Hometowns: Bachelor 27, Episode 8 Recap
I think Zach broke all our hearts with last night's choice.
It is my favorite episode of the season, hometowns! Last night we met the families and they came prepared with tough questions, tears, and a not-so-shocking (to me) elimination. Let’s just get into it.
We’re back in the States and Zach is giving us another gratuitous shower scene while he tells us he’s looking for a wife in his voice-over. The editors are so unserious for that 😂.
Gabi
Hometown: Pittsford, Vermont
Family: Brayden (brother), Chloe (sister), Evan (brother), Stephanie (mom), and Kevin (dad)
We’re starting in Gabi’s hometown of Pittsford, Vermont. For the second time this season, she is trying to make maple syrup happen. They drill into a tree to get the sap (fun fact: I have actually done this, in Canada though, not Vermont) but aren’t too successful. They make a bunch of jokes about how deep, wet, and wide the hole is, really setting the stage for their future fantasy suite. We never actually see any sap come out of the tree, so that’s unfortunate. They move on and taste-test different syrups, and Zach still doesn’t like any of them. Maybe he’s more of an omelet and hash browns kind of guy.
Gabi walks into her parent’s home and it is immediately the Chloe show. Her sister, Chloe just got engaged and has set a date for the wedding. She is very eager for Gabi to get back home so she can help with wedding planning.
Zach sits with Evan, Gabi’s brother, and he asks how serious he is about Gabi. He tells Zach that Gabi doesn’t readily put herself out there so the fact that she’s still in this process says a lot about how she feels about him.
Next, Zach speaks with Gabi’s mom and I love the question he asks, he asks for advice when it comes to being in a relationship with Gabi. Her mom says Gabi is looking for someone to ground her, somewhat alluding that she can be all over the place (at least that’s how I took it).
The night with the family ends amicably, with no tough questions (that we saw) and none of her family seemed to plant huge seeds of doubt. It did stick out that Gaby kept saying she could fall in love with him, which felt like a weird way to describe how she’s feeling about someone she might be engaged to in a few weeks. But I suppose it’s also practical, she hasn’t had enough time with him, something she shares with her sister and her dad.
Gabi ends the night in tears, worried about how long it’s going to be before they see one another again. Zach tries to quell her fears, encouraging her to trust what they have and be patient. She really doesn’t have much of a choice.
Ariel
Hometown: New York, New York
Family: Bobby (older brother), Gabby (sister-in-law), Feliks (dad), Mariana (mom)
We are in New York City meeting Ariel and her family and if Zach calls this woman mysterious one more time, I’m gonna scream. She definitely plays her cards close to her chest, but I feel like when asked questions, she’s pretty forthcoming and open.
Ariel finds a lot of identity in New York City, which I kind of love. It’s always really interesting seeing the city through a local’s eyes and Ariel seems even more confident with Zach, in her city than she has all season. I loved the way she approached this date, she took Zach to all her favorite places, or at least let us believe that they were her favorite places.
First, they try some New York style pizza, then head to a deli for a good old pastrami and cow tongue sandwich, which is good AF by the way. If you haven’t had it before, head to your nearest deli and give it a try. Go ahead and hit up a taco joint for some cow tongue tacos too.
Finally, they end up at a coffee shop/speakeasy where we learn about Ariel’s family. Her parents fled the Soviet Union and settled in New York with her and her brother Bobby. As they're sipping on espresso martinis, Ariel lets Zach know that Bobby is the one he should be worried about because he is about that life and isn’t above beating up exes that break her heart. Love this for Ariel 😭.
It’s time to meet the family. They enter a restaurant and are introduced to Bobby and his wife Gabby, her dad Feliks and her mom, Mariana. Bobby and Gabby speak with Zach first, he lets him know right away that he finds the process a bit unorthodox and asks him why Ariel should pick him (a great question!). Zach struggles to answer at first, but eventually says he has a good heart, is a good cook, and lists a few other reasons I didn’t commit to memory. I can understand not expecting this question, but for someone who’s spent the entire season convincing us he’s ready for a wife, you’d think he’d have an answer for a question like that locked and loaded.
