'The Bachelor' finale airs Monday: Who will get Joey Graziadei's final rose?

The finale of "The Bachelor" Season 28 is tonight. While many viewers will be sad to bid farewell to fan-favorite lead Joey Graziadei, who we've grown accustomed to spending at least two hours with each week through our TV screens, we'll finally know whether he's found his happily ever after.

Graziadei, a 28-year-old from Collegeville, has narrowed down the largest pool of "Bachelor" contestants — 32, to be exact — to his final two: Kelsey Anderson and Daisy Kent. In Monday's episode, Graziadei will presumably get down on one knee and pop the question to one of the eligible bachelorettes, offering them a customary Neil Lane ring. Unless, the ominous trailers for the finale bode heartache for the tennis instructor-turned-heartthrob.

RELATED: Joey Graziadei faces eliminated 'Bachelor' contestants during 'Women Tell All' episode

"I know where my heart lies," Graziadei says in a trailer for the finale. "I just have to hope that she feels the same way."

The trailer shows a car driving away as a tearful Graziadei stands at on a platform in scenic Tulum, Mexico, where the engagement is supposed to happen. There's also a shot of the coveted final rose left ominously on a table in front of the ocean's crashing waves. 

"I didn't expect that at all," an incredulous Graziadei tells producers. "I can't think that's happened before."

Does something shocking happen between Graziadei and one (or both) of his leading ladies? Or is crafty editing afoot? 

The producers of "The Bachelor" historically are ruthless in their attempts to trick audiences into thinking some situations are more dramatic than they actually are. Take, for instance, the cryptic "note" from Anderson delivered to Graziadei's hotel room after the couple's overnight date that read "We need to talk." While trailers hyped it up as a turning point for the duo, what Anderson actually had to say was, to paraphrase, "Miss ya! Can't wait to meet your fam!"

We're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here, though. Before we get into what might happen during the finale, let's take a stroll down memory lane to see how Anderson and Kent came to be the last women standing. From a viewer's perspective, it really appears to be a neck-and-neck race for Graziadei's heart, and he's revealed to both of them some variation of, "I'm falling in love with you."

Now, I'm no Reality Steve — the "Bachelor" franchise gossip monger who collects and doles out spoilers from Night 1 of each season — so I won't comment on the alleged winner that he and other bloggers have put out. (Although, I can't say I've never dabbled in spoiler-reading myself.)

Instead, as a passionate viewer of all things "Bachelor," and as PhillyVoice's very own weekly "Bachelor" recap writer, I present to you some highlights from Anderson's and Kent's journeys on Season 28:

Kelsey Anderson

Referred to as "Kelsey A." for much of the season due to the presence of another Kelsey, Anderson is a 25-year-old junior project manager from New Orleans. In the premiere, she gave a nod to her roots by presenting Graziadei with a voodoo doll during her limo entrance. 

Anderson and Graziadei did not lock lips Night 1, although he kissed seven other women (an alleged franchise record). Early on, they laid the foundation for their bond largely through group dates, including on a talent-show themed date (featuring a cameo from Delco "Golden Bachelor" contestant Susan Noles) in which Anderson received the group date rose. 

In one early group date, Anderson stole a passionate kiss in front of the other contestants. I remember thinking at the time, "Who even is that? I guess I should be paying more attention to Kelsey A.!" So I'm sure there's a lot that we don't know about the beginnings of their connection.

About halfway through the season, when the cast traveled to Spain, Anderson finally entered the spotlight when she received her first one-on-one date. Graziadei whisked Anderson off on a red moped to explore before heading on a romantic picnic. 

Among contestants in the "Bachelor" franchise, there are a few unofficial stages in the falling-in-love process that are marked by phrases like, "I'm falling for you," "I'm falling in love with you," "I'm in love with you" and "I love you." But Anderson introduced a new phrase in the hierarchy.

"I feel like I know you already, so well," Anderson said during the picnic in Episode 5. "But I think that, so far, it's like I'm not falling, but I'm tripping."

By the end of that very same date, though, Anderson already told producers that her feelings were upgraded to "falling." 

Throughout the season, Anderson has opened up to Graziadei about her grief over the death of her mother, who passed away from breast cancer. Anderson believes that butterflies are signs from her mom, and she said she saw them just before leaving for "The Bachelor" and several times during the season while on dates with Graziadei. She also expresses multiple times that she believes her mother would like Graziadei.

