I'm trying something new this week. Last week I had a day where I just needed to relax and Tayshia was exactly what I needed to do that, so I watched without writing any notes. But here I am on Monday and I still don't have a post for you. And now it's Wednesday morning. So I'm going to (attempt to) summarize what happened. Wish me luck.
Yo Yo it's Jo Jo!
Jo Jo is here! Fortunately Tayshia has set out a casual continental breakfast for her arrival. Jo Jo is one of my favorites. Rachel has done more than enough for this franchise and it's been a while since Jo Jo has done her share for showing up on current seasons. Unfortunately, JoJo is starting to look plastic-y. JoJo coaches Tayshia on crushing the guys' souls.
But Jo Jo isn't just here for a sit down with Tayshia. As it turns out, Chris is stepping away to take his son to college and Jo Jo is filling his shoes. Ben looks smitten with Jo Jo as she drops off the first date card. The date card is for Zac. I'm super excited because if you've been following this blog, I've been dying to hear Zac's story.
Zac's One-on-One
This one-on-one is a Bach standard--the wedding photo shoot. Tayshia seems way more nervous than Zac. Franco Lacosta is the camera man and he's hilarious. Zac, amazingly, senses Tayshia's discomfort. This could be because he's a "grown ass man" or because he's a counselor. Tayshia reminds us yet again she's been married before. The dresses are so over the top, I'd focus less on the wedding-ness of the dresses because they could pass for evening dresses. Although the first one she comes out in is pretty wedding-y. The photographer pressures her to put on a veil and Zac says she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to and the photographer ignores this completely.
Once the photo shoot is mercifically over, Zac and Tayshia have a picnic and Tayshia reminds Zac she's been married before and Zac reveals he's been married before too. Tayshia clearly is self-conscious about the fact that she's been married before. I get it--I got married once before too and I also was extremely self-conscious about it. I still am sometimes. But age and finding a much better guy for husband #2 has led me to care a lot less and hopefully Tayshia will get there one day too. Because you know what? If somebody wants to judge you for that--screw them.
The vibe between Zac and Tayshia is kind of odd but let's see where this goes. I like Zac because I love a good addiction story (is that weird? I think it's the behavior change aspect). No matter the age, if you've gone through addiction and seen the other side, you've dealt with a lot of stuff.
Zac opens his story by sharing that he had a brain tumor, which was unexpected. But that's what led to his drug and alcohol use. During this time he got married and his wife left him when he was arrested for a DUI. Long story short, he hit bottom and is now a board member at where he went to rehab. I loved it, but again, I love a good addict story. Have I mentioned that Intervention used to be one of my favorite shows? But then I had kids and I had a really hard time watching it. I digress.
Group Date
Prepare yourselves--this is a strange group date in a season where there have been a LOT of strange group dates. There's been an ongoing theme of nakedness on these group dates, and this one is no different. The guys walk in to find nude models. Needless to say, the guys are over naked dates and are not happy to see the nude couple. But thankfully they're drawing the models not getting naked themselves. The guys are visibly relieved they don't have to drop trou.
Bennett and Noah are both on this date and their ongoing pissing match continues. Tayshia notices it and isn't pleased. At this point even I'm on Noah's side because Bennett is being such a tool. Compared to Bennett, Noah seems like the mature one.
The gang gets through making charcoal drawings of the naked couple, and they all go around the room showing their artwork. From there they move on to blindfolded claywork. Bennett "surprises" Tayshia by kissing her without her consent and it creeps me out. Dude, not cool. There's another show and tell where everyone goes around showing what they did. Blake made a penis out of his clay and Spencer informs us that all Blake talks about in the house is sex. Okily-dokily.
The final task is a self-portrait. They're encouraged to dig deep and whoever bares his soul the most will get extra time with Tayshia. Demolish those walls guys, only good things can come from this. Most of what we see is lame, though Noah's yin and yang looked like a middle school collage project. Bennett did a needlepoint (insert eye roll) and claims that he doesn't come from money. Many of the guys bare their soul and Riley gets a sharp dig to his mom, who clearly wasn't a positive influence in Riley's life. Ben, though, takes things a little too far and decides to strip down.
