Outback Jack, Episode 8: The Final Battle of Good Vs. Evil

After a long time spent adventuring in the Outback (and occasionally the city), Jack is finally down to just two women. He can choose Natalie, who has been obviously played up as the good girl, or Marissa, who has been obviously played up as the bad girl. Historically on dating shows, we have been led down a path until the very end, when suddenly the lead person picks the one we didn’t expect – usually the one we have been led to believe is bad for that person. If that holds today, Jack will pick Marissa. However, this type of “leading” by producers has also generated some very negative responses from viewers. One writer on this site stopped watching The Bachelor because of it, and I’m sure she’s not the only one. So maybe the producers here will recognize that.

But why bother to speculate at this point. The final episode is on and we’ll know for sure shortly! Let’s find out.

We begin where we left off last episode. Jack, Natalie, and Marissa are in a hot air balloon, sailing over the Outback. Marissa seizes this opportunity and, while Jack is looking at the landscape, “accidentally” shoves Natalie over the side. The end.

Okay, not really. But the way she’s been portrayed you wouldn’t put it past her. Of course, “portrayed” may be the key word, as she told me in an interview a couple weeks ago that she’s really not a villain.

What really happens is we get voiceovers from Jack saying it’s amazing, Natalie saying she is one step closer to being with Jack, and Marissa saying Natalie is her competitor but in the end it will be her and Jack. The balloon lands – not smoothly, I might add – and the three head to their final camp.

That camp is a beautiful beach on the Indian Ocean. Natalie says it is incredibly romantic and the only thing that would make it better is Marissa not being there. But she is there, and she’s heading into the water. She calls for the other two to come in, but only Jack shows up and they share a kiss. Whoops! Here comes Natalie, so Jack quickly turns the kiss into a playful push away into the water.

Jack tells us that he promised himself that the final two women would get a clean slate. However, it’s looking like we’re back in the first episode again because Marissa is again injured and Jack must tend to her. Last time, she had heatstroke. This time, she cuts her foot on some sharp rocks in the water. Jack carries her up onto the beach, much to the chagrin of Natalie, who thinks Marissa’s strategy is to hurt herself in order to get attention. OK, now that’s going a bit far, I think. It’s one thing to accuse somebody of maybe making a bigger deal of something than it really is in order to get attention (even then, the woman had heatstroke earlier, for crying out loud – there were medics and everything, so it’s not like she was faking it), but actually accusing her of purposely injuring herself? Come on.

The next morning, the wind kicks up something fierce and blows down a bunch of their stuff. Then JD shows up and they wish the wind would blow him away. He says (as if we didn’t know) that Jack is going to have to make the final decision soon. But before then, each will spend an incredibly romantic day and evening together with him. Marissa is first and they are leaving shortly.

A seaplane arrives to pick them up as Marissa tells us that she is confident Jack is hers and by the end of the date, he won’t even remember Natalie exists. So apparently she’s going to smack him on the head until amnesia sets in.

Jack tells us that they definitely have a physical connection, but that’s not enough for him. It’s time to find out if there’s anything more than that.

The plane takes them to a secluded cove where they go snorkeling. Jack says there is not one particular thing that makes him feel the way he does about Marissa – it’s everything and the way she is with him. He says he can be himself around her. Marissa tells us that Jack is like no man she has ever met before. When he holds her, it almost brings tears to her eyes.

Now it’s time for lunch, which they feed to each other while flirting. Marissa steps it up a notch by sitting in his lap as they make out. Apparently she must be a good kisser, because Jack says that lunch alone was well worth everything they’ve been through up to this point.

Meanwhile, Natalie sits around and waits on the beach. Yawn.

In the evening, they are on another beach surrounded by candles and pillows. They lie around, kissing and looking up at the stars. Marissa says she has fallen for Jack, while Jack says he found another side to Marissa that has changed everything.

They arrive back at camp and say hi to Natalie. Jack tells us that on his date with her, she really needs to open up and let her emotions show.

The next morning, it’s time for Jack and Natalie. Jack says Natalie is the funniest girl he’s ever met. As they walk off, Marissa just hopes Jack remembers the special moments they shared. But Jack feels Natalie complements the person he is and he can be the little boy he sometimes needs to be.

They head off on ATVs down the beach, but Natalie wants to be on it with Jack, not by herself. So she hops on and grabs him around the waist while he tears up the beach. A little while later they wade into the water and make out.

For lunch, Natalie chomps down on brie until her stomach is ready to pop. They lie down together and just relax while they let their hands wander on each other’s bodies. A bit later, they row off in a canoe. Well, Jack rows while Natalie sits and hopes it doesn’t turn over.