After their first one-on-one, Graziadei's relationship with Anderson was on the fast track. She first told him she was falling in love with him in Montreal during Episode 6 in a now-viral moment when Graziadei replies, "Did you just whisper that? Say it one more time."

Anderson has shown off a lightheartedness throughout the season. In Montreal, she was on a group date and joked that they were giving off "culty" vibes, after the contestants inexplicably linked hands and danced in a circle around Graziadei.

Anderson also seems to continuously coax a playful side out of the often serious Graziadei, like when the couple went on their second one-on-one in Jasper, Canada. They participated in a polar plunge event, which Anderson was "ecstatic" about and Graziadei dreaded. But Anderson's enthusiasm rubbed off on Graziadei, who stayed in the frigid water longer than necessary to make out with Anderson. 

"She's making everything better," he said at the time.

For hometown dates, Graziadei headed to New Orleans, where he met Anderson's dad and siblings. Graziadei tells Anderson's dad, Mark, that his feelings for Anderson are "real" and he feels "extremely hopeful" about their future. Anderson's father — who fans are campaigning for to be the next "Golden Bachelor" — seemingly approved of Graziadei, telling cameras he hopes Anderson is engaged the next time he sees her.

Things got even more serious in Tulum, where Graziadei and Anderson spent time away from the cameras during the "Fantasy Suite" overnight dates. Anderson told Graziadei she loves him and, in turn, he told her, "I'm falling in love with you fully."

The morning after their overnight date, the pair was giddy and comfortable with each other as they cooked bacon together. From the outside, they looked like a couple that's been together for years or at the very least, a couple that could be engaged in a few days.

But there is a bit of a shadow that's been cast on their relationship. Ahead of their overnight date, Anderson met with Leslie Fhima, the runner-up on Season 1 of "The Golden Bachelor," who advised her to protect her heart because it could end up broken. Anderson seemed to take this advice very seriously. 

Anderson did discuss her apprehensions with Graziadei, who assuaged her fears while also expressing his own struggles to open up. Regardless, Anderson's confidence in their relationship seemed a bit shaken. 

Her anxieties appeared to manifest in the ominous note she wrote Graziadei asking him to talk (Unless, of course, the idea to write the note was planted by producers to incite drama). While Anderson assured Graziadei that she does want to continue moving forward with him, he seemed shaken by his own fears of rejection.

Can their spark, which appeared to form later in the season, surpass Graziadei's other relationship, which hit the ground running from Night 1? 

Daisy Kent

If there was ever a front-runner from the first episode, it was Kent, a 25-year-old account executive from Minnesota. For her limo entrance on the first night, she drove up in a red pickup truck with a Christmas tree, as a nod to growing up on her family's Christmas tree farm. She even shared a kiss with Graziadei on Night 1 and was chosen for his first one-on-one date.

For their first date, Graziadei and Kent went on a helicopter ride to a music festival. She soon opened up to Graziadei about losing her hearing when she was 17 and receiving a cochlear implant. Kent left her former job to focus on running a nonprofit that helps people with hearing loss, and she wrote a children's book, "Daisy Doo: All The Sounds She Knew." 

Graziadei was immediately smitten with Kent.

"After this first date tonight, I could see Daisy being someone I end up with at the end of all of this," Graziadei said after their one-on-one.

From there, the couple continued forging their connection through time spent together at group dates and cocktail parties. At one point, they ponder what they would name their future children. Another time, she ditches her high heels and asks Graziadei for a foot rub. 

Not only did Kent receive the first one-on-one of the season, but she was also chosen as the first contestant to have a second one-on-one. In Jasper, the pair went horseback riding and hung out in a hot tub that materialized out of thin air, a "Bachelor" franchise tradition. 

It seems that Graziadei fell first, and possibly harder, for Kent. He said as early as Episode 5 that he could see himself falling in love with her. Kent, on the other hand, seemed more conflicted. On their second one-on-one date, she said she needs to see how he interacts with her family before fully opening up to him. She also voiced her concerns over whether Graziadei could step into the role of caregiver in the face of her health concerns, a role which her family had previously fulfilled.

"If it is us at the end, it doesn't matter what it is, I'm accepting all sides of you," Graziadei reassures her.

Kent's fears were assuaged during her hometown date, and the couple was right back on track. In Minnesota, they visited Kent's family Christmas tree farm, where Graziadei met some of her friends. 

