“There are some things going on that I can’t explain,” Ben comments. It sums up this episode of The Bachelor pretty well. In a surprising twist, yet another girl takes herself out of the competition early, and, unsurprisingly, the drama is amped up to levels that brought even myself some anxiety.
”The Sky’s The Limit…” With Lauren B.
Filed under the list of “Things We Don’t Want to Hear a Flight Attendant Say,” Lauren B. sees their destination approaching and announces, “Are we heading to an airport? I’m nervous!” But Ben takes it in stride as they drive right up to the biplane and take a flight over the California coast, including a quick pass over the Bachelor Mansion so all the girls could watch in envy.
All in all, it’s a pretty spectacular date, and if we’re being honest, I wanted to be Lauren B. approximately every minute of this date montage. A wild plane ride, a hot tub conversation (a Bachelor tradition, I’m learning), and a lovely candlelit dinner later, it’s pretty obvious that these two have a great connection. Ben visibly lights up when she starts talking about how close she is with her family and how she can’t wait to find someone like her father for herself, which prompts Ben to open up about himself, too, in a way I haven’t seen him want to do with anyone else.
Ending the night with a “surprise” concert in a barn with Lucy Angel, a smitten Ben announces, “Tonight feels like the first date I’d want with my future wife.”
”Love is The Goal” on the Group Date
Amanda, Haley, Jennifer, Shushanna, Leah, Amber, Lauren H., Olivia, Jami, Rachel, Lace, and Emily head to the Memorial Coliseum for the group date this week. To add a little edge to the outing, Ben announces that the girls will be split into two teams and whichever team wins gets to go on the after party with Ben.
Even with coaches like Kelley O’Hara and Alex Morgan from the US Women’s National Team, the girls struggle with the ball -- though they do not struggle with the ball jokes, like my personal favorite, “I have zero ball handling skills,” courtesy of Leah.
The girls actually get pretty into it, with “Beast Mode Emily” being the MVP of the winning team and Rachel getting hurt, even as she opts to continue to play despite visibly fighting off tears. “True to Rachel, she gets back up and decides to finish the game...and I’m going to take advantage of it,” Olivia smiles at the camera.
Eventually, the winning team gets their group date with Ben and Olivia steals him right off the bat. The girls are clearly not into this, with Amber and Lace getting into a conversation about Olivia’s “fat toes” that clearly makes Emily uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, Olivia and Ben are hanging out in one of the hotel rooms and her crazy is starting to show just a little bit. Commenting on the fact that she feels people find her intimidating, Ben explains that he knew she could handle getting the two roses and he knows she’s going to be okay. “I know it’s not going to be outright every week,” she says, regarding her streak of being safe in the rose ceremonies so far. Watch out, Olivia, karma's not always so nice.
After a couple weeks of not having a moment with Ben, Amber does finally get her moment and seals it with a kiss. She’s reassured of their relationship and, eventually, takes home the rose from the group date.
Olivia is clearly shocked she didn’t get the rose, sure she was safe for a third week in a row but she’s secure that Ben is “secretly communicating with her” because “she gets it” and knows that every time he touches her, he’s singling her out as his number one choice. Oh, honey...
”Love is in The Air” for Jubilee
It was an interesting start to this date; Jubilee is obviously nervous, deciding to nitpick his timeliness and adopt a way-too-unaffected attitude. Though her b-sides explain that she’s terrified of heights and freaking out, she instead tries to play it cool and jokes, “anyone want to take my date?” Unsurprisingly, the girls are not happy about this and it sets them off.
However, despite what may have started as the most awkward date of Bachelor history, the two find a real connection on the dinner portion of their date. Ben encourages Jubilee to open up and she explains her tragic past, explaining that a lot of her feelings of being “unlovable” are because she carries around a heavy guilt over being the only member of her family to have survived a tragedy in Haiti that left her orphaned and alone before being adopted and brought stateside.
“You’ve been more open and honest with me than anyone else,” and he’s right. She’s unflinchingly honest and I think she becomes a real person as she explains the difficulties she’s overcome. Though she was awkward at first, this has been one of the best conversations that have happened and this feels like the first time there’s a connection beyond a physical compatibility. There’s emotional depth there that hasn’t been found with the other girls. It doesn’t feel romantic just yet but it’s definitely the only one with a legitimately solid foundation for any kind of relationship so far.
When the girls wake up and find Jubilee home, they’re not happy, having assumed she would’ve gone home after her comment as they were headed out on the date.
Before the Rose Ceremony
The girls are sitting around in what may be the most tension-filled cocktail party of all time. Which, naturally, is amped up when Ben walks in and announces that two people he was very close to passed away. All I want to do is hug him because he’s clearly sad and wants to cry but he’s there and pushing through.
So, on his first one-on-one of the night, Olivia decides to open up about her “cankles” and how she “totally hates” her legs -- and Ben is clearly startled. Watching her in tears over this may just be the most uncomfortable moment of the night, which is saying a lot after this episode.
Once this was over, Jubilee pulled him aside to give him a massage, which Ben clearly needed but the girls were not about, as they spend most of the cocktail party whispering about how ridiculous it was. Eventually, he does get to open up and each girl has their own unique way of doing so, something that Ben probably needed to see at some point in the competition, anyway.
As Jubilee moves through the house while Ben spends time with other girls, you see the girls literally walking away from her. Which, ironically, makes them even more mad, as Jubilee goes outside and the girls decide to confront her. When Amber goes to get her, Jubilee refuses to go inside and let the girls attack her, which makes complete sense. Except, apparently, to the girls in the house (minus Caila, who actually got mildly interesting in the three entire minutes she was on in this episode).
To make it even better for the girls, when Jubilee gets upset and goes upstairs, Ben follows her and they’re furious. Amber storms upstairs to “clear the air” and eventually, things calm down. Of course, Lace then pulls him aside.
Clearly emotionally drained, Ben tries to stay positive but Lace comes clean about her insecurities about being there. In a very self-aware moment, she explains that she has “a lot of work to do on myself,” and takes herself out of the competition.
The Rose Goes To…
Staying for the next week are Lauren B., Amber, Jubilee, Lauren H., Amanda, Becca, Haley, Emily, Rachel, Caila, JoJo, Jennifer, Leah, and Olivia.
Those leaving? Shushanna, who had a relatively low key exit, and Jami, who has decided to fully accept the cat lady life now that she’s no longer on The Bachelor.
My thoughts? Amanda is still a frontrunner for me, though his dates with Lauren B. and Jubilee are definitely giving her a run for her money. I think these three have the best connection with Ben. Also? I’m with the internet and Jason Mesnick -- if Jubilee doesn’t win, she deserves to be the next Bachelorette, hands down.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.