Why Chris Harrison keeps calling The Bachelor finale ‘historic’

If you’re watching the three-hour live Bachelor finale, you might be wondering why Chris Harrison keeps calling it the “historic live season finale of The Bachelor.” At the start of the show, which took place in a live L.A. soundstage set, Chris Harrison said, “later tonight, something so unexpected, so extraordinary, something that has never happened before in Bachelor history will take place right here on this stage.”

One of Chris Harrison’s melodramatic teases will actually come true? Could it be?

It’s definitely not that. But it is the Monday after the switch to daylight savings time—Can we please all come together as a people and stop this twice-a-year insanity?—and I’m old and tired, so I wanted to know just what historic thing will probably happen around 10:59 p.m., when I plan to be sleeping.

After all, we already know that Rachel Lindsay is making history as The Bachelorette’s first black star, but that’s something even ABC has announced, so it’s definitely not “unexpected.”

So what is it? Why did Chris Harrison say, “Trust me, you do not want to miss this”?

A quick search led me to reliable Bachelor spoiler Reality Steve, who actually posted the answer this morning, and it does have to do with the new Bachelorette:

“Rachel is going to meet her guys tonight.

Now, Rachel doesn’t know this. They’re surprising her. Well, unless she’s reading this right now then she knows. Hi Rachel! Sorry for ruining their surprise for you. Sincerely doubt she’s reading. That is the ‘first’ in ATFR history they’re talking about tonight. […] in terms of the logistics of how this will go down, that I don’t know. All I know is that Rachel is meeting her guys tonight. A third of them? A half? All? I’d think all of them, but I don’t know for sure. I just know they’re getting brought out to surprise her.”

That seems both likely, a smart use of the live finale to generate even more interest for The Bachelorette, and not at all something I need to prop my eyelinds open to watch. I am, however, curious to see just how diverse the pool of bachelors will be, because that will affect not only Rachel’s future, but The Bachelor franchise’s as well.