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Kendall Completely Shattered The "Catty Woman" Trope On 'The Bachelor' In The Best Way

Krystal was chosen to be one-third of this season's dreaded two-on-one date, surprising no one, and joining this season's villain was Kendall, the quirky taxidermist who's never been in love but has proven herself to be super lovable. While Krystal threw her under the bus, Kendall showed Krystal empathy on The Bachelor two-on-one date and it was completely genre-defying.

Krystal and Arie have been on the rocks for weeks, after Arie changed his mind on a group date, giving a few women who lost a round of bowling more time with him at a cocktail party. It was a pretty innocuous move, but Krystal took it really personally and perceived it as Arie "lying" to her, triggering a wave of trust issues. She apparently threw a tantrum on the bus back to the hotel, calling him a liar and tearing him down. Arie, of course, heard about this and wasn't happy about it. They've been in conflict ever since (with the other women being firmly Team Arie in the fight), so it was pretty obvious that Krystal would be on the two-on-one date.

When the time came for her to have a private conversation with Arie, she defended her position in the competition by pointing out that Kendall had never been in love, that she had never been in a relationship lasting longer than a year, and that her readiness for marriage was, in Krystal's opinion, questionable.

It's pretty standard for women on the two-on-one date to make a case for why they're better for the Bachelor than the alternative, but Kendall didn't take the bait. Arie addressed Krystal's concerns with her and Kendall responded impressively, saying that she didn't believe in being "ready" for marriage, but rather in meeting someone in whom she saw marriage as a possibility. Arie was clearly taken by her answer, but Kendall set herself apart even more a little bit later on.

In a one-on-one conversation with Krystal, Kendall generously extended her empathy instead of picking a fight with her. After sharing that she'd once been in a relationship where her ex lashed out to self-soothe in moments of conflict, Kendall said she believed Krystal suffered from the same problem. Added Kendall:

I can definitely empathize with you. I feel like you have so much beauty in you. I one hundred percent see that. You've been through a lot. You've been through so much. You've been through a lot of pain, like, more pain than I can even understand, and it feels very controlled. I don't think you should try to control it, I think you should just — man, I feel like the most beautiful moments I've ever had with somebody, and the most I've been able to connect with somebody is when I've completely felt like I acted like a fool or acted like somebody that wasn't perfect. Man, you're imperfect, and isn't that like, amazing?

It was probably one of the best, most mature, and most powerful contestant exchanges in Bachelor history, but, of course, Krystal was completely shut down to Kendall's openheartedness. She didn't respond at all, and when Arie rejoined the two, he revealed that he hadn't yet made a decision, so the trio would be extending their date into that evening.

Finally, during a dinner that overlooked the Eiffel Tower, Arie gave the rose to Kendall and sent Krystal home. The women back at the hotel literally popped champagne bottles when they saw whose suitcase was being rolled away and honestly, after that brilliant performance by Kendall, who could blame them?

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