The Bachelorette: Earning Her Hometown Laurels

Jill confused.jpg

"Even when I'm thinking hard, I'm fun."

I'm trying to think, but it's hard because there is this constant high pitched squealing in my ear. I see a small brunette girl leaping around the TV screen like an epileptic bunny and I realize... it's time for another episode of The Bachelorette!

Jillian's hanging out in Banff Springs, Canada and she's standing in front of the hotel where we ended up last week. I just have to say right here that I watched this episode at my parents' house and I made an interesting discovery. My father has actually traveled to Canada (under duress; it was for work) and stayed in this very hotel. He walked by, saw Jillian standing there in front of it, and said, "They're having them stay in that dump?" HA! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! It looks like a castle, so that just cracked me up and got me off to a smiling start to tonight's mess. Thanks, Dad. Now let's go!

hotel.jpg

It's no Howard Johnson, but it'll have to do.

Jillian ponders over the wondrous fact that one of these guys could be proposing to her in a matter of weeks. What happened to "easy on the h-word," smarty pants? Or are you just looking for a life-long engagement? Then we don't have to go easy on the f-word, do we?

First stop is Philadelphia to visit Neurotic Reid. Now, I have never been to Philadelphia personally and I would very much like to, but from seeing things like this, it seems that their biggest claim to fame is Rocky Balboa - a fictional character played by Sylvester Stallone. There is a Rocky statue, for crying out loud. Liberty Bell, anyone? That is actually an important artifact. Anyway, Jillian squeals her way out of the car and over to Reid, who is waiting with coffee (no way that was his idea) and he tells us that every time he sees Jillian their relationship grows. That's deep, Reid.

Reid coffee.jpg

"Aaahh, this coffee's hot! I'm going to need some burn salve."

Jillian wonders if Reid's parents will approve of her. I guess her confidence from the end of last week's episode has waned. After some nauseating nuzzling on a park bench they head off to meet The Family Neuroses. The Family Neuroses lives in a lovely colonial red brick house and right off I'm starting to wonder. Have you ever noticed that we've never visited a dump on a hometown date? These families are always quite well off in beautiful homes. We all know that the Bachelor/Bachelorette's "homes" are fake, so I'm suspicious about these family homes now as well. Immediately the alcohol comes out and everyone sits around drinking and chatting. Apparently Reid is a realtor, which is a family business. That's the opposite of interesting, so moving right along...

Reid beer.jpg

"Let's take a drink every time we're really bored!"

Jillian asks Neurotic Mom if Reid is ready for a big commitment. How would his mom know? What adult male gives his mother the ins and outs of his love life to the extent that she can predict how he's going to behave with a new girlfriend? Then Jillian sits down with Neurotic Brothers 1 and 2 who flat out tell her that Reid is afraid of commitment and worries about what other people will think of his woman. Those are both definitely qualities I look for in a grown man. Neurotic Dad sits down with Reid and tells him that if Jillian is what he's looking for he should go in "head over heels." Then Neurotic Dad whines to us that he wishes Reid would quit asking what his parents think and do his own thing. HA! Maybe the mom DID know more than I thought. Ah, we have surprise visitors. Here comes Neurotic Mommom (grandma) and the Neurotic Sisters. They're all screaming "Happy Birthday" at Reid and Mommom tells Jillian she's cute. Jillian is delighted. Did Mommom also notice that Jillian is tons of fun? Well to prove it, Jillian kisses Reid on the mouth right in front of the whole family after they sing Happy Birthday to him. (Reid's turning 30, do you think he'll cry?) Well, Jillian must be Wonder Woman because no one in the family has seen Reid kissing in front of everyone before. It's official - they're getting married. Jillian DEFINITELY wants to make oat on the porch, but she has to remember that there are four other great guys she's going to meet.

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Comments (31)

Brenda Walsh:

How many takes do you think it took for Jake to get through his big "scene"? Seemed like it was taking 100 years for him to get his lines out while making sure he was hitting his marks.

Agree that the whole Ed scene was completely awkward and void of any chemistry. I am still thinking Ed and "Kip" as F2.

itchy:

Oh come now, you know that the perfect Kryptonite family shopped for weeks to find the perfect dog just in order to have it on hand for the taping of the show. What a creepy family.

And everything about Krypton would indeed be perfect (for Jillian, that is). Except for that little itty bit thing about him probably being gay. And only on the show for his modeling/acting career.

The whole thing with Wes is total bullshit. The producers went out of their way to show him playing with his band. Wes is a producer's plant, probably already signed to the company's record label.

