Welcome back to a Golden Bachelorette Recap! In this article, we will be looking back at Episode 3 of Joan’s season of The Golden Bachelorette.
This is the first episode where we get into the normal pattern of the show. There will be 2 one-on-one dates and then a group date! Those on the one-on-one date have a chance to receive a rose, but if they aren’t offered the rose, they go home immediately. One person from the group date will receive the group date rose and also know they are safe prior to the Rose Ceremony.
The first recipient of the one-on-one date is everyone’s favorite Frenchman, Pascal!
When Pascal was first introduced, I thought he may be the villain of the season, but all the guys are so welcoming and wholesome, that even there doesn’t seem to be a villain at all! Pascal likes the finer things in life (he doesn’t know how to cook, clean, or do his own laundry) but the guys all still love him. Gregg has even offered to do Pascal’s laundry for him! ($100 per load of course). And this date is going right up his alley!
Pascal and Joan find out they will be flying via private jet to Las Vegas! Pascal is the recipient of this season’s “Pretty Woman date” where he and Joan try on a bunch of clothes. Joan says she really likes Pascal, he is handsome and makes her feel young (even though he’s a few years older than her) with his zest for life! After goofing around in their Vegas hotel room, they go to the dinner portion. This is when the couple gets to dig a little deeper. Pascal reveals that he grew up very poor in Paris with very distant parents. He left France when he was very young and came to the U.S. with no money and no English. Joan gives Pascal the one-on-one rose and thanks him for being able to be vulnerable!
In between dates, we get some cute moments of everyone’s favorite golden guy: Charles L! The first one is very bittersweet because you can’t get through an episode without crying. Charles goes to fellow contestant Guy and asks him questions regarding his wife’s death. Guy is able to give him some clarity and help him process through it. It’s a very sweet moment. Next Charles and dary go shopping to look for things to help the guys sleep better and hopefully stop snoring.
It’s time for the group date! Doing on the date are Chock, Gil, Dan, C.K., Charles, Gregg, Gary, Guy, Kim, Jordan, Mark, and Keith. This means Jonathan will get the second one-on-one date.
The group date is a kickball tournament! They have Andre Reed and Erik Dickerson help coach the teams. It is also revealed that only the winning team will go to the after-party to spend more time with Joan. There is a blue team (Charles, Jordan, Gary, Kim, Gil, Keith) and a red team (C.K., Mark, Gregg, Dan, Chock, Guy). Mark shines through this date, he is playing hard but also having a great time. (More hugging players than tackling them). By the final inning, the game is tied. It all comes down to Charles. (I believe in him) and he kicks the ball beautifully and it’s a fly ball. No one can catch it. The blue team gets a runner on base and THEY WIN! (Charles is hosted in the air).
That means C.K., Mark, Gregg, Dan, Chock, and Guy will go back to the mansion without extra time with Joan. While at the after-party, Joan gets a call from home about her mom being sick. Remember, she left Gerry’s season of The Golden Bachelor because her daughter needed her– she has a hard time staying away from her family– and it weighs on her the rest of this date. She finally opens up about how she’s feeling to Gary (who we love) and he says he will keep her mom in his prayers. Very sweet. The group date rose goes to Gil (who is a controversial figure in Bachelor Nation).
Quick interruption for the weird mansion segment of this episode: Kim has written a song. And he wants all the men to go up to Joan and sing it in front of her Von Trapp Family style. They are less than pleased.
Jonathan’s one-on-one has arrived. They are going on a horse ride through the mountains. And it turns out Joan is not a horse girl and actually hates horses. She manages to get through the horse riding portion and she and Jonathan get to relax at a lake view. It’s super pretty. Jonathan gets to open up about how he was nervous about the one-on-one and even wished he was on the group date so he was less on the spot. Joan tells him he is a front-runner in her eyes. Jonathan also talks about his Native American culture and the symbolism of the turtle (which he relates to his pattern of closing himself off). Jonathan gets the one-on-one rose.
On the way back, Joan is seeing a lot of hawks. In the first episode, Joan revealed she sees her husband in Hawks and she is really missing him right now. She thinks about how all these men have been so vulnerable, but she hasn’t allowed herself to open up as much.
At the rose ceremony, Joan opens up to the men about her own insecurity and struggles over whether she will ever be truly over her late husband John. The men all flock to comfort her and share they feel the same about their late wives.
We also get a surprise visit from Gerry Turner, the Golden Bachelor. The producers wanted people to think Gerry was trying to get into Joan’s season, but he’s truly just there to help her process through the journey and offer his support.
Some notable individual discussions are Chock and Gary. Chock opens up about his own mother’s health struggles– Joan notes that Chock is a “fixer”, just like John was. Gary gifts Joan the prayer he wrote for her mother. And to end the night, Kim gets to sing his song. Guy is the only one who goes to sing with him.
Needless to say, Guy is this episode’s MVP. (Unfortunately, it can’t always be Charles) He was a good support for Kim, Chalres, and Joan. He stepped up for his friends and gave it his all in the kickball tournament. Good job Guy!
(thegoldenbacherloretteabc)
It’s time for the rose ceremony! Pascal, Gil, and Jonathan already have their roses. In order, Guy, Dan, Gary, Jordan, Chock, Charles, Keith and Mark get roses.
Going home will be:
Kim
Gregg
C.K.
Here is my official request to ABC: make a Godlen Bachelor in Paradise. But instead of the beach, let them all go on a cruise with the ladies from Gerry’s season. You’re welcome for that great idea.
And that’s the end of Week 3 of The Golden Bachelorette!
Some of my personal favorites so far this season are:
- Mark
- Dan
- Charles <3
- Jordan
- Keith
- Gary
I think it’s too early to lock in my final four predictions, but I do believe that Chock and Jonathan all have a good chance of making it far.
That’s all for this episode! Feel free to check out the recap of Episode 1!