Bri: One on One
This date is the first one on one of the season and of course they start it off with an adrenaline-filled ride through the beautiful countryside on ATVs. Smart choice Bachelor! If you want to know more about why this type of date is a good first date you should check out my blog on excitement and dating here.
I’ll be honest, there was a part of me that was nervous watching them race off on their ATVs. Though it appeared that Matt James knew what he was doing, or he just assumed that he did because he was a guy. We do that you know, men, we like to sometimes pretend we know what we are doing even when we don’t. This is especially true when we are courting someone. Now, there is a funny thing that happens to motorcycles, ATVs, and other small vehicles when you add another person, they handle differently. As soon as she hopped on and he asked her, “Do you trust me?” There was a part of me that screamed … NOOOOOO!
Much to the horror of the production crew Matt James proceeds to FLIP THE ATV!! AHHHHHHHH I figured it ends well since we didn’t have a news article a few months ago about the bachelor and his date dying in a tragic ATV accident, but still! Luckily all is well and they can laugh about it now, but I am still surprised we didn’t see a rush of people to go see if they were ok. What better way to recover from a near death experience than a mostly unclothed dip in a hot tub.
I feel like these bikini and swim trunk dates are there so the couple can check each other out and so we the audience can check them out as well. Matt James is a very attractive man who makes me realize perhaps I need to stop sitting on the couch drinking champagne watching people on dates as much and need to go work on my own six .. eight.. twelve pack? I am sure one of these women will figure out how many by the end of the season. Bri seemed to lose counter herself.
The next part of the date involves dinner and lots of talking. These two seem to line up on a lot of things. Eventually there is fireworks, which the producers ensure capture the attention of the ladies of the house who all gaggle outside and comment on the fact that the couple is probably making out right now under them while they all steam. It probably goes without saying, she got the date rose.
Group Date
Ok. So the group date was what… 18 people? Why did they decide to leave a few people without a date this week? Are you telling me they couldn’t fit two more women into a date that involved running through the woods in wedding dresses throwing paint at each other? Seriously, they do this on purpose to drive up tension. There is no other explanation. But I digress.
The women all get to pick out wedding dresses and do a photo shoot with Matt James. It’s a strange date, but I can see how fun it is to get dressed up and take photos. The issue is that these photo shoots are happening in front of everyone, which can make for awkward situations. The queen of awkward, Queen Victoria, decided to class up the activity by making Matt take her garter off and then forcing a kiss on him for the photo. She proclaimed it was AMAZING, but the body language said otherwise. Consent is very important and throwing yourself at someone in a situation where they feel a bit awkward about rejecting you does not count as a willing participant. I know if I were the bachelor I’d have done my best to toss out my best block for that one. One, I don’t think I’d want to kiss Victoria, she would not have gotten past day one with me. Two, I don’t think I would be comfortable kissing someone in front of the group of women. Everyone knows you are kissing lots of people, but no reason to present it to everyone like that.
The date then moves to a strange version of capture the flag. The women need to capture the plush heart from the other team all the while tossing paint and cake at each other. I don’t understand why they didn’t ignore the paint and cake and go straight for the objective. I mean, sure it would be fun to just get all messy with each other, but there is a cocktail party on the line! I am a little surprised there wasn’t more bloodshed to be honest. Some of these women already do not like each other. In the end we have a losing team who does a walk of shame back to their hotel room and a winning team, plus Mari got to join the winning team due to her efforts.
The winning-team party is what you expect it to be. Each woman jockeys for one-on-one time with Mr. James, (no I have not decided what to call him yet). The only one I want to bring up is Queen Victoria. I am still not convinced she isn’t a plant or at least that he isn’t being he has to keep her. Is she real? In either case.. their conversation was like, really like, deep. Like deeper than like any conversations she has ever like had. Second, she asked for a kiss on her way out that was very .. well, weird.
Lauren got the date rose here. Ultimately I am not surprised. Their conversation was actually deep and seemed to resonate with a lot of the things Matt is looking for in a partner.
Sarah Almost Went Home .. Second Individual Date
I am convinced that if this date ended at the halfway point she was going to go home. There was something off about their energy and conversation flow at the beginning of the date. It lacked.. vulnerability. Yes, the keyword of this season. She was really nervous about opening up about her family and her life.
Things start off in a really cool bi-plane. Seriously I’d swoon if someone picked me up for a date in one of these.. hint hint! After their flight they go off and chat on a conveniently placed forest couch in front of a fire. This is where things seemed off. I get the impression that everything hinged on dinner. Mr. James forced the issue by being very direct in his questioning. Ultimately she revealed he big dark secret. That she is totally a family oriented person who gave up everything to be a caretaker for her father who has ALS. She may not have realized it, or maybe she does, but Matt James instantly liked her more after this.
This sets up something I feel like we have seen a lot. Matt James seemed to be honored that she is there taking time away from her family. This ultimately may send her some sooner or will keep her here till the end. I believe this bachelor will not want to waste her time and keep her from her family. The instant he doesn’t feel it she is out of here and that is the thing I think we are being set up for. Though, the longer she stays the more likely she will last at the very least until hometown dates. Time shall tell!
Rose Ceremony Part 1
I really hate the episodes where we don’t get a rose ceremony. This is even worse, we get half of one!
Things to note. Queen Victoria stirs up drama. She tells Matt James that MaryLynn is toxic and a horrible mean person that needs to go home. I really hope he sees through this. Literally every other woman on the show had the WTF face when Victoria was talking about what she said and did. Also, I hate to continue to talk about her, but that dress… I realize I am a guy so I had to double check with several women about this dress she was wearing. It’s bad.. like really bad. Go watch!
We get to see an awkward, very forced, scene where Victoria and MaryLynn try to have a conversation. Victoria straight up mean girls MaryLynn. It is times like this I wish the bachelor was hiding around a corner listening. Do the producers really see this type of stuff and let the bachelor make his own decisions when they can see this behavior for themselves? Part of me homes she is sent home this week, but I am convinced that he is going to be forced to keep her around longer. Otherwise where else is the drama going to be?
We get to the rose ceremony itself where we get some roses passed out before Sarah actually passes out, or nearly does. We leave the scene with her on the floor and the medics rushing in.
Tune in next week for what happens next! I’ll give the rundown of who got the roses and who got the axe then.
