After Chris Harrison laid out the “date card ground rules” at the beginning of episode #2, one of the contestants said it best when he blurted: “It just got real.” That is one of my all-time favorite things that the contestants on The Bachelor/ette tend to say.
And I have to agree. By the end of this week’s episode, I did start to think, “Wow…this just got real.” But not because of the date cards or because of the threat of elimination. I thought this because Bachelorette Emily Maynard started to get TOTALLY REAL with her suitors throughout the episode. So real, in fact, that I was blown away by how different her “real-ness” was from the sweet, quiet girl we saw on Brad Womack’s season of The Bachelor.
I mean, I wanted to believe that when Brad said in a press interview just last week that he felt like he “dodged a bullet” by ending his relationship with season winner Emily Maynard, that he was just being butt hurt and out of line. But, when I saw Emily start to GRILL the guys on this week’s episode, it got me wondering whether Brad was right. Because Emily is starting to seem like a complete HANDFUL. (Yes, we here at Ok! Here is the Situation love Emily Maynard overall, but hey, she’s not perfect and part of the fun of watching this show is found in the speculation, analysis and discussion!)
Now, I think this season is a bit more serious than previous seasons because whomever “wins” Emily Maynard’s heart is also vying to become the father of her 6-year-old daughter, Ricki. And, at first, even though I thought some of her lines of questioning on her two 1-on-1 dates, the first with Ryan Bowers and the second with Joe Gendreau, were a bit severe without giving the guys ANY latitue, I still sort of “got it,” because she does need to make sure these guys have their shit together and are “there for the right reasons.” But, the problem was…she wasn’t consistent with her pursuit for pageant-style perfect answers from the guys.
It’s pretty obvious that if Emily has butterflies about a guy, she cuts them some major slack. For example, with Jef Holm and Arie Luydendyk, Jr., her questions for them were: “Why don’t you look at me when I’m batting my eyelashes at you?!” and “How’s life in Scottsdale?” But with the other guys, her questions are like:
“Ok. Your life. 5 years from now. GO!” and “How dare you not know whether you want to have 4 to 9 more kids with me right when the show wraps?”
She’s not being consistent with her grilling versus her light-hearted, get-to-know-you Qs. And honestly, she’s really starting to seem like a piece of work. But, aren’t we all? 🙂
That said, let’s see what some of our favorite Bachelor/ette bloggers, former contestants and more thought about this week’s episdoe. Note: I’m just including excerpts/highlights of the various posts here, for your perusal convenience. Click through to read entire posts (essays in some cases) from each submission below. Also, if you know of any other bloggers that I’m leaving out, please let me know if the comments section below and I’ll add them. Thanks!
From the Bachelorette herself, Emily Maynard: “I was so excited to bring Joe to The Greenbriar in my home state of West Virginia, a place where I have so many childhood memories. Joe has such a great energy that it’s almost impossible to be around him and not have a good time.
My family and I would come to The Greenbriar growing up, so it was crazy to swim in the same pool as an adult and Joe made it that much more fun. He’s such a sweet, genuine guy but during dinner while we were writing down our “love wishes,” I realized that we just weren’t right for each other.
Joe made me laugh all day, said all of the right things, and couldn’t have been more of a gentleman, but I knew that we were just in different place in our lives. I had watched the show before and seen people sent home on dates and always wondered, “How hard can it really be? You barely even know each other!” Let me be the first to say I was absolutely wrong!
I never imagined I would be doing the “ugly cry” on my second date, but it wasn’t because I thought I was breaking Joe’s heart by any means. We’ve all had someone tell us that we’re not the one for them and it’s never an easy thing to hear no matter how well you know the person. I just hated having to look at a guy that had done nothing wrong all day and be that girl. Knowing what a funny guy Joe is, though, he probably skipped to the limo and made the driver laugh just as much as he made me and all of the other guys in the house laugh.”
Read more from Emily Maynard at People.com….
From Ben’s season, Kacie Boguskie: “RYAN gets the first one-on-one date. (I’m secretly hoping it doesn’t go well for selfish reasons. First of all, I want to meet his pastor, he’s totally right, how you treat your woman is how she will treat you! I digress, Ryan looked adorable in his V-neck shirt and shorts… love the casual look on him. So the first part of the date was kind of a bore. Even though that is her everyday life and he was a good sport about it, if I was her I’d have wanted an actual date for the first date. But it does show everyday life I guess. Then we move to the night part of the date and they show up to her favorite restaurant where the “tough questions” begin. I think they covered some good topics, but I thought that the delivery of some of the questions were awkward. But I think that Ryan has a good head on his shoulders. I seriously hope he doesn’t get the final rose. Now I’m super stoked that Gloriana made an appearance. I love “Kissed you” and it would have been the icing on the cake if he had, but he respected the whole mom thing.”
