Week two of The Bachelor features bachelorettes dressing up in wedding gowns AGAIN, the season’s villain up to her usual tricks, and a rose ceremony interrupted. Read on for more DRAMA as Matt James looks for endless love.
Matt gets ready for his day, jogging, showering, RIDING ON HIS PRODUCT PLACEMENT PELOTON. He muses about his hopes and dreams to fall in loooove. Sidenote: Gotta say, these scenes of Western PA in the fall are making this Yinzer homesick!
The girls are brought to the place where they will be staying at Nemacolin Resort. The lobby is very colorful. As the girls wait for their instructions, Katie confesses that she isn’t real comfortable hanging out with a bunch of girls. Ditto Queen Victoria, who is ready to create some mischief.
Coming up: A group date, and two one-on-ones. PLOT TWIST: Because the group is still large (24 bachelorettes) not everyone will get a date.
Matt and Bri fly high
Bri will head out on the first group date. The theme, “Love is an adventure” translate to Matt and Bri finding two offroad vehicles waiting for them. Matt is very excited to go on his first one on one. Meanwhile, the girls watch the two happily drive away, and they aren’t happy. Queen Victoria instantly begins complaining. “I’M NOT JEALOUS I’M LITERALLY SO SICK OF YOU GUYS.” She thinks the girls trying to be happy for Matt are FAKETY FAKE FAKE. The girls already hate her.
Bri climbs on Matt’s vehicle and he begins pulling wheelies in the mud…until he loses control and the two end up in the dirt. Matt frets that Bri’s mom will be mad. Which is kind of weird. She’s a big girl. She wasn’t hurt. Finally, caked in mud, they roll up to a hot tub. Bri watches as Matt strips down to cut some wood. He’s ripped! Bathing suits under their clothes, they drink champagne in the tub.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Queen Victoria continues complaining. “You guys are either lying or fake! You’re losers!” she whines.
Eventually, Matt leans in for a kiss and it’s MAKE OUT TIME. He’s on a JOURNEY to FIND what’s been MISSING. Later at dinner, it’s confession time. Bri admits that she doesn’t usually introduce boyfriends to her mother. Mom got pregnant at 13, and then never dated. But now she’s got a fiance, and she’s pregnant. Bri feels left out. Her father was absent, mostly. Matt totally relates. His dad wasn’t around growing up, either. Bri’s eyes widen as Matt describes how he gravitated to intact families. SOULMATES!
STOP BEING AN IDIOT
Back at the hotel, Victoria is getting on the ladies’ last nerves. Alana admits in a confessional that she’d love if Victoria would “STOP BEING AN IDIOT.”
Next is the big group date. The girls brace themselves as names are called out: Chelsea, Serena P, Abigail, Sydney, Illeana, Kristin, Lauren, Jessenia, Serena C. Kit, Kaili, Katie, MJ, Mari, Pieper, Rachael and…Victoria of course! The girls are expecting a sh** show.
Meanwhile, Matt thanks Bri for her honesty, before handing her a rose. Matt loved the way she “opened up” to him tonight. No spilling of guts, no getting the rose. Bri is confident the two are compatible and can “continue for a long time.”
Fireworks go off. The ladies are BIG MAD wishing they were on the date. “They’re probably making out! One girl complains. They know she got a rose. Victoria scolds them with a big I TOLD YOU SO. Arguing ensues. “I think I’m authentic and real!” Victoria insists. Marylynn tries to connect to Victoria. They’re roommates! But she rebuffs her overtures. FAKE PEOPLE ARE FAKE says Victoria. At this point, none of the girls want to room with the volatile Victoria, so she heads off to sleep on the coach.
The bachelorette fight for Matt in wedding dresses
It’s a rainy day in Western Pennsylvania when the ladies head off on their group date, squealing like teenagers when he arrives. Lauren notes that she only spoke with Matt at the limo. She’s on a mission to get more time. Franco the photographer shows up in a feathery coat that looks wholly unsuitable for rain. The theme: The girls will change into wedding dresses for a photo shoot.
As the ladies get ready to pose, magically the sun has come out. As Franco clicks away, he shouts at the girls to kiss Matt. Queen Victoria comes ready to pull focus. She hikes up her dress to reveal a garter belt. After, she aggressively sticks her tongue down Matt’s throat. OK THEN.
Chris shows up to throw a wrench into the day. Matt is looking for a woman who will “truly fight for him.” Some of the girls are upset, because not everyone got a photo shoot. Rachael warns that “the claws are about to come out.” Chris describes the game the ladies are about to play. “Capture the heart.” Two teams will go at it with wedding cake, purses and flowers covered with paint. The winner must grab the other team’s big stuffed heart and carry it over the finish line.
A winner emerges!
