On Monday night The Bachelor picked up right where we'd left off--with the ladies living in STD Shack processing the fact that Liz "Joker Smile Doula" Janner Friend humped Nick 9 months pre-Bach and he had just sent her home.
We were heading into a rose ceremony (rough timing) and Nick arrived at the house to face an onslaught of gorgeous ladies who wanted more information, like the strangest press conference of all time. Nick gave it to them straight, saying "we had sex... but here's the thing--I asked for her number, but she said that she wasn't in the right place and wanted to leave that night to be that night." I get what he's saying and I get why he added the disclaimer of "I asked for her number! I couldn't possibly be a sleeze!" but I also wonder what the more conservative girls in the house (cough Christen cough) think of this behavior. Nick tells the ladies that he's an open book and he's happy to answer any questions about DoulaGate, but the gals are pretty quick to pull a Fozen and just let it go (a joke for my mom friends out there! Frozen, huh? Am I two years behind? Do the tykes still love that one?).
Nick has a few conversations about it (the one with Lacey the NYC gal seems pretty uncomfortable) and Nick says to Danielle L. that "I was more concerned about you guys" meaning, I was more concerned about what you guys WOULD THINK OF ME. Oh Nick, it's always about you, isn't it? Nick has a good chat with Raven (whose style keeps getting better) and Hailey (who he toasts marshmallows with) before Corinne whisks him away for a surprise that requires her to dress up as Inspector Gadget. That surprise is, essentially, 2 pillows and a can of Reddi Whip on the front driveway, where she tries to impress him with her use of whipped cream (holy 9th grade rec room action, gang!) but mostly succeeds in creeping him out. In a voice over, we hear Nick saying that he's a bit gun shy about sexy stuff in light of DoulaGate, so when Jasmine G. interrupts Nick and Corinne in their poor man's Varsity Blues situation, he's eager to bounce.
This prompts Corinne to scramble back into the house and WEEP, which, I gotta admit, is an even more pleasurable thing to watch than when she's simply jealous and disappointed. Post-sob fest, Corinne crawls into bed with her rose and sleeps through the rose ceremony.
YES--CORINNE SKIPPED THE ROSE CEREMONY to sleep in a trenchcoat with a flower and got away with it. Somebody cue up mama's favorite Chris Harrison ditty: THAT IS UNPRECEDENTED!! Is there no rule of law in the Bachelor Mansion!? Come on! I want some RULES in this house!!!
Nick realizes that Corinne's not there, but continues with the rose anyway because sometimes, the show must go on, and, annoying as she may be, she's a "hot" (to some) 24 year-old who is throwing herself at him, and most guys can't say no to that.
Corinne and Danielle M. already have roses, then he gives them out to:
-Astrid (maroon dress and cool necklace. She seems a lil boring, but has good style)
-Taylor (COOL black dress with neat cut outs and a stylish braid hairdo)
-Whitney (highly forgettable brunette in a gold dress)
-Kristina (Eastern Euro adoptee, seems sweet but maybe not the most playful? Cute dress though)
-Danielle L. (looking gorgeous in a red dress, great make-up)
-Rachel (first impression rose gal looking good in a sparkly grey dress)
-Vanessa (amazing, light, flowy dress; killer make-up; yes yes yes)
-Raven (light, lacey dress that contrasts nicely against her dark hair and tan skin)
-Jaimie (red dress, curly blonde hair, seems like a cool customer)
-Dominique (loving her retro hairstyle and pink/black dress)
-Sarah (always smiley, blue patterned dress, very cute)
-Alexis (Dolphin girl keeps on swimming! Nice red dress, great sense of humor)
-Brittney (does nothing for me, black dress, am I a monster?)
-Josephine (her hair and make-up are looking spectacular, fantastic dress)
So hitching a ride on JetBlue flight 6969 back to Loserville, Population: YOU are Hailey (who was straight up NOT wearing enough clothing), Lacey (blonde NYC gal who I was pulling for, but anyone who can get along with Corinne that well is probably a nightmare), and Elizabeth (was always pretty snooze-worthy, but cute yellow dress for the exit).
