It’s only been 24 hours, but we are back with another episode of Fantasy Suites. I often write these recaps right after the show, schedule them for the next morning, and then as *soon* as it hits inboxes, I think of 12 other points I could have made. So, last night’s episode and subsequently today’s recap allows me to slide in some of my thoughts that just didn’t come until sitting with Monday’s episode for a few more hours.
We pick up right where we left off. Erich is sitting alone on the bridge he asked Gabby to meet him at, wondering if he fucked up. He started spiraling after his Fantasy Suite and couldn’t talk himself down, so instead, he put it on Gabby to absorb and she was not having it.
After taking some time, Gabby returns to Erich. What they’re saying is a bit confusing becuase they have all the context of their conversation in Fantasy Suites, but we don’t. It’s also unfortunate becuase this is the first time we’re seeing Erich say he’s in love with Gabby, but based on her reaction, he likely said it to her behind closed doors.
The next morning, Gabby is contemplating her dates so far and speaking with Jesse about it. She let Johnny go because she knew he couldn’t get to a proposal at the end of this. Then, she explains how Erich bringing up his feelings again after FS felt like a rehashing. Gabby also seems bothered that the second version of this conversation happened in front of the cameras where she knows things can get edited and misconstrued. Erich’s ambush felt like he was trying to manipulate her into making a decision before she got to experience all of her overnight dates and that isn’t fair. She said several times to Jesse and in her ITMs that she wants her final choice to be her decision, not something that she’s coerced into making (although the decision she makes later in the episode is giving this exact thing).
Both Gabby and Rachel seem very concerned and mindful about ‘not messing up.’ Rachel cried a lot at the beginning of the season about this and we’ve seen Gabby make more mention of it at the beginning of this episode. As viewers, it can feel like there are clear right and wrong choices to make, and sometimes we’re aware of information the lead isn’t, making this accurate, but other times, it isn’t. I’m sure these women saw the way Bachelor Nation crucified Clayton, and they were likely worried about an outcome that would make the fandom do the same to them.
An Unexpected Ending
As Jason is getting ready for his date with Gabby, he knows he needs to be honest about where his emotions are and what he’s ready for. We’ve already seen him tell Jesse he is not ready to be engaged. He said the same thing to his family during his hometown date, a reasonable response after kinda sorta dating someone for eight weeks. In fact, I understand not wanting to get engaged at the end of this journey more than I understand being upset that the lead is potentially having sex with multiple people during fantasy suites.
An engagement is a much bigger commitment than spending the night with someone. This is why I am again, wishing production would do away with the engagement expectation. Give us another end result that leads to more content, like a spinoff show on Hulu, or a web series.
Jason and Gabby are playing tennis which is so cute becuase Jason used to play competitively, so they’re able to share in an activity together that Jason really loves and feels comfortable doing. We saw more of Jason’s personality in this five-minute segment than we’ve seen all season. He’s just so normal and shy. I love that for him as a person and for Gabby if they were to end up together, but as a viewer, not so much.
While Gabby and Jason go for a swim, production lays in the track of them having fun with b-roll of Erich looking outside over his balcony sad. It almost seems like he can hear/see them, but we know that isn’t true. And if you don’t know, now you know.
Jason is going into tonight with one goal: to be authentic and transparent with Gabby. He doesn’t seem worried, which is kind of surprising. To me, this means Gabby hasn’t mentioned wanting to be engaged at the end of this and since the expectation wasn’t necessarily set, he likely doesn’t think there is one (even if that is how this show has worked for 20 years).
I know, I know, people who go on the show ‘know what they signed up for.’ But when it comes to an engagement, that is a joint decision, both people have to want it and say yes at the end of it. While it would look disingenuous for a contestant to go into night one proclaiming they’re getting engaged, it does seem completely appropriate for the idea of an engagement to come up in an early one-on-one date.
It’s all about setting expectations. Saying ‘my husband is in this room,’ when toasting at a rose ceremony is not enough.
When Jason finally shares that he won’t be ready for an engagement in seven days, Gabby seems shocked and pissed. She asks if Jason sees himself with her at all in the future and he sees he doesn’t know 😬.
This is where things get awkward. Not being ready for an engagement, is normal. Not knowing if he even wants Gabby to be his girlfriend at the end of next week, not so much. It needs to be more normalized for contestants and the lead to discuss the future before this stupid week of overnight dates. People go on first dates in the real world and ask about their dates intentions and relationship goals, why can’t that be asked on the show? We saw Tayshia do it with damn near every man she talked with one-on-one.
Jason says he feels like he doesn’t really know Gabby and he feels like Gabby doesn’t know him, so it’s hard for him to make future decisions while feeling like that. At this point, Gabby gets up and walks away. It is pretty wild to me that Jason doesn’t even seem sure about wanting Gabby as a girlfriend. Dude, you took her to meet your family? Why do all of that if you don’t consider her a viable option as a partner?
Listen, I am an introvert and I work in mass media communications, I hate being in front of the camera, even if it’s just on my phone for my job’s social channel, so I get Jason being nervous, especially since the scale is way larger. What I don’t get is waiting to share his feelings, especially since they go further than just not being ready for an engagement.
He goes to find Gabby and clarifies his feelings. He says he wants that chance to be off camera and out of the bubble that is the show to get to know one another. So, after all the misunderstandings, they head to the fantasy suite together. Sidenote: this is the first time I’ve noticed every single fantasy suite looks exactly the same.
