‘The Bachelor’ Episode 8 Recap: Hometown Glory – Part II
We’re back for day two of what must be the most dramatic trip to Iowa in the history of time. Sunday, we watched Britt have an epic meltdown in front of Chris, when he failed to award her the group date rose. We were left to wonder if the frontrunner would be sent home earlier than expected, or if she could recover from such a massive stumble.
The third one-on-one date in Iowa
Before things get too exciting, the producers decide to calm things down by sending Chris on the most boring date of the season with the most low-key contestant on the show. He and Becca spend the day at Chris’s rental apartment in Des Moines. I know we’re trying to give the ladies an authentic Iowan experience, but seriously? Is ABC in the midst of a budget crisis?
As they lounge on Chris’s couch, Becca hints at her sexual inexperience, mentioning to Chris that she has never been in love before. Chris magnanimously announces that this failure doesn’t matter to him (umm why should it?). Seconds later they’re kissing in front of the setting sun, and the shortest date in Bachelor history is over.
The (first) rose ceremony
Back at the house, Britt has been thinking things over, and she tearfully tells the other girls that she’s packed her stuff and wants to head home. Whitney’s theory is that Britt has been getting everything she wanted from Chris all season and can’t handle learning that there’s actual competition for his heart. “Britt is beautiful,’’ Whitney tells the camera, “but looks aren’t everything.’’ Carly doesn’t even care why Britt is leaving as long as the door hits her on the way out.
Chris Harrison then surprises the girls by announcing that there will be no cocktail party, and we’re headed straight into the rose ceremony. But Britt is not about to be dismissed like an ordinary contestant. So before Chris can call any names, she interrupts his speech and asks to step outside with him. Rather than telling him goodbye, she tries to apologize for yesterday’s outburst, seemingly seeking a second chance. But even though Britt has changed her mind about leaving, Chris’s mind is already made up. He escorts her out of the building without so much as a “nice knowing you.’’
Most of the other women are pretty psyched that Britt is out of the running, but Carly is over the freaking moon. She overhears Britt sobbing outside, and the sound is like sweet, sweet music to her: “The girl who was the prettiest girl in the room, who’s gotten everything she wants, gets to know how it feels to be a normal person . . . how’s it feel?’’ Yikes. Carly’s creepy celebration comes a little too soon though. When the rose ceremony finally resumes, she’s the one left standing empty-handed. We sincerely hope girlfriend gets some therapy when she gets home.
Becca’s hometown
With that messy business taken care of, we’re on to the hometown dates! First stop is Shreveport, Louisiana to visit Becca’s family. Becca tells Chris that he’s the first guy she has ever brought home, and he is surprised and honored to have made the cut. He just hopes he can manage to explain his feelings about Becca to her parents “eloquently.’’ Good luck with that, Chris.
Turns out that Becca is not just a virgin. If you believe her sister and her mom, Becca is the acting president of the She-Woman, Man Haters Club. In fact, the entire evening is characterized by total disbelief that Becca is actually interacting with a man, let alone one that she actually seems to like. The family hasn’t quite grasped that their role here is to make Becca look attractive to Chris and not like she might be a closeted lesbian.
Other than this giant red flag, the visit is without incident. Chris and Becca end the night by taking a ferris wheel ride, making out like teenagers the entire time. Something about their trip through space changes things for Becca, and she finally realizes she might actually kind-of, sort-of, be starting to fall for Chris. And with just three episodes left in the season, it’s better late than never.
Whitney’s hometown
Next stop is Chicago, Illinois, where fertility nurse Whitney lives. On a show where sadly few women have interesting careers, Whitney does the truly unprecedented and takes Chris on a tour of her place of work. This allows the pair to make a lot of jokes about making babies and to speculate on the motility of Chris’s sperm. Chris loves the fact that Whitney loves her job—he just doesn’t seem to realize or care that it’s a job she’ll never be able to continue in a town that doesn’t even have a primary care practice.
