While he had poor little heart broken by Andi Dorfman on The Bachelorette , it hasn't taken much time for Marcus Grodd to get back to the search for love... or whatever it is you get in The Bachelor universe. Marcus has his sights set on Lacy Faddoul and he doesn't seem to be letting go, but that might be exactly why he's the Bachelor in Paradise villain.
In this inaugural voyage of the most confusing dating show ever (hey, I wasn't exactly of viewing age in the Temptation Island days), Marcus and Robert Graham both found themselves in Lacy's crosshairs and they both fell hook, line, and sinker. The only problem is that only one man gets to give each woman a rose AND not every woman gets a rose. While Lacy was definitely getting a chance to stay from Robert, who went on a romantic moonlit date with her, Marcus' earlier date Sarah Herron was staring down the barrel of a car service to the airport if Marcus didn't pick her. In the end, Marcus left Sarah hanging and made Robert infinitely jealous when he gave his coveted rose to Lacy. The guffawing in the cabana was deafening.
Suddenly, Lacy had zero affection for Robert and anchored herself completely to Marcus as the rose ceremony plans of the remaining dudes were thrown into chaos. Luckily, the other men figured it out, keeping around seeming good egg Clare Crawley (who went on a date with Robert before he fell hopelessly for Lacy) and shy sweetheart Sarah as Daniella (aka the gossip queen) and Michelle K. (the ominous one who exited on her own, but will apparently return) went home.
And while this is a topsy turvy world where everyone dates each other and then humiliates each other in a fancy cocktail party followed by the weirdest middle school dance ever, Marcus still got the villain edit. Sound bytes about him "stealing Robert's girl" roll as he and Lacy embrace (oh yeah? really? Lacy "belongs" to Robert because they had a good time for two days? Why am I arguing with the people on this show?). Later, we see the preview reel for next week, wherein Robert is fuming about Marcus stealing his girlfriend even though in real world dating practices, considering yourself to be in a relationship after a matter of three days is enough to send you to the looney bin.
So is Marcus the villain? I guess, but we all know how Bachelor and Bachelorette producers love to use that dramatic music to make someone look bad in the clusterfuck of a world that they concocted. It's probably best to assume that when there are multiple men and women shoved into a romantic setting with alcohol and forced to pair up, almost every one present is going to spend a week in the villain seat. Because this shit is bananas.
Images: Francisco Roman/ABC