Read more from Kacie Boguskie at Bachelor.TV….
From Jillian Harris’ season, Dave Good: “Ryan gets the first one-on-one. He is my favorite so far. He has confidence and is pretty laid back. Seems polite and has some good Man Code qualities. I think he will for sure get a rose.
WOW! They are going to Em’s house to put away groceries and make cookies for Ricki’s soccer team. I would love this date. First off I am a bad a@# cook and would definitely put her to shame in the kitchen. I’ll bet you money Emily. Get me a stove, grill and sit and drink some wine. Rose would be mine!
Emily does not want Ryan to meet Ricki yet and I agree with this 100% and he respects it. I think he was a little upset about not getting a huge extravagant date but I think in the long run it will be better for him.
They do have a night part of the date still to go so it will probably get even better. Yep! OMG my dream car. I love Aston Martins. Sex on wheels! He gets to drive to a dinner date with her. Emily is really dealing out some hard questions at dinner. Some great questions about whether he thinks this is a game with the other guys. Ryan does a great job handling the Q and A and seems to be sincere in his answers with her.
Haha… I was just about to say he reminds me a little of Brad and she literally just said that. He speaks the same and has some of the same mannerisms. Even with that he gets the rose.”
Read more from Dave Good at Bachelor.TV….
From Ben’s season, Jaclyn Swartz: “Back at the mansion, Kalon, who has just presumably farted in the hot tub, makes a quip about Doug taking “time off” from being a Dad. Doug then proceeds to go all TSA on Kalon’s a$$ saying “CHECK IT” over and over again. I wish Doug would stop playing the Single Dad Card and focus on a.) learning how to argue/stick up for himself and b.) talking to Emily about things other than being a Single Dad. Until that point, he remains out of my top 5.
Fast forward to the Rose Ceremony cocktail party. Arie and Emily clearly have chemistry. She acts very differently around Jef and Arie – they both make Emily very nervous and you can tell she’s getting those butterflies!
Ryan pulls Emily aside to have some time alone. THE NERVE! HE ALREADY HAS A ROSE! Who am I kidding? I cannot make fun of this. When Blakeley did this in Sonoma, I legit wanted to rip her head off. The 7-page love letter (which really equated to 15 pages because you needed a microscope for his handwriting to be legible) was a nice gesture but I found myself screaming TOO SOON, TOOOOO SOOOON! Not my style, but hey, it worked for Ryan and it most certainly worked for Courtney!”
Read more from Jaclyn Swartz at Bachelor.TV….
From Brad’s second season as the Bachelor, Marissa May: “The men arrive thinking they’re going to do some sort of performance. Emily says that if anyone knows how to put on a variety show, it’s these guys (referring to the Muppets). I say if anyone knows how to win a role in the new Broadway musical, Newsies, it’s Stevie.
Honestly (and this says a lot since I work for Disney), I was totally bored by this date and normally I love bacon! The only glimmer of interest I showed during this date was when sweet, sweet Chawwwwwlie got nervous and insecure. This guy is running a close race to be my new fave guy. He’s not afraid (ok, maybe he’s a little afraid) to say what’s on his mind, show his insecurities and take a hit. Which is why I am TOTALLY ticked off when Jef gets the group date rose. Say what??? We didn’t hear Jef utter a single word, Emily has to confront him and he puts the whole state of Texas between them while talking, but HE gets the rose?
The only positive that comes out of Jef getting the group date rose now because of needing reassurance is that he has no excuse to be coy, to sit back or be insecure. Emily just gave him reassurance. She just took the reins, told him she’s trying to get his attention and took a stance in front of the entire group to say she’s interested. If he doesn’t take that hint, he should just pack his flowbee and hit the road.”
Read more at MsMarissaMay.com….
From former Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky: “It’s no secret that Jef with one F is my favorite so far (yes, I will call him “Jef with one F” all season), and I am really happy to see that he and Emily are hitting it off. Although, I have some concerns. I honestly think he is over this whole process. I know you might be asking yourself, “How could he be over it when it has just started?” This is the thing…by the time you get to the second rose ceremony you have spent about a week sitting in a house with no friends or family, and spend all your time talking about the Bachelor/Bachelorette even though you barely ever see them. This is a LONG week to say the least. I remember feeling so discouraged after the first 3 days – never mind a whole week. So I feel for Jef, but I also know that Emily likes him a lot. Her relationship with him kind of reminds me of mine with Frank. Frank (Jef) always felt discouraged about the process and I (Emily) always wanted to reassure him. Let’s just hope Jef with one F sticks around at the end and doesn’t leave her! Cause that would stink. Ha.”