Bobby also notes the different backgrounds that Ariel and Zach come from and asks how he might manage those differences, another good question. Zach doesn’t really answer the question but says they’ll figure it out.
It’s clear Bobby is a skeptic, he doesn’t understand how this process could be real and thinks it’s a problem that Zach doesn’t know little details about her sister like her birthdate, or middle name. I disagree that small details are the only way to determine love or readiness for marriage. It’s true that knowing those little details can make a relationship last and serve a person well, especially in romantic moments, but in this particular process, I don’t think it’s necessary before an engagement. If I know I’ve got limited time with a person, I’m focusing on the details that make me who I am, not the middle initial on my license.
Feliks, Ariel’s dad is also skeptical and wonders how Zach can be equally interested in each of the four women left. During their conversation, he maintains that he can see a future with Ariel (and all the other women too).
At the end of the night, Ariel shares that she’s never been grilled by her family like that, but she’s encouraged that they got through it together. She then shares that she’s falling in love with him and in true Bachelor fashion, he doesn’t say it back but does seal the sentiment with a kiss.
Charity
Hometown: Columbus, Georgia
Family: Vickie (mom), David (dad), David (brother), Nehemiah (brother), Mia (sister), and her childhood best friends
Listen, I pretty much viewed this hometown as Charity’s Bachelorette audition. I don’t know Zach’s dating history, but I can assume what it’s been and I just don’t think a white guy from California—who now resides in Texas—is gonna go from being interested in blondes like Rachel Recchia and Kaity to marrying a Charity. So, to protect my own peace and continue enjoying at least some aspects of this show, I went into Charity’s date with that frame of mind.
Charity is looking radiant, and serving face, as she has all season. She lets Zach know that he’ll be meeting her family and friends first before they spend time together.
I love Charity’s family. Her dad was so warm and welcoming. He had this pastoral presence that reminded me of my Black uncles and elders from my childhood. She has this sweet moment with her dad where she shares how grateful she’s felt to have her parents as her role models for what she wants out of a relationship.
Throughout the day, Charity is super emotional and it’s the first time (or one of the first—I might have said this last week) that it hit me that Charity really likes Zach back. It also made me wonder if she was still working through healing from the infidelity of her previous relationship. Not to say she isn’t over the person, but that the act/betrayal still weighs heavy on her. I want to know what conversations were cut out because she and her friend Molade clearly had a moment where tears were shed and we didn’t quite see why.
While Charity is speaking with her girls, Zach and Nehemiah are speaking about his feelings for Charity. He tells her brother that he’s compartmentalizing his relationships for now and doing his best not to compare the women to one another. That’s noble, but not realistic.
Charity speaks to her brother next and is still crying. Roll the tapes! What was said? Why is sweet Charity crying!?! After sitting with her brother, Charity shares in a voice-over that she’s second-guessing telling Zach that she’s falling for him. The editing makes it seem like she’s doing this because she’s no longer sure of her feelings, but I feel like she is doing it to protect herself.
After meeting the family, Charity takes Zach to do some line dancing where she is literally the only Black woman in the bar, which feels egregious for a hometown date. And because I couldn’t help myself, I looked it up, Columbus is almost 50 percent Black! When we say we want more diversity on the screen, we don’t just mean the contestants, choose better filming locations, and feature women/minority-owned businesses!
She decides that she needs to tell him how she feels. So, she tells Zach she’s falling in love, but it’s played off face, so we don’t see either of their reactions—a pretty telling sign of what’s to come. They kiss. In his ITM, Zach says he loved hearing how Charity felt and she said she felt good saying it.
Kaity
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Family: Anne (mom), Jackie (grandma), Cooper (brother)
I forgot Kaity was from Austin, where Zach currently lives. That makes it an easy choice, in my opinion. Not that people can’t move, but when so many of these couples talk about the distance being what rocked them, it sure is easier when the person already lives where you live.
