‘The Bachelor’ Episode 7

The episode began with Sarah returning from her second one-on-one date where she learned from Clayton that someone in the house believed she isn’t ready for an engagement. Sarah reassured Clayton of her feelings and her readiness for marriage. She left their date feeling confident, something that might come back and bite her. When she returned to the hotel, Mara proudly admitted she was the one to share her feelings about Sarah’s immaturity to Clayton, saying it was in Clayton’s best interest. Sarah seemed unphased and moved on. 

Clayton began the cocktail party by pulling Serene aside and surprising her with a genuine and heartfelt gesture, since she has been dealing with the loss of her cousin. 

As the women used their time to talk with Clayton, Mara pulled Sarah to continue their previous conversation. “You’re getting a little sloppy, and it’s showing. It’s only a matter of time before he sees it,” Mara warned her. The other women seemed to agree that Sarah had made comments that left them feeling belittled. 

With only nine women left and three with immunity, the women headed into the next rose ceremony. Clayton only had 4 roses to give out, and sadly sent home Eliza and Mara. 

The next stop on their international journey was beautiful Austria, Vienna. Once they arrived, the first one-on-one date card invited Susie on a date straight out of a fairytale. They went to a beautiful shop in downtown Vienna, where Susie shopped for anything her heart desired. 

Leaving with an arm full of bags, they arrived at Austrian designer, Eva Poleschinski’s, private gallery. Susie was given the opportunity to try on several stunning dresses for Clayton to gawk at. Outside of the dresses and shopping, their relationship seemed to be growing stronger with every minute they spent together.

When Susie returned from her date with the multiple shopping bags, the other women were understandably jealous, who wouldn’t be? A bellman surprisingly appeared with a beautiful red dress designed by none other than Eva Poleschinski herself, which Susie wore to dinner with Clayton. They talked about hometowns, and Susie admitted she is more than ready for Clayton to meet her family. Clayton happily agreed and gave her a rose, securing her place in hometowns. 

The next group date card arrived and excluded Serene, giving her the last one-on-one date until hometowns. The women made their way to a mysterious location and were greeted by a psychoanalyst, who announced their date would be a couple’s therapy session. 

The women were hesitant and reasonably nervous. Genevieve was particularly worried, admitting she doesn’t do well with openly hard discussions. During their session, Genevieve was concerningly reserved, clearly having a hard time with letting her walls down with Clayton. Or, could it be that she isn’t comfortable letting them down with everyone watching at home? Clayton and Genevieve take the conversation outside where they come to a respectable agreement that she isn’t ready to further their relationship into hometowns, and they share a mutual goodbye.

At the end of the sessions, the psychoanalyst revealed that from what she saw, some of the women were, how she put it, “performative.” Nevertheless, they moved onto the afterparty where Clayton asked the women to share with him anything he should know. Rachel, Gabby, and Teddi confessed to Clayton that Sarah’s been extremely open with details of her and Clayton’s relationship, some of which Clayton revealed were blatantly untrue. The women told him that at multiple times they felt they couldn’t compete and started to doubt their own relationships with him due to Sarah’s overconfidence.

When Clayton confronted Sarah, the poor girl tried her hardest to force tears that wouldn’t come. She denied ever saying what the other girls alleged. Clayton saw right through it and sent her home. He returned to the other women to tell them he couldn’t find it in himself to give out a group date rose. 

In a positive change of pace, Serene and Clayton began their date on a horse carriage taking them around the city. They danced in the street, accompanied by laughter and smiles. The couple moved into dinner where Serene revealed to Clayton that she is falling in love with him and how he made it so easy to do so. Giddily, he gave her a rose, securing her place in hometowns. 

At the rose ceremony, the women were incredibly nervous to find out if their journey would continue into hometowns. Clayton made the difficult choice to send home the one he initially was so smitten over at the beginning: Teddi. They say a heartbreaking goodbye, and the remaining women got ready to bring Clayton home to their families. 

‘The Bachelor’ Episode 8

With only four women left, Clayton headed to hometowns. 

