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.

No need to worry, LFHS Bachelor Nation. I am back. I apologize for my brief hiatus, but I am back and here to stay. 

With the holiday break and the daunting downer that is college applications, I knew I couldn’t devote all of my energy to the Bach these past few weeks.

As my parents continued to go ahead and watch without me – keeping me updated with every episode obvi – I was kind of disappointed at how blah this season has been. Nothing that notable happened when I was gone, and I mean I guess that works out. Right?

This season must have been shortened for some reason because Michelle is already in her FINAL FOUR?! How is that even possible? She has narrowed it down to: Nayte Olukoya, Rodney Matthews, Joe Coleman, Brandon Jones.

Personally, I want Joe to be the one to get down and one knee at the end of this to ask Michelle to marry him. But honestly, I don’t know if he will at this point. He hasn’t gotten a ton of screen time nor shown that much personality. 

I’m predicting that Rodney, as sweet of a guy as he is, will get the boot this week. 

Michelle seems to be leaning towards Brandon or Nayte. Brandon just looks so young and immature compared to Michelle. My guess: Nayte is her final pick. 

Due to COVID, everyone stayed put in Minnesota instead of traveling to the final contestants’ hometowns. 

First up was Brandon. The two hosts told him that his mom, dad, and brother all came to meet Michelle. His face lights up, saying that his brother was supposed to go to the Navy and pushed off his departure to see him. So unbelievably cute. 

After he and Michelle met, he wanted to give her a little slice of home and took her to a skate park. He talked about how when he was growing up, he and his brother really bonded over skateboarding, and his parents actually got into the hobby as well. Katie and Joe Brickman would never be caught dead at a skate park so kudos to them. 

From all the context, I was expecting this major skater boy pro who was about to show off all of his insane skills. Instead, Brandon kept falling, clearly a little rusty, and actually ended up embarrassing himself. Michelle was kind of just watching this unfold and feeling bad for Brandon, knowing that he was feeling self-conscious. 

Eventually, the two laughed it off and went to get ready for the evening. 

That night, the two went to meet Brandon’s family. You could tell Michelle was a little nervous, rightfully so. But immediately, everyone hit it off. Brandon’s family was so welcoming and warm, clicking right away with Michelle. They did not look like a reality TV family. Instead, they all looked very genuine and caring. 

You could clearly tell that Brandon and his family are very close. Michelle connected well with Brandon’s dad, bonding over family activities like fishing. I think the night reminded her of her parents and family, which we have picked up as her goal, after repeating it excessively this season.

Brandon shares that he is falling in love with Michelle. Besides the fact that Brandon looks super young, borderline like a child, he’s actually moving up on my favorites list. He and Michelle look super comfortable together and it seems like a fun relationship. 

Rodney was next in line for hometowns. 

He just will not let go of the apple trademark this season. His idea of a hometown date is… going to an apple orchard! Shocking! 

Rodney is a super nice guy, and you can tell that Michelle likes him as a friend. The two continued to pick apples together, have playful blindfold eating contests. If I am being honest though, it’s almost as if Michelle cringes when he tries to touch her. Like you can tell she is trying to laugh at his jokes, but it’s kind of a fake pity laugh?

During the night portion of the date we meet Rodney’s mom and his stepdad. Both seemed like very friendly and kind people. The two groups began talking and had the classic, “Yup, this is definitely a strange way to find love,” convo.

When Michelle sat down with his mom, she asked her what really makes Rodney stand out and what she likes most about their relationship. Honestly, it kind of seemed like Michelle was searching for words, almost stuttering. 

She eventually managed to get out that she loves how playful and fun their relationship is. She talks about how there is no other man with who she laughs quite as hard. 

During this entire conversation, you could tell that his mom knew something was off. She stressed how she is worried about Rodney and doesn’t want his heart to get broken. There must have been some motherly intuition going on. 

Laughing and having fun is nice and all, but at this point in the “journey”, as they call it, there has to be something more in order for a proposal to happen. 

At the end of the night, Rodney tells Michelle that he is falling in love with her. While she was super thankful of him opening up, she did not say it back. Big oof for Rodney. By this point in the episode, we kind of get the hint about where this is leading. 

Next up is Joe for his hometown date. 

I love Joe, but with all of his dates, it seems like he is just trying to recreate the past. For this hometown date, he decided to make a redo prom at his old high school. 

He remembered how Michelle said in a previous episode that she was never picked first for prom, and Joe himself never went to prom- so the two finally got the chance to enjoy a school dance in their comp gym. 

Joe must’ve had a larger budget for his date because this full-on prom compared to Rodney’s apple orchard was a little embarrassing for the latter. 

The two changed into their proper prom attire with Michelle in a floor-length gown and Joe in a tux. They continued to engage in the typical prom activities. 

Photo Booth, dancing, etc. they seemed to have such a fun night. The two of them look so perfect together. I kind of got the vibe, however, that Michelle loves the idea of Joe, and not necessarily him. On paper, the couple would be so perfect: both from Minnesota, both were the best at basketball, so insanely attractive and good people. You can just tell that the idea is not enough for Michelle in this case. 

The night portion meet and greet was definitely a different vibe than the others. Joe does not fall far from the tree when it comes to his lack of words. It was probably emphasized with editing, but it seemed like a very quiet night. The Coleman fam is clearly just very reserved.

This made this part of the episode almost funny to watch. Joe and his dad sat down and he was like “I bet you have a bunch of questions for me,” and his dad replied with “no.” So awkward.

Joe tells Michelle that he is falling for her and she seems to be really happy. I wish there was more chemistry between these two. They just seem too stiff. Michelle just appears to be attempting to relive her high school years and pursue who she would have liked in high school. 

Last up for the episode was Nayte. 

For their date activity, the two went paddleboarding. Kind of a cute, simple idea. It is so obvious that Michelle likes Nayte the most in this situation. Even before she met up with him she said she was nervous – Why? Because she likes him the most out of the remaining guys. 

The night portion of the date was basically centered around how Nayte’s parents don’t think he is ready for a proposal. I mean it was bound to happen. There is always one family who is the debbie downer. 

They seemed to really like Michelle. His mom even brought her Canadian candy to bring to her students. 

When Nayte sat down with his stepdad, Charles,  the two had a very good and honest conversation. He reminds Nayte that he’s never been in love, and that even though he is having these new feelings, how does he know that they’re real? Claps to Charles. Those were honestly really good, valid questions.

This night left Michelle slightly worried, hoping that Nayte will be willing to propose. 

The rose ceremony came around and no one was surprised. Rodney was the only one that went home. I feel bad because Rodney had made a point all season that he has always been the underdog. #JusticeforRodney