-Time for the cocktail party and people have to know where they stand. Knowing who ultimately ended up getting eliminated, the fact that the show doesn’t even care to show us Arie’s time with them at their last cocktail party kinda speaks volumes. Maquel, Ashley, and Marikh all got sent home, yet, have we ever seen any of those three have any alone time with him in the first 5 episodes? If we have, I certainly don’t remember it. And if they showed it, it was more of a quick shot rather than the time they always show us of him with Becca, Lauren, Bekah, Krystal, or Kendall. So not only did earlier in the episode they run a promo for next week’s show where you can clearly see Krystal saying “We’ll always have Paris,” but now they tried to build some suspense as to whether or not Krystal would get a rose at the rose ceremony, even though we never see any sort of connection between Arie and the three he sent home. Just thought I’d point that out to those who don’t quite follow the inner workings of this show. If you don’t get any camera time, you’re probably going home and were cast strictly to fill time.
-Kendall gets time with him at the cocktail party, and she has a book of 100 Questions that she has for I guess every guy that she dates. He picks a number and she reads the question. Knowing that this girl is basically the sole resident on Planet Kendall, it shouldn’t be the least bit surprising the question that she had for him when he picked #99. Kendall: “If you’re visiting a tribe, and their tradition would be to eat someone, would you do it?” I paraphrased, but that was basically the question. And none of us are smarter for it. Arie said no, but Kendall said she would. Which should come as no surprise considering this is a woman who downed 24 oz of donkey semen all for the sake of reality TV, then had no problem gnawing on a few worms last week. You think she’d be the least bit affected by cannibalism? Please. I can only imagine what other questions are in that book.
-We finally get to see some of Arie’s alone time with Jacqueline, and lets just say, I think everyone in the psychology field just took a bit of a hit last night. She tells Arie that she’s “infatuated” with him and “you also seem to have no ego.” I don’t know how licenses get revoked in that line of work, but could an asinine statement like that possibly lead to her losing her license? It was bad enough we had to deal with Taylor psychoanalyzing everyone last season, and now we have Jacqueline giving one of the worst observations known to mankind to a guy who clearly has her fooled. I had hope for Jacqueline in the psychology world. Now I think she’ll have a stand on the corner of 54th and 6th that says “$1 Advice.” Good luck.
-Krystal at the cocktail party lays it all on the line for everyone there by basically telling them she doesn’t want to talk to them in a group setting anymore since she knows they’re all against her and she feels like she’s attacked. So if anyone has anything to say to her face, they can do it 1-on-1. Then the line started forming to the left. Up first was Kendall, who didn’t appreciate how Krystal acted that day, but Krystal is so much in her own head right now, she doesn’t think she’s done anything wrong. Tia comes and sits in on the end of their conversation then speaks her mind, and again, Krystal isn’t listening. Then Bekah asks her why she’s still here, and Krystal can’t answer the question with any 100% certainty. Who would’ve thought that Bekah would have the right approach to her considering two weeks ago she was just getting her drivers permit?
-When Arie finally confronts Krystal, we hear something we haven’t heard before. Being at the bowling alley triggered something for her since “I grew up in a bowling alley. My mom was there all the time.” I don’t want to say that explains a hell of a lot, buuuuuuuuuuuut…No one should be traumatized by a bowling alley. Ever. They are great escapes where you can wear ugly shoes and shirts and not be judged. You can have Red Vines, nachos, and a coke until you feel like absolute hell. And you can enjoy a silly game of throwing the most disgusting ball down a lane to knock over 10 pins in the most unsanitary environment you can think of. Don’t tell me you’re traumatized by that, Krystal. It’s your happy place. Look how much fun the kids at Rydell HS had there. You saying not all bowling alleys are like that? I beg to differ, my dear.
-Rose ceremony time. Chelsea, Lauren, and Tia are safe with roses. Arie: “Great week of dates…surprising…hard choices…do see where they are going…these decisions are not easy…except they are since Maquel, Ashley, and Marikh are basically the invisible women this episode. The only three women who they never showed me talking to 1-on-1 in Ft. Lauderdale. Soooo yeah, it’s the opposite of not an easy decision.”
