Maybe because it’s one of the first words we learn and part of our earliest conceptualisation of ourselves as an entity that’s distinct from the rest of the universe, but forgetting someone’s name feels like one of the most devastating things you can do to a person. It’s tied to our whole identity – if you’ve forgotten something as fundamental as my name, what else have you forgotten about me? Everything, probably. There are acquaintances in my life that I’ve been on a conversational basis with for years whose names I don’t know and I will never remedy that, because admitting that I’ve not known all this time seems absolutely ghastly.
So when Laurina managed to level Blake with a stare that would make Scott ‘Cyclops’ Summers jealous on this evening’s episode of ‘Bachelor In Paradise‘, we can all surely understand why. The moment after Blake deftly said “Lenora” in the rose ceremony with the confident cockiness of someone who was surely never bullied in high school, you could see a blind animal panic lurking behind his confused smile as he tried to figure out why everyone was looking at him as if he’d just casually admitted to being the Zodiac Killer. Viewer discretion is advised: this is painful to watch.
When you get your date’s name wrong… #BachelorInParadiseAU pic.twitter.com/gSc78JmRvR
— Bachelor In Paradise Australia (@BachParadiseAU) April 3, 2018
Those compelled to argue in Blake’s defence might put forth the suggestion that ‘Laurina’ is, in fact, not a real name, and that ‘Lenora’ is just about equally valid, but I can’t imagine too many people are compelled to do so.
Mate, you gave it a bash.