They spend the day doing very normal, mundane tasks, a smart move by Kaity. He’s able to picture what their life might be like together. They’re going grocery shopping, and picking fresh flowers, and Kaity puts him to work! He’s changing a few lightbulbs and attempting to build IKEA furniture—which we never see them complete.
As they walk up to Kaity’s family house, they try to quell each other’s nerves. Kaity speaks with her mom first. Both she and her mom cried in their ITMs about the closeness of their relationship, so sweet. Her mom, Anne, says she can tell how comfortable she is with him, she asks if she feels like she loves him and she shakes her head yes, but is also nervous about the other women left. She values her mother's opinion and really cares about what she sees in Zach.
Anne and Zach speak and he says the same thing he’s said to all the other families, he sees a future with Kaity but is cognizant of the other relationships. Meanwhile, Kaity feels the same way about him but is nervous that he could walk out of her life at any moment, which reminds her of her relationships with her fathers and most of the male figures that have been in her life. That is a lot to unpack and I’m not even going to try. What I will say is, I hope Kaity gets the support and love she deserves, regardless of how it ends.
After speaking with Zach, Anne gives Kaity her blessing and it gives Kaity the confidence to tell Zach she’s falling in love with him and that her heart feels safe with him. I thought that last part was so sweet.
A Graceful Goodbye
It’s the day of the rose ceremony and Zach is feeling unsure of what he should be doing, but luckily Sean Lowe is there to help him sift through his feelings. He recaps all the dates with Sean and most notably says Kaity’s mom felt the most like a future in-law. Sean imparts very little wisdom beyond saying that after hometowns his mind kept drifting towards Catherine, so he trusted that feeling and she became his final choice.
Listen, viewers aren’t stupid. We know what production is trying to do. Zach is supposed to be a modern-day Sean. He’s serious about finding his wife and starting a family, so serious that he’s not going to have sex during Fantasy Suite week. There’s no chance his relationship won’t end in less than six months like the handful of leads who have come before him. And honestly, I believe that without Sean’s presence. Zach’s decisiveness, honesty, and transparency have shown that he’s not fucking around. Yes, he can’t control everything, but he’s seemed pretty genuine throughout this entire season.
Before handing out the roses, Zach says he will be making his toughest decision to date, but that he’s trusting his heart. Ariel gets the first rose, which surprised me, then Kaity and the final rose went to Gabi.
As I said earlier, Zach was not about to pick a dark skin Black girl. Not because of anything she is, but because of who he is. And I’m not talking about rumors, or who he voted for in 2016 and 2020, I just don’t think any women of color should take seriously a man who won’t have open conversations about race before off-camera time. Maybe they had them off camera, or what was said was left on the cutting room floor, but the way, he glossed over Ariel’s brother’s very real question about how they would manage their differences is how I think he would’ve handled his and Charity’s differences. That is, not well. Plus, it has always felt like Zach was so impressed by Charity, he was shocked at how comfortable she made him feel, but I never felt like he saw her as his wife.
Charity is smart, stunning, has a great job, and would make a great Bachelorette, which is where I hope she’s headed. I can only hope this process taught her that she can trust herself and love again.
Unsurprisingly, Charity handles the goodbye with a lot of grace.
Tonight we’ve got Women Tell All and I haven’t decided how/if I’m going to recap. It’s always such a shit show and the questions we normally want answers to, we don’t get. I’m just watching to see if my girl Charity will become the Bachelorette.
Next week is Fantasy Suites. We already know Zach has decided not to be intimate with any of the women, an interesting choice that I want to hear more about, so I hope we get some intel. It also seems like he breaks that and the edit makes it seem like he’s intimate with a woman he doesn’t plan to choose, but that would be so far off from what we’ve seen from him all season. I think it’s a fake-out and that he is intimate with one of the women, but it’s the woman he ends up choosing and was always planning to choose. But I could be convinced otherwise. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!