Who Will It Be? Team Emily vs. Team Chantal

The Final 2: Emily Maynard vs. Chantal O'Brien

The moment we have all been waiting for is finally upon is.  Brad will choose his final lady in just a matter of hours and propose.  I can't believe we have made it to the end of another season.  And with all of the rumors circulating, it is wise to avoid your twitter / facebook / pop culture magazine websites / blogger sites (except this one) at all costs!.  People are dying to ruin the surprise.  I do not know who will win.  I just know that who I usually want to win (in this case Emily), usually does not win, which is one of the main reasons why I think Chantal wins.

Here's a summation of where we stand to date, what advantages and disadvantage each lady brings to the table and my prediction of the ultimate outcome.  I would love to hear your thoughts as well:

Chantal:

• Grabbed Brad's attention early on by smacking him across the face upon exiting the limo on the very first night; Looked amazingly gorgeous in her emerald green satin gown. This is where she peaked physically in my opinion; 
• Took the early lead with declaring her love for Brad first amongst the ladies and early on in the competition;
• Emerged from the bathroom wearing Brad's white button down dress shirt after getting caught in a rain storm which got Brad the most excited we saw him all season.  To this day he probably can not get that vision out of his head
• Completely freaked out multiple times when she thought Brad was not as interested in her as he was in the other girls (of note: Brad gave Ashley H the rose over Chantal on the Sports Illustrated photo date despite Chantal going topless.  Later on Brad notes that he saw Ashley H in the final two.  Does this mean he probably would have booted Chantal if his connection with Ashley H continued in South Africa??)
• Brad had a serious connection with Chantal's father.  He actually wants to a) be Chantal's dad b) marry Chantal's dad or c) move into her dad's wine cellar.

Advantages: Beautiful face and curvy sexy body; Extremely wealthy family; Seems to have a fun loving connection with Brad - he feels very comfortable with her; She is willing to move to Austin tomorrow and has no other real commitments to think about in doing so.

Disadvantages: Emotional roller coaster; May be too attached to family to actually survive long term in Austin (she lives 4 blocks from her parents); Is at least 10 years younger than Brad, although Emily is even younger; Seems extremely insecure when Brad is around the other women - not sure how this will translate when they are thrown into the glitz of Hollywood after the show is over.

Overall: All signs point to Chantal.  The only reason not to think it's her is that Brad has not actually said the "I'm falling in love with you too," to her, like we've seen him say to Emily. Of course, Bachelor has it's way of keeping us on our toes.  Perhaps he did say it and they edited it out.

Emily:

• Arguably the most beautiful bachelorette that has ever competed on this show, with the sweetest heart; A real life Barbie doll. Brad seemed smitten from day one;
• Her tragic backstory broke the hearts of viewers everywhere; Brad was stunned by this information, but was amazed at how strong Emily is;
• The only girl in the house that didn't seem to be chasing Brad and worrying about his time with the other girls.  In fact, Brad seems to be going after her;
• Emily admitted to sabotaging relationships when she's nervous about them;
• Their date in South Africa seems to be the height of an on-going mutual admiration; and
• Brad seems to have bonded quickly with Emily's daughter, Ricki.

Advantages: Brad just seems in awe of Emily; He gets tongue tied, he looks at her differently than the other girls and can't seem to believe that she's actually interested in him too.  He doesn't seem phased by her having a daughter, in fact, he considers it a plus.  Luckily, because of his age, he does seem to be in a place where having a 5 year old would be doable.

Disadvantages: If there's any disadvantage about Emily, it's the actual possibility that Emily would move both her and her daughter out of Charlotte to Austin.  I can see Emily as a Texas housewife, unlike most of the other contestants on the show this season.  I'm not sure I can see Emily agreeing to take on the risk of uprooting her and her daughter's life on the chance that things will work out with someone she's only known for about 8 weeks.  We shall see.

Overall: The connection seems to be there for these two.  But these days, you need a lot more than chemistry and fireworks - the practicalities of a single mom and her five year old daughter need to be thought of.  And practically speaking, Chantal seems like a better candidate for giving up her entire life and moving it to Texas.  Because as we know from Bachelor history, these things don't usually work out and if it fails, at least it's only Chantal that's suffering - not a 5 year old kid.

That said, I personally fell in love with Emily this season - who didn't?  And if Brad is wise enough to choose her and she is willing to take a leap of faith after falling in love with this man - she certainly deserves a chance at being happy.  

What do you think???  Who plans on taking a nap before the finale tomorrow night besides me? Will you be watching solo or planning/going to a finale party?