So, I was wrong last week and Corinne did not go home – two people went home on a different one-on-one date. I don’t want to get ahead of myself so let’s get to the episode!

My Takeaways

The confrontation between Taylor and Nick was anti-climactic, with Taylor just telling Nick that Corinne lied to him. Nick tells her that the decision he made had nothing to do with what Corinne had said and everything to do with his heart.

The group is headed to St. Thomas. Upon arriving, Nick greets the women and whisks Kristina off on the one-on-one date of the week. We don’t get to see a ton of this date, which makes me think it was pretty boring. I did find it refreshing to see them drinking a couple beers while they chatted. I feel like these women are so often drinking champagne or wine. I certainly love a few glasses of wine or champs, but sometimes you just want a cold beer. Please forgive my minor tangent about alcohol, I’m doing sober February and watching the Bachelor makes the temptation real.

At dinner, Kristina finally tells Nick the story of her childhood. Her story is heartbreaking, and I admire her for everything she has been through. As Nick says, “when I was 5 I was complaining about going to kindergarten and Kristina was fending for herself.” There was no way Kristina wasn’t getting a rose after that story.

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The group date looked really fun, even though it dissolved into mayhem. The theme of the date was just ‘hanging out’ but Nick forgot that even that can be ruined by doing it with 6 with women who all want to marry you. I did find it really bizarre how quickly everything seemed to fall apart.  We know that they were all drinking (at one point, Nick made a call for shots), so emotions were already running wild but, it seemed like one minute they were playing volleyball and the next minute everyone was crying. This reaction shot of Raven summed it up best for me:

:sigh: guys, I thought we were supposed to be having fun

At night, things don’t go much better. Rachel’s conversation with Nick was shown, and I think her experience probably mirrors most of the women’s. The group date situation isn’t natural, and it’s hard for them to just have fun when there is so much pressure on each relationship to move forward. The process is so short that a day spent having fun seems like a day wasted.

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Jasmine either didn’t have had any fun or had too much fun, because she was mad from the minute she heard that she was on the group date. She was the only woman there who hadn’t had any substantial alone time with Nick, and she felt like she was being overlooked. During their one-on-one time, she told Nick that she was frustrated how he seemed to be overlooking her and sometimes she just wants to choke him. Then she shows him how she would choke him, calls it sexual, asks him if he’s ever done that before, then tells him she’ll be the first to do it to him. It was a whole 30 seconds of awkward. Nick, not wanting to waste anyone’s time, tells Jasmine that he thinks it’s time for her to leave.

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Instead of being excited that one more woman was out of the running, they are shaken by Nick’s unpredictability. This theme continues with the two-on-one date. Whitney (she speaks!) and Danielle L. are chosen for the date, and are taken to the beach via helicopter. The beach is really just a great place to leave people behind (see: Olivia during Ben’s season). Nick has fine conversations with both women, but knows after speaking to both of them that Whitney is not the one for him. I was impressed to see that Whitney had a little spunk in her, and questionedvNick’s decision. Nick is not one to change his mind though, so him and Danielle fly off in the helicopter.

At this point, Danielle is probably feeling very confident, but she has not yet gotten the rose. At dinner, they talk about what they want in a relationship. It was obvious to see that Nick was trying to get her to not give a cookie-cutter answer when he asks, “besides communication and  honesty what are one or two words that describe the type of relationship you would want?” Danielle says, “trust”. I swear I could see Nick roll his eyes and kick himself for not including trust in his previous list of characteristics. I think that answer put the final nail in Danielle’s coffin, as he sends her packing as well. Unfortunately for Nick, during dinner Danielle had told him that she is falling in love with him. The process is getting to him, and he can’t figure out why he doesn’t love these great women who love him, and beginning to wonder if he is the problem.

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In an odd, and possibly unprecedented move, Nick goes to the women’s hotel room after the date to talk to them. No knock either, he just barges in. He is visibly upset, and tells them that he is worried this process won’t work for him because he had so much excitement for his relationship with Danielle and it somehow fizzled out. He is worried that that will happen with all of their relationships as well. This is a lot to take in, so the women are mulling over what he says. In this time, Nick leaves the room. That’s Nick’s style I guess. Enter, drop bombshell, leave.

Next week looks to see pretty intense as it’s not even clear what the process will look like when Nick comes back to it. Luckily, we have Corinne and her platinum vagina to fix everything for us!

Best Tweets

"I didn't have the best conversation with Jasmine" wins the Understatement of the Year award. #TheBachelor https://t.co/j6fxVABSIo

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Kristen Baldwin (@KristenGBaldwin) February 07, 2017

Girls would get sent home in Jr. High for wearing shorts as short as Nick's. #TheBachelor

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Sean Lowe (@SeanLowe09) February 07, 2017

You know it was a crazy episode when Corrine was the normal one.. #thebachelor

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Casey (@casey_janae_) February 07, 2017

Best Dressed

I loved Whitney’s dress during the rose ceremony. Her dress was by For Love and Lemons, a favorite of the Bachelor/Bachelorette ladies, and unfortunately is out of stock everywhere.  You can buy the mini dress version here, and the maxi is available on eBay here.  Another option for a similar look is a maxi skirt and crop top in the same style.

Rachel’s look for arriving to St. Thomas looks like something I would wear on a plane. I love the graphic shorts and she looks so darn cute with the bandana as a headband! I wasn’t able to find her exact shorts, but I’ve included some other graphic black and white options here (only $5!), here and here.

I thought Danielle’s dress during the cocktail portion of the group date was so romantic and easy. The dress is the Bardot Maxi from Flynn Skye.  I’m not sure that the exact print she wore the dress in is still available, but there are plenty of other gorgeous options here. I love the dress in ‘Day Bloom’.

What did you guys think of this episode? Are you starting to think this season is just going off the rails? Will Nick end up anyone? Let me know!

xo
Em