No. 1: First impressions count The "Tierrarist" may have turned into this season's cat-calling, cackling villain, but on night one at the mansion, she was just a girl, and Sean was just a boy -- who looked like he literally wanted to lick her face off. Never before has this show seen such potent chemistry. So while Kalon can have his entry-by-helicopter and Lindzi scored a first-impression rose for coming in on a horse, nothing can beat a huge smile, a knock-them-dead dress and that hardest-to-replicate magic ingredient: chemistry. As Tierra has proved, it can get a girl out of all sorts of scrapes. Without it, she'd be on the bus back to Meansville.
No. 2: Know your limits Lindsay also decided to make a big impression -- with a guy she had never met before, on national TV, in a wedding dress she clearly couldn't wait to get off of her (in a nonsexual way) by the end of the evening. If the wedding dress-wearing wasn't awkward enough, she also asked Sean to dance with her halfway through the night. Sidenote: She may have consumed a fair -- OK, a whole lot -- of alcohol before the now-famous dance. And now Lindsay will forever be known as the "drunk bride." The overall lesson here, folks? First of all, know before you go -- how much liquor you can handle, that is. No more than two drinks on a first date. Fortunately for Lindsay, Sean disregarded the incident, but if he hadn't been open-minded (and "open-minded" isn't a word we really associate with him), she would have missed her chance.
No. 3: Beware of the "friend zone" Just ask Kacie B.: Once you're there, there's little chance of getting out of it. We didn't get to see what went down between Sean and Kacie between seasons, but it was clear from the get-go that Sean saw Kacie as a girlfriend (that's girl and friend), and once a dude makes that distinction, the worst thing to do is compound the problem by having a we're-all-buds here talk with him about your dating competition, like Kacie tried. Sidling up to a dude and hoping for a long-term evolution from friend to romantic interest is like waiting for a banana on your countertop to get better with age.
No. 4: You have competition Think, again, of Tierra. Maybe you're a nice girl, and have friends who are nice girls, and generally treat people with kindness and respect. The message here isn't to change your M.O.; it's just to acknowledge that there are people out there, men and women alike, who, in (almost) Tierra's words, will do whatever they need to get what they want. It's not all baby seals beneath the surface of the water. And it's worth taking a bit of inspiration from them, as well: If you see something (or someone) you want, might as well make your intentions known. Waiting won't get you anywhere and a quick no can help you move on, with speed, to the next, better person.
No. 5: Guys love bad girls Bad girls, curiously enough, have an amazing track record on "The Bachelor" -- just ask winners ("winners" being loosely defined here) Vienna and Courtney, who won the respective hearts of pilot Jake and winemaker Ben. Did they care if they made friends? They spat on the very idea of friendship. Were they willing to be mean to the guys, to put them in their place and remind them who was boss? Yep, and the dudes loved it. Note: We didn't say this was a path to lifelong happiness ... just that there's no point in hoping even a good guy will "see through" a mean girl's evil machinations. Maybe he will, probably he won't, and it probably has a lot to do with whether said mean girl enjoys walking around in revealing beaded tops.
No. 6: Guys love good girls OK, so
No. 7: Adventure creates endorphins; endorphins make people happy; happy people fall in love Sarah suffered a heartbreaking exit from the show last week, but the momentum that got her as far as she did is largely thanks to her rappelling off that wall in