And it doesn't matter if he's getting the evil edit. Being evil hasn't stopped millions of people around the world from crying over a recently deceased crotch-grabbing wax doll child molester, has it?

Another great recap Honey...and yeah, I hope they take up your suggestion and bring Laurel on.

ThisShowRocks!:

I'm only partway through this recap, but I cheated and read the comments ahead of "schedule."

Did anyone see the Laurel story on People.com the other day?
Apparently, she gets around Austin because she's also dated Brad Womack and a bachelor from Jen Scheft's season.
Anyhoo...she said she's absolutely NOT with Wes, and she was shocked when she heard the allegations over the TV.

I'm not sure if I can post links here, so I'll just say that you can read the story for yourself by going to People's website and searching for Laurel.

On with the recap, which is already excellent this week!

jennaboa:

Great recap, Honey! I fell asleep during the stimulating Jake v Wes encounter. Best nap I've had in ages.

Just curious: Why is it that every guy from Aus-Tex shown in reality television is portrayed as a douche? Why? I swear we have some decent guys here, y'all. Granted, they are all gay, married, or too smart to appear on The Bachelorette, but still ... I'm sure they could have found *someone* other than Wes.

Personally, I am rather sick of Miss Jillie and her squealing and agonizing. Somebody write her some new cue cards, 'cause girlfriend needs some new lines.

If she likes the "bad boy" Wes-type, then she's welcome to him, his greasy hair and stupid songs (we have much better singers here, too) -- move him to Canada. Austin has plenty of more talented musicians to fill his ugly shoes. And were they at Stubb's? Shame on Stubb's for buying into this hokum.

Wes is not very good at lying about being interested in her. I love the "blame the victim" thing he did -- what a jerk, but Jillian's self-esteem is apparently so low, she'll buy into it. Either that, or her acting skills were picked up from watching soap operas. "He treats me bad, but I love him so." Bah.

I really was hoping it was Laurel showing up instead of Ed. Ed is boring. And he wears argyle, which is something no boring man should do. He doesn't seem to be all that interested in her, either. Laurel would have been much more interesting to see. (And didn't someone say she had dated Brad Womack and another Bachelor before?)

unwise:

Jake was interviewed on People.com after Laurel was. He said that Wes and Laurel had an agreement that he could kiss Jillian but that she wasn't cool with the overnight dates. I hope it's Wes who "can't perform" on the upcoming overnights.

jennaboa:

unwise, he's not doing that hot performing as it is. ;)

itchy:

Theeeyyy saaaYYaayyay loovvve don't come.

Lizbot:

Jennaboa -- I understand your pain about having Wes represent Austin -- imagine how we Canadians feel about having Jillian and her "great judgement of character" represent us! But no, Wes absolutely can NOT move to Canada. I'm afraid that y'all are going to have to be stuck with Jillian and whatever...ummm....upstanding young gentleman she picks :)

We may have to fight it out at the finale...I'm going to go get my sparring practice in....

pixielated:

"He treats me bad, but I love him so."
Not soap opera, Jennaboa, COUNTRY music!

Itch, I don't really think that Wes is evil. Douchey, yes; evil, ??

AND I don't think Kip is gay. He is just not into Jillian.

itchy:

Definite douchebag. The tattoos are a dead giveaway.

But I meant he's getting the 'evil edit', that's all.

WizeChiklet:

ARG!! "That was really hard for me" to hear her complain yet again after giving away the roses.
Does she think it makes the guys' position easier somehow, or is it just whining for sympathy? I don't know why that gets repeated so much.
I'm Canadian and also don't enjoy her as a representative. When they were at Whistler, she said "it's every Canadian girl's dream" (referring to the guys' company) .. whose dream? Only hers, or the cue card script anyway.
I still think Tanner would be the funniest Bachelor. Fifty feet to choose from, and also those feet from the hometowns ~ would he pick his bride depending on her folx' feet?

duckling:

Just curious: Don't they film these people pretty much 24 hours a day or something? If Wes had actually "confided" in Jake and Tanner about this girlfriend, wouldn't they show us the footage? They are so interested in making Wes look evil that you'd think they'd show us those scenes.
Anyone?

Also: There really are no good choices left. Sorry Jilli. Good luck though.

NegativeNancy:

Kryptons mother was totally drunk, slurring her words and making no sense. The Jake scene looked like a bad version of The Young and Restless. The Ed scene was the worst. OMG. He's a dork, no chemistry between them and whats with the sweater.
When Break Dance Michael was saying his sad goodbyes to the camera I think he had already forgotten Jillian's name because he kept referring to her as "that girl", he never once used her name. So soon they forget!

unwise:

jennaboa-HA! :)

ThisShowRocks!:

I finally finished this recap.

