The Bachelorette Recap - Rachel Lindsay Episode 7: Picking the Final Four in Geneva
When we left off last week, Rachel the Hatchet Woman had hacked her suitors from twelve down to six. Now she'll have to send two more men home with a hometown date looming for the remaining four. Let's see who survives Episode 7 of Rachel's season of The Bachelorette!
There were much prettier shots of the U.N. building and Geneva. I include some later. But this wicked chair thing deserves some love.
Rachel and the men arrive in Geneva, Switzerland to determine which four will be introducing Rachel to their families. Eric seems optimistic, but we've seen that before and it usually dissipates quickly. No one is put at ease by Rachel's decision to do things differently; she'll be doing three one-on-one dates and a final three-on-one group date. Adam immediately begins panicking, but he's the one who brought a mannequin to a competitive dating show. He should be thrilled with anything positive after introducing Adam Jr. Still, he's hoping to be the "broom that sweeps her off her feet." Hey, Adam - no one wants to be swept off their feet by a broom. It's a figure of speech, not a cleaning accident.
One-on-One Date with Bryan
Rachel leads Bryan to a Bentley, planning to treat Bryan to a day on the town. The first stop is a Breitling watch store, and, surprise! They have some nice watches on display. After a short time spent with a salesman, Rachel tells him she's buying this for him:
I'm not saying "don't buy nice presents for significant others." I'm just saying "buy less-nice ones for one of six significant others."
Rachel gets a big snog for her generous gift, and they move on to a nice little boat for champagne and snogging. She compliments Bryan on his ability to express his emotions, which she claims to struggle with. I don't want to critique a man on television for showing emotion in this day and age, but Rachel's hesitance is perfectly reasonable given the circumstances (insert reminder that episode number roughly corresponds to number of weeks they've known each other). We know it looks bad when you tell too many people how much you love them.
The evening portion of Rachel and Bryan's date is at a theater called Victoria Hall. She comes into the date hoping to learn why Bryan is still single, but he's not going to slip up; it looks like he's sticking to water, which is unusually (and disappointingly) responsible.
Though our site's content might suggest otherwise, I happily applaud responsible drinking. Just not on my reality television shows.
Both share a history of being enrolled in private schools, and a bit of banter gets them to the meat of the matter, as Rachel asks about his last relationship. Bryan invited his last girlfriend to a wedding in Colombia, where she wouldn't compromise in conversations with his mom. She broke up with him as a result, but Rachel is unfazed. His description of what happened doesn't sound particularly troubling, but combined with late-30s bachelorhood, you might wonder just how much influence his mom has in his dating decisions. Not reason for concern right now, but something to keep an eye on...
Rachel gives Bryan a rose, ensuring him a hometown date, and they snog and dance to a private strings performance. It's a lot better than the usual band setup, at least in part because they're further from the performers:
This is a win-win. Bryan and Rachel don't have to feel like they're being watched and sung to from feet away, and the musicians don't have to see them aggressively snog. So much tongue, Bryan...
One-on-One Date: Dean - "Put on your Sunday Best"
Dean meets Rachel in a part of Geneva known as "Oldtown", which makes me very excited to see what Samwell Tarly will learn next. Wait...damnit, wrong show.
The "old town" section of Geneva is still very pretty, and Rachel and Dean's first stop is a church where the mass is in French. It's nice to see a different side of Rachel's interests, but Dean really got the short end of the one-on-one date stick. They pause in the streets to dance on the cobblestones, with Rachel in high heels:
That's a risky move. The only person I know who can pull it off is Kat, which means Rachel must be really accustomed to wearing heels.
Dean promises Rachel a trip to Aspen in the future, but their quiet surroundings give Dean plenty of time to fret about his family. They stop for a glass of wine, and Rachel drops any pretense of subtlety in her attempts to get Dean to open up. He's impressively obstinate, which, like Rachel with Bryan, might be perfectly reasonable in a normal setting. Unfortunately, it doesn't typically help you on this show.
Rachel doesn't ease off the pressure at dinner, sympathizing with his situation but refusing to let him off the hook without offering more than comical comebacks. He describes the situation as challenging multiple times before getting into details: the passing of Dean's mom clearly made a profound impact on the whole family, and Dean is nervous about introducing Rachel to such an imperfect picture. Despite his concerns, Rachel offers him the one-on-one date rose, he accepts, and they snog.
One-on-One Date: Peter - "We're at the Peak of Our Relationship"
Scenes like this help explain how total strangers can be babbling about "love" in less than two months. Not too shabby, Switzerland!
