Nick Viall has never been your typical Bachelor contestant. He was a scrawny kid from Wisconsin on Andi Dorfman’s season, barely the alpha male kind that will rule the show (hello Chad Johnson). He won Andi over enough to make it to the final two, but lost to a former pro-sportsman (who looks superb delusional and violent, but whatever).

He became somewhat of a villain afterward, when he faced Andi on After the Last Rose and shown they slept together in the dream suite. Lovers didn’t like that he set their private life on blast, and he came off a little whiny. But it’s that same skill to be clear that’s since won us over. His camaraderie with Kaitlyn was super actual and sweet — he was great to her even though they didn’t work out. On Bachelor in Paradise he handled Jennifer with more regard than we’re used to seeing on reality TV, much less in real life. Following the show he commended her fondly on his Instagram:

& #8220;It’s not easy saying good-bye to somebody as unbelievable as @jensav11. Among the very exquisite, graceful, and intelligent girls I’ve ever met. So blessed to have had her in my entire life. She deserves the universe.”

Paradoxically it’s that same character characteristic that unsettled us on Andi’s After the Final Rose that’s going to give Nick an real opportunity at finding eternally love: his receptivity.

This week he talked to Individuals about why he believes foil is really significant:

& #8220;There are things I enjoy to stay private but at the exact same time, I believe one topic you’ll see throughout [the show], is that I needed all the girls to feel very comfortable and empowered to ask me whatever they needed to ask me…I needed every relationship to feel like a reciprocal connection and that we were on the same playing field and that we were both just as empowered as the other man.”

Nick is reluctant to accept what he calls a “water-down variant of the real world” because he understands the stakes are overly high. If you’re actually contemplating proposing to someone at the end of six weeks (for motives besides the $100k Neil Lane diamond you get to keep should you stay together), you can’t keep all your dialogues on the surface level. He might really leave this season in the least delusional Bachelor relationship we’ve seen in years, that will make it that much more enjoyment to watch.