Logan is the Comeback Kid: Bachelorette(s) 19, Episode 5
Rachel wants to quit (again) and Mario strikes out.
Hello good people! I spent the weekend catching up on FBoy Island on HBO Max, and I have to say, if you’re a fan of Bachelor Nation shows, you’ll probably like FBoy Island. It’s refreshing, funny, and has the new age elements I wish BN shows would give in to. It’s also produced by Elan Gale, a former BN producer. All that to say, if this season has left you feeling confused, angry, or bored, give FBoy Island a try (keep reading my recaps though, deal 😉?).
Anyway, this episode was a mess, honestly, they have all been a mess. Gabby and Rachel went on a press tour last week where they assured us again and again that they were not pitted against one another in this process. Yet, every week, it seems that way. From the way the dates are cut back to back, to the men making comparisons of the women, to most of the episode (and half of last week’s episode) centering Logan switching “teams.” The women may not be competing with one another, but every other aspect of this show is forcing that type of dynamic, regardless of what the women are saying in their interviews.
This week, the group is in Bruges, Belgium, Rachel is crying uncontrollably, again, and Gabby is saying she’s so lucky to have the men she does in this experience as if these men aren’t lucky to be in a relationship with her.
We start with some generous b-roll of Belgium and the Virgin ship the group is on. I still cannot believe this show is somehow normalizing using an entire fucking ship to carry ~20 contestants and maybe another 20-30 person production crew for this show. Can we talk about the amazing amount of pollution that this choice likely caused to our already dying planet? Or the fact that a cruise ship was the last place anyone wanted to be ~18 months ago in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic? Nope, we’re just going to keep acting like anything about this ship is appealing.
How Sweet it is to Be Loved by Rachel
On the date: Tino, Zach, Meatball, Ethan, Tyler, Logan
After the date card is read, Logan pretty much immediately tells the guys he isn’t that excited about being on the date, but instead of explaining himself, he leaves it at that and the guys are like “Ya we know what you mean bro.” They most certainly do not.
Logan decides he can’t wait any longer, he needs to talk to Rachel. He visits her room and tells her that something has been holding him back with her. He talks about the connection they shared the first few weeks but admits that he also shared a connection with Gabby.
It’s been hard for him to move forward and forget the connection he has with Gabby. He isn’t sure Rachel is the one he wants to end up with at the end of this journey. He tells her he’s done pursuing her and then says some self-deprecating shit to try and make her feel better, but Rachel is still upset that he’s accepted so many roses from her knowing how he felt.
Rachel is clearly trying to hold it together, but we immediately get a cut of her crying in an interview with producers. Why won’t they give this girl a fucking tissue? Each episode they let her sit there and bawl with not a single Kleenex. It’s disrespectful tbh.
At this point, we are exactly nine minutes into this episode and Rachel is already saying she wants to quit and go home for the third week in row. That’s why all the interviews she’s done about this experience not making her feel like she was pit against her *best friend* Gabby are bullshit.
Let me be clear, I think Rachel’s feelings are incredibly valid, and so are Logan’s. However, Logan accepted a rose last week after making it clear to production and Jesse that his heart wasn’t with Rachel and that is unfair. Would Rachel have been hurt regardless of when Logan broke the news, probably. But is right before her group date the ideal time? Fuck no.
This journey isn’t meant to be perfect, but have we ever seen a lead straight up having such a terrible time? Besides maybe Colton.
Rachel says she’s not ready to go on a group date while she’s feeling like a huge loser. She’s upset this is happening two weeks before hometown dates and feels like a failure as the Bachelorette. She is definitely the one who grew up watching this show. I think she had this starry-eyed dream of what this experience would be like and she’s hurt and shocked that this isn’t going as smoothly as she expected. She’s also clearly embarrassed and understandably wants to put walls up.
While I would have loved to see how Tayshia or Kaitlyn Bristowe would have responded to Rachel’s tears, I liked what Jesse said to her:
“You cannot be the perfect Bachelorette, I wanted to be the perfect Bachelor. It’s impossible. We get put in situations that we never could’ve prepared for. All you can do is make the best decisions in real-time using your intuition.”
Jesse also says that there’s no playbook for this process, but he is technically wrong about that one.
This is not only good advice for being a lead, but for life. Maybe I was just having a rough day, but Jesse’s words landed well with me. So I wanted to share.
Jesse meets the guys out in Bruges and shares with the men that Rachel has decided to cancel the date and will only be able to spend time with her at the cocktail party later that night. My question about this: why did they have these men get dressed up, and head into the city for this shot? Why not get them mid-shower? I feel cheated of a chaotic getting ready scene.
Logan is patting himself on the back for ‘going after what his heart wanted’ (Gabby). He goes to see Gabby and immediately looks so much happier to be sitting with her. He says can’t stop thinking about her and wants to pursue her. Gabby shares with Logan that he was Rachel and hers only overlap choice, but she backed off once she realized that Rachel was connecting with him as well. She says she’s interested in him but wants to check in with Rachel first. I respect Gabby for that.
Gabby goes to talk to Rachel. They catch up on the week so far and Rachel shares that again she feels humiliated. She doesn’t think Logan can be trusted and thinks Gabby should send him home. Gabby pretends like she’s got a tough decision to make, but we saw how fast they connected when he went to her room, that man is staying.
The men are excited that the night portion of their date is on and that there’s an opportunity for a rose and for them to get special one-on-one time. Rachel apologizes to her men and tells them that Logan is interested in pursuing Gabby. She shares that the constant rejection is tough and opens the floor for the men to leave or share their concerns if they have any. I hated this moment for her. We’ve seen these women “give up” their power enough this season. No more moments like this (although I know there will be more).