Read more from Ali Fedotowsky at SFGate.com….
From Bachelor/ette host Chris Harrison: “Right from the get-go, there was a lot of tension around the first date card. I think by now everyone knows that going on the first date of the season is a huge deal, though it can also be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, getting to jump right in and develop a connection with Emily is a great advantage. On the other hand, if you start to develop feelings really early, it can make each passing week in the house harder and harder as you watch a woman you have feelings for date other men.
When the first date went to Ryan, you could tell immediately that a lot of the guys were concerned. Ryan has a certain soft-spoken confidence that can be a little intimidating to some guys. Let me tell you, when Emily walked in that day, the guys couldn’t believe how gorgeous she looked. One thing the guys kept saying about Emily is that they were blown away by how she looked in casual clothes.
I mentioned last week that things were going to be a little different this time around and I think that was pretty apparent starting with this first date. Emily is a mother first and she wanted to make sure that the guys took that into consideration before going too far. Thankfully, Ryan stepped up and made it into a pretty fun day for the both of them. Other guys, though, may not have taken Emily’s motherhood too seriously and you’ll see a bit of that as the season unfolds.”
Read more from Chris Harrison at EW.com….
From former Bachelorette Jillian Harris: “Well, I said it before and I really stand by it now—this season of The Bachelorette is going to be much different and it certainly is. Emily has such a HUGE invested interest in this journey, and I really do believe that is true for her more than it was for any other woman that’s been the bachelorette. That being said, I do think it’s also the reason that this season is off to a slow start.
At the risk of making myself look, well, less classy, my season was more about fun, goofing around, more cocktails and less pressure. All I had to look for was a connection, and I don’t envy all of the extra details Emily has to cover. But maybe that’s going to be the key for her to find a successful relationship in the end.
For several seasons now people have complained that they won’t watch next season of the show because there’s too much drama and not enough of the “love connection.” Well, I think you guys are getting it this time around, so I don’t want to hear any peeps if you’re finding it boring. There’s a reason Jersey Shore is successful!”
Read more at LHJ.com….
From Jason Mesnick’s season, Natalie Getz: “Ryan called Emily a soccer mom. It’s the most obvious thing he could have said and there is nothing more irritating than obvious humor. He has an awkward, Chachi way with words. Hopefully this is just a nervous, camera shy thing. I didn’t like his face when Emily asked him to unload her groceries, however, on a first date in real life no one would make it this awkward with the groceries and the cooking for the kids. After making cookies, Emily tells him they are going to Chuck E. Cheese. Once she said she was kidding I laughed pretty hard, but Ryan didn’t. Why did he laugh? Ryan, why didn’t you laugh! Laugh, you a-hole! Grrrrr. When a beautiful, soft-spoken girl makes a funny, it’s 10 times funnier. She then informs him they are going to a nice dinner at Osso, her favorite restaurant in Charlotte.
Heaven. Going to Possessiontista immediately to figure out where these heels are from. She wore these beautiful, sequin peep toe sling backs with a silver metal heal very well. Haute!”
Read more from Natalie Getz at Bachelor.TV….
From Jillian Harris’ season, Michael Stagliano:
Group-date-time. Oh boy.
Right out of the gate, I was laughing, not because of the Muppets… but because WHAT… I mean WHAT IN THE WORLD was Stevie wearing. I am NOT a fashion expert, but correct me if I am wrong, that black shirt (not collared) grey sweater over the back, tilted grey flat cap outfit…was HORRIBLE. I honestly couldn’t pay attention the first 90 seconds cause it was such an eyesore.
We quickly learn the guys will be performing in a variety show, dancing, singing, stand-up. I, for one, was not too intrigued, but was totally captured by Charlie’s story and his fear of speaking in public because of his accident. I got a little confused when he asked Emily if he could dance instead, she said “Yes” (to his face)… then he ended up having to speak in front of everyone anyway. It’s an exaggeration to say it was “emotional to watch” cause he only said 3 sentences. BUT it is a powerful, wonderful thing to see someone face their fears.
Read more from Michael Stagliano at Bachelor.TV….
From former Bachelorette Ashley Hebert: “Food for thought: I liked Ryan. As a matter of fact, I added him to my list of top four guys for Emily, but after this episode, I’m not so sure anymore. The Good: He is physically on par with Emily and seems to have all the right answers to her questions. I loved that Ryan preferred Emily in her “mom clothes” as opposed to being all dolled up! This is a very good sign! The Bad: I didn’t like how he once referred to her as “Emily Maynard.” It felt somewhat impersonal, like she was a celebrity, and he was her fan.It’s like Angelina calling her fiancé, Brad Pitt and not Brad. It just rubbed me the wrong way! The Ugly: Lets be real here, there is nothing ugly about Ryan, well… maybe the permanent helmet hair? Haha. I shouldn’t talk.