The next morning, Gabby is talking to the camera. She said she and Jason talked in circles about their plans after the show. She ended up spending the night apart from Jason.
She heads to his room to essentially rehash the conversation they had last night. Jason is a processor, he needed the time to come to the conclusion that Gabby isn’t for him. Even as they’re having this conversation, Jason’s face is blank.
Gabby says she feels led on, and I guess that’s what happened somewhat. More than anything it seems like Jason needed the time that this show is not set up to give participants. My guess is had he watched even one season, or listened to a few end-of-season podcasts, he would’ve known that.
In a roundabout way, Erich got his way. Gabby didn’t end up spending the night with anyone else.
Gabby is sitting in her ITM interview with production and we watch her break down. She questions what’s wrong with her, she wonders if she’s just too complicated or broken to love, it’s really sad.
I have to say, the fault in Jason’s actions are not that he is a realist, it’s that he wasn’t honest from the beginning. We actually need more realists on this show. But we need them to be more vocal, honest, and vulnerable from day one, unlike Jason. I think had a contestant been like this from the jump with Gabby, she actually might have still ended up with them.
Rachel and Zach
While Gabby has been having a tough time, Rachel’s week has been great. She and Zach are spending the day tequila tasting. Their conversation during this date was so normal and we learn that Zach and his family are rather level-headed. He says that he’s pretty sure he’s never raised his voice once in an argument. We love a calm king.
I’ve been team Tino most of the season until he started acting like a baby back bitch, meanwhile, Zach is growing on me. Like the rest of these guys, he’s pretty normal and goofy, which seems great for a long-term relationship. They explore the city and get a tarot reading that essentially becomes an excuse for Rachel to bring up Clayton, again. Enough!
Going into dinner and fantasy suites, Rachel and Zach look great together. Zach is all in, he believes it’s him at the end and I believe that he is very wrong. But it’s good to be confident Zach!
Rachel shares that she has a lot of doubts because of how poorly her Fantasy Suite week went with Clayton. She’s trying to be present and enjoy her time with her men because she knows it won’t end the same, but she can’t shake the anxiety. Zach’s response was great, he validated her feelings, mirrored what she was saying, and told her he loved her and was excited about their future.
The next morning, Rachel and Zach are having breakfast on the balcony and the tension between them is awkward. Rachel asks him a few times if he’s okay with everything they talked about. In his ITM, Zach says that he didn’t have the night he thought he would.
Apparently, Rachel kept asking if he was sure he was ready for marriage at such a young age. He thought her concern for his age was bullshit and it scares him that she’d bring this up so last minute and press the matter this hard.
It feels like a normal thing to ask in Fantasy Suites, but a weird thing to harp on. Especially since she and Zach are the exact same age (26). Are any 26-year-olds ready for marriage? I sure as hell wasn’t at 26.
Zach seeks Jesse’s counsel and immediately starts crying. He says he feels lost and that the way he and Rachel were behind closed doors just didn’t feel right. He called her unauthentic and was confused by the assertion that he’s not ready for marriage because they’re the same fucking age. So what’s really going on, Rachel?
He decides to go speak with her, but of course, he doesn’t get to until before the rose ceremony.
The Rose Ceremony (That We Don’t Actually See)
Gabby is journaling and reflecting on the week she’s had. She only has Erich left and she’s beginning to wonder if her person is part of this journey at all.
Rachel’s men line up and wait for Rachel to arrive. Tino is feeling overly content, Zach feels doomed, and Aven is somewhere in the middle. I cannot believe Zach thinks it makes sense to speak to Rachel right before this rose ceremony, but common sense isn’t common.
As Rachel arrives at the rose ceremony, Jesse shares with her that Gabby will not be part of this ceremony. She doesn’t seem phased, but maybe it sounded less ominous to her than it does to us. Regardless, Rachel looks stunning in this red dress. Right before Rachel hands out her first rose, Zach asks to talk and we cut to a commercial.
We come back from commercial to a conversation between Erich and Gabby because of course we do. This season continues to be edited and produced horribly.
Anyway, Gabby says she felt like the other night they were talking past one another. Erich has taught her that it's okay to feel safe and trust that someone really has her back and loves her. She says a bunch of nothing before getting to the point. She loves Erich, she chooses him, and she says it feels right.
I believe this is a happy and good thing for Gabby, but every time there is only one person left, or the final choice is clear, the editing gets wonky. The conversation we saw to get to this point felt more like a breakup, but it actually was leading to a declaration of love.
There was also an audio cut-in of Gabby saying “You’re the only one left,” but we didn’t actually see her say this. She probably said it in a different conversation and they laid the audio in. (Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of video editing in my FT job, so I’m picking up on this stuff more than usual.) It’s a cheap shot. It makes it seem like she chose Erich by default when I think we could pretty much tell it was him, especially after she sent Nate home.
Now we get Jesse in an ominous and empty Hollywood studio. He says we aren’t going to see the rose ceremony and instead we’re going to watch “the most shocking finale of all time” live next week 😒. Much like the episode, I will be ending this recap abruptly too because those last 20 minutes being drawn out like that was truly some bullshit. ✌🏾
Love your takes always!!!
I don’t get Brittany the link insert from Twitter that said did you catch that? What was I suppose to catch? 🤷🏾♀️