Did you know that Hometowns are next week?? That's nuts. I am also super empathetic that these guys are going to be under incredible pressure to propose to a woman they've only known for what, six weeks? And if they made Dale propose after a few weeks, you know full well there will be extreme pressure for the last two standing to propose to Tayshia.
The Bennett and Noah Two-on-One Continues
Last week's episode left at the start of Bennett and Noah's two-on-one. I think Tayshia's going to potentially send both of them home, but I definitely think/hope that Bennett is leaving. There's a bit of overlap between the end of last week's episode and last night's episode, but Bennett comes off as insincere in his attempts to agree with Tayshia that the situation is ridiculous but he's as befuddled as she is because he didn't realize there was a problem. Hello, gaslighter.
Tayshia asks about the box and Spencer stammers a bit and finally says it was for Noah. Tayshia is not amused by any of this. She pulls Bennett aside to chat and Bennett tells us in his ITM that he's going to educate Tayshia on the things she hasn't seen. Thank the gods for entitled white guys to mansplain things to Tayshia.
Tayshia very calmly lays into Bennett and says that he has no right to tell other guys if she's going to choose them or not, because she's the one making the decisions, not him. He calmly agrees with her. It must be extremely hot because they are both sweating.
Tayshia allows Bennett to defend himself and then he starts lecturing HER on the components of EQ. Tayshia's dead eyes are priceless. She is not interested in this discussion and is clearly just spacing out thinking about how long she has to let this go on. He ends by laying it on thick of how wonderful she is. She is clearly unimpressed. Also in Bennett's disfavor is Bennett's white sneakers without socks.
Next up is Noah. Tayshia scolds Noah as well and Noah talks about Bennett's gaslighting. It definitely feels more like Tayshia is trying to understand why this little boy is having problems with the older neighborhood kid. Bennett is condescending and a gaslighter and Noah's main problem is he's 25 and thinks mustaches look good. He's a kid.
Tayshia seemingly wanders around the resort while Noah and Bennett sit on the couches awkwardly. Tayshia rejoins them and gives her dual speeches to each of their good qualities but her concerns as well. She tells Bennett she can't give him the rose and walks him out. Noah looks relieved but technically she hasn't given him the rose. The Bennett walkout is awkward. Bennett is clearly stunned he didn't get the rose.
The only thing I'm disappointed about is we didn't get Bennett's back story. I was dying to hear that. I'm sure he'll get a redemption arc in Paradise though. Unfortunately Tayshia doesn't seem at peace with her decision. She rejoins Noah, who's beaming, and Tayshia tells him to stop smiling. She scolds Noah a little bit more and doesn't give him the rose either but doesn't send him home. My guess is she'll dramatically give him the last rose at the Rose Ceremony.
Finally...The Cocktail Party and the Rose Ceremony
The guys join Noah and they seem happy to seem Noah, suggesting that the guys like him at least a little bit. Tayshia joins the guys and says she just wants to move on. The cocktail party is mercifially short and uneventful and there's nothing interesting to report.
There are only five roses to give out. Ben and Zac already have roses. My guess as to who is getting the remaining five roses are: Brenden, Ivan, Noah, Demar and Riley. She gives the roses to Brenden, Riley, Blake (why?), Ivan, and Noah. So I got four out of five. This means Demar, Spencer, and Ed are going home. Spencer's a bit of surprise since he got the First Impression Rose, but he really hasn't gotten any screen time since then. After all of the screen time that Chris has gotten this season, it's weird when Jo Jo pops up, especially because she hasn't been around at all.
New Week
Jo Jo shows up in a gorgeous green sundress and this week's first date is going to Ben. He's already shared his eating disorder, does he have another big secret to share? Meanwhile, Zac inexplicably starts crying about the prospect of Hometowns next week. I'm curious to see how this is going to work in a COVID season. Will they fly everyone out to Palm Springs? Will they throw all caution to the wind? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Ben's One-on-One
Ben finally gets his one-on-one. Jo Jo arrives in a scooter looking adorable and tells them they're going on a scavenger hunt. Like last week's haunted house date, this sounds more fun than some of the other shenanigans they've attempted this season.
Despite his robotic tendencies, I want to like Ben. He's adorable. They end up at a fountain and since Ben's already stripped down, it's NBD when he takes his jeans off because he doesn't want to get them wet. We've gotten to the point where this isn't alarming anymore. There definitely seems to be chemistry between them and I'm not sure why, but Ben looks super hot on this date.
For the evening portion of the date, Ben talks about his self-imposed pressure to be perfect and not be vulnerable. Tayshia asks Ben about his family and he skirts the issue by talking about his sister (and notably not mentioning his parents, which is interesting). He left the army after he broke his back and he keeps stammering but finally admits he tried to kill himself twice. Damn Ben. As it turns out, his sister didn't know this, so he admitted this on national television. Again--damn, Ben.
I'm not sure if I'm concerned or not. What concerns me is how Ben feels like he's burdening people with his problems. Did he get help after his suicide attempts? Who found him? I want to know more. He says his sister saved his life and she doesn't even know it. I'm glad to hear that it sounds like he's been in therapy so I'm really proud of him for sharing that. He seems legitimately relieved and happier to share this. Like a huge burden has been lifted. Obviously she gives him the rose. Can you imagine if she didn't?