The next day we kick off another week with 18 ladies and Nick. Chris Harrison informs the women that this week, the producers have outdone themselves with the date activities. And he's not kidding.
The group date card arrives and Danielle L., Christen (a girl who knows and loves volume at the crown as much as I do), Kristina, Whitney, Taylor, Jasmine G., and Corinne quickly learn that they will be spending a day with the Backstreet Boys and serving as their backup dancers for a concert that night. Danielle L. and Jasmine G. are fired up because they are both great dancers, while Corinne is anxious because she's a terrible dancer AND has no short term memory (ha--I'm sorry--that killed me).
During the day of dancing with married men who call themselves "Boys," Corinne absolutely unravels, saying that she feels uncomfortable, self-conscious, and jealous. Oh how the mighty have fallen! Before you know it, 500 randoms are assembled in a dark airplane hanger, the Boys are singing, and Nick & his Ladies take the stage for some live dancing. Everybody seems to do well (minus Corinne) but Danielle L. impresses the Backstreet Bois the most, so she wins a slow dance with Nick (onstage--so awkward) while the Boys sing an a cappella version of "I Want It That Way." Danielle L. and Nick make out while slow dancing and Corinne has a psychotic break upon witnessing this, which the Bach editors play up with echo sounds and a few fuzzy camera shots--amazing cinematography.
That night at the after party (which, sadly, the Backstreet Boys did NOT attend) before the crew can have a sip of a drink post-cheers, Corinne jumps on Nick and takes him aside. The "slit" up the side of her periwinkle Forever 21 dress is more of a giant chunk that is missing, but I suppose it's a step up from a Carmen Sandiego trench coat. Once they are alone she explains to Nick that she has trouble with "planned dancing" (she means choreography but that word has 5 syllables, so it's too complex), she apologizes for sleeping through the last rose ceremony ("I slept through my rose ceremony alarm.... err... the dog ate my... rose?") and says that she doesn't need to talk to the other girls because that's all fine (then we cut to a montage of the other girls calling her rude, disrespectful, entitled). Now that Corinne feels confident again, she lays down her head for a long winter's nap just like in the ole St. Nick poem.
Nick and Danielle L. play grab ass and talk, then later all of the ladies assemble to hear an assortment of Corinne's verbal diarrhea (not to be confused with vomit WHICH IS COMING RIGHT UP, Bachelor Nation!): she wants a tiny bobby job, she has a "nanny" named Raquel who is the only person who can properly make her "cheesy pasta" (ya mean mac and cheese? ravioli? Good Lord the public school system failed you---or maybe your parents did?), she doesn't make her own bed or wash her own clothes, she is a job creator and so Raquel should appreciate her. Jasmine G. has had enough so she makes a "talk to the hand" gesture and walks off to the bathroom to engage in America's favorite pastime: talking shit. I love it and I love Jasmine.
Finally, Nick joins the ladies and hands gives the date rose to Danielle L. Halleluiah! Also, am I the only one who is truly disgusted by Corinne's helplessness? It's not a good look, Florida.
The next day is a 1:1 date with Vanessa (gorgeous Mother Theresa Canadian brunette) and the couple suits up in mechanic-style bodysuits, hops on a Zero G plane, and goes up then down then up so that they experience total weightlessness. Nick and Vanessa enjoy floating and kicking and kissing while swirling around sans gravity, but soon they are "back to reality" when Vanessa starts vomiting. Oh man. This made me laugh SO hard. What a nightmare. Vanessa handled it with aplomb, though, and Nick, to his credit, was very chill about the whole thing. Hey, sometimes your body just isn't ready to float like an astronaut so you boot, rally, pop some gum in your mouth, and keep on kissing!
 |
| Fear not, Vanessa--Nick gets this response from a LOT of women when he tries to cuddle with them. |
That night then enjoy a lovely "dinner" (drinks--notice that Vanessa had a glass or water--poor girl was probsies still dehydrated from all that PUKING) at the tallest building in LA (what, 8 floors up or so?) and talk about dead relatives, family, and flowers, which literally brings Nick to tears. Vanessa very astutely asks Nick why the heck he would do this AGAIN, when he has been through it all so many times? He says he's still optimistic and gives her the rose, then they kiss and canoodle. Very cute. Ya see, Corinne, THAT is how it's done!
