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Week 7 eliminations are marked in white, those from previous weeks in red
This week Bachelorette Becca is in the Bahamas, where she narrows her field of six suitors — Blake, Garrett, Colton, Wills, Leo and Jason — down to the final four, whose families she’ll meet during hometowns next week.
At the beginning of the episode, Becca tells Chris Harrison that she can see herself falling for a couple of the guys here. “I’m so afraid that something’s gonna ruin it,” she tells Harrison. Is Becca referring to the 9 p.m. interruption when the real world — President Trump’s Supreme Court announcement — will intrude on this two-hour escape from reality?
Good guess! But this was filmed well before Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced his retirement, so that’s probably just Becca’s Arie trauma talking.
There’s no rose ceremony this week; instead, three guys get one-on-ones and the remaining three go on a group date. The stakes are high: It’s the moment everyone is expected to tell Becca whatever she may need to know about a contestant or their family before they take that next step. For Colton, that means telling Becca that he’s a virgin. “I’m not waiting for marriage,” Colton tells her, “I’m waiting for the right heart.” The other guys in the house and Colton treat this revelation as if it could be a deal-breaker, and though Becca is surprised to hear this from the man with whom she has “so much chemistry and passion,” it’s definitely not a deal-breaker for her.
“I would never judge you for that,” she tells him, after they spend the day diving for conch, which their guide describes as Bahamian Viagra. Colton gets a rose.
The second one-on-one goes to Garrett, with whom Becca also has strong chemistry. “He has such a sexy, playful side to him,” Becca says. “I love the way he makes me feel and I feel pulled toward him.” They ride in a seaplane and at dinner talk a bit more about Garrett’s first marriage, which Garrett said he hung onto too long, but assured Becca that she’d know if something wasn’t right with the two of them. Garrett tells Becca he’s falling in love with her and that he sees in her everything that he’s looking for in a wife. We’re still eagerly awaiting a serious discussion of whether their politics and values align. We’ll have to settle for someone else discussing such things … like the president of the United States.
The weirdest moment: The real world interrupts
For the second time this season, “The Bachelorette” hits pause for a breaking new report from the Trump administration. Last month it was for Trump’s one-on-one with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Monday night, it was for the president’s nomination of federal judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as Supreme Court justice. It’s always a surreal experience when reality television is interrupted for a dramatic moment from our reality television president. Ashley Spivey, the de facto investigative reporter of this season of “The Bachelorette,” took this moment as an opportunity to encourage viewers to vote in the upcoming 2018 midterms.
Unlike “The Bachelorette,” purely making a pick doesn’t cement that person’s spot. The Senate will need to confirm Kavanaugh before his lifetime appointment can proceed.
The best moment: Becca’s connection with Blake
Back to the romance. By the time this date is starting, Blake is so eager to see Becca we half-expect him to be the one to run up to her and wrap his legs around her. Alas, this is “The Bachelorette,” where the woman is the lead but the men are still the pursuers. And also Blake would probably topple Becca if he tried. As Blake and Becca dance to a live concert of Baha Men (of “Who Let the Dogs Out” fame), Blake’s enthusiasm rivals that of a golden retriever who was left in his crate for far too long, uncertain of whether his owner would ever come back and take him for a walk. Well, Becca did return! And Blake couldn’t be happier.
During the dinner portion of their date, we learn that Blake found out about his mother’s love affair with Blake’s high school English teacher and basketball coach not from his mother directly but from other people in the community. Ouch.
It’s not all confession of pain, however. Blake talks about how he wants to be with someone who will put family over everything else and he gushes effusively about how deep he’s fallen for Becca. “Falling in love is really fun, but I think staying in love is more fun,” he says. “Becca, I am in love with you.”
The feeling is clearly mutual. Though Becca can’t say those words back to him, she finds another way to communicate it, by saying “that makes my heart burst … you make my heart very happy.” The kisses they share afterward — with intense, breathy pauses — say much the same thing. Blake gets a rose. She tells the camera that her “heart just recognizes his,” and we’re putting our money on him as Becca’s final pick.
The worst moment: Becca says goodbye to Wills
This three-on-one is awkward. There’s only one rose, three men. After a game of beach volleyball, Becca and Leo have a chat on the beach during which they discuss how far their relationship is behind the others, and Becca says goodbye to the hunky stuntman. We hope to see you in Paradise, Leo. With Jason and Wills remaining, it seems as if Wills will get the rose. Jason hasn’t said he’s “falling for” Becca yet, while Wills confesses that he’s “falling more and more in love with [Becca] every day.” He can say the words, and usually that’s reason enough to say goodbye to the one who can’t. But Becca decides that her connection with Jason is stronger, so she bids Wills goodbye. In his farewell interview, Wills makes the driver stop so he can cry on the side of the road. It was an emotional one for viewers as well.
And as soon as he was gone, Bachelor Nation was rooting for his return — as the next Bachelor.