It’s the Gold Team vs Red Team. Victoria is on the red team. “Let them eat cake,” she says. After the girls destroy each hit and claw and cover each other with paint, MJ grabs the gold heart and runs to the finish line. The Red Team wins. Sydney complains that the Red team didn’t play with half as much energy as the Gold team. Mari, declared the most valuable player by Matt, will also attend the after party. Katie, on the losing team, breaks down in tears. “You can’t fall in love, if you can’t even get time with the guy.”
At the afterparty, finally, Lauren gets some time with Matt, and he confesses that AKSHUALLY, he wanted more time with her too. Jessiana confesses that she wants a man of faith. She’s also looking for loyalty. Matt admits that he keeps his Christianity under wraps. He’s afraid of being judged. Jessiana reveals that she’s dealt with “a lot of infidelity.” She’s looking for “a rock.” Matt lists off a bunch of traditional roles for a man–his role as a husband is to protect his wife, and provide for his family. Is this the 1950s or what? Jess gets a big tongue-y kiss from Matt.
Does Victoria look fat in her dress?
Victoria gets her time with Matt. She reveals that she has her insecurities! For instance, she hopes she doesn’t look fat in her dress. Oh boy. Matt assures her that she looks great, and that she’s still here because he likes her (or…the producers will let him know when they’re done with her.) The two kiss.
In the end, Matt gives the date rose to Lauren. I thought he’d give it to Jessiana, to be honest. But on second thought, despite all that talk of vulnerability and opening up, Matt is just going with the gal he’s physically attracted to. Victoria was, of course, totally expecting the rose.
Matt and Sarah Fly High
The second one-on-one date goes to Sarah. The theme is “The sky’s the limit for us.” In other words, the two will fly in a bi-plane. Hope she’s not afraid of flying! “This looks like the first plane ever invented,” she says. But it gives her a chance to cling to Matt as they sail over the colorful foliage.
Back at the hotel, the girls watch as the plane flies overhead. “I’m jealous as hell,” admits Rachael. After the spin, the two approach a campfire. Sarah isn’t sure if she’s ready to “open up.” She says family is everything to her. She touches on the pandemic, a topic that’s hardly ever broached n this show. Sarah confesses that she’s close to her dad. Matt senses Sarah holding back. As far as he’s concerned, that’s not acceptable. He’ll prod her on their date later on.
Later, during dinner, she immediately starts tearing up. While in college, her father was diagnosed with ALS. At 5 years, her dad is still alive. But he can’t talk. She quit her TV news job to be a caregiver for her dad. Matt adds that his faith gives him strength. He’ll be praying for her dad. He’s impressed by her selflessness. She only did the show because dad wanted her to “find love.” Matt says she has the qualities he appreciates in a woman and wants to know how he can show her he’s worthy. “Just be as real as possible,” she says. Naturally, Sarah gets the date rose. TIME TO MAKE OUT IN THE HOT TUB.
The claws come out
It’s time for the rose ceremony. It’s the second one in a week. The ladies are on edge! The girls who didn’t get a date at all are ready to pounce. Abigail, who got the first impression rose last time sits down with Matt. She’s the gal with Cochlear implants. Matt appreciates that he doesn’t have to try hard around her. She’s so easy to be with.
Marylynn straight up admits to Matt that their lack of facetime has made her nervous. She almost starts crying! To make her feel better he gifts her favorite flower, an orchid. Queen Victoria is livid that her enemy roomate, whom she calls toxic, actually got a gift. Victoria, a self described, “empath” believes Marylynn needs to go home now. So, she pulls Matt aside She calls Marylynn toxic and manipulative and blames her for having to sleep on the couch. Matt has a total WTF look on his face as she trashes Marylynn to his face. But instead of saying “you loco girl,” he says, “I’m really glad you shared that with me…I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
Marylynn needs to go home because I hate her, says Victoria
Matt believes that Marylynn has been bullying Victoria. WHO IS OBVIOUSLY JUST SO WEIRD. It’s like she eats a pile of edibles before she gets in front of the camera. Victoria tells the other girls what she said to Matt, and they have no idea what she’s talking about. Matt confronts Marylynn. “I’m not here for drama,” she says, swearing that Victoria isn’t telling the truth. Matt doesn’t seem to believe her. This is so obviously fake. No person could be that dense.
Marilynn tries to work things out with Victoria. It’s obviously a waste of time. Even after Marylynn apologizes, Victoria is hell bent on getting her off the show. The other ladies know Victoria is ridiculous, and are annoyed by the drama, which is stealing time from the other ladies. “Marylynn needs to go home tonight…because I hate her!” Victoria declares.
Time for the rose ceremony: Pieper, Kit, Magi, Rachael, Abigail, Chelsea, Jessenia, Katie, Serena C. receive roses. And then…drama! Sarah shared that the longer Victoria stays, the more she second guesses her attraction to Matt. She’s glad she’s already got a rose. And it’s a good thing too, because just as Matt was ready to hand out another one, Sarah feels faint and has to be guided to a spot on the floor. The medics show up. And well, you know TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK!
