Clayton Echard's season of The Bachelor has been anything but smooth sailing, so it's only right that he venture into "uncharted waters" on the upcoming finale, as host Jesse Palmer put it.
"We've already seen a lot of decisions that Clayton has made up to this point that we've never seen before," Jesse said during E! News' Daily Pop on March 11, referring to the fact that Clayton has told not one, not two, but three women he's falling in love with them. "And that's going to continue."
The two-part finale will see Clayton deal with the fallout from his disastrous date with Susie, reunite with his parents—who, according to Jesse, "hold him accountable" for his actions throughout the season—and of course, lead what ABC has already dubbed "the rose ceremony from hell."
Jesse made several hyperbolic predictions of his own, calling the final elimination "the most emotional," "the most dramatic ever," and "the most unforgettable of all time." However, the host—a former football player who clearly loves sports metaphors—might not be too far off, as he also mentioned "a curve ball" heading Clayton's way.
"It's a very big curve ball," Jesse promised. "And it is going to change everything."
Arguably, Clayton's entire season has been a curveball. But Jesse says that wasn't Clayton's intention, telling Daily Pop, "I really don't think Clayton ever could have expected or foreseen how this was all going to unfold at this point."
"All I know," he continued, "is that Clayton is doing the best he can, and made all of his own decisions. And now he's having to deal with those consequences and we're all going to see how his journey unfolds. Is it possible that Clayton could leave Iceland alone, essentially being in the same place he was at the start of all this? We're going to find out."
As a former Bachelor himself, Jesse said that he can certainly emphasize with Clayton. There's even been times this season when he wanted to offer up advice, but "the biggest lesson I've learned hosting this show, is a lot of the time, you just have to sit back and let them figure it out for themselves."
"I could sort of see the warning signs ahead, and there's a lot of times where I wanted to insert myself and go, 'Woah, woah, woah. Watch out. Don't say this, don't do that, it's gonna get you in trouble,'" Jesse explained. "But this really is about Clayton. And it's about him on his journey, however he's going to do it."
The Bachelor host shared a similar sentiment when asked if he'd want to take the reins, er, roses on another season of the ABC dating series. "At this point, I'm just trying to get my guy to the finish line," he said. "I thought this thing was just gonna be down the middle but it's been anything but that all season long!"
You can say that again, coach.
The Bachelor's two-part finale kicks off Monday, March 14 on ABC and continues Tuesday, with a live After the Final Rose special.