Hi Everyone! This may be going up as the new episode is airing, but it IS going up. The MLB Home Run Derby is up on my TV right now, so it is like it hasn’t even aired yet, right?

My Takeaways

We pick up on the two-on-one date, where Kenny confronts Lee about telling Rachel that Kenny had pulled him out of the van. When Kenny brings this up, Lee had the audacity to say, “I never said that.” Uhmm, we literally had just seen him say that. Whatever, Lee sucks.

Kenny goes on a profanity ridden tirade against Lee, which Rachel luckily doesn’t see. Rachel tells the men that she is making her decision based on who she trusts and who she believes, since they both are telling very different stories. She asks Lee to leave, saying that she doesn’t trust him. However, she is not ready to give Kenny a rose and wants to spend more time with him that evening. Always wanting to get the last word, Lee tells Rachel that Kenny threatened him when he came back. Rachel just lets it roll off her back, but Kenny is not able to do the same. Rachel takes him to the helicopter so they can get to the next part of their date, and Kenny has to go back and talk to Lee. Rachel is super annoyed by this, as she can’t understand why Kenny just can’t put it behind him.

At night, Kenny is turning on thecharm. He speaks in a manner that is so sincere that you can’t help but be enamored with him. If some people said the same things Kenny did they might come off as “lines” (cough, cough Josiah), but with him, it doesn’t. Kenny has a lot going on in his “real” life, so he is taking the process seriously. I think that Rachel does like Kenny, and I enjoy(ed – spoiler alert!) watching their relationship develop in an organic manner.
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At the rose ceremony, we get a lot of ITMs about how confident Josiah is going in. I’m pretty sure that ups his chances of going home by about 135%. My production/editing intuition was correct, as Josiah and Anthony are left without roses. Anthony was a quiet guy, but I liked him and am sad to see him go.

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Rachel and the guys are headed to Denmark, and Eric has the first one-on-one date. I haven’t really been able to get a good handle on Eric yet – he seems to be a good guy and to like Rachel, but he also seems pretty surly most of the time. However, on this date, he is incredibly charming. I’m not sure if he was waiting to have Rachel all to himself before really letting his personality shine, but I’m glad I got to see it. If the fun-loving side of Eric is the one that he was showing Rachel in allof their alone time, then it makes all the sense in the world why Rachel has kept him around.

At night, we learn a little bit about Eric’s background. He tells Rachel that he never really received any love from his mom or family. He likes the way he is feeling towards Rachel but doesn’t want to yet call it love because he doesn’t even know what that feels like. This also helps to explain why Eric has been so guarded in this process and wanting to know where Rachel stands before really putting himself out there. He is so afraid to get hurt because he hasn’t felt these feelings before. Rachel has confidence about the place they are and gives him the rose. The two of them continue their fun night by playing in the amusement park. I honestly got chills when the two of them were riding the roller coaster and Eric yelled, “Life is Beautiful!”. It really is.
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The group date is next and the guys are taught the Viking ways by Tom and Morton. All I got out of this portion of the date is Dean is definitely not a Viking, Kenny is the ultimateViking, and I would really like to have a Viking games birthday party.

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At night, Rachel has a lot of good conversations with the men. She continues to be soon thirsty for Peter. He is always trying to get to know her and all Rachel wants is for Peter to kiss her. No judgment though, Rachel, we all get it.

Kenny is starting to worry about his relationship with Rachel because he has a lot riding on the outcome. He is missing spending time with his daughter McKenzie. I think that Rachel really cares for Kenny, she is shown spending part of her alone time with Matt asking about how Kenny is. When the two of them get together to talk they have a heart to heart about the process. He tells Rachel that he isn’t 100% sure he is comfortable with the place their relationship is. Rachel takes in everything Kenny says but isn’t ready to commit to Kenny that he is the one, which is ultimately what he wants to hear. He wants to hear Rachel fight for him to stay, but she just can’t do it, especially when that fight would take him away from McKenzie for longer. Unfortunately, Rachel tells Kenny that she thinks it is best that he go home. I think the two of them have a lot of mutual respect for each other, and I really enjoy their friendship. I’m a big Kenny fan, and would love to see him in a future installment of the show – he really deserves a great woman.

At the end of the group date, Rachel gives the rose to Peter because she wants him.
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Wil and Rachel have their one-on-one date next. Rachel is really looking for Will to be affectionate with her, and to take their relationship to the next level. Unfortunately for Will, he gets the awkward date editing from the beginning so I can’t imagine it is going to go well.

At night, Rachel asks Will about his past relationships and to what he is attracted to. His response? “I typically date white girls.” So not Rachel then, Will? We’re shown a cutaway scene to the men talking about this issue. Eric thought it was important for Will to tell Rachel this information, while Dean didn’t see it as an important fact at all. Eric assumes that Rachel would assume that Will had dated black women and that she would want to know that he generally did not. I don’t have a real conclusion based on this conversation, I just think it is interesting to see the different perspectives.

Back on their date, Will says physical intimacy is important to him. He also says that he has been too physical in past relationships, and was neglecting words of affirmation. I think with Rachel, Will made the mistake of overcompensating from his past. Rachel was confused why Will wouldn’t hold her or be physical with her, especially if he considered himself a passionate person – and she wasn’t sure if he could get there with her. It made me sad for Will to realize he made a mistake in the way he approached their relationship because I think he is a great catch. I do applaud Rachel for going after what she needs in a relationship and knowing when it was just not there.
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We finally end the episode with a rose ceremony, and Rachel is not feeling great about it. She has so few guys left, after sending 2 home during dates this week. She even has to pause the rose ceremony in order to collect herself. The only guy who didn’t get a rose at the ceremony was Alex, who I was a big fan of. I thought he was funny and smart, and pretty easy on the eyes. Plus, his outfits were crazy! I’d love to see Alex in paradise, so hopefully, he comes back to the franchise!

From the previews, it looks like Rachel has a few rough weeks ahead of her before she finds her happy ending. I actually love that we know she gets engaged at the end because I can’t wait for my girl to find love!

Best Tweets

Best Dressed

Rachel’s white jacket is Mackage, and is sold out everywhere. I struggled to even find anything similar, but there are some beautiful white belted coats out there. These are great options.

Rachel’s sequin dress is Randi Rahm, and looks flawless on her. I love that it is a wrap design, which adds some added flair. You can rent a similar dress at Rent the Runway here or here! (Any screen grab I took just did not give this beauty justice).

I think Rachel’s makeup looks amazing here. Girl can really pull off a beanie.

Rachel’s casual cut out sweater is so cute. I wasn’t able to confirm the exact sweater but this one is very close.

Peter looked so great at the rose ceremony, so I had to include his look.

Thanks for sticking with my poorly timed posts guys! I’m so appreciative of everyone who checks out this little corner of the internet. I’m always open to any feedback, so feel free to send me an email at thirdandgirl@gmail.com, or shoot me a message on Twitter @third_and_girl.