by Gina Scarpa

The finale has finally arrived and it's time for Ben to choose someone to spend his life with... or the next few months with, given The Bachelor's track record. Lindzi is in the hot seat first as she meets Ben's family for the first time and tries to convince them that her feelings for him are genuine. She does a good job convincing his mom, but his sister Julia seems more interested in getting dirt on Courtney. Still, Julia does give Lindzi the thumbs up, which we'd all hope is a good sign!

Courtney's up next and the fam goes into this meeting understandably skeptical. She tries to do damage control with the things that Julia has heard about her, and it does the trick. Courtney wins Julia over, who even tells Ben that she's "amazing" and "sweet". Even Ben's mom is smitten and he gets the seal of approval. Does anyone else hear music of doom playing in the background?

For Lindzi's last date with Ben in Switzerland, she's treated to a horse and carriage ride through Zermatt. Afterwards, they go skiing, which doesn't seem that romantic until you see the private gondola setup with the Matterhorn in the background as they ride up to the top of the mountain. With Ben and Lindzi, it seems easy and natural. Their relationship has unfolded more like a normal relationship would and probably why he says he sees that future with her. Things end with a quiet night in, where she tell him she loves him and she's ready to be a good fiancé to him. He wants to say he loves her back, but can't. Does he though? Is he caught up in the moment? We'll find out when it's time to hand out that final rose.

In her interview leading up to her final one on one with Ben, Courtney can't help but take a shot at Lindzi, saying she's not very deep. In front of Ben though, that charming, sweet side that has captivated him all season comes out again. They take Ben's preferred method of travel, helicopter, and fly high above the Matterhorn then land on a mountain for a picnic lunch. Later, in the hotel room, she gives him a scrapbook of their relationship thus far, complete with a heartfelt note and the words "I love you Ben" written inside. The mood quickly changes soon after when Courtney brings up that she's felt defensive throughout this entire process. Well she's the victim here so... I'm still trying to figure out why she would want things to end on that note. Oh right, because she's manipulative.

Ben seems ready to make the epic decision to propose to someone for the second time on national television. He's got the ring and he waits to pop the question but first, he needs to say goodbye to one of the women. The first one off the helicopter is the person you never want to be and tonight, that unlucky person is Lindzi.  She made an amazing first impression, even getting the rose on the first night, and Ben starts off his speech pointing out all of the great stuff about their relationship.  He even says he's fallen in love but says those moments between them aren't going to last a lifetime and he found that with someone else.  Uh Ben, we all know who you're talking about.  Can we all give it up to Lindzi?  She handles that rejection incredibly well and it's unfortunate that she has to walk away feeling like she did something wrong.  She throws out an offer to perhaps rekindle their romance if things don't work out with Courtney.  Somehow, it came off as classy... unlike Jamie at The Women Tell All special.  Yikes.

As Courtney approaches Ben, we hear her talking about how even though she regrets some of her actions with the other women, she was always true about her feelings for him.  As Ben goes through his speech, he makes you think that maybe he's not going to propose but of course, he does.  He gets down on one knee, there are tears, and declarations of love.  The real question is: Does this story have a happy ending?  I asked my Magic 8 Ball and it gave me an appropriate response.  "Don't count on it."

(Image courtesy of ABC)

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