'Does anyone want to spend time with me?' Drama looms between Clare and her 'Bachelorette' men

An early exit, an early rose and no rose ceremony? "The Bachelorette" is shaking things up in Week 2.

One thing will come as no surprise, though: The second episode opens with star Clare Crawley still daydreaming about frontrunner Dale, the 31-year-old former NFL player who nabbed the first-impression rose last week. After saying she thought she “just met my husband” on Night 1, she’s wondering if their love at first sight is real or just initial excitement.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard to sleep last night, because Dale just made everything else disappear,” she says.

Meanwhile, the guys have moved out of quarantine and into their shared hotel suites, where Chris Harrison delivers the first group-date card of the season.

'Bachelorette' premiere recap: Clare Crawley debuts in unprecedented pandemic season

Filling time without travel

Riley, Jordan C., Yosef, Ivan, Ben, Bennett, Zac C., Zach J. and Dale are up and the date card from Clare says she’s looking for someone who “speaks to my heart.” Translation: The guys must woo Clare using the five love languages. Guess this is what you get when the cast can’t travel off the resort for dates!

The men are tasked to share words of affirmation, gifts and physical touch, the latter of which prompts more never-ending jokes about being all alone this year because of COVID-19. “Quarantine did us dirty, man. That was too long,” Clare says.

Riley shares a baseball from the last game he ever played to show Clare how much he cares; chess is important to Ivan and his family, so he gives Clare the queen and holds on to the king piece. “I’m committed to giving you everything I have, physically and emotionally," Dale says in the "words of affirmation" portion. "I trust you and I’m here for every bit of it.”

But during the date's evening portion, the guys reveal they aren't quite as fluent in love languages as previously assumed. Clare is looking for some quality one-on-one time with each of them, but after making a toast, nobody makes a move to grab her. She's distracted by the feeling that none of them are interested, even after Bennett jumps in and tries to reassure her they’re all excited to be there with her.

I’m a little taken aback,” she tells the group. “There was the longest awkward silence and I just sat here and was embarrassed. … Does anyone want to spend time with me?”

Yosef volunteers to “speak for the group,” which turns out to be fodder for major drama. It only gets worse when he later says Clare is “crazy to think” the men aren’t all there for her. Riley takes personal offense that Yosef tried to speak for him, and drops that ominous “there is no ‘we.’ There is no ‘us.’ There is no ‘me and you.’” line on him that promos set us up to believe meant the men were all turning on Clare.

Dale pulls Clare away and they divulge they have strong feelings for each other. Later on, she and Riley share a sweet slow-dancing moment that earns him the group-date rose. No sweat for Dale, we know he isn’t going anywhere.

'The best is yet to come'

Jason, also a 31-year-old former professional football player (Clare seems to have a very specific type), nabs the first one-on-one date of the season. Clare writes him a loooong note asking him to pen a letter to his younger self and promises to do the same – they'll later read out loud to each other. Jason knows he's failed at being vulnerable in the past and is nervous it'll foil his relationship with Clare.

Their date is full of symbolism about moving on: They scream into the void. (Again, gotta get creative filling the time with this whole no-travel thing.) They write mean words others have said about them on clay boards before smashing them to bits. (Jason was called "manipulative," Clare "needy.") Clare's letter to herself promises "the best is yet to come" and Jason says that he keeps up walls out of fear of being judged.

Jason gets his rose and giddily tells the camera "that's who I want" while pointing back at the Bachelorette. And then Clare produces the teal gown she wore during her infamous "Bachelor" breakup with Juan Pablo Galavis, which she and Jason throw into the fire together. Goodbye, old Clare.

An early exit after dodgeball gets cheeky

The second group-date members (Blake Moynes, Brendan, Chasen, Demar, Eazy, Garin, Jay, Joe, Kenny and Tyler S.) get dressed in workout clothes to meet Clare. She promptly greets them with dodgeballs to the face. Surprise! They're going to be competing for her heart, literally. Host Chris Harrison comes in to explain that the winning team gets an after-party with Clare, while the losers have to go back to their rooms.

The red and blue teams leave to change into their respective uniforms, which they discover include team color-coordinated thongs. ("This is our helmet!" Joe jokes while topping his head with the underwear.)

On the court, Clare explains that her "Extreme Dodgeball Bash" isn't a regular game – she wants to play strip dodgeball, which ends when the losing team has no more articles of clothing to give.

Usually, this kind of date would warrant a famous guest star or two, but since they're in the "Bachelorette" bubble, Clare and Harrison step in to do play-by-play.

Strip dodgeball unsurprisingly gets a bit … cheeky. The blue team loses multiple rounds in a row, and though Clare prompts the red team to take off their shirts anyway to keep things fair, it's the guys on the blue team who end up in just their matching thongs. Did you have “Clare tells Chris Harrison to ‘take a look at Kenny’s ass’ ” on your "Bachelorette" bingo card? Neither did we.

The blue team returns to the rooms, though Blake Moynes decides to head back to the red team's celebration – remember, Clare applauded him last week for messaging her before the show began, even though it was against the rules, so he thinks that's what she wants again. The two have an awkward dance in front of Jay and she thanks Moynes for coming before sending him back to his room.

After deep talks with a few of the guys, Clare sits down with Brandon. She asks why the 28-year-old Cleveland native wanted to join the show, but Brandon is struggling to give any reason beyond her looks. Other men told her they were drawn to her strength and and drive, so this is a deal-breaker for Clare, who says an early goodbye to the real estate agent.

Though Clare and Eazy showed chemistry earlier in the evening, it's Chasen who scores the group-date rose.

Cliffhanger cocktail party

Just as Clare decided to say goodbye to one man ahead of the rose ceremony, she saves another one early, too. She pulls Blake Moynes aside at the top of the cocktail party to reassure him that his stunt during the group date was appreciated, even if she couldn't fully tell him that at the time.

"I want you to put your mind at ease and your heart at ease, because everything you are doing is so right, " she says. He's thrilled.

Also thrilled is Clare, who goes on to reunite with Dale for another heart-to-heart and a steamy make-out session.

"These are my dreams coming true," Clare says of her time with Dale, though a teaser for next week feels more like a nightmare when the other guys seem to pick up on her affinity for one contestant. Unfortunately for fans, this is where the episode leaves us: With no rose ceremony – we'll have to wait until next week to find out who else gets sent home.

We'll also finally get to see that scene teased in promos, as Clare tearfully shouts "I'm the oldest Bachelorette … because I didn't settle for men like that."

Most dramatic season in Bachelor nation history, here we come.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Bachelorette' recap: Clare still likes Dale, drama looms elsewhere