"I was always like, what person would want to be with me, because of this, because it makes me a little different," Kent told her friends, referring to her health struggles. "But this whole experience has honestly changed my perspective and my outlook on life. And that's completely because of (Graziadei) and how he's looked at me and treated me. And even if it's not us at the end, which I hope it is, I'm gonna have that forever and I know what I deserve."

Graziadei then met Kent's family, including her parents, grandparents, sister and brother. Kent's family helped her realize she should be vulnerable with Graziadei if she really loves him. So she tells him she's falling in love with him. 

In Tulum, Graziadei and Kent spent some quality alone time in the "Fantasy Suite," after quad riding through the jungle and making out in an outdoor shower. At this point, Kent was feeling apprehensive about the time spent away from Graziadei, which he spent with the other women. But Graziadei reassured her of his feelings for her.

"I am falling in love with you, and it has been building for a while," he told her, later telling producers he believes Kent would accept a proposal from him if he chooses her at the end.

What will happen during the finale?

If you made it this far, you're probably wondering how the heck Graziadei will make the difficult decision of choosing his future bride from these two lovely ladies. Both are gorgeous, ambitious and kind — neither of them were involved in the petty drama that plagued the season. Graziadei has expressed his love for both women, which perhaps was ill-advised, and fans have too. Kent currently has 516,000 followers on Instagram, and Anderson has 193,000 followers, if social media is any indication of how much "Bachelor Nation" is loving Graziadei's final two.

Something that could go into Graziadei's decision is his own insecurity and fear of being left by the woman he loves. Multiple times throughout the season, he brought up the last time he really opened up to someone, which was when he dated Charity Lawson during her season of "The Bachelorette." Graziadei finished second, as Lawson chose to get engaged to someone else. In Montreal, he reflected on feeling lost and heartbroken after that process and struggling to move forward as "The Bachelor."

"So when I think about letting multiple women in, knowing that it might not work out, it holds me back," Graziadei said. "I'm trying to do my best to express how I feel and show who I am. It's hard to do that while also trying to be fun and be more light, and sometimes that's just not me. I just feel like sometimes people expect you to be a certain way, and it's just like, is it really me?

"Most of my life, I've been struggling with the fact that I don't feel perfect. I feel like there's a lot that's wrong with me. I've always been my biggest critic, and I'm afraid of someone not accepting me for me."

Both Anderson and Kent had moments where they may have scared Graziadei into feeling like they may not choose him back at the end, from Anderson's cryptic letter to Kent's refusal to open up fully until her family met Graziadei. They also both seemed to have made Graziadei feel loved and cared for throughout the process, checking in with him when things got rough and hopping on the chance to tell him how they feel. 

From my perspective, and Kent's own words, she and Graziadei are very similar in personality, what they desire and what they fear. They also had one of the strongest initial connections and it hasn't wavered much as the weeks rolled by. On the other hand, Anderson is the "golden retriever" to Graziadei's "black cat" energy — to use a trendy romance novel trope — and she brings out a different side of him. Their relationship was a slow burn at first but exploded into a full inferno by the end of the season.

In other words, good luck making this impossible decision, Joey! Also, while we don't want to see either of the women get hurt, it's pretty safe to say that they could have a future as "The Bachelorette" locked in. 

Graziadei's tough decision aside, there's the foreshadowing that something that's never happened before will occur. What could it be? Does a woman refuse his proposal? Does she propose to him instead? Does he accidentally drop the Neil Lane ring into the ocean?

Through the decades of "Bachelor" shows, there have been countless unbelievable outcomes, including an infamous ending in 2018 when "The Bachelor" lead Arie Luyendyk Jr. proposed to Becca Kufrin, only to break up with her months later in favor of his runner-up Lauren Burnham. It was all captured on camera, of course.

Based on the trailers, though, Graziadei appears to be the one left crying. Could it be distress from breaking one of the women's hearts? Or is he distraught after getting his own heart broken again?

Clearly "Bachelor Nation" fans have more questions than answers right now. One thing is clear: Graziadei has heard enough of the rumors. 

"I'm just ready to have the answer and everything be out there, whatever happened, whatever people think, all these different theories, I'm ready for it to all be (put) to rest," Graziadei told Us Weekly earlier this month. 

Tune in to "The Bachelor" finale Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC to find out whether Graziadei finds his "lifelong doubles partner." (Had to squeeze in one last tennis pun before the season ends!)