The Bachelorette recap: The brat came back
This week on The Bachelorette, a trip to the Pacific Northwest brings beautiful vistas, bungee jumping, and what will hopefully be our final blowout with Brayden.
Let's recap!
Welcome to Stevenson, Washington, rose lovers! It's a little chilly in this picturesque mountain city, which means Charity has traded in her exquisite and colorful motorcycle jackets for an exquisite and colorful parka.
ABC Charity rocks some pom-poms
Too adorable.
There are only 10 guys left. "We are halfway through this journey," announces the Bachelorette. Wait, what? So… are there only 8 episodes instead of the typical 10 to 12? Or am I overthinking it? (Don't answer that.)
After the men settle in at the Skamania Lodge, Palmer arrives with an important public service announcement.
ABC Jesse Palmer is a man of many skills
Skamania County, explains the host, is famous for its rivers and forests, but it's also well known "because they have more Bigfoot sightings than anywhere in the country."
Oh, and it's also time for the first date card. Congratulations… Dotun! HELL YEAH! LET'S GO! I don't even care that it's a stupid bungee-jumping date (the date card says, "let's leap into love"), because Dotun is amazing, and he and Charity are ridiculously cute together. Even the other men can't be mad about it because everybody loves Dotun. "Take the roof off!" jokes one of the guys as the six-foot-seven integrative medicine specialist climbs into Charity's jeep.
Dotun and Charity arrive at the High Steel Bridge. "I told myself I would never bungee jump," says the Bachelorette. You know that old saying, girl: People plan, producers laugh. "I'm definitely shaking a little bit," admits Dotun. "I'm terrified, too." As the guides strap them into their harnesses and other gear, Charity gets so freaked out and nervous she starts to cry. (No judgment: I'd be in a fetal position on the ground sobbing.)
"I need to, like, get it together," frets Charity. "I really do!" No, you don't, girl! You're the Bachelorette. Just say no. What are they gonna do — push you off the bridge? (Don't answer that.) But Charity wants to overcome her fear, and having Dotun to cling on to is a big help. Three… two… one…
ABC Dotun and Charity take their sweet time
That pause, LOL! For a second, I thought they weren't going to move. But Charity and Dotun dutifully take the plunge because — say it with me, rose lovers — love is like a leap of faith. The Bachelorette enjoys falling into the void so much, she and Dotun jump a second time. Congrats, you adorable duo.
Back at the lodge, Brayden is roaming the grounds with Xavier. After almost having his rose taken away last week, he's feeling a little less cocky. "I think I'm in danger this week," he admits. "She was pissed off at me, bro." He goes on to complain about how Charity is "always going to be on, she's always going to be in that role of, like, 'I have to be the Bachelorette.' I just want you to stop being the Bachelorette for one minute and just be off with me," he grouses.
Okay, I've got a few questions for you, sir. One: Did you not see the camera operator filming you from a distance? Two: I know we asked you this last week, but did you not voluntarily sign up for a show called The Bachelorette, in which you would be asked to date a woman who would be acting as "the Bachelorette"? Three: Do you ever just SHUT THE F--- UP?
Moving on.
That night, Dotun and Charity conclude their date by having s'mores for dinner. And you guys, Dotun has never made s'mores before in his life!
ABC Charity and Dotun get toasty
Love this for him. After they eat their sweet treats, Dotun tells Charity that she gave him the strength to jump off the bridge earlier in the day: "You didn't hesitate one time. You kept moving forward, and that helped me move forward." He also gives the Bachelorette a bit more backstory on how he came to this country when he was four. There was a regular lottery process to get a visa, and one day, Dotun's aunt saw an announcement for the latest lottery. "She just had this feeling and called my mom one day," he says. "I think every day, where would I be without that phone call from my auntie?" Dotun praises his parents for all the struggles and sacrifices they went through to give him a good life once he did make it to America. "I cherish that," he adds.
Charity can relate, because her parents worked hard to give her a comfortable childhood in the suburbs. But there weren't a lot of Black people where she grew up, and the Bachelorette says she "developed this, like, achievement-oriented mindset, that I had to be the best at everything I did." As she gets older and more confident, Charity is ready to step out of that "perfectly poised" box and be the real woman that she is — fabulous flaws and all. "I see there's a lot more to you in that way," says Dotun. "And that's what's so attractive."
