The last arch in the show is the rich girl. The rich girl is very Gossip Girlesque and lives a lavish life. Expensive clothes, an expensive house, they even look expensive. This season, that role is played by Kit Keenan.

Keenan is the youngest woman on the show this year, being only 21. Keenan’s mom, Cynthia Rowley, is a lavish fashion designer in the West Village of NYC who often supplies Keenan with her outfits for the show. Keenan tends to fly under the radar for a majority of the time; however, once drama starts, Keenan will insert herself in and add to the drama in the house.

There are nearly hundreds of character tropes and even more that are played in the series. “The Bachelor,” though a reality show, is also heavily scripted and produced for entertainment purposes. The girls on this show may not even be anything like the arch they are playing on TV. 

One thing is for sure though, scripted or not, “The Bachelor” series remains to dominate the reality TV network and manages to remain increasingly popular with each passing season.