Later, Chris meets Whitney’s sister, her sister’s husband, her uncle, and an old white lady who is never actually introduced. When Chris gets the chance to talk to the sister alone, he asks for her blessing should he decide to propose. The sister refuses, telling Chris to call her when Whitney is the only one he’s dating. Fair enough. But Whitney, clearly an avid Bachelor viewer, knows how a skeptical family can be a dealbreaker and is terrified that her sister’s pragmatism has endangered her chances with Chris.
Luckily, she has a plan to salvage the evening. When the pair is alone, Whitney brings out an expensive bottle of wine that she purchased years ago in Napa. She tells Chris that she promised herself she would share it with the man she was going to marry. She then begins to cry and becomes the first contestant to drop a big, fat L-bomb on Chris. Chris, who needs validation just as much as any of the women he is trying to date, is ecstatic.
Kaitlyn’s hometown
Kaitlyn’s family lives in the frigid Canadian tundra, so they decide to host Chris at their second home in sunny Arizona. Kaitlyn—who has a future as a Bachelor producer—has the great idea to humiliate Chris, and torture the viewers, by taking him to a studio to record a rap. Yes, a rap. It goes as disastrously as could be expected, but they are still able to laugh at Chris’s utter lack of musical talent.
Next up, Kaitlyn brings Chris home to meet her family, including her divorced parents and their respective new spouses, who all seem to live together in harmony (how very Canadian). Her mom, who’s a bit hippie dippy, can tell Kaitlyn likes Chris and encourages her to open her heart.
Afterward, Kaitlyn takes Chris outside for a surprise: She’s had a billboard erected that reads Kaitlyn [heart] Chris. Is this technically our second confession of love? Chris is happy to accept it as such, and the love counter ticks over to two.
Jade’s hometown
At Jade’s hometown date in Gering, Nebraska, there’s really only one topic on the agenda: the nude photos she did for Playboy. Jade’s family members try to help soften the inevitable blow by dropping hints to Chris over the course of the evening that Jade may have another side to her. Her father shares that Jade is the type of woman who needs to be “free,’’ and her brother describes her as a “wild mustang.’’ Chris gets that they’re hinting at something, but is pretty confused, given Jade has been nothing but the shy, sweet, girl-next-door all season.
Finally, Jade sits Chris down and tells him about her Playboy past. If the revelation wasn’t already awkward enough, she then offers to show him the actual evidence, firing up a Macbook and taking Chris on a multimedia Internet tour of her lady parts. Chris is clearly freaking out inside, but manages to tell her with surprising sincerity that he would never judge her for her past. To the camera, he acknowledges that it would create some “challenges’’ in his conservative hometown, but it’s not “a dealbreaker.’’ We actually believe him. Or we do for the next five minutes of the episode, at least.
The (second) rose ceremony
In the episode’s second rose ceremony, Chris hands out roses to Whitney, Kaitlyn, and finally Becca. Despite promising that the Playboy pics wouldn’t change his opinion of her, Jade—who seemed like the favorite as of the last episode—is the one going home. And now we are the ones judging you, Chris.
Power rankings
With bombshells Britt and Jade out of the picture, Chris can at least focus on making a decision based on personality.
1. Whitney: Whitney is two-for-two on this Bachelor double-header. She killed it on her date in Des Moines, and her hometown visit in Chicago also went pretty swimmingly. Whitney for the win.
2. Kaitlyn: Kaitlyn is still the most fun, and she did manage a rare display of emotion this week. But can anyone (including Chris) really imagine her as a farmer’s wife? We think not.
3. Becca: Becca has never been in love, never had sex, and maybe thinks boys are gross. Even in reality TV fantasy land where everything is possible, we’re having a hard time believing she’s going to get engaged in a matter of weeks.
We have a full week to process all of this and prepare for fantasy suite week. See you next Monday, February 23, when Chris and the ladies head to Bali.
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