Dang it, just give this man the date rose already!
ABC These two are endgame
"I just feel so grateful and lucky for the forces that be that brought me and Charity together," says Dotun. You guys! If this man does not get Charity's final rose, can we please start a campaign to make him the next Bachelor?
Group date time! Joey, Aaron, Michael, Caleb, Brayden, Sean, John, and Tanner layer on their flannel and hoodies and head into the woods to meet Charity. Adventure junkie Brayden is already gloating about not wearing a coat even though it's chilly. The travel nurse is also certain that he's way more suited to a wilderness date than Aaron — but that isn't for him to say. These fierce young ladies will be the ones judging which men are (and aren't) up to snuff.
ABC Brinley, Kate, and Aria are here to separate the wheat from the chaff
Meet Skamania Scouts Brinley, Kate, and Aria! And please, do not make Aria mad, or she will place curse on you and yours for the next seven generations.
ABC Cross Aria at your own peril, guys
"One's got a face of steel," says Aaron. "She looks pretty intimidating." Damn right she does. So, listen up, chumps.
"Today we are challenging you boys on resourcefulness, bravery, and strength," chirps Kate, adding that whichever guy impresses them the most will get extra time with Charity at "the kissing tree."
Challenge No. 1: The men have five minutes to find Charity and her Scout friends something to eat in the woods. Fortunately, producers have planted things like raisins and a bunch of raw beets (!) in the area for the men to find. While they search, Aria asks Charity if Brayden or Joey is the smartest guy on the date. "Not Brayden," the Bachelorette answers with a laugh. "Definitely not Brayden." That's for damn sure.
Uh-oh, the Scouts are getting impatient. "Hey smelly boys! Get back here!" they bark. Sean makes the mistake of joking that the girls are "little demons," which not only hurts Kate and Brinley's feelings, but it also appears to open a portal to Hell inside Aria's soul.
ABC [insert scary demon voice here]
Not today, Satan.
One by one, the men present the Scouts with their food: Mushrooms, greens, pine nuts, etc. Aaron brings them a frog ("I'm a Louisiana boy!"), which the girls do NOT love, but they're even more annoyed by Brayden, who keeps eating the raw beets he got for them. "Hey Brayden, do less, bro," says one of the guys.
Challenge No. 2 is a wilderness skills quiz. "Who would you eat to survive?" asks Brinley.
ABC Everyone hates Brayden
"You do have a lot of meat," reasons Aria, lord of the underworld. "I bet you exercise!"
Alas, Brayden flunks the last question: "How do you want this journey to end?" While the other guys give the answers you'd expect ("On one knee"; "engaged and ready to continue our story," etc.), Brayden writes, "to be content." [Loud buzzer sound] Wrong again, doofus! You can kiss a date at the kissing tree (which is definitely a real thing and not just a random tree producers hung a hand-painted sign on) goodbye. The winner of the tree date is… Aaron! But don't worry about Brayden, rose lovers — he's doing just fine.
ABC A d-bag in the wild
The chyron writers are truly doing some of their best work this season. Anyhow, Brayden is disappointed and a little hurt by the rejection — but because he's a big baby, he shows it by being rude and defensive. "If she wants a cookie-cutter dude, that's your cookie-cutter dude right there," he says of Aaron. Charity, adds Brayden, is an "amazing woman," but she might be "an amazing woman for someone else." Again I say, that's for damn sure.
Night rolls around, and the guys are talking about "connections" and how close hometowns are as they wait for Charity to arrive for the cocktail party. Brayden listens with a smirk on his face. "It feels like these guys are so naïve with their perspective," he says. "I just have this idea that my relationship is, like, more real than theirs."
Of course, this seems to go against what he says to the group, which is that he's still trying to figure out if Charity is someone he could see himself with for life. Aaron blasts Brayden for being "pessimistic" and "wasting people's time," and Brayden turns around and accuses Aaron of sabotaging him. "You did me dirty, man," he fumes. "For no other reason than that you saw that I had a connection with Charity." Au contraire, replies Aaron. You're a totally different dude in the house than you are with Charity. (I'm paraphrasing.)
