Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Episode Seven – Bienvenidos a Miami



Can you believe we’re already approaching hometowns?  This season has really flown right by!  We’re just a few short weeks away from a possible proposal, and only one week away from what looks like an incredible Fantasy Suite episode.  What happened with Andi out there???  Are we going to get our first Bachelor lawsuit?? The anticipation is probably going to kill me.

This week brought us a long-awaited early exit by Sharleen, a moment she has teased us with since the first episode.  Turns out South Beach was too hot for that Panda Bear.  She did get another 1-on-1 date this episode and responded with great excitement at getting chosen by being all, “Oh, okay I guess” and then standing pensively on a balcony before heading out.  The rest of the ladies then discuss how Juan Pablo is not really Sharleen’s type because she likes intellectuals.  It’s good to know they actually realize what a dumbass this guy is!  Back on the yacht, Juan Pablo does his usual “Look at me, look at me” and I think that he and Sharleen just made out a lot.  It was hard to tell if they kissed because we didn’t get about a million tight shots of their tongues in each other’s mouths.  When they did finally come up for air, Sharleen expressed concern at the fact that they pretty much always just kiss and don’t talk and even just straight up said “I wish I was dumber,” and Juan’s response, as usual, was to be completely oblivious to her hesitation and instead thanked her for her honesty.  Yup, a true intellectual.  When she finally made up her mind to leave, she went and told a few of the girls who were barely able to conceal their excitement.  Clare probably ran to get a producer screaming “NO TAKE BACKS!” to make it happen before Sharleen changed her mind, and Andi just gave a half-hearted “Are you sure?”  After an entirely whispered conversation with some more face-grabbing and “Look at me, stop crying” commands, Juan said the most unintelligible phrase that I’ve heard, and which I had to go back and transcribe: “Sometimes honesty is not appreciated.  And I like it.  I’d rather not being appreciated and being honest than being appreciated and not being honest.”  Somebody please explain that to me.  Also, it’s pretty questionable as to whether he even realized that she was breaking up with him since she used too many big words for him to comprehend.

When Nikki was chosen for the next 1-on-1, my heart truly sank, mostly because I realized that we aren’t getting any 2-on-1 dates this season.  What the hell is up with that?  It’s pretty unfair to those of us loyal viewers to not reward us with a date full of open aggression between women.  Luckily, Clare and Nikki knew what we needed and helped us out with that later on.

First, though, Nikki went on what might be the most awkward, terrible date in Bachelor history, easily eclipsing Kat’s date earlier this season in Salt Lake City.  After Sharleen got to spend a day on a yacht, Nikki was made to spend an afternoon watching Camila’s dance recital alongside JP’s parents AND HIS EX-WIFE.  Yikes.  Bet she was really regretting those tiny shorts at that point.  You know, for a guy who claims to be so protective of his daughter and every other child on Earth, bringing one of the 6 women he’s dating to meet Camila is a pretty interesting choice.  After the recital, they went for a picnic at Marlins stadium, where Juan supposedly “works”.  Juan made her play catch on the field, despite the fact that Nikki was wearing a top that appeared to be held up by nothing more than some double-sided boob tape but still somehow avoided a wardrobe malfunction.  There were more conversations where Nikki asked thoughtful questions about the future and Juan is just like “Oh yeah, my ex who is the mother of my child is totally cool with me going on TV and hooking up with a dozen different women in a medium preserved for all eternity” and otherwise responded in a way that made it clear that he didn’t understand the question, and then I think Nikki told us that she’s in love.  It was pretty shocking that we didn’t see Nikki rub the family meet-up in the other girls’ faces, mostly because Clare would have had no choice but to reveal that she’s already made a visit to Poundtown, Vietnam, but it either didn’t happen or wasn’t filmed.  Bummer.

The group date was pretty uneventful once again.  Chelsie showed up with her diary, and Andi required her daily assurances.  Clare, in a bold push for a hometown date, brought up the video her dad made for her before he died, which could only mean one thing – we are totally going to see this video.  Once again, Clare thinks she has the group date rose in the bag, so when Andi’s name gets called, the cameraman does us a kindness by immediately focusing on Clare's reaction.  She is definitely going to murder somebody.  Chelsie, Clare and Renee are sent back on the seaplane (where Clare goes “Let’s f*cking wrap this sh*t up and get out of here” as JP and Andi wave at them from the beach) while Andi puts on a Miami-length dress to listen to the smooth sounds of Romeo Santos while dancing in the most stiff and awkward manner possible in the middle of the crowd.  Of course, that was not the most awkward thing that happened that night in light of the conversation back at the house when the rest of the girls got home.  Sensing that some shit-talking about Andi was about to happen, Nikki bounced out of an already hostile situation, but Clare wasn’t done because she is a 32-year-old single hairstylist from Sacramento and she will NOT be disrespected.  The two of them swipe at each other for a while, and then the argument ends with an exchange that I am pretty sure I had with my brother a hundred times when I was younger.

The cocktail party only continued and escalated the earlier awkwardness.  I don’t know about you guys, but I just about died when the other girls went to the bathroom and left Nikki and Clare as the only people left on the couches and, like the adults they are, they sat in complete silence for about 90 seconds.  Kudos to them for really going all in on ignoring each other even without a phone to pretend to be texting on.  It was pretty incredible.  It makes me sad to think that the women aren’t going to be stuck with each other anymore now that things are finally getting real.  Before things could come to blows, though, Chris Harrison materialized from the ether to let us know that it was time for the most important rose ceremony yet.  Aren’t they all the most important rose ceremony yet?  Are any less important than others?  I will say that this one had the most dramatic rose ceremony music yet, so it had that going for it.  Not too surprisingly, Chelsie didn’t get a rose (and Jamie finally lost his first contestant).  I may be getting ahead of myself here, but I think Chelsie could possibly be a good contender for our next Bachelorette.  Of those that are left, Nikki is too bitchy, Renee is too old (plus that kid, talk about baggage), Clare is too crazy and Andi is too sane (but also wildly insecure).

Next Monday we go to the hometowns, but does anybody really care about the hometowns after that preview for Tuesday’s Fantasy Suite dates?  Are there bonus points for being roofied on camera?

Congratulations to Chris and Jamie, the last men standing in the competition.  It’s a real race to the bottom.

No comments:

Post a Comment