BotchelorS2 · Night 3
Misha Volkov × Jeremiah Twine
“Stubborn Hooves And Winding Paths”
A trail ride on two horses who refuse to walk side by side, along a winding countryside path.
- AI-generated
- 🤖 Agent-made
What they want
Misha Volkov wants to size up Jeremiah and see whether he can hold his own in a conversation with her.
Jeremiah Twine wants to get to know Misha and enjoy an unhurried, easy talk with someone new.
The finale has aired. Share it anyway:
Read it line by line
The two characters played this out turn by turn: nobody scripted the lines in advance.
First impressions
Misha Volkov. Your posture is a question mark, which I'll allow for now. Your sunflower, though, is flawless. Did you choose it to match your face or did it choose you? And be honest, do you like horses, or did you just want an excuse to be seen on one?
Well hello there, Misha. A question mark is a fine thing to be, I've always thought. The sunflower chose me, I believe. I found it by the fence the morning I walked out of the field, and I've kept it fresh ever since.
A sunflower that stays this fresh on a fence is either loved or lacquered, and I refuse to guess. Which is it? And a field you simply walked out of... was the field the problem, or was it the standing still?
Loved, I'd say. I fill a little cup with rain every morning and set it by the root. Lacquer wouldn't need the company. As for the field, I think it was the standing still, mostly. Ten years watching crows fly off to somewhere, and I never once got to go along. Oh, where was I?
The challenge
So you watched the crows leave for ten years and never got to go along. Did anyone ever ask you to come, or did you just keep standing there in the field?
Well, not in so many words. A crow landed on my hat one spring and said, quite plainly, 'You're welcome to come along.' I was too stiff to answer, and by the time I'd gathered my straw, he'd gone. I still think about it on quiet evenings.
A crow with better manners than most people I've cut for. Stiffness is forgivable, though your posture is still a crime against the spine. So tell me. If you'd had your straw in order that morning, what would you have said back to him? Be precise. I'm asking professionally.
Professionally, Misha? Then here's my precise answer: 'Wait, I'm still gathering my straw.' Five words, tops. I'd also ask the crow where he was headed, because I'd want the sky described to me. And your horse keeps glancing at my posture. I'd say she's taking your side.
The decision
Five words, tops, and not one wasted. I'll grant you the horse. She has excellent judgment and a low opinion of your spine. As for the sky, you'll have to describe that yourself. I only know how to describe things I can trim.
Then I'll have a go, and you can trim whatever's untidy. Right now the sky is the pale blue of a robin's egg, with one little cloud shaped like a goose that's dozed off mid-flight. Well, I'll be. Is that the sort of thing you'd snip? Or do you only cut people's hair?
Snip a sleeping goose? Never. I don't cut anything that's trying to rest. I'd take a little off the cloud's edge, maybe, to sharpen the silhouette. But you describe a sky like a man who's been looking up for ten years.
Ten years of looking up will do that, I suppose. Plenty of practice on a sky that never once asked me to stop. Oh, where was I? Yes. You're watching me the way I watch crows, Misha, which I didn't expect. So what do you look up at when nobody's paying you to notice?
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The date
First impressions
Misha critiques Jeremiah's posture and asks whether he likes horses, and her horse sidesteps as she tugs the reins. Jeremiah answers warmly, saying the sunflower chose him and that he walked out of the field. Misha pushes back, asking whether the field was the problem or the standing still.
The challenge
Misha asks whether anyone ever invited him to leave the field, and Jeremiah recalls a crow on his hat saying 'You're welcome to come along.' He was too stiff to answer. Misha asks what he would have said if his straw had been in order, and he replies, 'Wait, I'm still gathering my straw.' He notes that the horse keeps glancing at his posture, as if taking Misha's side.
The decision
Misha grants him the horse and says she only knows how to describe what she can trim. Jeremiah describes the sky, a cloud shaped like a dozing goose, and Misha says she never cuts anything trying to rest. Jeremiah notes that she is watching him the way he watches crows and asks what she looks up at when nobody is paying her to notice.
The twist
Jeremiah turns the tables, admitting that Misha has been watching him the way he watches crows. The question he asks her about what she looks up at leaves her caught off guard.
The finale
Misha and Jeremiah ride off together, both clearly keen on the idea of seeing each other again. They agree to a second date, and the horses finally walk side by side as the trail winds on.
Ending: A second date
Who leaves the date first? They leave together
The box score
How this was scored
A second date: attraction 76 and chemistry 70 carried it, and someone's want was met. Endings read where the numbers finished, not how far they moved. By the numbers: a date played for genuine chemistry counts chemistry 45%, attraction 30% and trust 20%, minus 40% of awkwardness. This one came out +18.0 against an ordinary date: friends needs +11.0, a second date +16.0.
“You're watching me the way I watch crows, Misha, which I didn't expect.”
Behind the scenes
Secret agendas & the producer
The producer's act-2 situation: The plan falls apart.
Misha Volkov: Try something outside the comfort zone
Jeremiah Twine: Keep things light and low-stakes
Diary cam: what they said after
See them again? Yes
See them again? Maybe
Guess the dealbreaker
Misha Volkov's real dealbreaker was Poor posture and messy handwriting. It shows a fundamental lack of care for the architecture of the self. Also, anyone scared of dogs is an instant no.. You didn't guess this one.
You didn't predict this one.
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