Big Z Energy: Bachelor 27, Episode 2 Recap
Latto and her band of bad bitches here to slay the day.
Last night we got THE boss bitch herself, Latto! I’m consistently shocked that the show can give us guests like Monét X Change, Latto, and Ziwe, but is terrified to give us another male lead of color. But that is a complaint for another day.
It’s a beautiful day in southern California and the women are moving into the iconic Bachelor mansion. They’re screaming Zach’s name off of a balcony, they’re gushing about how attractive and nice he is, meanwhile, Zach is giving us one of many gratuitous shower sessions.
Jesse meets the women at the mansion and they gush some more before reading the first date card.
BBE (Big Bachelor Energy)
On the date: Brianna, Brooklyn, Katherine, Mercedes, Bailey, Davia, Cat, Genevie, and Kyle
Zach is looking for BIG love and Latto is here to help him do it! If you haven’t heard of Latto until this episode, I’m sorry, but know that she is that bitch! I saw her in concert last year with Lizzo and it was everything.
Latto is here to help these women find their inner bad bitch. Zach even wore a leather jacket for the occasion. Just as the women are beginning to let loose and settle in, three of the greats enter the chat. Tahzjuan Hawkins, Victoria ‘Maneater’ Fuller, and Courtney Robertson are there to add a little razzle-dazzle to the date.
The women are tasked with a walk-off and are acting scared, but at this point, we’ve seen their Instagram and TikTok accounts, we know they ain’t scared to do something a little sexy and sassy for the camera. Kylee gave us a whole NBA halftime routine, and Brianna gave us a lap dance, but no matter who walked through the door, Zach looked so uncomfortable. I think they were supposed to crown a winner, but I don’t remember one being selected. But it doesn’t matter, everyone is a winner!
Headed into the cocktail party, all the women are hungry for the group date rose. Zach sits with Katherine (?) first and I liked that Zach asked her what brought her to this experience. She says she’s looking for something serious and is very much here to see if he’s her husband. She leans in for a kiss and he seems to receive it well.
Next, we get a moment with Brianna that made me look at her getting an early rose differently. She reminds us that she got America’s rose and because of that, she hasn’t actually gotten a rose from Zach yet. Sure it’s only been two-ish days, but she’s essentially saying that Zach hasn’t chosen her yet. She expresses these feelings to him and I think there’s probably more behind her tears with him and I could speculate, but I won’t.
The women are gathered sharing how much they love that they are all getting along when Tahzjuan and all her bad bitch glory crashes the date. Zach looks confused (and low-key uninterested). She asks Zach if she could join the cast and he says he needs to think about it. The women confront her, which is so weird and unnecessary, but Tahzjuan throws the attitude right back at them and holds her own, she also reminds them that this is a competition and they can’t all win. And, she’s right.
At the end of the date, Zach declines Tahzjuan’s offer; he says it’s not fair to the early connections he’s established. I don’t doubt that Zach isn’t already gravitating toward some of these women, but it’s day two, I think it would have been ok to let her in the group. Alas, no such luck. I’d love to see her back on our screens though. I’d love to see the group of men cast for a season where she’s the lead.
Anyway, Katherine gets the group date rose.
Meet the Family
I feel like people are really digging Christina Mandrell and I don’t dislike her, I just don’t trust her. Not that I know her. I’m judging her from the same ~12 minutes you all watched, but something just seems off, maybe even a bit disingenuous. But she is gorgeous. Also, I do not remember this woman from the live show.
Zach and Christina already look like a couple driving through the hills of California. They seem really comfortable with one another. They pull up to a helicopter, which y’all know I can barely stand to watch since the Kobe incident, but Christina is psyched.
Christina got the coveted early meet-the-family date. The person who gets this date always ends up coming back to the mansion with a bit of an inflated ego. The women have only known Zach for 48 hours, and while Trump-loving Greer (no, I won’t be letting this go) got the first impression rose, Christina got the first date. Meaning, something she did was so impressive, Zach (and the producers) thought ‘this woman deserves to meet the family, now.’ They’re joining Zach’s family for a barbecue to celebrate his mom’s birthday.
To my surprise, Christina fit right in. She was talking to Zach’s siblings and cousins without Zach around, she was confident, and talking smack playing ping pong, and even got Zach’s momma to pull out a photo album, which is just too cute. Pretty sure the first time I met my partner’s mom she too pulled out a stack (yes, a stack) of photo albums.
