The Bachelor 2005 Recap
The drama continued on this week’s episode of The Bachelor. As you may recall last week’s episode ended off on a cliffhanger as Ben asked for resident villain Olivia to come talk with him prior to the rose ceremony. Therefore, this week the show continued to unravel the whole situation.
Admittedly, I didn’t think Olivia was going to be able to talk her way out of the whole she dug herself, especially after several of the women complained about her to Ben. However, she manages to do so by playing the victim and claiming that the other girls have been out to get her since she won the first two roses. She also tells Ben that she is having a hard time fitting in with the other ladies. Olivia coyly explains, “Everybody here’s like, really into, like, painting their nails and doing each other’s hair…That’s great, but I’m just different. I like reading in my room and thinking. I want to talk smart things.” Needless to say, this little act fooled Ben and he ended up sending Jen home and allowing Olivia to stick around for at least another week.
Shortly after, the bachelor crew heads to the Bahamas, where Caila is given the first one-on-one with Ben. Caila and Ben end up going deep-sea fishing on a fancy yacht. Afterwards, they have a romantic candle-lit dinner. Here Caila gets both her and Ben confused when she tells him “I feel like I love you,” but then goes on to state that she also is scared she is going to break his heart. Fortunately, Ben is able to help her talk through her seemingly mixed emotions. After impressing Ben with her “authenticity,” Caila earns herself a rose.
While Caila and Ben are off having fun, Leah is having a complete emotional breakdown back at the hotel. Leah is upset as she has yet to get a one-on-one with Ben, while Caila is currently on her second one-on-one with him. However, Ben explains in confessional that he felt there was some “unfinished business” with Caila since stars Ice Cube and Kevin Hart interrupted most of their first date.
The next day Ben is joined by a gaggle of bikini-clad women. Ben leads the group date participants, which includes Lauren B., Becca, Amanda, Jojo, Lauren H. and Leah, to a nearby island where they proceed to swim with dozens of pigs. Although the ladies were frightened, for the most part, the pigs seemed to be thoroughly enjoying chasing around the nearly naked, screaming women.
After the festivities, the date turns tense, as the other women are clearly upset that Ben went off with Lauren B. for most of the day. Ben winds up confiding in Jojo explaining, “I feel very uncomfortable today,” however Jojo lies through her teeth and says that everything is fine.
The group date continues that evening. Ben starts by pulling Becca aside and asks her why she was so “stand-offish” towards him earlier. Unlike Jojo, Becca opens up and tells him, “There’s a very obvious connection with you and Lauren B. I would never want to bring it up, but since you asked, that’s kinda what happened today.” Ben gives her some puppy dog eyes and says he doesn’t want to hurt her, which seems to be enough for Becca to get over her Lauren B. envy.
After Becca, Leah gets some quality time with the bachelor. Leah decides this is the perfect opportunity to throw Lauren B. – who is far too confident for Leah’s liking – under the bus. Leah slyly tells him, “I don’t think if she were the person you end up with that it would work out in the end.”
Next Ben ends up confiding in Lauren B. that “someone” (i.e. Leah) was claiming that she acts fake around him. Lauren B. is shocked and assures Ben that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Lauren returns to the other ladies (including Leah) and tries to figure out who had been talking about her to Ben. While Leah lies and says she wasn’t the one talking about Lauren to Ben, she ends up facing the consequences of her betrayal as Ben sends her home. Evidently, Ben wasn’t too drawn to Leah’s backstabbing.
Ben surprisingly decides to award the date rose to “Teen Mom” (as Olivia kindly refers to her) Amanda.
Lastly, Olivia and Emily join Ben on the first two-on-one date of the season. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the set-up of the show, since it is a two-on-one date it means that Ben will have to eventually send either Olivia or Emily home.
Following a cringe-worthy awkward silence, Ben takes the initiative and steals Olivia for some alone time. Here Olivia rants on about how accepting she is of herself and how in tune she is with her body. Just as Emily puts it, she is always talking about “Olivia, Olivia, Olivia.” However her self-absorbed rant sounded good in comparison to the next thing she begins going on about. Olivia professes her undying love to Ben – which prompts him to turn to bright red and awkwardly tell her he is happy she feels that way.
Afterward, Ben gets some alone time with Emily – which I am certain he was looking forward to after all that just went down with Olivia. In contrast, Emily and Ben’s conversation is much more playful and friendly.
The date ends with Ben pulling aside an embarrassingly cocky Olivia. Ben proceeds to tell Olivia he “[doesn’t] think [he] can reciprocate [her] feelings.” He tries to let her down easy, but she winds up being left on the island with probably the saddest looking face in Bachelor history. Here’s hoping that she leaves this experience with a slightly deflated ego. Needless to say, Emily is given the rose.
After all of the drama with Leah and Olivia, Ben decides to cancel the weekly cocktail party and go straight to the rose ceremony. With Caila, Amanda and Emily already safe (as they have roses from their dates) Ben also presents roses to Becca, Jojo, and Lauren B.
Thus, Lauren H. is eliminated and leaves us with just one Lauren left in the competition – yay!
You can catch the next episode of The Bachelor when it airs next Monday, February 15 on ABC.
Next Week on The Bachelor:
Now that Ben has narrowed it down to the final 6, the contestants enter the most intense part of the season. This includes hometown dates, the fantasy suite and overwhelming pressure to develop a strong connection with Ben.