Bekah: I think a cool thing for her to do would be to slip him a note in his jacket pocket that says, “Do you like me? Check “Yes” or “No.” Seems appropriate.
Seinne: Seinne might still be there, but only in spirit. A week after her solid 1-on-1, barely any camera time.
Kendall: If Arie would’ve chosen #47, do you think the question would’ve been, “If I get to the fantasy suite, how much sex will you have with me? Will it be more than the other two combined?” Just curious.
Becca: I feel like we’re watching a slow death with her. It’s not going to be pretty.
Jacqueline: If she starts a podcast after the show too, I think I might off myself.
Jenna: It goes without saying, there hasn’t been a girl more drunk at every rose ceremony this season than this girl. She constantly seems plowed at the cocktail parties.
“Ladies, Arie, it’s the final rose tonight. When you’re ready. Are there any golf courses in Paris I can hit up while you guys are off filming dates? I need to bring my sticks with me since I can’t post anything on social media that doesn’t have to do with golfing or ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire.’ That’s how deep I am.”
Krystal: Even if you weren’t spoiled, there was no way a villain like this would ever NOT be on the 2-on-1. Get your popcorn ready cuz it’s gonna be a good one next week.
So next week we have Lauren’s first 1-on-1 that I’m sure some of you will dissect every inch of. What’s funny is that when I posted videos and pictures of their date in Paris on the day it was filming, the response I kept getting on Twitter and email was that Arie totally didn’t seem into her. Oops. Moulin Rouge group date, and then the 2-on-1 with Kendall and Krystal which I’m sure will make everyone’s head explode.
Send all links and emails to: steve@realitysteve.com. To follow me on Twitter, it’s: www.twitter.com/RealitySteve. Instagram name is “RealitySteve,” or join my Reality Steve Facebook Fan Page. Talk to you tomorrow.
adelina
January 30, 2018 at 11:24 AM
Steve, what you forgot to mention is the ludicrous and completely gross scene of Arie licking the bowling ball!!! It was so odd and disturbing. Clearly producer encouraged, but who agrees to do that? Oh I know….a closeted dude who actually likes to lick balls.
missrubikscube
January 30, 2018 at 11:36 AM
I think a lot of people were grossed out by the bowling ball licking! It’s actually a reference to a scene from The Big Lebowski (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cYQ-1O5cmE) – but i’m not sure how many people caught that!
rob22
January 30, 2018 at 12:13 PM
I know this show is built on drama and it would be even more boring trying to weed through 20 girls without something else going on. But the scenes with Krystal are painful to watch. She’s obviously extremely self absorbed, and by that I mean more self absorbed than the average self absorbed contestant. But it just amazes me how these women can completely implode on national TV. I’m trying to feel sorry for her, but not succeeding. I think everyone can partially relate to being disappointed that Arie chose to invite everyone to the cocktail party. But the gig is that Arie and the Producers can do whatever they want. If they can make girls drink donkey semen and fake pee, they can also change who comes to the cocktail party. Honestly, I’d be more upset about the former than the latter. I think most people would. Did Krystal not get the memo?
Bekah creates a lot of dissonance. She’s 22, so she’s very young. But her conversations are less superficial than expected. She actually seems to be pretty intelligent and able to keep up a good adult conversation without having to stop and explain things to her. I know that’s a low bar, but for the show, that passes for maturity. But she’s a Nanny. Is she in college, or something and doing Nanny duties on the side to pay her tuition… and they just threw up Nanny by her name for giggles? Because once you’re adult aged, if you’re a Nanny, you’ve pretty much failed at getting a decent job. It’s pretty close to a minimum wage job. As in, college wasn’t my thing, so I decided to be a Nanny while I figured out what I was going to do. Or, after working on a cruise ship for a few years I decided that the travel was too crazy, so now I’m a Nanny. The whole thing doesn’t totally add up for me. Obviously she’s too young for Arie the gray haired f-boy, but she’s more intelligent & more mature than 90% of the other girls. In fact, she’s possibly more intelligent and mature than any of the other girls. I know. Low bar. What am I missing here with Bekah?