Don’t you all think that the lead singer of Emily’s favorite band looks like Jef? If Jef is the one, I am totally thinking that there is some subconscious reminder of something familiar and favorite. We’ll see! Ryan and Emily also touched on something that JP and I joke about all the time. This show is about falling in love, and not competing for love. Whenever someone says that JP won The Bachelorette, I get squeamish! Glad they touched on this so early in the “game.” No pun intended!”
Read more from Ashley Hebert at Parade.com….
From Ashley, the Bachelor Expert: “Joe shows up and Emily is standing by a plane. I love her hair and outfit. She looks gorgeous. They go to Emily’s home state of West Virginia and visit The Greenbrier, which looks like a playground for the wealthy. They swim in a pool that is over 100 years old.
Read more at BachelorExpert.com….
From Lincee of ihategreenbeans.com: “Emily’s Mama zips her into another ball gown before our bachelorette kisses Little Ricki and heads over to the mansion. Her first order of business is making sure hot race car driver Arie knows that she thinks he is the be all end all. She admits that he makes her nervous after finding out that he has dated a single Mom before.
Tony spies Ryan from out on the veranda and becomes physically flustered that the guy with a neck the size of a tree trunk should not dominate Emily’s precious time since he already is the owner of a coveted red bud. TBI Charlie, One F Jef and the Andros encourage him to interrupt. Affirmation from the cool kids gives Tony just enough confidence to burst through the French doors as Ryan is handing over a love note he wrote. Ryan insists Emily read the entire thing while he sits and listens.
Confidence killer indeed.
Tony is clearly stuck. He can’t leave after making such a dramatic entrance. Yet he doesn’t want to stay to hear Emily recite Ryan’s epic sonnet. What’s a lumber salesman to do?
Like the rest of us, he had to endure the torture.
Emily concedes that Ryan could have chosen a better time to share his hand written narrative. She welcomes Tony with open arms asking if he left his note in the other room.
I’d like to see more of this personality please.
To no one’s surprise, Tony talks about his love for the Muppets and then shares with Emily that he has a five-year-old son. She promises to “be there for him” whenever he gets upset about being away from his kid, which apparently happens next week.”
Read more at ihategreenbeans.com….
From Dana Weiss (aka Possessionista):
Emily’s one shoulder red lace dress
Read more at Possessionista.com….
From blogger Knox McCoy: “Ryan gets the first date card and this is a good point to introduce a theory I’ve been developing through raw data. It’s my hypothesis that Bachelors and Bachelorettes always use the first few dates on the strong contenders. After that, the rest of the contestants are just hood rats they knock out just for the sake of drama and intrigue, but I think if you look at the first 1-3 one-on-one date choices, a high % of those contestants end up in the final 2. And it’s important to note that I think this applies only to the FIRST date of the episode. The second date always feels like taking a trip to the discount movie theater where even the popcorn can’t overwhelm the strong smell of Wal-Mart.
After picking up Ryan, in the space of 4 seconds, Maynard reiterates that she doesn’t know much about Ryan (thanks, Maynard. We all thought he was your constant but good thing you cleared that up seeing as how this is episode #2) and she made the sweeping generalization that attractive dudes COULD all be like Brad Womack like she’s been doing anthropological analysis on it. I feel like, by the end of this season, she’s going to make my brain just stop working.”
Read more at KnoxMcCoy.com….
From blogger Lost Angeles: “I’d say good morning, but it isn’t. Last night my worst fears were realized. The Bachelorette, much to my prediction, finally jumped the shark. It’s hard to jump the shark when your show typically involves dates where you take a helicopter to a place where you actually jump over sharks, but ABC menage a trois’d to do it. I warned them that Lady Veneers would be boring. I warned them she’d make them do all kinds of “I’m a good mom” shit and that half the country would be fooled, but what has two thumbs and is going to call it like it is: THIS GUY.”
Read more at Lost Angeles….
Loading ... Loading ... Loading ... Loading ... Loading ... Loading ... Loading ... Loading ...Related articles
- Bachelorette season 8: so many dudes with situations!
- Jef Holm, People Water and ‘The Bachelorette’…oh my!?!
- For the love of God: What time is Season 8 of ‘The Bachelorette’ on?
- Two-time Bachelor Brad Womack finally speaks! …about Emily Maynard
- ‘Bachelor’ host Chris Harrison talks about his recent divorce
- ‘The Bachelorette Season 8′ episode 1 recap: Your faves weigh in