This goes back and forth for a bit, and soon Sean jumps to question what Brayden really wants from this "process." Brayden says his goal is "to have a connection with a woman," which, as Sean rightly points out, "differs from what Charity's goal is." Just as the tension reaches its pinnacle…
ABC Here comes trouble
Yep, the Bachelorette is here, and she is NOT happy. "What's the conversation?" she asks. "Brayden, is there something that I don't know? Or what is the problem?" The travel nurse doesn't answer, but Sean and Aaron jump in with their "he's not ready to get engaged!" tattling. Adds Tanner, "There's one person here that's packed their bags more than twice." This is news to Charity. "Oh," she says, with a sharp edge to her voice. "Okay."
With that, the Bachelorette pulls Brayden for a come-to-Jesus talk. Will he be able to talk himself out of suitor jail yet again? Let's listen in.
ABC Please just shut up.
Somebody grab the lamp because Brayden's about to start gaslighting! "I have been down in the dumps since I got to Washington," he tells Charity. "I didn't know what I did wrong. All of a sudden, you're mad at me for something I thought we had already talked about. It honestly hurt!"
Oh, HELL no. Charity admits to being "a little bit aggravated" when Brayden complains that he doesn't know where he stands with her, because she's already told him multiple times. "Do you see how frustrating this is for me?" she asks him. Girl, it's about to get a lot more frustrating, because here is Brayden's answer: "I feel like I like you, but I feel like I don't want to be here right now. And I don't feel like I'm capable of getting there in this environment."
Enough said, jackass. "I am not in a position to fix Brayden," notes Charity. (AMEN and Hallelujah to that, rose lovers!) "He is reminding me so much of my past relationship – playing victim, not taking accountability… That's just not a road I want to go down."
The Bachelorette leads him to the Reject SUV, where Brayden almost immediately begins to regret his decision. "I dug my own grave, man," he says with a sigh. "I opened my mouth too much. But I feel like there's definitely the possibility of something there, and I feel like the door wasn't really shut." Kids, that's called foreshadowing.
Once she's had a few minutes to compose herself, Charity heads back to the holding pen and informs the guys that Brayden is gone. "We're moving forward!" she announces. The guys are, in a word, psyched. "It's kind of been a toxic force in the house," says Aaron of Brayden. "And I'm just glad you were able to see that and take action."
Those sentiments are echoed by Sean, Joey, Tanner, and Michael, and everybody assures Charity that she did the right thing and that they are ready to propose at the end. But only one man can get the date rose. So, congratulations… Joey!
ABC Charity and Joey
The second one-on-one date of the week goes to Xavier. He and Charity meet in downtown Stevenson, where they'll enjoy some "local favorites." Going into the date, Charity wants to know if Xavier — who is definitely boyfriend material — can rise to the level of husband material. What better way to find out than by making some foot pear jam?
ABC Charity and Xavier put their best feet forward
Blech. Their other wholesome date activities include bobbing for apples, sampling pepper jelly, and feeding each other chocolate. It's all going well, but something isn't quite sitting right with Charity. "Xavier does remind me of people that I would have, like, dated in the past," she says. "There's just like little things, just like the compliments… I don't want someone to be with me because 'you're so attractive' or 'you're so pretty.'" Of course, Charity knows that Xavier is "just being sweet" and she needs to delve a little deeper with him rather than labeling him as a bad fit too soon.
As they ride through town on a tourist train, Charity and Xavier talk about how much they've grown as people throughout this "process." There's smooching and giggling, but Charity's doubts still linger. "He does remind me a lot of my past," she admits. "I need loyalty and someone who I can trust."
With that in mind, the Bachelorette kicks off the dinner portion of the date by asking Xavier to talk about his previous relationships, and whether he has any "fears" about being engaged. Xavier says his biggest fear is falling for someone who doesn't love him back, because in his last relationship he had to "constantly ask" for his needs to be met. Charity understands and says her biggest fear is "the infidelity thing," given how her long-term relationship ended. "Me not being prioritized, like, it really did mess with my self-esteem for the longest time," she explains.
Xavier assures her that he'll never give her anything but "complete honesty" — and Charity LOVES it. The conversation gets even deeper when Xavier reveals that one of the reasons he's getting a PhD in biomedical sciences is because his mother has MS. "I literally invested my whole life and career into the chance of, like, helping her," he says. Charity is moved to tears by his dedication and devotion. You know what happens next, rose lovers:
ABC Charity and Xavier
Congrats, Xavier!
