Monday night’s episode of “The Bachelor” had Ben Flajnik and his six girlfriends traveling to Belize for some romantic fun in the sun — with a side of backstabbing. But cattiness aside, the big question is who nabbed a hometown date with the Sonoma winemaker? With three one on one dates — and one three on one date– there was plenty of time for the remaining girls to get their claws into Ben.
One on One date: Lindzi Cox
Ben takes Lindzi on a helicopter ride which culminates with a jump into the Great Blue Hole. Of course Lindzi is petrified of heights, so she’s shaking like a leaf before the big jump. But love means scaring the heck out of yourself, at least on this show. Later, they enjoy a romantic moonlit dinner and send a message in a bottle. Okay, it’s more like a novel in a bottle. Didn’t know Ben had such a way with words!
One on One Date: Emily O’Brien
Emily already proved her herself to Ben when she conquered her fear of heights and scaled the Bay Bridge with him a few episodes back. Whew! With that done, she can now enjoy a nice, calm date of lobster diving. She also officially invites Ben to North Carolina to meet her family. This is getting serious!
One on One Date: Courtney Robertson
Courtney has been having doubts about her relationship with Ben. She’s not sure she’s ready for him to meet her family and she’s losing the spark with him. Enter one private date card and – snap! – she’s back in the game. Of course, when they visit a temple and Ben starts saying how he can see her in his future, blah blah blah, Courtney puts him in his place. She wants to feel special and she wants to feel that spark again. Sharing him with girls that hurt her feelings (read: Emily) isn’t cutting it. Ben practically has to beg for a chance to meet Courtney’s family, proving that this girl is playing to win. And her Emily spiel could come back to haunt this week’s rose ceremony eliminations.
Group Date: Rachel, Kacie, Nicki
The girls and Ben go swimming with the skarks. Another humdrum date, right? Rachel plays the “scared’ card and dominates the one on one time with Ben. Smooth move, but as we’ll soon find out, Ben doesn’t like the ol’ helpless act.
Rose Ceremony Eliminations:
Here’s a shocker– and we mean it! Ben sends Emily O’Brien packing. What? Looks like puppet master Courtney got him to eliminate the enemy. Well played, Court! Not so shocking: He also sends Rachel Truehart home.
Next week, it’s time to get really serious. Ben escorts the remaining four girls to their hometowns where he will get a get to meet the parents.
And you thought swimming with sharks was scary?
“The Bachelor” Season 16 airs on Monday night on ABC.