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Culture > Entertainment

This ‘Bachelorette’ Group Date – & Subsequent Elimination –  Literally Made My Jaw Drop

Nicole Wojnicki

This Bachelorette episode was an absolute mess. From Clare getting angry at the men for getting along and not paying her their attention to that one-on-one with Jason, the second episode of the season was a rollercoaster.

 

The messiest thing that happened was the Dodgeball group date. Remember last week, when I said that Brandon would go far? Well that statement did not age well, because even though we didn’t get a Rose Ceremony this week, Brandon was sent home by Clare for a reason that people are on the fence about.

Let me set the scene for anyone who missed it. The men are jogging along to the location of their group date only to be greeted by Clare, who feeds a dodgeball into a pitching machine that flings it at the men. She talks about how she’s been looking forward to this group date, because she really does want a man “who has some balls.”

“I want a man who will fight for me, a man that knows how to compete and I want someone that wants to win me over,” she says. Then there’s a whole montage of them playing dodgeball, which seems fine – until the one, the only Chris Harrison comes in blowing a whistle.

“You guys seem to be having a great time,” he says to the guys, as he explains that they’re getting split into a red and blue team. He then goes on to explain that the winning team gets more time with Clare – a prize that’s always been there on competitive group dates like this one – while the losers get to walk of shame home. 

Clare Crawley
Photo by ABC / Craig Sjodin

After getting pumped up in the locker rooms, Chris welcomes them to “Clare’s Extreme Dodgeball Bash” before Clare tells Chris to hold the phone. She wants to up the ante. This is where it gets worse for the guys. She says that the men should play strip dodgeball, which the men don’t love – after all, this is the first date, and you just don’t do that stuff on the first date. Chris asks for clarification. Does the game end when the losing team has nothing on? That’s when my jaw dropped to the floor and my shock came in (I also had a lot of questions and concerns floating around, like what happens if a guy has some ball-on-ball action? Plus, knowing how struck she already is by Dale, why didn’t she put him on this date?). 

But it’s Clare’s game and Clare’s rules, so the game begins. When the blue team loses the first round, having to remove their shirts, it may be their loss but it’s Clare’s win. The socks come next when they lose again, and the shorts – with black bars appearing in their place – not long after. When all is said and done, the blue team has to walk home naked, and seeing these men walking home naked and ashamed made me grit my teeth, I felt so feel bad for them. Could you even imagine if this had happened on The Bachelor?

Blake Monyes also felt pretty angry being part of the guys who had to do the walk of shame because he reflected on how the red team is going to get time with Clare while they walk home naked and “like clowns.” He then said he was not happy about the outcome at all.

The guys who weren’t a part of the date are talking about going out of their comfort zone and dating when Blake and company walk in naked (besides Kenny, who told Clare he couldn’t do the walk of shame). You can audibly hear someone in the room say “Oh, buddy,” as they’re walking in, and I really felt the embarrassment these guys most likely felt walking home buck naked. Bennett goes on to talk about how the guys did what they had to do and how he needed a cleaning crew for the couch after everyone sat on it. As the guys talk about their experience, Blake gets up from the couch and decides to go do something about his loss, rather than sulk around about it.

The show cuts to Clare with the red team, where someone says they couldn’t have picked a better date – most likely because he didn’t have to do the walk of shame back home. Jay reflects on the fact that he’s happy it’s only the five of them now, but Clare feels bad for the other team. They make a toast to balls, and Eazy steals Clare first.

Here’s where things start to heat up. During his time with Clare, Eazy gives her a foot massage, shares what he appreciates most about Clare, and says she makes him giddy. Clare goes on about how EASY it is to talk to him (get it, cause his name is Eazy?) and that he reminds her of the reasons why she came here. They cut to Clare speaking to Chasen, who mentions how speaking to Clare is natural, like he’s known her for a long time. Clare and Chasen share a kiss once their time is up, which Chasen says is like something out of a fairytale, and gave him goosebumps.

Meanwhile, Blake Monyes is getting dressed to go and meet Clare, saying the dodgeball game isn’t going to dictate his night. At this point, I’m in between yes, go Blake Monyes! and don’t do this, because this is how they all go home. But he wants more from Clare after their connection on night one.

As he’s walking to his possible elimination, a sight I can barely stand to see, Jay is talking to Clare about how he wants to open a gym. Then all of a sudden, Clare turns around to say hello to none other than Blake Monyes, and you can see the anger coming out of Jay’s eyes. So I’m sitting there, frantically eating popcorn and just preparing myself for Blake Monyes’ elimination from the show. 

Blake asks Jay if he could borrow Clare, but Jay is already eyeing him for even being there. Jay reminds Blake that his team lost, but he acts as the bigger person and gives Clare to Blake. I have to applaud Jay for this, because while this was a tough thing to do, it was the right thing to do as well (unless the producers were behind the camera, giving him the signal to wrap it up).

Blake says he wanted to go to Clare to show her he really has balls, and how he did this whole thing for Clare to prove to her he is the man she needs. But Jay told a few of the other guys about Blake’s interuption, and they come to confront Blake and Clare, claiming they don’t want to lose any time with her because of him.

The guys fight about how they shouldn’t lose time because they won it fair and square, to which Blake says it wasn’t fair. He goes on to say that he wanted to show Clare he had balls, and I thought punches or curses would be thrown over this. Instead they call him a sore loser and Clare steps in. While she applauds what he did, she also doesn’t want to disrespect the other guys or have them get upset towards him. They embrace for a hug, and the most awkward and cringey thing ever happens. Blake goes in for a kiss, and then Clare rejects it by pushing him away on his chest, saying he can’t go in for it.

At that moment, my jaw dropped. My face turned red in embarrassment for Blake, and I probably screamed while hiding my face in my pillow. I thought he was going home, but fast forward to after the dates, and Clare gives Blake a rose for being ballsy. I was relieved when Blake got the rose.

Clare later apologizes to Brandon, who was definitely upset. He confesses that when he heard she was the Bachelorette, he knew he wanted to be there. But when she asks why, he gives the absolute worst answer ever, opposite to his first impression entrance: “First of all, you’re obviously absolutely gorgeous. Other than that, to be honest with you, I don’t really know anything about you. I know you’re from Sacramento, were you born and raised or?”

So my top pick for first impressions hit rock bottom, because oh my goodness, you do not come for someone you know nothing about! Just like Blake, my jaw dropped, and I screamed “Why?!” about 8 times, and Clare scurried him out to the car. Some were livid over what happened.

In Clare’s defense, you should do your research before you say anything to that level. In Brandon’s defense, he just wanted to know her on a personal level, rather than what the internet and media says about her. Clare returns to the group to explain, gives the group date rose to Chasen, and then get ready for the cocktail party, where Clare pulls Blake Monyes aside to give him a rose, which shocked the rest of the contestents, who’ve had yet to receive one.  

And of course, we can’t end the episode before Dale and Clare go off to talk and kiss some more. The drama is anticipated to continue next week, and I want to hear what you guys think. DM me on Instagram @notoriousnicolaaa or mention me on twitter @HappyLilNerd, and be sure to catch me live tweeting The Bachelorette every Tuesday at 8PM EST. 

Nicole Wojnicki is an alumni of LIU Post and has studied Broadcasting Journalism. Nicole drinks Starbucks, tweets about reality TV, spends time with her two cats Shishka and Bob, works out and writes about her interests and life.