He said what?! - The Bachelorette - Ep. 6

A lot of things were said in this episode… some good and some not-so-good. Let’s talk about it!

Well, I looked up how long a normal Bachelorette season usually is and it came up with about 9-13 episodes. With how quickly this season is going, you have to assume it’s going to be on the much shorter side. Hometowns next week will be episode 7, Fantasy Suite/Jenn’s Hometown will be episode 8/9, and then the finale will be episode 10. I could be very wrong with that. I didn’t even include a “guys tell all” episode too. Yet, when the mentioned hometowns are next week, I was kind of surprised. It also meant nearly half of the guys were going home in this episode. 

When somebody goes home now, it’s gonna be a punch in the gut. There isn’t one guy who hasn’t built a solid enough relationship with Jenn. I think it’s fair to say that fans will be sad to see these guys get eliminated now. They’ve been able to build up fanbases and there will be big reactions on social media with whatever happens next.

I can’t help but feel like some of this season is rushed. Maybe I am still on the newer side of being a part of Bachelor Nation and don’t know any better. They only went overseas for a short period, there were a good number of guys who we truly didn’t get to know a lot, and these guys have been disposed of rapidly. It’s been fun and I don’t want to think about the end of it already! 

I won’t complain… football and Survivor are right around the corner.

I want to start with Jenn’s little gals chat with Charity. First, are they at a Starbucks? It’s Seattle… it’s only right. Next, I loved the idea of taking notes after each convo/date with the gentlemen. It’s a great tactic. In this scenario, I would assume that it would be really easy to mix up your thoughts or conversations. Dating 25 guys at once would do that to someone. Lastly, it just felt super genuine. Like the cameras weren’t even on them and they were just catching up. 

Alright, let’s get into what I thought was the best one-on-one date of the season with Marcus. He’s doing something right because that is the second one he’s got. Jeremy, at that point, hadn’t even had one. Based on what we have watched, I really like these two together. It seems like they genuinely enjoy every single moment together. They know when to turn the silly goofy moments into serious moments. It just seems like they are intentional with their words and actions when together too. With all that being said, they can still go deeper into their relationship.

Marcus’ biggest fear is getting in his own way. He can’t help but hold back from fully revealing himself and will question his own feelings. I can sense him in his head saying: Will she still choose me after I reveal myself? The true question is how do you break that anxiety? 

I think that this exact date was the best way to do that. Major shoutout to the show producers/former Bachelor ladies for creating an atmosphere for them to completely open up. Another major shoutout to Jenn and Marcus for simply accepting the challenge of being vulnerable.

It was wicked… literally.

This Wicked-themed date was incredible. Your boy may or may not have participated in musical theater back in the day hence why I might have bias to liking this date more than others. This is the date I was waiting for! Maybe it was that actual Wicked soundtrack playing in the background, the yellow brick road, the coordinated outfits, and all the activities that went down. It was unique, memorable, intentional, and thoughtful. Just look at the balloon-popping segment, every one of those messages were beneficial in helping them understand each other more and allowed them to open up further. 

It was super cool to see former Bachelorette contestants and some of Jenn’s good friends from Joey’s season. I feel like that would only add another layer of comfort for the whole date. It’s also so nice to see how close friends Daisy and Kelsey are after how their season went down. That’s a huge win for the Bachelor Nation. It goes without saying but Jesse looked dapper in the green suit too! 

My only gripe was that they just had to include a heights-based activity in the date with the hot air balloon. The producers literally cannot help themselves. I can picture them in their meetings planning dates where they constantly try to find different ways to get the couple in the air/not on solid ground. Next week's date is going to include something like para-gliding. Also, I can’t even comprehend how awkward it must have been to be that other dude standing up there with Marcus and Jenn on the hot air balloon.

I will make another possible bold claim… that dinner venue was the best this season and one of the best I have seen in all of Bachelor/ette. As a big baseball fan, that’s definitely not a biased statement at all. An entire baseball stadium all to yourself! Come on, that’s so sick. I would have pretended like I hit a home run or something. Props to them for using it as a time to share more about themselves. Which, Marcus’ story had me heartbroken just by listening to it. Sharing this helps us and Jenn realize why he is the way that he is. 

After he shared his story, my favorite moment from Jenn all season happened. She responded to him by saying that sharing your story doesn’t make you weak, it actually shows how strong you are. That’s an incredibly powerful statement and everyone deserves to hear that. 

Not to go back to talking about Wicked, but the marketing/advertising department for this upcoming movie is absolutely grinding right now. I see their commercials everywhere, they were a part of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, and now the Bachelorette. I am genuinely curious as to how much that sponsor deal was worth with the Bachelorette and Wicked. Well, they deserve a ton of credit for all the work they’ve done for the movie.