j1scarlett
January 30, 2018 at 2:21 PM
@rob22 Nanny jobs, at least around where I live in the NJ/NY area, pay way more than minimum wage. I made $20 an hour as a Nanny last year. It paid better than my current job as a paralegal. I’ve had plenty of “decent” jobs, but I was happier and better paid as a nanny. Oh, and I have an MBA, which has been fairly useless.
shenanigans
January 30, 2018 at 4:29 PM
According to her bio, Bekah is an art major at UC Irvine.
Here’s the link: http://articlebio.com/bekah-martinez
mariet
January 30, 2018 at 5:00 PM
“Because once you’re adult aged, if you’re a Nanny, you’ve pretty much failed at getting a decent job. It’s pretty close to a minimum wage job. As in, college wasn’t my thing, so I decided to be a Nanny while I figured out what I was going to do.” WTH? Do some research, Rob.
atlfan
January 30, 2018 at 5:25 PM
Fun recap, Steve! You didn’t mention Arie’s conversation with the cute little old lady bowlers at the very end. I loved that! It was actually charming (not my go-to adjective for this show).
ladyjane747
January 30, 2018 at 6:49 PM
Wow, that conversation with Lauren was total foreshadowing! Love watching this show knowing what I know. Bekah M. bugs me for some reason and Krystal is just out there. I do feel kind of sorry for her.
upmyalley
January 30, 2018 at 8:00 PM
I can’t feel sorry for Krystal. Everything she says about the other women is exactly what she is herself. She’s very insecure, jealous, immature and fake fake fake. I wish I could see her face as she’s watching herself come across as a psycho and a narcissist. I bet she is cringing and wanting to slit her own throat. Another 5th degree clincher bites the dust.
tinyred500
January 31, 2018 at 12:33 AM
@rob22 There are nannies and there are nannies, but any half decent one has some qualifications. However, Norland Nannies are the crème de la crème in the nanny world. Their salaries start at £25k and they can earn anything up to £225k (or $35.5k – $335k) per year depending on their experience etc. Nothing to be sniffed at there.
I have to say though Arie licking that bowling ball was just gross. I know it was based on a scene from the film The Big Lebowski, but even so…just nasty to watch! Put me off my tea! 🙁
jlal
January 31, 2018 at 8:02 AM
So, happy others have already address the ignorant comments about being a Nanny. Most of the Nannies I have known have at least Bachelor degrees if not Masters. It is a very high paying, important career. I think Rob is confusing being a teenage babysitter with being a Nanny, which is like confusing a teenager who cuts grass and a professional landscaper. Two very different things. However, I do agree with Rob that Bekah seems to be the most emotionally intelligent and very mature for her age. She could just be getting the better edit to though.
As for the show, it was one of the most interesting to date. Krystal is a manipulative, narcissistic, emotionally high-maintenance insecure, beeotch. This time her attempt at manipulating Arie failed and she knew it too. That is why she tried to salvage the situation by showing up at the cocktail party, which backfired too. He should have sent her home, but I’m sure production told him she had to stay for drama value.
I think Tia would make a good next bachelorette. She would bring some spice and honesty, plus she is well educated and intelligent unlike some past bachelorettes. Bekah would work too from the interesting and intelligent stand point, but is just too young to take her wanting to marry seriously.
rob22
January 31, 2018 at 8:11 AM
Sorry if I booted the Nanny pay. But it wasn’t just a shot in the dark. I’ve worked with a few Nannies, all immigrants, on their finances and they were getting around $10/hour, or less. It’s good to know that some can make better money. I always felt like these women were being paid pretty poorly. And, perhaps as immigrants… I don’t know if they had legal status… they had to live with that kind of pay. Regardless, for Bekah, since she’s at UCI, that answered my question. Yes, she’s doing it on the side & the show decided to put that up on the screen instead of “Art Student”. I wonder about their motives for that.
jlal
January 31, 2018 at 8:14 AM
Forgot to say that I was happy that Arie was tough on Krystal and burst her little manipulating bubble with the “…it may be our last fight too…” comment. The look on her face was priceless. She knew then she had overplayed her hand.