"Jake is disappointed. Wes is disappointed. Jillian is lots of fun. "

I laughed out loud on this one!!!

Am I the only one who thought the kissing with Jillian/Reid was very awkward? Blech.

Wes HAS to go.

And Ed is the absolute worst actor I've ever seen. His speech to her was void of emotion.

Her options suck. She never should've gotten rid of Jake.

Oh well.

Lizbot:

Oh, I forgot to comment on the editting of Wes -- and I agree. I noticed the voiceovering a couple of episodes ago and certain things didn't line up between what Wes was saying and how the other guys were responding. They edited the crap out of that guy -- but that said, I don't think I'd like him either way. I honestly don't get what Jillian finds so attractive about him and he comes across as a manipulator (that whole "It's not me it's you" ruse during the confrontation? It's the mark of a manipulator. And as usual, Jillian fell for it).

TSR: I thought the whole thing with Jillian and Reid was awkward. She just threw herself at his face with his family sitting right there, them having met her for the first time ever...yeah, klassy, Jillian, klassy.

And I guess I'm not the only one who thinks Jillian likes these remaining guys way more than they like her. I noticed she kept telling Krypton how much she missed him, but I don't remember him telling her he missed her back. I don't even think Michael was as into her as he wanted to believe he was. His whole "I totally loved that girl" just kind of smacked of amped up, adolescent romanticism to me. She's supposed to be the one in the driver's seat, and yet she keeps coming across as desperate, begging these guys to love her, which seems to my eyes to be turning these guys off.

I think shes doomed as far as relationships go until she figures out that self esteem thing that seems to be weighing her down. She needs therapy, not reality tv!

LisaMay:

they say love.......it don't come easy......

LisaMay:

Wow, that view that Krypton had from his house. Can you believe that? Who has a house with a spectaculur view like that?

After the last episode, I will not watch this show again. And I didn't even like Michael and Jesse that much. Jillian is just looking very stupid. And Ed had his chance, he should not have been given another.

tommy girl:

I actually liked the home town dates - but not enough time! Spent way too much time with the stupid Jake/Wes fakery and the Ed fake reunion. So staged! She doesn't even ask him about his job?! That is soooo fake - of course - that is why he left early - remember?? Oh right... Michael's family was sweet and actually loved how Jesse's family had the "jam". His brother was pretty cool in a weird way. Itchy -not cool about your comment referring to MJ!

renata:

I have to comment on Wes's family meeting. It was SOOOO CREEEEEPY I was completely werided out. Obviously there are no other MEN in this family. The Mother, Stepmom, and 3 sisters - all seem to think that their precious Wes is God's gift to women. WTF is that all about???? 'All guys are ALWAYS jealous of you Wesley' ?!?!?!?!? If it did not smell like some serious psycholigical complex, I'd suspect they were all in love with him ?!?!? GROSS! Somewhere some psych major is rubbing his hands joyously taping thie episode for reference on his PhD thesis on family dysfunction. It was the ickiest thing I EVER saw on this show.
And Wes clearly agrees with his women-folk. It's like he expects that we should just worship his footprints. And this moron Jillian is buying into this crap like there's no tomorrow. This stupid bitch deserves all the pain and heartache this show will bring her. Her decisions are so idiotic, her self esteem non-existent, and her desperation is wearing thin the guys' attitude towards her. I absolutely agree that at thie point she is much, much more into them than they are into her.
I predict there will be no engagement at the end of this edition. I can't see any of the guys left being careless enough to propose to her in 3 more weeks.
This show has turned into such an unmitigated disaster that it is really painfull to watch anymore. They have turned me off it for good.

itchy:

Sorry, tommy girl, but let's put some perspective on this:

if we're all expected to forgive MJ for being a child molester (and for obstructing justice by paying off the families), then it hardly seems worth the effort to vilify Wes for wanting to promote HIS music, does it?

And as for Kiptyn...with that name, the guy never really stood a chance at being straight.

Regardless, no straight guy that I know speaks like a lispy six-year-old.