Sigh. This is so unnecessary and I'm mildly (majorly?) appalled that he thought this was appropriate. Dude, really? Haven't we had enough unsolicited (well, and solicited too) nudity in this season? Do you think Ben sends dick pics? UGH.
Tayshia decides she can't pick just one winner so everyone goes to the cocktail party. The cocktail party is uneventful until Bennett makes yet another dig at Noah. Ben reveals his deep, dark secret, which is that he used to be a fat kid but then he realized that girls don't like fat kids and he developed an eating disorder, which started off as anorexia and transitioned to bulimia. I am sympathetic. No, really. You don't hear a lot of guys admitting eating disorders and I'd love to have this discussed more because many of the people (both men and women) on this show clearly have eating disorders. But the way he discusses it is oddly robotic. Also, the fact that the feelings that he has for Tayshia are feelings he's never felt before is super suspect and a red flag. A guy who's never been in love by his mid-20s (I don't know how old Ben is, but it's even more concerning if he's past his mid-20s) is much more alarming than a guy who's had exes. But his gamble paid off because he gets the date rose.
Before Tayshia leaves, she puts Bennett and Noah on notice and says she's going to get to the bottom of their lame pissing match. Once she leaves, they go back and forth a bit and whatever positive edit Bennett got a while ago is long gone. He's extremely condescending to Noah. Yes, Noah is a child. He's 25. What I don't understand is why Bennett cares?
Eazy's Date
Eazy and Tayshia's date is fun. It's about a supposed haunted part of the resort. They have to go around in the dark. It's funny and scary and they seem to have a good time. Those allegations against Eazy never seemed to go anywhere, which is disappointing. I found an update on Reality Steve but don't look at it until after the next episode because I accidentally found some spoilers. It wasn't necessarily anything surprising, but for the first time in a long time, I'm trying to stay unspoiled, so if you want to stay unspoiled, again, don't go there. Long story short, Eazy denied the allegations, demonstrating once again why women don't want to speak up in these situations--because nobody believes them. So. Frustrating. Don't be surprised when he shows up in Paradise.
I haven't been loving Tayshia's outfits this episode. I didn't love her pink camisole thing and I don't like this green slip thing either. Anyway, Tayshia sends Eazy home. I think we only have a few weeks left and I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of cuts that happen at the next Rose Ceremony.
Jo Jo is Still the New Host
Remember two hours ago we saw Jo Jo? Well, she's still here. She goes to see the guys and makes a very snide comment to Noah when Noah checks himself out in the mirror. It was so fantastic and if Jo Jo keeps this up then I think she should get the gig permanently. She tells the guys that before the Cocktail Party, Noah and Bennett are having a two-on-one. She asks Bennett to explain what the issue is and he claims ignorance, which is complete and total BS.
As they head into the showdown, neither is worried. Perhaps Bennett should be worried though. It's still unclear to me why he's either so threatened by Noah or keeps picking on him. What is the problem, Bennett?
Let's Duel
Bennett and Noah verbally spar while waiting for Tayshia to show up. Bennett gets up to get something and brings back a gift. Bennett claims he's bringing the gift for Noah because he's been a peacemaker all his life. Sure, Bennett. I'm not sure why Bennett is gaslighting all of us by saying he was unaware there was tension.
So the present. Noah is guarded, as he should be by this condescending crap. Bennett gifts him:
- A red bandanna: This apparently references an unseen conversation about Noah's ranch and Bennett's former cowboy days. Huh?
- Mustached socks: These are apparently Bennett's old socks but he assures Noah that he's washed them. Bennett then informs Noah that the only place a man should have a mustache is on his socks. Noah continues to look at Noah stone faced.
- Emotional intelligence book: This is another one of Noah's castoffs but he gives it in the spirit of educating Noah. Bennett also informs Noah he's deficient in three of the four emotional intelligence components. Bennett is clearly deficient in all four.
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