Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Bachelor - The Meltdown


Host Chris tells the six remaining women what's in store this week: two one on one dates and a group date. No roses will be handed out on any of them. At the end of the week, two women will be sent home and the four women left will be taking Brad home to meet their parents.

The first date box has arrived, just for for Bettina. "Let's have a romantic evening on the water," reads the note. Bettina is very excited for the date and is confident about the "physical chemistry" between them. There's a straw hat in the box and the other women advise Bettina that if they're in a boat and they go under a bridge, she should get a kiss.

DeAnna decides that Bettina's ploy is to trying to be the "mystery" woman, the one Brad can't figure out.

Brad, meanwhile, says he thinks Bettina has all the qualities he's looking for, and he hopes she'll relax around him, which is exactly what Bettina is hoping for. They arrive at a dock on the edge of the water, where a picnic is laid out by candlelight. She tells Brad the more she's around him, the more comfortable she feels with him and that he makes the whole thing easier.

Brad asks if she's dated since her divorce and she says just a little. She admits she's not proud of getting divorced but she wasn't going to go through life "just being okay." Brad says he sometimes wants to hug her and tell her she's more than okay. "I think you're drop dead gorgeous," he says and says he finds many things about her "perfect." "Are you for real?" she asks, and reaches out to touch him.

They take a nighttime gondola ride through the canals of Venice (California) and Bettina confesses she's nervous. He says he's looking for someone who's his best friend and also true love, where they both know it without having to say it, and she replies that's exactly what she wants too. When they go under a bridge, she says it means they have to kiss and he gives her a peck on the cheek. At the end of the night, Brad feels that he still doesn't really know who Bettina is, but he's going to be patient about it.

The second date box arrives with an invite for Jenni, Hillary, DeAnna and Kristy, who are invited to Brad's for a pool party, so Sheena is getting the second one on one date. Sheena is extra excited because this gives her a greater chance of being one of the four women to take Brad home to meet her family.

Kristy, Sheena and Hillary relax in the hot tub and discuss whether Bettina is now their biggest competition. None of them think Bettina is on the level when it comes to Brad.

The four women arrive at Brad's for the group date. All but Kristy do a cannonball into the pool. Kristy just sits on the side of the pool. She doesn't participate when they play touch football and won't go on the slip and slide, even when they encourage her to join them. DeAnna privately declares Kristy "no fun."

Hillary is so moved by the sight of Brad shirtless that she can't think of anything G rated to tell the camera about him! Alone with Brad, she tells him how much she enjoys spending time with him, and how she really hopes he gets to meet her family, especially her father. She puts him on the spot by asking him how he feels about her, right now. He responds that he finds her, "Beautiful, sweet, kind, sincere," but he wonders if what he feels for her is more like friendship.

Privately, she says she believes there is chemistry between them and she can tell by the way he looks at her.

Sheena opens her date box. The note reads, "Tonight, many treasures await you." Inside her box are white gloves, a heart shaped box and a silver clutch. Bettina watches her put on the gloves and behind her back, opines that Sheena's too young for marriage.

In his alone time with DeAnna, Brad says he's been thinking about her. She says she didn't sleep at all after their date the other night. They both want to kiss, but can't, because the other three are watching, so he just kisses her on the shoulder.

DeAnna takes it hard when Jenni and Brad walk out of sight for their alone time, since she knows that means that he's going to be kissing her, but Hillary is even more upset. She tearfully wonders why that isn't her with Brad right now.

Brad and Jenni lie in a hammock together and kiss and she says she never wants their time together to end. They rejoin the others and Brad toasts to "following all of our hearts." Brad is excited to get to know Sheena better, especially because she so impressed his brother, Chad. The other women all manage to smile happily for Sheena when Brad picks her up, all but Hillary, who looks like she might cry again.

Brad, who's dressed in jeans and flip flops, won't tell Sheena what's planned for tonight, but before he opens the door at their destination a hillside mansion he tells her he thinks she's the most deserving of this experience. They walk into a room where six mannequins are dressed in designer gowns and she gets to pick which one she wants to wear.

As Sheena chooses a dress, Brad changes into a suit and tie. She selects a strapless red gown and he looks blown away as he watches her walk down the stairs to join him. And then she trips on the last few steps! He hugs her and asks if she's okay and she laughs it off, but wonders if she's blown it.

Brad leads her out onto the deck, which is covered in white balloon. She hugs him in delight and promises she won't fall as they walk through the balloons to a table for two. Brad raises his champagne glass and tells her he feels like the luckiest guy in the world to be with her. He then presents her with a pair of heart shaped diamond earrings. She puts them on and he tells her she looks stunning.

