The group date was basically all about Sam N. Production got their claws into him and he basically did whatever they said. I said it at the beginning of the season, but having on a virgin is one thing. We’ve seen that before. But having on a guy who 1) has never been in love 2) never been in a relationship and 3) last week admitted didn’t even know how to hold a girls hand? I mean, c’mon. Do we honestly think production had good intentions with Sam N. when they cast him? Seriously. Like Jenn was ever going to be with a guy with the emotional immaturity of Sam N. And the show exploited that. But again, he still had to agree to do and say the things that production wanted him to, so, how sorry for him are we really supposed to feel?
I think wearing a jersey that said “Jenn’s Husband” and then giving her a shirt at the after party that said “Sam’s Wife” was so uncalled for, so cringey, and so oft-putting, I understand why the guys reacted the way they did. I don’t think they bullied him at all. They were bringing to his attention basically how ridiculous that seemed. And Sam couldn’t see that himself because he’s literally not self-aware whatsoever when it comes to women and relationships because HE’S NEVER BEEN IN ONE. So him telling the other guys to go concentrate on Jenn because that’s what he was doing was completely misplaced. How do I know this? Because he was so blinded by production telling him what to do and gassing him up in thinking that Jenn was even remotely interested in him, he couldn’t see the forest through the trees. Getting his big chance with her, saying he wants to take their relationship to the next level just to ask for a kiss? Does he not realize how ridiculous that sounded? When you tell a woman you want to take your relationship to the next level, that’s usually about, oh I don’t know, having the “exclusive” talk. Or maybe even asking them to move in. Not to ask someone to kiss you. The guys were right for calling him out, and he didn’t want to listen. And the guys ended up being right since Jenn was never considering him seriously, as evidenced by her not even being able to give him a sympathy kiss.
During this group date, is when production made sure to bring us back to the hotel with the two men on 1-on-1’s this week, Devin and Sam M, sitting there not talking to each other. Then Sam out of nowhere asks Devin “so what’s your problem with me man,” and from there it started. Sam telling him continually that he doesn’t think about him, he doesn’t bother him, and your name doesn’t come out of my mouth, when literally his actions are the exact opposite. And do we even know the exact reason why Sam doesn’t like Devin? Has that been established yet? Because he’s loud? Because he’s confident? Because he knows Jenn likes him and that bothers Sam? Because those seem to be pretty ridiculous reasons as to why he’s so antagonistic towards Devin and launches into some street lingo/accent every time he talks to him. It’s the most bizarre thing. Pay attention to when Sam argues with Devin versus when he talks to Jenn. It’s like two different people. Is he trying to sound tough/hard when bowing up to Devin? It’s so bizarre how different he sounds. And no, that’s not some Myrtle Beach thing either since you can’t hear any of that dialect when he’s talking to Jenn.
Devin’s 1-on-1 date was basically just on another level than any other 1-on-1 she’s had this season. If you paid close attention, the tone of the date, the things they shared, the questions he was asking her, was so much deeper and so much more inquisitive than any other guy this season. Say what you want about the guy, but he’d completely won her over at this point in filming. I think she knew after this date he was at least getting to the end and was a serious contender for her. I guess at that point she was just waiting to see if he’d screwed up at all the rest of the way. Because you watch Devin’s conversation with her versus Sam’s earlier in the episode (or any other 1-on-1 so far with Marcus or Spencer) and it definitely had a different feel to it, a more serious tone, and Devin asked her more questions and inquired about her life than the other three guys combined. That’s just the way I saw it. It’s been obvious all season Jenn was into Devin because she’d always defended his actions up to this point. But last night being their first 1-on-1 solidified it.
And finally, Jenn’s ex Matt showing up in New Zealand was all sorts of bizarro. Again to make clear, he doesn’t show up without full 100% approval of production. Yes, he may have reached out to someone on the production team saying he was still in love with Jenn and wanted to tell her, BUT, production still needed to say yes to it. They don’t tell him, “Sorry, we already started filming” and he says, “I don’t care, I’m getting on a plane now and I’ll see you guys soon” and production relents. That’s not the way this works. They approved him coming on the show just so they could add a storyline. Nothing more, nothing less. They knew Jenn would never let him join the show. Apparently that’s only allowed for Nick Viall. And it’s not like this guy was some long lost love either. They dated for 3-4 months a few years back and recently reconnected as friends? Dude had every opportunity to tell Jenn how he felt long before she went on the show. Him using the “look at what I’m doing in this grand fashion shows you how serious I am about you” is the complete opposite move if you ask me. And since we know how much she would’ve pissed off the guys by letting him join the show, this is kind of a big giant nothing burger since he’ll be gone in the first 20-30 min of the next episode. But hey, maybe Matt will get a few extra followers on IG out of all of this.
Next week we’ll get the conclusion to Matt returning, Jonathon & Grant get 1-on-1’s, and then (hopefully) we’ll get two rose ceremonies next episode then send them off to Seattle with the final 7 of: Marcus, Devin, Jonathon, Jeremy, Grant, Sam, & either Dylan or Spencer. One of them will be getting eliminated at the second rose ceremony in NZ and one is headed to Seattle to get eliminated.
Your Daily Roundup transcript for 7/30 starts on Page 3…
