We are back good people! Personally, I had a very long work day on Monday and lowkey shed a tear when I remembered that Bachelorette was back.
The first episode is never that fun or exciting, but it was sweet to see the women make some connections in last night’s episode. The mentions of Clayton were way too heavy-handed. I’m sure Gabby and Rachel weren’t trying to relive that again and at this point, Clayton and Susie have chosen each other, let them be basic on TikTok together, and move on.
Jesse Palmer is looking as basic as ever on the shiny driveway of Bachelor mansion and we are reminded for the 112th time that there aren’t one, but TWO Bachelorette’s wow, so ~*crazy*~ whatever will this mean? Jesse says he doesn’t know, which makes me a little worried because what if producers really went into this with no plan? Even the insinuation that they’ll date all the men throughout most of the season is messy.
We relive the bullshit that was Clayton’s break-up with these two women before getting some footage of the women heading to California to start their journey. The promos have really tried to convince us that these women are best friends, and maybe they are by now, but the promos coupled with all the intro footage was overkill. Their excitement for themselves and one another is enough. Also, I know it’s hard to believe, but these women don’t have to be best friends to support one another in this wild journey.
We get a montage of men *shocked* that there are two bachelorettes. This was at minute 15 and I was over it. We get it, there are two women. Enough! I loved that the women sat down and ran down their types and the type of men they’ve dated in the past. I believe Gabby when she says she doesn’t have a type, I do not believe Rachel. Luckily, there are plenty of Clayton look-alikes for Rachel to choose from.
Limo Entrances
The women exit the limo and we’re hit over the head with yet another reminder that there are two of them and they’ve never done this before and they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing (the producers, not the women). I’ve enjoyed sharing my first impression notes with you all in past seasons, so here they are this season.
First out the limo is Zach, who forgot to say his name and looks a lot better than his ABC photo. But he sounds like his nose is stuffed.
It’s awkward that they’re both standing there. Not sure what would have been a better option, but this ain’t it.
Jason—absolutely not. The producers definitely forced him to say that line about Clayton
Aven—cuter than his photo and loved his promise to do right by these women. Not sure I believe him though.
Jordan H.— Looks like he’s tryna to sell me something he doesn’t even want
Michael—boring
Chris—still a red flag
Mario—now why do we have the Black man doing a jig?
Ethan—cute
Logan—he looks like he’s crushing these chicks
Quincey—playboy
Hayden—this is Josh Peck
Ryan—I have nothing to say
Johnny—ok bars (I’m kidding)
Alec—should’ve known Alec would force a bunch of children to sing this cringe song
Justin B. —boy put your shoes on
Roby—that is the first and last trick I want to see from this man
John—you’re a teacher, how do you not know names? Sir.
Tino used a one-liner from The Good Place and Rachel was impressed. Baby girl, aim higher.
Jacob looking the part all sweaty and on this horse.
Tyler is a golden retriever dressed up as a man
Twins…no comments
Spencer bringing out the chairs, nice touch
I love that Nate’s intro was a call back to Gabby’s limo entrance
Not into Erich asking the women to tie his tie
Cocktail Party
Before the women head into the cocktail party, Jesse shares how it’s going to work. Both women have an opportunity to meet and chat with all the men, they’ll each select a guy to give their First Impression Rose to and go from there. The women head in to meet the men and say the typical words you expect a lead to say and toast to the night.
When I saw that Roby grabbed the ladies first, I rolled my eyes, but I loved that after the magic trick, he asked them questions about their journey and how they were feeling. Next, Rachel and Gabby meet with twins and Gabby is clearly not interested. I think Rachel was being nice by trying to ask questions to get to know these men, but I agree with Gabby, the vibes are off.
Finally, the women split up to get to know the men on their own. I hope the rest of the season is more like this instead of forcing them to do everything together. I appreciated what Jordan H. said, both women are on the same journey, but also have their own journeys, and everyone involved will have to adapt to that.
Gabby ain’t given these men any slack. She’s sitting with Ryan and giving him hell immediately, seems like a good sign that she felt comfortable enough to do that so quickly.
As the night continues, the men are discussing how they might choose one woman over the other. Meanwhile, Rachel and Hayden sneak off for a moment together. Hayden quickly makes some Florida connections and gives her a birthday card for her belated, which is a nice touch. We know Rachel is easy to please, so he’s definitely on her radar now.
We drop in on Jacob and Gabby. Jacob looked fine coming in on that horse, but him reading that list to Gabby felt weird. I get it, you have to make connections quickly in this game and openly share your wants and expectations, but the way he did this was a turn-off. Gabby seemed to like it, so if she likes it, I love it.
Rachel had a moment with two men, in particular, Aven and Jordan V. Both men were listening intently to her, and Rachel mentioned hoping for a kiss, but didn’t get one from either man. Still, there was some intentional touching and eye contact that felt like a good sign.
Gabby and Mario have a moment outside talking about vulnerability and opening up to people and it ends in a kiss. I love this for Gabby, Mario seems really great and he’s cute as fuck.
The women take a moment to share snippets of their time with one another and it was sooo cute! It felt like your typical girl chat, I hope we get a lot more of that this season. I still can’t help, but think it would’ve been even better with Kaitlyn or Tayshia by their sides.
Throughout the night, the men are talking about how to get enough time with each woman to make their decision. Logan is the first guy we see grabbing time with both Rachel and Gabby. Gabby seemed most interested, but Logan isn’t ready to commit.
Next, we get Gabby cozied up on the couch with Erich. They seemed really comfortable joking around with one another. But then we get a moment with him and Rachel as well. Erich might just be a flirt and comfortable/confident around women.
It’s time for Rachel to hand out her First Impression Rose. Erich was disappointed that it wasn’t him (ok dude 🙄). Rachel gives her rose to Tino who played it right by rewriting Rachel’s history with steps. Good job Tino. Gabby’s First Impression Rose go to Mario! Love this for both of them.
With that, the cocktail ceremony is over! Gabby and Rachel are deliberating who to send home. Throughout the overkill of the message that there are two Bachelorettes, I never quite considered that one of them could choose to send someone home that the other is interested in.
Rose Ceremony
The sun has risen and it’s almost time for night one to come to a close. I need one of these contestants to break their contract and share what’s what about night one. The fact that they film so long that the sun is coming up the next day is wild to me. The women ask to speak to Roby and the twins; they all head outside where Gabby and Rachel proceed to let them go. I am so glad that the twins are gone on night one. That gimmick was going to get old quickly and now we don’t have to deal with it at all.
The women head back to the mansion and let the other men know that the three men they called were sent home and the rest of them will be staying until next week so they can get to know the men better before giving them the ax. I loved this small “twist,” if you want to call it that. Let more leads cancel their first rose ceremony, please.
We get a preview of the season and I am shocked at how emotional Gabby seems throughout it. We got shots of her crying so much and audio clips of her doubting the men, her worth, and her journey on this show and I didn’t expect that from her. The preview was also giving patriarchy nonsense. This is supposed to be Gabby and Rachel’s journey, but between the constant mention of their ex and the men being able to hold the power of which woman to continue their journey with, it’s feeling a little like a bait and switch, but we’ll see.
Before I go, I want to name my top four for each of the women based on the chemistry and conversations we saw tonight. I made these choices before we saw the preview of the season.
Gabby’s Top Four
Rachel’s Top Four
That’s all I got for this week! What did you think about the first episode with two leads? Will these women really fall for the same man? Or is production doing what they do best when editing the season preview? Until next week!