User blog comment:Jakusz/If Beth debuted in Niagra Brawls instead of Blaineley/@comment-27329394-20140930014056/@comment-27329394-20140930035931

I was thinking that too. She pretty much served her purpose in Niagara Brawls (extra female for Owen) then got eliminated then next episode.

But it's impossible to assess a character's popularity in their debut season until it all ends. They didn't know Blaineley was unpopular until the season ended. It's also hard to say that there is a single character that would have benefited from a post-merge return that at best would have lasted until Rapa-Phooey so the only thing they could do is be funny for a few episodes and ultimately go nowhere or just be only a disappointment. The season also had a really odd merge to build up or continue any interactions for returning characters, seeing how Alejandro and Heather had begun to focus mostly on their relationship, Sierra and Cody were mostly sticking to each other. Owen, Courtney, and Duncan wouldn't last much longer anyway but they were still doing something Alejandro-related, I guess (and Duncan/Courtney's reinstated conflict). Put Beth in there and she either shifts the focus of certain contestants that already know her (which is all of them) or she doesn't do anything at all. Having someone like Blaineley who cannot really affect anything significant and is there on her own terms (and Owen, I guess) is a bit more effective.