The next day is a track and field group date for Rachel (first date rose, has been stuck at house since then), Alexis (BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S #1 FAN I BET), Astrid (I'm sorry, but she's a snooze-a-thon to me), Jaimie (seems spunky), Sarah (smiley), Brittany (zzzz wake me up with she gets sent away), Dominique (FINALLY! She has been stuck at the house all this time and, as she said, that isn't date, that's just WAITING! Haaaay!).
The ladies dress up like an ad for Kate Hudson's new activewear line (that has been the subject of some controversy because the bums on those yoga pants are showing butt!!!) and meet Nick on a track, where 3 former U.S. Olympic Athletes inform them that today's date is a Nick-ath-alon. There will be a long jump, a javelin throw, and a high jump (which, I gotta admit, I was pretty OK at during my middle school track days--mostly just an excuse to hang out at the track watch super cool high schoolers). Dominique gets into her head, Alexis and Rachel dominate, and Astrid wears a bra without enough support.
Finally, the Olympians declare that Rachel, Alexis, and Astrid will go on to the final round: a 100 yard dash to a giant faux blood diamond which one women must grab, then run to the a hot tub that has been set up ON the track (love it) for some alone time with Nick.
Rachel gets to the ring first, but is running so fast that she knocks it off. Alexis is right behind her, but can't get the ring in time, so 3rd place Astrid is able to snap up part of it (while Rachel mistakenly steps on the other part). Inexplicably, this bizarro dash ends with Astrid STILL IN HER YOGA PANTS, in the hot tun with Nick. Holy yeast infection, ladies!! Dominique feels defeated.
That night the after party, Dominique continues to spiral and, bless those gals, the other ladies offer her advice, encouragement, and support. Nick chats with each woman an when he gets to Dominique, she LAUNCHES into some obviously prepared remarks that are pretty jarring and aggressive. I can see how Nick may have felt a bit stunned by all of it and his response to her litany of issues is to simply say that he needs to follow his gut and send her home. I feel that. Sometimes too much drama and hurt feelings THAT early is a bad indicator of what could be to come. Dominique gives Nick a tearful hug goodbye, Rachel gets the date rose (2nd rose outside a rose ceremony!), and the ladies head back to the mansion.
The next day is a POOL PARTY (which is probably pretty anti-climactic when it's the pool that you sit by all day because you are effectively a concubine): 17 girls, 1 Nick, and 1 bouncy castle. Lordy Lordy. Raven's yellow bikini is killer, Alexis looks awesome and cracks me up, and Corinne is busy contouring upstairs while saying that the other women seem desperate. Ha! Good one, bro.
Mid-party, Corinne calls Nick to the driveway where she has a pink bounce castle for them to jump in and a pair of thighs for her to wrap around his crank. Stay classy, Florida. The other woman witness this display, are all pretty offended by it, and they join forces to each bring it up to Nick individually. Way to go, ladies!! While Corinne slumbers away (yes, she goes to sleep AGAIN as the party continues), Raven warns Nick that he's making a huge mistake and that Corinne is a helpless child, Jasmine G. and Taylor both confront him about the signals he is sending to the other women, and Vanessa drops the hammer with the line, "I question what your intentions are... I'm not judging Corinne, I'm judging YOUR actions." YES YES YES!!!
In a house rivalry that takes me back to Jake Pavelka's season when it was Vienna vs. Everybody Who Didn't Suck, right now the house is divided between Corinne vs. Functional Adults Who Know How to Cook Their Own Cheese Pasta and Chop Up Cucumbers.
From the preview, it looks like next week it will come down to Taylor vs. Corinne and you know what that usually means: a 2-on-1 date where SHIT GOES DOWN! I can't wait!
Lovely readers, are you doing Bachelor brackets? How are those going? What do you think of the season? Favorite ladies?
If you prefer listening over reading, be sure to subscribe to THE FANTASY SUITE, the amazing podcast that my wonderful friend Dava Krause and I record immediately after each episode. Check that out here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fantasy-suite/id1072808624?mt=2