Susie’s hometown of Virginia Beach is up first. She took him for a Jiu-Jitsu lesson to prepare him for her family. They had a picnic on the beach beforehand where Susie expressed how important her dad is to her and how high he set her standards for a man. She talked about when her dad became ill and how hard it was on her. In a conversation between Clayton and Susie’s father, he seemed very welcoming of Clayton. He noticed how Clayton and Susie had a certain spark the moment they walked in the door. Susie’s mother questioned Clayton as to whether he is in love with Susie or not, and although he couldn’t give a clear answer, he reassured her that he believes he can get there. The parents seemed reasonably cautious but, at the same time, recognized how happy Susie looked. 

Next up was Gabby’s hometown of Denver, Colorado. She surprised him with a hike and laughed the whole way up. Their relationship is goofy, romantic, and they seemed to make a great pair. They stumbled upon a hot tub and chatted about the family he’s about to meet. Gabby sadly told him that her dad wouldn’t be able to be there due to COVID-19 concerns, and his girlfriend’s cancer battle.

Instead, Clayton was met with Gabby’s aunt, uncle, grandfather, and cousin. They began joking and laughing, off to a good start. As Gabby’s grandfather and Clayton talked, he encouraged him to take his time with Gabby and not rush into anything head-first. Her family seemed very supportive of their relationship; they loved his sense of humor and how happy he seemed to make Gabby. Her grandpa shared a few wise words about marriage, “every marriage has problems. It’s just the ones that last, both people involved have gotta be willing to be flexible and forgiving. You just have to keep on loving.”

Suddenly, there was a honking noise from outside and Gabby ran outside to see her dad! He kept his distance and displayed cards with what he wanted to say. “You are the most beautiful, intelligent, loving, and caring daughter. Thank you for being the glue of our family. You deserve the very best. And I hope that’s Clayton,” the cards wrote.

They talked outside before Clayton headed out, and Gabby expressed that she is falling in love with him, which he seemed ecstatic to hear. If all hometowns continue to go this well, Clayton will have some tough choices to make. 

Clayton’s next stop is Serene’s hometown in Oklahoma. She surprised him with an above-ground obstacle course, something that could relate to marriage as they could potentially navigate the obstacles of life together. Their relationship continued to grow stronger as they had to jump off the final 80-foot ledge. As strong as Clayton may seem on the outside, he sure is afraid of heights. 

They headed to Serene’s home where Clayton would meet her mother, brother, and best friend. During Clayton’s talk with her brother, he played the big brother role very well and explained that he doesn’t want to see Serene get hurt more than anything. Once again, Clayton couldn’t stop smiling and they agreed that his time with her family couldn’t have gone any better. 

The last stop was Clermont, Florida, to meet Rachel’s family. She took him clear-bottom kayaking in a body of water full of alligators, insects, and every in between. Their relationship is clearly passionate, but Rachel warned him that her dad will reasonably be his biggest critic and didn’t sugarcoat the fact that he has never been accepting of anyone she has brought home. On the other hand, her mom and best friends seemed welcoming and immediately noticed the glow Rachel had when she first walked in. 

During Clayton’s chat with her father, he certainly didn’t hold back in his interrogation. He posed different scenarios concerning her career and passion as a pilot, which Clayton seemed to answer correctly. Clayton reassured him that he does see a clear future with his daughter, but Rachel’s father couldn’t give his blessing until he spoke with Rachel herself. 

The tough act was softened by a few tears when Rachel explained how truly happy Clayton makes her.Clayton quickly recognized the gravity of the situation, breaking three hearts to have one. They headed back to Los Angeles for the rose ceremony where one woman would be devastatingly sent home. Clayton confided in host Jesse Palmer that he can see himself being in love with all four women. 

With a heavy heart, Clayton decided to send Serene home, after reflecting on his relationships with the other women. She was understandably disappointed but kept her head high.

The ninth episode of ‘The Bachelor’ will premiere on March 7th, but not as a traditional one, it’s ‘Women Tell All’ where all of the women from the season will come back, as well as the drama, to reflect on the season.

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