I find it pretty funny that we went from one of the most stellar one-on-one to one of the most uncomfortable group dates I have ever seen. Granted, that was due to one particular person’s many words. All of which made zero sense. I think you know who I am talking about. Spencer, Jonathan, Grant, and Devin all did a wonderful job. They were naturals behind a microphone and all shared why Jenn was special to them in their own ways. 

Sam M on the other hand, was a trainwreck. His relationship with Jenn came to a crash & burn finish. I think this group date was a large benefactor of Jenn’s clarification that Sam M isn’t the person for her. 

Let’s start with example one: In what good sense is it smart to say “aggressive” in word association to fantasy suite?! What in the world…. Blaring sirens and gigantic red flags should be going off in her head right now.

Example two: Jenn repeatedly asks questions about herself. Yet, every single time, he responded by talking about himself. I don’t know how Jenn perceives that, but I think it’s extremely unattractive. 

Example three: When he does answer these questions… they simply don’t make sense and he talks in circles. I don’t want to bash him too much but you can see that his game plan going into the show was to heavily focus on the physical parts of a relationship. Every time he has tried to hold a conversation with Jenn he either mumbles or tries to make up a sappy one-liner that is impossible to comprehend. I always leave conversations with him asking myself… what did he say there?

Example four: This one dropped the jaws of all the other guys, the radio hosts, Jenn, and the entire Bachelor Nation fanbase. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Sam M said, “This girl is not even my type…I thought the Bachelorette was going to be Daisy or Maria.” WHAT! How are you going to say that to Jenn’s face and the entire world? It’s just such an insensitive and inappropriate thing to say. He didn’t think at all before he said that one. That could very easily be such a confidence killer for Jenn too. Yet, I am very happy that she didn’t let that break her down at that moment.

Example five: Last one I promise! Forcefully kissing Jenn to prove that you love her. That made me uncomfortable. I don’t think this guy understands that the physical connection isn’t all that matters. Looks and beauty fade over time! You have to find out why you truly love that person more than just by beauty before committing the rest of your life to them. 

As for the rest of the group date, Jenn really prioritized that emotional connection. Considering that hometowns are next week, that might be nice to have established prior. It did seem like a lot of the guys were throwing their best pitch and expressing all their feelings to Jenn. Possibly in hopes of clinching that hometown spot. Also, I found it interesting how she reciprocated her mutual feelings for Devin. Whereas, she didn’t do that entirely with the others.

Moving on, Jeremy finally got his time to shine! I was happy he was chosen for this date considering he was the only one that hasn’t had one yet. 

The only thing is that it just stinks that it came after one of my favorite one-on-ones that I have seen with Marcus. It doesn’t discount the fact at all that this date still had special moments too. I loved the simplicity of it. Just hanging around the city, doing normal couple things, and living life together. Jeremy was smooth with the flowers, they laughed together, and they cared for each other well. While they were nervous with how far behind they were, It seemed like they made up ground compared to the other guys.

One note I had came from their dinner date when they talked about their family, religion, and culture. I didn’t necessarily agree with the idea of blending religion. Especially the Jewish and Buddhist religions. They just don’t really go hand in hand. You can blend cultures, but I don’t think you should blend religions. Let me know what you think about that! Other than that, I loved their interactions with each other and it was fun to watch.

Back to Sam M and the cocktail hour/rose ceremony! While the show was airing I turned to my wife, Lauren, and told her that Sam M reminded me of Luke P from Hannah Brown’s season. They both talk in long-winded sentences that kind of end out to be gibberish. In Jenn’s last conversation with Sam M, he again made a couple of outlandish statements and gave zero clarity for her. It felt like the more he talked, the more he dug his grave. Therefore, I am very content with Jenn’s decision to send him away. 

Sadly, we said goodbye to Grant and Spencer. I feel bad for both of them because both have expressed their feelings, given a lot of effort in this relationship, and sacrificed a lot to be there. All to be sent home right before hometowns. I think it’s arguably the worst time to be sent home. Spencer’s phone call with his mom made me very sad for him. I call my mom often when something sad happens and it just pulled at my heartstrings when he did it too. I hope that’s not the end for him in the Bachelor Nation. 

I think I am going to end this blog on a negative note. I am disappointed in the Bachelor/ette for revealing Grant as the next Bachelor literally minutes after he was eliminated. There had to be a mistake where it was leaked and they just said screw it… tell everyone. That stinks for Grant! He doesn’t get the celebration and honor of being revealed in the ways normal Bachelors are normally presented. People who hadn’t seen the episode yet had it spoiled for them by just going on social media. I wish that isn’t how it went down but I don’t make the rules! 

Have a great week, and see you soon where we talk all about hometowns!