And, to address earlier comments about Arie being in the closet. I know as friends/family and work with a lot of gay people. I don’t get the gay vibe at all with Arie. Heck, no self respecting gay man would wear jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoes to a nice dinner or on a nice date. That right there is an American straight man fashion faux pas all the way.
Also, I don’t get RS making a big deal out of Giustina. They obviously have been friends with benefits for years. So what? I have had FWB and though now married are still friends (though without the benefits) with them still. Don’t understand the significance of that relationship to he being the bachelor. He was single and had a FWB, okay…
jlal
January 31, 2018 at 10:08 AM
Rob, if they have a motive at all for listing her actual profession as Nanny vs. student, it may be to make her look more responsible and older.
jlal
January 31, 2018 at 10:12 AM
Also Rob, it wasn’t that you “…booted the Nanny pay…” It was that you dissed the entire profession by saying Nanny’s failed at getting a decent job. Being a Nanny is a decent career/job, no matter the pay. Most Nanny’s I know make more than the Social Workers I know. Both do really worthwhile, important work. Pay doesn’t always dictate the value of a profession.
tjudd
January 31, 2018 at 11:52 AM
I am going to disagree with you on the nanny thing! I had a college degree, taught for 5 years, lost my job due to the economy & became a full-time nanny ( for over 10 years). Let’s just say it wasn’t minimum wage! I was making as much, if not more than, when I was teaching. I only worked M-F, 40 hrs. Don’t knock someone’s job if you’ve not done it. Also, not a fan of Bekah at.all. She grates my nerves & needs to grow that 12 year old boy haircut out! Lol
tjudd
January 31, 2018 at 11:55 AM
Exactly! I live in South FL & was a nanny for several years afer graduating college & working a “decent” job. Made more then than I do now at a “decent” job! Lol.
wpeate
January 31, 2018 at 1:59 PM
Hi Steve, did you see that Courtney Robertson and Arie’s Instagram stories show the same scene with charcuterie?
debb0
January 31, 2018 at 8:03 PM
Have to chime in on “The Nanny” thing as well…my son’s girlfriend has a 4 year college degree in communications, but unable to find a job in that area. So with student loans & bills to pay, she babysits, waitresses, & is a salesperson. Can’t always judge & assume.
beapancake
February 2, 2018 at 5:05 AM
Thank you for linking. Mind boggling people don’t know about this film!
beapancake
February 2, 2018 at 5:08 AM
Nannies I know make at least $15 an hour
katieottawa
February 4, 2018 at 4:20 AM
seriously not one person commented grease 2?? its grease 2 people!! WAY more entertaining than discussing this farce.
steve had the exact same thought as me. as they were on the bowling date right away i thought of grease 2 especially with that 50’s looking girl on the date. i thought they missed the boat when no one named their team pink ladies.
one of the best recaps in a long time because you referenced grease 2 and had the videos of the songs uploaded. as for the show and these brainless bimbos fighting over a dbag i couldnt care less. ill take michelle pfeiffer and maxwell caulfield anyday
i relate to steve. I am a grease buff. love both grease equally. i used to have grease parties where i played both movies and soundtracks and we would reenact all the scenes and dances. yes i proudly admit to being a nerd in my teens.
and the scene when handsome maxwell caulfield removes his helmet with his hair disheveled. oh. my. god.
arie is no maxwell caulfield when he removes his racecar helmet i can guarantee you that ladies.
shanna429
February 6, 2018 at 6:21 PM
Well I doubt she is going to college because at one point she ran off to work at a marijuana farm. Although I’m not 100% if that’s true.
shanna429
February 6, 2018 at 6:24 PM
I doubt it. She won’t see herself that way because she’s clueless and self absorbed.