Rachel, babes, you’re a whole pilot, fine as fuck, even if these men did walk out, that’s on them.
Ethan pulls Rachel first and tells her that she’s moved through the process with grace. They share a kiss, but this is feeling like the end of the road for Ethan.
Meanwhile, Tino is in his ITMs saying that he sees Rachel as his future person and he wants her to be able to communicate when things aren’t working. He’s hurt that Rachel decided to ditch the date in the midst of her hard day, it made him feel unseen.
At first, I was annoyed that Tino was coming in hot like this, but as he kept talking, I appreciated the honesty. He’s right, there are going to be hard days and he was trying to share with her that even in the bad moments, he wants whatever she’s able to give, so they can get through it together. It came off a little like a demand, but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume no bad intent.
Teddy bear Tyler is stealing kisses, Zach is encouraging Rachel to scream it out, and at the end of the night, Tino gets the group date rose for his vulnerability.
Boys in Bruges
On the date: Nate, Michael, Erich, Jason, Spencer, Mario, Logan
Logan is still waiting for an answer from Gabby as her men head out to Bruges for their group date. Gabby and her men are exploring the city and her dress looks incredible! The group is ride in a boat, make waffles, play soccer with kids, and get bitched slapped by fish. One positive about there being so few guys is that they all get more time with the lead, which will hopefully lead to everyone being able to make a more confident decision in the end.
As the men are toasting to the night, Logan walks in and the men look pissed. Logan starts explaining himself and the men are like ‘🗣boy bye!’ They guys are bothered, a bit insecure, and now they got another man to compete against.
Mario gets his first words since night one to tell Gabby he’s all in. Hard to believe he was the first impression rose winner.
The other men are pressed by Logan’s presence, it got real for them and made them wonder where they stood with Gabby. Logan is clearly a lot happier and says there is no doubt that he made the right choice. Gabby’s group date rose goes to Nate. Love that for him.
Erich is upset that he didn’t receive the rose and questions where he stacks up in comparison to the other men. He says in his ITM that he doesn’t need to be part of this process for eight more weeks to see where he stands because that would be a waste of his time. Erich, boo, that’s the show 🤷🏾♀️. I still don’t trust that man, y’all.
A Blossoming Love Story We’ve Barely Seen
Aven and Rachel are at a cafe getting ready for the day. They clearly have more of a connection than we’ve seen, so that’s a problem, production. Rachel looks comfortable with him as they take a carriage ride through the city, roam the streets, and try Belgium chocolate. The couple walks up on a group of women “coincidentally” making wedding veils, Rachel tries one on, and she and Aven share a kiss.
Over dinner, Aven shares that stability is incredibly important to him becuase he didn’t have much of it growing up. He didn’t get to see his mom as much as he wanted to, but they’ve worked to build their relationship as adults. His mom made him a bracelet for good luck and of course, he makes a move right out of the Bachelor Nation playbook and shares it with her so her luck will turn around for the rest of this experience. Rachel gives him the date rose.
I wish we would have gotten more of Aven. Not only is he clearly a front runner, but he and Rachel had an established connection that is literally foreign to us as viewers. They kissed a lot at Sofi Stadium in week two, but that’s pretty much all we’ve seen from him.
Normally, my complaint would be that production is focusing on the wrong stories, but in this case, I think it’s a lot to follow two women on their journeys at the same time. While I appreciate the variety and change, I haven’t been impressed with how this season has been edited. We either get too much back and forth or not enough time with the strongest connections the women have.
Beers and Baths
Johnny is sporting a beard waiting for his date to start while the guys fill him in on their new shipmate. I have questions about Johnny, mainly, I’d like to know where he was on January 6, 2021.
The couple is in the countryside of Bruges at a beer tasting. One positive thing to say about this season, these women have gone on a lot of normal dates that I could actually see happening in the real world. They participate in some sort of weird beer spa session before heading to dinner.
At dinner, Gabby is hoping they can get into deeper conversations. I noticed Johhny is barely looks her in the eyes when he’s talking. He says he’s guarded and that his last relationship ended as he was starting to feel comfortable and feel more like himself. He admits that he struggles to see the good in himself and feels like he’s working through depression constantly and that he wants to talk to someone about it. As he was saying these things he looked shocked to even be admitting them out loud. Good job on being vulnerable Johnny! He gets the date rose.
Cocktail Pary + Rose Ceremony
With the number of men left, we’re at the point in the season, where cocktail parties feel like a waste of time. These women know what they want and these men know if they ain’t it. The group is shocked to see that Logan is still there on Gabby’s side. Despite his good fortune this week, Logan is feeling a bit insecure and wondering if he’ll really be able to catch up to where she’s at with the other men.
Gabby’s men each get to spend some good one-on-one time with her, not sure we even saw Rachel and her men. Everyone is really just focused on whether or not Logan will get a rose.
As the rose ceremony begins, the men noticed that Gabby got four roses, while Rachel only had three. This makes it so that Gabby sends home two men and Rachel sends home one. Had they gotten the same amount of roses, Rachel would have sent no one home this week.
Gabby’s Roses: Nate, Johnny, Jason, Spencer, Erich, Logan
Rachel’s Roses: Aven, Zach, Tyler, Ethan, Tino
Going home: Michael, Mario, and Meatball
Sad to see Mario, Gabby’s first impression rose winner go. Seems like he may have gotten too comfortable after receiving that first rose and it backfired.
Next week the crew is in Amsterdam and we get a preview for the rest of the season. Logan seems to still be on some flip-flopping bullshit, someone is calling Tino a “baby back bitch,” and both women are still crying and questioning if they’re lovable. I hate this. Until next week, ✌🏾.