I'm willing to believe that there's something there between Ed and the gal (although the whole leaving-coming back thing was probably scripted). My feeling is that Ed is just too smart to get comfortable with doing this on camera.

tokei2:

Itchy I have to agree with Tommy Girl about your MJ comment. Need I remind you that he was never convicted of anything? Payoffs were only to keep it from dragging on. The man is gone..let him rest in peace. That said, MJ has nothing to do with these posts. It's all in fun anyway; don't disrespect the dead by dragging them into a "made for entertainment" reality tv show! Thanks!

otkei2:

Renata, Have to agree with the Wes "family" thing. Were they REALLY his family, even? They all just seemed so pretentious to me. And I'm sure it's not beyond family bonds to lie for a member when asked to do so. Still haven't decided what the truth is about Laurel and at this point, it doesn't really matter. Wes doesn't make it to the FRC anyway, Thank you stars! Just my opinion...I could be wrong.

on_the_flipside:


.... so there's a distinct possibility that Laurel is responsible for ALL of this? Think about it, if she's the one who dumped Womack, causing him to go on the Bachelor, which led to him dumping DeAnna, which led to HER dumping MesDICK, which led to the dumping of Jillian, which led to THIS, then Laurel would be indirectly responsible for four seasons of this crapfest.

... oi. \:

ThisShowRocks!:

lol Nice job, On_the_flipside!

Damn you, Laurel.

pappy44:

Sorry, I need to agree with itchy here...so he was never found guilty in a court of law...so I guess we all believe that OJ was innocent too? Give me a break. The man (?) was a tool bag. Yes, he was a musical genious, but OJ was a heck of a RB. I am not going to forget what OJ did any less than I am going to forget what MJ did.

That said, let's get back on the subject at hand...wes = tool bag, ed can't act, jillian = drunk. I can't wait to hear from here at the live shows and see what she thinks. Does she know how much of a slush she looks like on the show? Is ABC really happy about her making oat (love that btw...lol) with everyone on the show?

pappy44:

omg, btw, just got the title of this recap....must go get a new keyboard now...lol...

btw, I think it would be AWESOME if they brought laurel on the reunion show...lol...

elle67:

Wes's band played the House of Blues in Dallas this weekend - a booking he definitely wouldn't have been able to make a month ago. I wonder if anyone went?

dani2526:

Spent two nights of my Honeymoon in 2007 at the Banff springs Hotel...very magical and I will always remember how wonderful that hotel/castle was! Your Dad must have had an off day or something!

Regarding Ed...it seemed to me that it was the 4th or 5th take of that scene and that they were both over it a bit. I like him so I'm trying to be optimistic here!

I thought it weird and annoying that all the families seemed rich. However, I think it's always been important in most cultures to have the man be more successful and from 'money.' That said, I bet they either screened for this quality OR provided staged homes that reflected this desired quality.

jennaboa:

Lizbot: I was already brushing up on my roundhouse kicks -- not as limber as I used to be, but your knees would be in for the drubbing of the century! -- when Jillian sent Wes' sorry arse back to the tool shed last night. I'm totally heartbroken, of course, that Wes was sent packing. Here's hoping Nashville will come knocking and Wes will up for greener pastures (they say the grass is always greenest on the other side of a sanitation tank, after all). :)

juddfan:

Whew hoo!!! I love some spirited debate--wish I had been on the cusp, but life has conspired to keep me from your delicious recap, Honey!!!

renata, I soooo agree, that was the worst reality TV moment I've had to sit through. I don't know if any of you have ever come face to face with a lying manipulator like our boy Wes, but it hurts a lot, and really damages one's view on human nature when someone can use you so heartlessly! Def stings deeper than just losing the douche, so I sympathize and understand that it took her some time to absorb . . .

Ok, but that family, not one of them denied he had a gf, they just said guys are jealous and they all agreed on a quick out, like a den of thieves, I can't believe she didn't bristle there . . . I did!!! Why in fuck would Jake bother to come and lie and hurt her . . . .

Wes is despicable and I will cry for humanity if he gets a career after this. think what you like aboat our little lushy, but lying to her so obviously . . . cough . . ."um" . . . "that's" . . . "crazy" I never thought anyone would top Jason in the douche department, but I stand corrected.

Esp after last night, but I'll wait. If you notice, the second he loses control "I hate you for asking that" his eyes narrow and hate just oozes out of him. He is really really a gross man. Run Laurel . . . tho that's interesting that a Bachelor groupy who slept around with everyone is at the heart of this debate too . . . I'll have to read.

Reality Steve says they are having at it with editing on Wes, but I don't care . . . there's enough truth in his body language for me to know what's what.

As for MJ--I have to agree that we may never know the truth, but I've always feared for his kids, and that drug they found, shudder . . .

Ok, and lastly, itchy is straight, and he's calling Kriptonite gay, not gay ole' me . . just for the record . . . I know these things have been debated in the past, and not anything bad, there itchy, you know you're my strong opinioned pal!

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