The following is a recap of the most recent episode of ABC’s “The Bachelor”. All opinions stated in this piece are that of the author’s.

IT IS HOMETOWNS!!!!

I have a total soft spot in my heart for hometowns. Everything about it is just so cute. The contestants’ reaction when they see their family, the cute date ideas, and, the more nerve-wracking part, the meeting of the family.

Hometowns, for the Bachelor newbies, are when the bachelor/ette goes and meets the remaining four contestants’ families. There is typically a really fun date beforehand where the contestant picks out activities that remind them of their home. 

Hometowns:

Up first is Michelle. Michelle came in three weeks late to compete for Bachelor Matt James’ heart. She has been a major frontrunner from the moment she stepped out of the limo. She and Matt have had a really strong and obvious connection from the beginning. 

Her date idea was a sunrise bike ride through the woods followed by a Zoom meeting with her students. This was possibly the cutest idea; I practically teared up. All of the cute little kids had hilarious questions to ask Mr. James (ie. if they are going to have babies, if he is going to give her a rose). Both Matt and Michelle could not keep a straight face.

Right when Michelle opened the door and saw her parents, tears of joy swelled her eyes. You can tell that family is clearly a big priority to her. #wholesome. 

I think the conversation between Matt and Michelle’s parents went really well. The parents didn’t disapprove that Michelle has found love so quickly. Michelle’s dad asked Matt if he was in love with his daughter and his response was…“I am definitely falling for her”. Not the deal response.

Michelle after the meet and greet addressed Matt that she has in fact fallen in love with him (sigh), and he replied with… a hug. Yikes. Was kind of shocked. I really hope to see Michelle in the final two, but…I don’t know, I just see Rachael stealing her spot.

Next in the hometown endeavor is Rachael. Rachael, so far, is the only girl that Matt has admitted to having fallen in love with. Rach and Michelle right now are tied for my first-place choice. 

Rachael decided that, for her memorable one-on-one, they would go skydiving. Don’t really know why this represents her home state of Georgia or, like, her everyday fun activities. I mean, go off I guess.

The plane kept getting higher and higher, and I could feel my stress levels going through the roof. Major red flag: Rachael’s guide looked to literally be about 12 years old. 

They jump out of the plane. Everything is great. They are just floating right next to each other, smiling. A total thumbs up, picture-perfect moment. As they are landing, Rachael’s parachute starts to rock. 

She—no joke—face plants into the earth at full speed. 

Matt immediately rushed over to her aid. You can honestly just tell how much he cares for her based on his reaction. She must have a high tolerance for pain because she brushed it off like it was no big deal. I, on the other hand, would have been balling. 

Matt’s meet and greet with Rachael’s family went a little differently than with Michelle’s. Rachael’s parents were definitely more skeptical of the whole Bachelor process. Understandable I guess. I don’t know if it was just me, but it seemed that there was a little bit of tension between the happy couple and the fam. I mean, there is always that one dad in every season that questions the Bachelor experience. 

Bri’s hometown is definitely a close second with Michelle’s. Bri and Matt went on a cute picnic and off roading down some trails. It seemed like they really enjoyed each other’s company and just needed that one-on-one time together.

Bri and Matt just seem super comfortable around each other. Bri, I guess, just comes off as superrrr chill. And honestly, I kind of see Matt as the fun and adventurous type, so we’ll see what happens with these two in the next few weeks.

There really wasn’t much more to their date than offroading and a picnic in the grass, so this section may seem a bit shorter than Rachael’s (considering she jumped out of a plane and then face planted into the ground). 

The parent meeting, I thought, went really well. Bri’s mom, her baby sister, and her best friend Bri all came to meet Matt. Bri’s mom, being a single parent, definitely cut to the chase with Matt, explaining that Bri is a realist who  needs reassurance to gain people’s trust. Matt took this very well, and the two seemed like the best of friends by the end of the night. 

Her family was honestly so sweet, and everyone seemed to really love Matt. Bri is definitely my top pick right now, but I just have a sense that Matt might not pick her.

Least favorite date of the night. Serena is from Canada, so she decided to do a little crash course on Canada for Matt. It was a cute idea, just executed a little awkwardly. She quizzed him on Canadian slang and made him eat gross food. They then took it outside for some rounds of hockey. 

Serena went into the meet and greet with a ton of confidence. As the night continued, her family began to pour more doubt into her. They just claimed that she just doesn’t really seem smitten over Matt. 

You could tell Serena knew they were right. 

By the end of the night, Serena broke Matt’s heart by essentially breaking up with him—something that no one saw coming. I lowkey had a strong feeling she would be the next to go home, just did not think that she would let her family’s doubts get to her enough to pull herself out of the competition. 

You could tell that Matt was really heartbroken by the news. I felt bad for him for a sec, but then I remembered that he literally has three other girls who he seemed to like even more than Serena. 

The Rose Ceremony:

Since Serena took herself out, three were only three girls left. And with 3 roses it was so surprising who would get them. 

The one thing that did bother me was that Bri got the last rose out of the 3 people and in an interview she said that she was now worried since she was last. C’mon girl. Really? I mean someone had to get the last one—I don’t really think it had anything to do with order. He legit went in the order of the dates. 

Next week, the women tell all. This will definitely be a good episode, so tune in for the review. We get to be reunited with Ms. Queen Victoria, and I can’t wait to see all the ladies practically throw hands.