Drama for Mama: Only three remain on ‘The Bachelorette’
By Cara Cleek Ogden
This week, Ali and her three remaining men travel to beautiful Tahiti. There’s a lot of ‘foregoing’ going on (you’ll see) in this episode and a lot to get to, so here we go!
TAHITI-BOUND:
The episode starts by showing Chris and Roberto each packing their bags and talking about their feelings for Ali. Both men are falling for her and both are excited to get to Tahiti to tell her how they feel.
Frank, however, is a different story. It seems that he’s been missing his former girlfriend, Nicole. Even though his feelings for Ali are strong, he can’t get Nicole out of his head. He thinks he may need to see Nicole once more just to ‘get closure.’ So he heads back home to Chicago to find her.
In a totally unrehearsed and non-scripted (dripping sarcasm) scene, Frank shows up at some undisclosed hotel room, where Nicole just ‘happens’ to be staying, and knocks on the door. ”What is going on?” asks Nicole, innocently, obviously completely surprised and not forewarned about the cameras that show up and enter her hotel room behind Frank.
Frank proceeds to tell Nicole that he can’t stop thinking about her. He wonders if there’s still something between them. She tells him that she’s not complete without him, and that he should come home. They kiss. They cuddle. Poor Ali.
ROBERTO’S OVERNIGHT DATE:
Meanwhile, in Tahiti, things are still rocking with Ali and Roberto. They take a helicopter ride to a heart-shaped (Awwww!) lagoon, where they spend the day.
As they two spend share a romantic dinner that evening, Roberto decides to confess to Ali that he’s falling in love with her. She smiles big, and hugs and kisses him. Then later, Ali presents Roberto with a note from Chris Harrison that includes a key to the ’fantasy’ suite, should they choose to forego their individual rooms and stay together as a couple. I wonder if Chris Harrison really ever uses the word ’forego’? I’m curious.
Obviously, Roberto and Ali do indeed choose to ‘forego’ their individual rooms, and they go for a quick wade in the ocean before retiring to the suite to spend some private time together.
CHRIS’S OVERNIGHT DATE:
Chris and Ali have a nice boat ride and a swim. There’s a lot of flirting and giggling. Maybe not the heat that was apparent with Roberto, but it seems like a real, affectionate relationship. On the beach, Chris and Ali find oysters with pearls inside. Here’s my question: Is it really THAT easy to find pearls in oysters? Or were they placed there on the beach by producers? Hmmm?
Later, Chris reads the note from Chris Harrison as if he didn’t know it was coming. Of course he’s going to choose to (here’s that word again) ‘forego’ his individual room, in order to spend the night with Ali. The two kiss by the pool, and Chris whispers that he loves her, before turning in for the evening.
FRANK’S BIG REVEAL:
Frank arrives in Tahiti, to find Ali and tell her the news. He’s still in love with Nicole. He tells Chris Harrison first, and Chris advises him to tell Ali right away.
Ali arrives at Frank’s bungalow with a beautiful flower behind her ear and Frank immediately spills the beans. Although he had a great connection with Ali, he couldn’t stop thinking about his ex-girlfriend. Ali is clearly stunned and hurt. As she cries, the flower behind her ear starts to sag and fall out of place. She grabs at it and tosses it to the ground. I don’t know why this made me laugh. Dang flower. Dang Frank.
Ali wonders why Frank stayed around for so long, if he was having these feelings. He admits that he just wanted to be sure, and didn’t want to be sent home before he knew. Ali thinks this was incredibly selfish and ends up leaving in tears. She hugs him goodbye, which is more than I would have done. I’d have tossed him to the ground with the flower! He led Ali on. That wasn’t cool. He chose to ‘forego’ his chance with Ali because he couldn’t stand the competition.
ROSE CEREMONY:
After Chris Harrison spends some time trying to cheer Ali up, he sends her to her room to relax and gather herself. Then it’s time for the rose ceremony. Chris and Roberto each arrive by boat. But where’s Frank? Chris explains that Frank isn’t going to be there, and that Ali will tell them what happened. Chris and Roberto both look confused.
Ali arrives and tells the two men that Frank has left to take care of some things back home. Chris and Roberto both begin to get tiny smiles on their faces. Then, Ali tells them that she’s 100% certain that Frank was not the man for her. Now Chris and Roberto are both grinning from ear to ear. They know they’ve made it to the final two.
Ali wants to give them their roses. But, even more so, she wants them to accept them. They do, indeed accept Ali’s roses. And it’s off to Bora Bora to meet Ali’s family.
PREVIEWS:
Next week, we have the “Men Tell All” special. Word is that neither Frank nor Justin will be present, which will make for a boring evening. In two weeks, the final rose ceremony will take place. But will it be the most dramatic rose ceremony ever? Stay tuned……
Cara is a working single mom of a very energetic 10-year-old daughter, Ibby. Cara says, “At the end of my day, I often have just enough strength left to operate the remote control. Thankfully, my personal life is fairly calm. So in order to up the drama quotient, I keep up with my favorite TV shows. I may feel differently in a few years when my daughter hits puberty. But for now, I’m glad to have some ‘Drama for Mama’.”