Rachel and Peter board a helicopter for a trip into the Swiss Alps, and they both seem extremely relaxed and comfortable. You and I probably would be too, on an ABC-sponsored helicopter ride in Europe. They finally get off in the snow, and PUPPIES!!!
Can we PLEASE replace the pedicabs in Austin with sled dogs? They wouldn't help with traffic, but those faces would definitely temper my indignation.
Their canine companions pull them through the mountains to...uhh...a different part of the mountains. It looks extremely cold, but Rachel powers through to ask Peter how he's doing. He admits to having trouble staying in the game during long stretches away from Rachel, making her uneasy. They want me to feel suspense about my frontrunner's status, but I can't stop trying to figure out what happened to his hair:
Very white, especially on the right side of his head.
Barely a touch of gray?
At dinner, Peter describes his family and expresses total confidence a hometown date would go well, despite never dating a black girl before. He also reveals that his last serious relationship ended with his ex-girlfriend crying as he drove away, which seems unrelated to the family part but maybe relevant for opening up now. Rachel is startled by his honesty, but despite concerns of Peter not being ready to propose at the end of the show, she offers the one-on-one date rose and Peter accepts.
Back at the Hotel
I usually don't cover the bland, inane gossip contestants engage in while their opponents are on dates, but the action this week was downright puzzling. Peter wears a bizarre sweater-robe with shorts and is never seen coloring his hair, leaving that particular mystery unsolved. Matt reaches for a reason to believe Dean won't return from his one-on-one with a rose and comes back with this:
“I think she knows he’s a guy who’s pretty set in his ways...as a lot of us were, in our mid-20s.”
I could be wrong, but conventional wisdom suggests people get more set in their ways as they age. Why else would the old people in front of you at the grocery store insist on paying with cash? Then Adam gives this gem in response to the Group Date card:
“When I read this card. The word that stands out to me is the word difficult. That’s a word I don’t like, a lot. I’ve never lived by that word my whole life.”
I'm sorry, what now? I can't figure out a positive way to evaluate the words used to construct this sentence. Is he suggesting he dislikes difficult situations? People usually live by phrases or mantras rather than words, but even so, who would choose "difficult?" Does he just describe everything as easy in hopes of diminishing the scale of the task? Someone seems to have...difficulty putting words to his thoughts.
Group Date: Eric, Matt, and Adam - "Tomorrow will be difficult. I don't know what else to say."
As predicted at the top of the episode, Eric's mood has deteriorated drastically since his arrival in Geneva, but he puts on a happy face as the middle member of the peacoat boys:
This is the most excited three grown men have ever been on a date with one girl, but they just learned they're headed to France, so I'll allow it.
The four take a boat to France and pop some champagne to help with the awkwardness of the situation. Adam immediately launches into a speech mirroring his earlier comments, explaining that he much prefers the term "challenging" to "difficult". There just isn't enough of a difference to justify your partiality, Adam. Pick a new cause.
Eric is taken aside first, and offers possibly the first bit of genuine wisdom I've heard on this show:
“But life is hard. That’s what it’s about, to get what you’re really supposed to have and need for the rest of your life. So let’s cheers to it being hard, but being worth it.”
It earns him knucks from me and a snog from Rachel, and he returns to the group with confidence. Matt is up next, and he describes the journey of a Bachelorette contestant and the Bachelorette. Rachel begins to cry thinking about how similar they are and how well their relationship could have worked under normal circumstances. As she walks a disappointed Matt to his car, he makes a wise choice:
Brilliant would be returning to the table, setting his glass down, and walking away with the bottle. "I'll be needing this!"
Adam and Eric sit down to dinner with Rachel, and after a toast, Adam gets some time alone. He describes himself as both scared and skeptical, but rebounds a bit to eventually express some optimism. Sadly (from my perspective), Rachel doesn't press him to justify the very existence of Adam Jr.
Eric gets a final chance to seal a hometown date, admitting it would be the first time he's brought a girl home to his family. He goes on to describe growing up in Baltimore and his family and friends in a way that fits just about every stereotype you've seen or heard about Charm City. It's a lot to put on Rachel's mind all at once, but it makes Eric's seeming normalcy incredibly impressive.
Returning to the awkward dinner table, Rachel offers the rose to Eric, who gladly accepts.
This Week's Survivors: Eric, Peter, Bryan, Dean
Heading Home: Matt and Adam
That's all for Episode 7! Check back next week for another recap, and please comment below with any ideas or suggestions you have for our Bachelor Franchise material.
This episode racked up 56 drinks according to our Bachelorette Drinking Game Rules, leveling out nicely after last week; à votre santé!
