Wow, I am the worst. Real life took over the past couple weeks – I had a crazy week at work to hit our 6/15 deadline and then capped that week off with an amazing weekend in Nashville to celebrate with one of my best girlfriends. I needed about a week to recover from that, only to go into a whirlwind wedding weekend in New Hampshire. I’m waving the white flag on two weeks of recaps – if I don’t, I’ll never get them done. The highlights of those two weeks: the funniest scene talking about a banana I’ve ever seen, Lee being a lunatic, America falling in love with Dean, and Rachel continuing to be the best Bachelorette I can remember. I’m determined to finish out the season, so let’s get to recapping week 5.

My Takeaways

We pick up at the cocktail party of the group date, with Kenny confronting Lee about talking to Rachel to him. Part of this argument stems from (besides Lee being an ass) the fact that Lee is using the word aggressive to describe Kenny. Despite being told that the word could be a trigger for Kenny, Lee continues to use the word, further annoying and enraging Kenny. I was really impressed with the calmness with which Kenny spoke to Lee, even if all of his frustration was evident under the surface. Kenny knows who he is and that he is there for Rachel, and he is working his hardest to not let someone who is there with disingenuous intentions get under his skin.

Bryan gets the group date rose, and Kenny gives a passive aggressive speech about how Bryan is not a snake. Lee tells him to F*** off, which made me laugh out loud. All of the smart guys in the house (Peter, Bryan, Will) know exactly what Lee is doing, and the fact that he would even get offended by Kenny’s speech is laughable – he’s getting exactly what he wants.

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Next is Rachel’s one-on-one with Jack, Jack Stone. You can tell this date isn’t going to go well, simply by the way it is being produced. Jack isn’t eloquent in his ITMs, and their interactions are being shown as awkward. Personally, if Rachel would just try calling him by his full name, they might have a chance.

Jack Stone tried so hard to have that romantic kiss moment, but Rachel was just not into it. She continuously gave him the cheek, but the guy was just so deliriously happy to be on this one-on-one date that he didn’t see what was coming next. At dinner, Jack is pouring his heart out to Rachel about how he feels that they could really work out because they have so much in common. If they were spending a day together in their hometown of Dallas, he would just want to lock her in the house and lay in bed. Romantic, right? Rachel is not feeling it and sends Jack home. I feel for the guy because he really thought that things were going well. The real gut punch was the perma-grin that has been on his face since the beginning finally falling.

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Rachel decides that they don’t need a cocktail party, she knows what she is going to do. Iggy believes that the people who are going to go home are the ones who have been causing drama, pretty much unintentionally foreshadowing his own departure. Following Iggy out the door is the tickle monster, Jonathan. Oddly, I’m kind of sad to see him go. He seemed sweet and made Rachel laugh. I think the producers upped his creep factor, but he really needs to stop tickling people.

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The crew is headed to Oslo, Norway and we get our first Dean sighting of the episode. What a welcome distraction.

Bryan’s one-on-one date is up first and the two of them are just exploring the city of Oslo. they repel off a ski jump and obviously kiss on the way down. Everything between these two seems very easy, and this is causing Rachel to wonder why is he still single. He is 37, has a good job, is handsome, why has no other girl snatched him up? I think this will be a reoccurring doubt and fear that she has as her journey continues.

Rachel and Bryan’s chemistry is off the charts. He is not my favorite (because, Peter) but I can see him making it very far in the quest for Rachel’s heart. It is surprising to me that he is ready to drop the L-bomb already, the two of them haven’t really spent any time together. Obviously, Bryan gets the rose.

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The group date has the guys playing handball, and the singlets they were wearing were enough to keep me watching. Most of the guys are trying to be uber competitive (causing Rachel to make a ‘Jordan in the ’97 Bulls’ reference, and causing me to girl crush even harder), but Peter has his eyes on the prize. He is flirting and being affectionate with Rachel any chance he gets, and I think it is winning him some major brownie points. He is just so adorable!

At the cocktail party, Will tells Rachel about his past relationship. He tells her that around the same time she was being heartbroken by Nick, he was being heartbroken by a girl that he was in love with and thought that he would never put himself back out there. Yet, somehow, here we are with Will on a nationally televised show to find love just a few months later. Hmmmm….

During Josiah’s one-on-one time, Rachel calls him out for never trying to get to know her. He lays lines on her constantly, always trying to appear sincere but she sees right through it. Also, his hand was lingering on her shoulder so awkwardly the whole time, like he was afraid to touch her.

During Peter’s one-on-one time, things get steamy. I LOVE that he puts the break on their make out session because they only have a limited amount of time to get to know each other. Her response, “Do you wanna cover ground in the hot tub?” I don’t know about you but I didn’t see much talking happening in the hot tub.

Will got the group date rose, and poor Peter is doubting himself a little. Personally, I think that she wanted to give Peter the rose but knew that it may make him a target for the guys. They already had mentioned that he was gone on his one-on-one time for awhile. All of this may be very incorrect, but I am shipping Rachel and Peter 4ever.

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The two-on-one date between Lee and Kenny is up next, and we all know this isn’t going to end well. Rachel and Kenny’s time goes well, and Kenny only brings Lee up once. I think he is trying so hard to focus on her and their relationship, but the situation with Lee has just gotten under his skin too much.

During her time with Lee, he makes a point to tell Rachel all about Kenny. He says that Kenny pulled him out of a van and tried to get physical with him. Lee said that this side of Kenny comes out when he drinks and that he is a different person when he is not drinking. I have to think that if there was a physical altercation of any kind that the producers would have shown it. Not only that, all of the guys seem to be on Kenny’s side.

Rachel tells Kenny about what Lee told her, and the entire thing is turning into a big game of ‘he said, he said’. Understandably, Kenny is not pleased with Lee upon hearing this, and that is where we leave the episode.

All that being said….why do Kenny and Rachel appear to be so cold on this date, and Lee seems to be fine wearing a long sleeved henley? Anyone?

Best Tweets

https://twitter.com/chanelb94/status/879513406272917504

Sorry for that one Jack – but I literally LOL’ed

Best Dressed

Rachel went casual on her date with Jack. I found a cardigan similar to this one here.

I love the triple Maltese cross necklace Rachel wore on her one-on-one date with Jack. I’m pretty sure the designer is Nan Fusco, and it is ‘call for availability’ expensive. You can visit the designer’s website for more information here. This side-eye is good too.

Rachel’s sweater is BB Dakota, and I wasn’t able to find the exact one anywhere. I did find some similar options here (sleeveless), here and here.

Rachel does athleisure so well. This bomber jacket is by Lime & Vine, and can be found here.

I am going to be crushing on this jacket big time come winter. The brand is Mackage, and I’m pretty sure this is the jacket, but if not its similar enough. It’s not cheap, but looks so warm!

Thanks for coming back and checking out the blog after my unintentional hiatus. I’ll be back soon to recap Episode 6 of Rachel’s journey. Which of the guys do you think will be great with Rachel? I’d love to hear! You can find me @third_and_girl anytime!