It’s time for the dinner portion of their date and Christina is ready to share that she has a daughter. She shares it with Zach and he’s a bit hard to read right away, he says it’s a lot to take in, but he knows he wants a family in the future. We learn her name is Blakely Mae and I don’t know why that is hilarious to me, but it is.
I love watching contestants talk about their children, Nate got me last season and Christina got me last night. She said she didn’t know what true love was until she had her and I just 🥹.
Zach’s reaction in his interview with producers was real and relatable. Although he knows he wants kids, dating a woman who already has one takes that want and makes it real. Christina was very clear that she did not want to raise her daughter as a single mother, she wants someone who is a fit for her and her daughter, and Zach was clearly still processing what that might mean for him if he continues to give Christina roses each week.
Despite his hesitances, Zach gives Christina the rose acknowledging that it’s not just about him wanting her, but her saying yes to who he might be in her and her daughter’s lives. Honestly, the maturity of their conversation made me respect both of them more. I still don’t fully trust her though.
The Date Where Gabi Implodes
On the date: Jess, Gabi, Aly, Ariel, Greer, Aly, Kaity, Anastasia, Charity, Victoria J., Kimberly
Pretty sure we skipped the first half of the date and went right to the cocktail party, which I’m ok with. The interesting stuff always happens at night.
Zach grabs Ariel first and they share their biggest fears of saying yes to this experience. It was a good way for her to share her fear, get vulnerable and create a connection with Zach. Their time together ends in a kiss.
This man is kissing everybody chile, physical touch must be his love language.
He gets vulnerable during his time with Jess, sharing that he basically almost died as a child and he feels like he didn’t because his mom kept fighting and didn’t give up. He says it’s a story that to this day gives him this sense of purpose in life.
Gabi spends the entire night spiraling at the fact that she hasn’t talked to Zach, but despite the fact that they haven’t had much face time, he remembered her and her ‘mapley’ maple syrup. Unfortunately, Gabi spent her entire time saying the same thing all these contestants do when they are nervous and pressed for time: she doubled down on wanting to be married and wanting a family. To say the least, her time did not end in a kiss.
Kaity gets the group date rose and Gabi cries to producers about feeling worthless. I’m sorry, but I do not have sympathy for white girls in situations like this. Technically what Gabi is feeling is pretty similar to what Brianna was feeling during the night of the group date she was on. The difference? Gabi has seen fifty ‘leven white women come on this show, be rather regular, and bag the guy. Brianna has seen a few Black women find love as the leads, but never on the Bachelor. From that perspective, I understand her tears and can empathize easier than I can with Gabi. Brianna shared her insecurities and let it be a small connection for her and Zach, Gabi cried to a producer. Hate to see it. 🤷🏾♀️
Cocktail Party and Rose Ceremony
As Zach gives a toast for the night, he lets it spill that Christina met his family, something Christina was smart enough not to share with the women.
Gabi gets to redeem herself by sharing peanut butter cups and a few kisses with Zach. See, white women will always be ok.
Meanwhile, Brianna begins to spiral even more. She explains to us that she had a bad run-in with Christina that has her feeling some type of way. But I love that she addressed Christina first, one-on-one. While Christina didn’t remember the experience, she took responsibility and apologized.
Then Brianna tried to tattle to Zach but didn’t want to name names, it was weird and uncomfortable to watch. She knows she wants reassurance from Zach, she’s said so in her ITMs and to Zach’s face, so even though Christina might have come off the wrong way on night one, it’s not something I would have brought up to him. He didn’t really receive it that well anyway.
Zach and Brianna’s conversation continues and he asks if he’s doing something wrong because all of their conversations have felt so serious and not fun. I understand what he meant, it’s early in the process and she’s already cried about not feeling chosen and tried to bring house drama to him, but also Brianna’s feelings are valid too and how those are handled early on can be an indicator of how they’re handled in the future.
Time to hand out the roses. Brooklyn gets the first rose, and despite some shakiness, Brianna gets the last one. Going home are Cat, Kimberly, and Victoria J. Which was mostly expected because I’m not sure we even saw Kimberly or Victoria J. on the group date.
Next week, the house comes for Christina and it looks like Brianna decides to be the voice of the house. I don’t think that will end well for her, but we’ll see. ✌🏾