Rose ceremony day arrives, and all the guys are feeling good because Brayden is not there. Even Bigfoot has a spring in his step as he strolls through the woods.
ABC But is Bigfoot here for the right reasons?
"I feel really good that every person here is going to get time tonight [with Charity]," says Sean, as he and the other men take their seats at the cocktail party. Come on, man — did you have to jinx it?
Charity arrives, looking resplendent in a red gown. Everything starts off fine, as it normally does: Aaron gives the Bachelorette a shoulder massage; Charity shares a cute childhood photo of herself with Dotun and a few smooches with Joey; and she leads Tanner out into the woods so they can sneak in a few kisses as well. "This is what it's supposed to be — me smiling, me feeling good," gushes Charity. Come on, girl — did you have to jinx it, too? Someone call the cops because there's about to be a murder… of the vibe.
ABC Looks like the scarf epidemic from season 10 is back
Look out, everybody! The King of Excessive Accessories is here, and he's coming in hot. Brayden storms past the men, past the camera crew, and down the hall to find Charity. After opening the wrong door, Brayden manages to find the right room, where he interrupts Charity and John, who are sharing a sweet kiss. Very rude, bro! Even ruder: He just stands there and watches them like a creep rather than announcing himself.
ABC Okay, creeper.
Gross. Charity and John eventually stop kissing, only to make the very unpleasant discovery that Brayden's been standing there the whole time. The Bachelorette is not pleased. "Um, hi?" she says. "This is a surprise." Brayden, affecting a humble attitude, says he feels terrible about the way they parted, and he just wants to apologize.
John, meanwhile, heads back to the holding pen and the normally sweet and adorable data scientist is pissed. "I'm on the chopping block! This is the only time I have, and he steals that moment from me?" Yeah, that's some BS. Sean — who says his scarf is way better than Brayden's because his is cashmere — is equally angry, because he hasn't gotten time with Charity at all so far tonight. "Okay, so another Brayden Show coming in here and screwing us all over when it comes to time," he huffs.
Remember when I said Brayden wanted to apologize to the Bachelorette? Just kidding! Brayden's hoping he can manipulate Charity into taking him back. "It's nothing that you did," he murmurs. "That's kind of why I wanted to come back today, to make sure that you knew there was nothing that you did wrong in this whole process." The Bachelorette's response is so completely perfect, rose lovers, I had to GIF it.
ABC When I say that I *screamed*
HELL TO THE YES! Time to send that asshat packing for a second time. This time, Charity doesn't bother to walk Brayden to the door — and the guys are set on confronting him before he leaves again. "Hey, bro," says Aaron, as Brayden brushes past him roughly. "You apologize to John!" He follows Brayden outside. "Why are you here, man? Seriously, why are you here?"
John also follows Brayden outside, and politely but firmly confronts him about interrupting his time with Charity. "I have no rose on my chest," he says. "And because of that, I might go home, bro. That's not how you treat a man!" Brayden assures him that he didn't mean to "cause drama" (LOL), but then he promptly calls the other men "jackasses." Pretty soon Brayden and Aaron are exchanging F-bombs and threats to whoop each other's butts, etc. A lot of testosterone-y shouting follows, but eventually the driver closes the door and carts the toxic waste away from the lodge.
Great! Now the night can get back to normal and everyone can get their time with… Tink! Tink! Tink! Here comes Jesse Palmer with his Butter Knife of Bad News. The cocktail party is over, boys!
Rose ceremony roll call! Aaron, Tanner, and Sean join Dotun, Joey, and Xavier in the Circle of Safety™. That means we must say goodbye to Michael, Caleb, and adorable data scientist John, poor guy. Hopefully we'll see some of them in Paradise — though they'll probably have to share the beach with Brayden. Yuck.
Dang, there are only six guys left! I guess hometowns really are around the corner. This season is just flying by. How are you feeling about Charity's "journey" so far, rose lovers? As you may have gleaned, at this point I am unabashedly rooting for Dotun, but most of the other guys are pretty solid, too. Who is your favorite, rose lovers? Who do you want to see in Paradise? And HOW FREAKING PSYCHED are you that The Bachelorette is going back to 8 p.m. next week? Let me know on Twitter @KristenGBaldwin.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