He admits how much an impact Chad's opinion of her has had on him and asks her why she's still single. She says she's incredibly picky and he jokingly asks if she's going to "kick him to the curb." "Not at all!" she says. She adds that it's hard for her to open up to strangers, but assure him she doesn't think of him as a stranger.

He asks how it will go if she takes him to her hometown, and she promises her father will greet him with a smile and probably a hug. He wants to know how she feels about relocating to Austin. "As long as you're with the people that you love, you're home," she says.

After dinner, they walk down a candlelit path to where a small orchestra is playing and Brad asks her to dance. He tells her he likes that she's always smiling and then he kisses her. Later, Bettina says she's the luckiest woman in the world and that it's the best date of her whole life.

Back at the house, Hillary is depressed over Brad spending time with someone else. The other women are less emotional, but still moody. Bettina asks DeAnna if she's confident that Brad will keep her and she says she is.

Since it's their last night in the house, DeAnna, Jenni, Hillary, and Bettina play "beer pong" to break the tension, and DeAnna suggests that the losers get naked and jump in the pool. She and Jenni end up losing that challenge, so they strip and jump in together and soon Hillary joins them, even though she didn't lose!

Sheena returns, still wearing her red gown, and finds Jenni and Bettina waiting up. She tells them about the six dresses and shows off her earrings. Bettina is jealous, saying that it sounds so much better than her date, which, she declares she now considers "boring." She goes off to bed and Sheena tells Jenni that she would have loved a gondola ride and a picnic just as much. "She's not in it for the right reasons," whispers Jenni.

Brad says he's "freaking out" at having to decide whom to send home. At the cocktail party, Sheena is wearing her earrings again. Brad says how much he likes them and Bettina looks annoyed. Jenni smiles, but she admits it's tough, especially since she considers Sheena to be "a cool girl."

Alone with Brad on the balcony overlooking the pool, Sheena announces she's written a poem as a way to thank him for last night. After she reads it, he says he's speechless and asks to keep it. He asks her to join him in a quick dance, right here.

During their one on one time with DeAnna, he wants to know whether her feelings are real or if this is all happening too quickly. She admits it's scary and she might get hurt, but it's worth it. She also admits that he makes her nervous and that she normally never gets nervous. She says she wasn't going to kiss him with the other girls watching, but when he points out that no one is watching them now, she leans over and initiates a kiss, which Brad continues.

Back in the house, Jenni brings up the way Bettina spoke so badly of her date and says she would never say anything like that. Bettina insists she was only joking but Jenni looks unconvinced. She feels that Bettina is two different people, depending on whether she's with Brad or around "the girls." She hopes Brad gets to see the catty side of her the other women have seen.

Brad takes Bettina aside and tells her he thinks their date was "perfect." "I think so also," she says quickly. She tells him that she feels comfortable with him now and that she wants him to kiss her and that she wants "your hands on me." He says he doesn't expect anything from her, except for her to be herself.

While Bettina is off with Brad, DeAnna tells Jenni she hopes Brad is asking her if she had fun on their date3. Hillary hopes, as they all do, that Brad sees through her.

Brad worries how to tell Hillary that he considers her just a friend, when she's shown she just hears what she wants. He tells her he's going to "shoot straight" with her but when he says he thinks of a friend, she insists she feels the same way ... but also that she thinks he can be her lover as well. He lets her do the rest of the talking, since it's clear he hasn't gotten through to her at all. She is sure that he just can't tell her how he feels, given the circumstances.

It's time for the rose ceremony and there are only four roses to hand out.
Brad gives a rose to:
DeAnna
Jenni
Sheena
Bettina
Kristy and Hillary find themselves without a rose. Kristy admits she's hurt and doesn't know what went wrong. She's sorry that Brad didn't seem to want to get to know her better.

Hillary, who's been on the verge of tears during the whole rose ceremony, dries her eyes before hugging Brad goodbye. Outside, she cries so hard, she has trouble breathing. She begs the cameraman to leave her alone. Preparing to toast the remaining Bachelorettes, Brad hears Hillary crying and excuses himself to goes outside and comfort her. He asks if she's okay and she says she isn't. She wants to know why he's sending her home, saying she doesn't understand. He says he couldn't, in good conscience, meet her family when he wasn't sure if he could ever think of her as more than just a friend. She repeats how much she wanted him to meet her family and that she's really fallen for him. He tells her he's sorry and gives her one last hug. "I'll see you," he says, and goes back inside.

Hillary admits she's had her heart broken. And she believes that Bettina doesn't deserve to be in there. "She's playing a game with him," she sobs. "I wanted him to see her for who she is, and he didn't." She laments that Brad didn't fall for her before finally walking away from the camera.

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