We've seen hardly any musical acts but they bring out some random guy, I think his name is Adam Hambrick? He doesn't look happy to be there but he should get over himself because this is probably the only gig he's gotten in months.
Group Date
A group date card arrives and it turns out Blake is getting this week's other one-on-one. Blake claims he's really, really into Tayshia despite getting minimal screen time since her arrival. Today is another classic Bach group date--the lie detector test. Jo Jo is going to be helping out. The guys look terrified. Tayshia will also be taking the test.
I'm going to go out on a limb here but this does not seem very legit. Jo Jo has a laptop that just seems to have a heartbeat pattern as a screen saver. There is also a random box with red, green and yellow lights. It's unclear how this light is going off but I wouldn't put too much stock in any answers given today. Jo Jo tries to look serious and stern.
Brenden looks terrified. He doesn't do very well but again, give the guy a break. Zac faces this head on and is honest. Tayshia is mad that Zac has cheated because "once a cheater always a cheater" but I've never really believed that. Things aren't always black and white. And he was an addict--I'm not saying he gets a free pass but it's one thing to cheat and keep cheating, and it's another to cheat, regret it and learn from it. Also, addicts do all kinds of things when they're addicts.
For the evening portion of the date, Tayshia's wearing a white dress with a very long train. She can't wait to pull Zac aside and grill him about his cheating admission. So it turns out it happened when he was in sixth grade. Tayshia tells Zac she's falling in love with him, suggesting he's the possible front runner. So again, the producers have tricked us. No surprise.
Tayshia grills Brenden why his reading was inconclusive when asked if he was ready to meet Tayshia's family and have her meet his. He says his family is going to wonder what the hell he's doing and he doesn't know how to explain that it's just a show. He doesn't say that, but his answer still appeases Tayshia. Brenden assures us he's potentially actually maybe falling in love with Tayshia.
Poor Riley, like Noah, is going to be forced to share a secret with Tayshia on national TV. It's unclear if this is real or manufactured. We know that him and his mom weren't in a good place for a long time but it sounded like they were in a better place now.
We find out that Riley's real name is Dwayne, and that's also his dad's name, but he legally changed his name to Riley. Riley says him and his dad had a falling out, which sounded like it convinced with him reconnecting with his mom. He doesn't go into a ton of details about what specifically happened with his dad, besides Riley saying that his dad took some things from his mom. It sounds sad, but clearly Riley was a good enough person to change things and he did. I didn't know what to expect, but that wasn't it.
One thing I'll say about Tayshia is she seems much more comforting and relaxed for this conversation than she has with other oversharings from the guys. I still don't think that Riley's a front runner, but if I saw this interaction without seeing her interaction with other guys, I'd think he was. I think Riley secured the date rose with that discussion. Correction--she gives the rose to no one, but in a less passive aggressive way than what Clare did when she gave the rose to herself.
I'm a little surprised and I'd say this doesn't bode well for Riley because Ben already got one rose. I think the other top four are Ivan, Brendan and Zac, leaving poor Riley a close fifth. Noah is clearly not even in contention and should be thankful he's still around. The guys are NOT happy she didn't give out the rose.
Creeper Hiding in the Shadows
Tayshia goes back to her room and is about to go in when she turns around and gasps. It's Creeper Bennett, waiting in the shadows. How long was he waiting there? Thank goodness there are people around. Tayshia definitely looks freaked out. Bennett is speaking in a super weird low voice.
His lack of emotion is robotic and it's alarming. He goes on about nonsense of how you don't know what you've got until it's gone. And you know what? Weirdest thing, he realized he wuvs Tayshia. Weally, weally wuvs her.
Tayshia looks like she wants to laugh out loud but holds it together to continue to let him hang himself. She says she's speechless. Bennett, being the consummate giver, says he's willing to stay if she thinks there's a still a chance. Because while he apologizes for questioning her integrity, he can't possibly fathom her ability to know what she wants. Because if she really knew what she wanted, obviously she wouldn't have chosen Noah over him. Oh, the entitlement.
Oh. It seems I've misread Tayshia. She seems to be falling for this crap. It's clearly an act. He claims he's never had emotions like this for a girl. UGH. Tayshia tells him she doesn't how to process everything and he says, with the creepiest voice and creepiest face, says, "I know the feeling". Like he knows because he's been watching her through a peephole he cut in the wall.
This is beyond odd. Bennett needs a restraining order and shame on the producers for milking this drama instead of telling Bennett he needed to take their plane ticket or call his jet, but he had to leave. She asks for the night to think about it. He tenderly gives her a kiss on the cheek. He pulls a Blake and goes in for the kiss and she turns him down. Wow.
If there was an ongoing theme between Clare and Tayshia it's the "I want someone to show up for me" crap. Tayshia was clearly taken aback by Bennett showing up for her. Hey, it worked for Ben, no reason why it wouldn't work for Bennett. UGH.
...and that's it. FFS.
Closing credits
As the credits roll, we see Tayshai putting a face sheet mask on Ed. And Ed is very funny. Where the hell has this guy been? Maybe I just loved that Ed admitted his skin regimen is Botox every three months. Thanks you for your honesty, Ed. I still can't stand you, but if production had shown more of your humor, you might have grown on me. Well, probably not.
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