'The Bachelorette' 9.06 Schools Zak At Drawing Class
This week seemed to be the calm before the storm for the season, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t drama. Just as the Ben drama came to a head last week during the awkward two on one with Michael, the James drama percolates and finally dissipates during this week’s episode. There wasn’t much time with Chris Harrison this week, but it looks as though he’ll be getting involved in upcoming episodes.
Everyone expects Drew to tell Desiree what James said about becoming a Bachelor on his one on one, but he allows for a really fun date beforehand. Starting off with a kiss, they explore Barcelona and check out a tapas bar. After an emotional moment where we learn of Drew’s father’s problems with alcohol and now cancer, we get some great feel-good time when Drew goes on to say how much of a hero his father is to him for fighting it all. Once Drew has opened up they’re off to wander around alleyways before finding their private courtyard dinner date. It’s a beautiful, romantic setting but Drew immediately forgoes it, pulling Des outside to have a steamy make out session before getting the rose and telling her about James. I thought he handled the James news really well, by showing her an amazing time so she knows other guys are there for her before spilling on the deadbeat. It can backfire really easily when someone rats on another competitor but Des took it really well and never got upset with Drew, which was good.
Brooks, Chris, Kasey, Michael, James, and Juan Pablo are all on the soccer group date. If you don’t remember, Juan Pablo was a professional soccer player, so he should be totally in his element in this date right? He seemed really excited to be playing soccer and he definitely seemed to enjoy himself, but I wish he’d had a one on one to prove himself a little better. There can be three one on ones in a week, right? Des brings out a team of six girls to team up with as the play a guys vs girls game of soccer. The men all think it’ll be a breeze to win the game, but after Juan Pablo’s initial two goals they go drastically downhill as James forgets he’s the goalie and the girls score ten to win.
During the evening portion of the date Desiree pulled Chris aside to read out this love poem she wrote him. Not only is that generally adorable, but they’re swapping love poems which is just way cuter than her time with some of the other men. Chris and her are having a really cute romance that I haven’t really loved yet. Although I’ve known he’s a strong contender, this episode really made me realize how cute they are together. But this is where things get tense… Kasey pulls Desiree aside to discuss what Drew told her and fill her in on some extra tidbits. He then goes back to the guys where they all sit around and confront James together as she’s off somewhere else. James is yelling, swearing, and being a generally awful guy yet when all the men leave but him he switches to be upset with tears in his eyes to really sell that he wants to stay. He’s such a salesman and Desiree isn’t able to see it just yet. She sends him back to the hotel where they’ll pick up on the drama after her date with Zak.
When the next day rolls around and it’s time for Zak’s one on one date he comes out immediately making Des laugh and have fun. He’s the perfect guy for this date to take her mind off the drama. They go to an art class where they start drawing this male model who comes out. They both do quite well, until they start drawing each other at least. Zak tries to add colour to his drawing of Des which goes terribly wrong, making them both laugh as a naked man shows up. I definitely would have liked to see their drawings of him and compare their impression of him. Zak definitely seemed shocked by that at first, but then he stripped down to his tighty whities for a joke. He can’t go an episode without being almost naked, can he? That night, they sit on a couch and chat about why he’s single and how he wants a love like his parents have. Surprisingly, he doesn’t mention the James drama once during their date and she ends up giving him the rose. During his journal time he gushes about how he’s in love with Des with no hesitation. Really? No hesitation? At all? It’s only your first real date with her.
The next day, Des comes by to chat with James for a bit. She had planned to send him home but after a few tears and compliments she needs even more time before she can make the decision, leading to the rose ceremony. At the beginning Chris Harrison had said there would be no cocktail party before sending people home, and when the men arrive they discover three of them will be going home. For this far into the show that’s quite a lot! Drew (1on1), Zak (1on1), Chris, Brooks, and Michael remain to vie for Des’ heart. Finally, she was able to send James home!
Although my favourites have been Zak and Juan Pablo since the start, clearly Juan Pablo is no longer an option. That’s a shame as this week had given him a little time to open up to the camera, but he never had the emotional connection with Des that was necessary. I still love Zak, but I’m trying to figure out predictions for the final now. I expect Michael will go next, leaving Chris and Zak as frontrunners, with Brooks and Drew close behind. Previews for the rest of the season seem to have some big drama with Drew. Does he leave? How does Desiree take this drama? It seems like Chris will be prepped to propose from the clips they showed, and I’m not sure whether Zak or Brooks will make it into that final two with him. We shall see!
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