A Quartet of Villainy

One, Two, Three, Four villains. The Evil Genius Producers got very creative trying to keep our attention from waning before Hometowns. We got a relay team of villainy with Cassidy (remember her?) passing the baton to Shanae, who passed the baton to Mara, who finally passed the baton to Sarah for the home stretch. And we got all of this in service of getting less of Clayton and his unfortunate clothing choices.

Intro. Mara begins the show by trashing her nemesis, Sarah, who is out with Clayton on her SECOND 1-on-1, which has the girls in their feelings. Susie seems immune to this because she did her midnight creepin’ to steal time with Clay-in. [cue Whodini The Freaks Come Out at Night]. Sarah gets some evil eye when she returns flaunting a rose.

Then we get some villain-on-villain drama. Sarah confronts Mara about reading her for filth to Clay-tuhn, all the while making sure Mara sees the rose. She also throws in a lie about Claytin, saying that there was “a last-ditch effort by somebody who thinks they’re going home” by sabotaging Sarah.

Cocktail Party. While Clay-n is kissing everybody else, Mara decides to come for Sarah for more villain-on-villain drama outside the hotel. Mara scolds Sarah in a condescending way, and she is a LOT. Unfortunately for Mara, her villainous time runs out when Clay-un sends her and the beautiful Eliza home. Somehow poor Eliza got to Week 7 with less than five minutes of screen time.

Vienna. [cue Mozart Serenade In G Major, K.525 “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” which opened this segment] With Hometowns on the line, Susie gets the 1-on-1, which bodes very well for her. She also got the “Pretty Woman” date (from the movie with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere). It’s also known as the “Princess Date” or “Shopping Date,” depending on the venue, and Vienna is a perfect venue for the “Princess” version.

It’s a familiar but not annual Bachelor trope, and it’s not a particularly auspicious one. In recent years only two Pretty Women/Princesses made it to the last week: Rachael with Matt; and Becca with Arie, and that didn’t turn out well. What’s making this particular date seem like a big deal is that Clayton has really been into Susie since the beginning, and this date appears to validate his feelings for her in a big way [cue Fenix & Chris Willis Feelings for You].

She also got serenaded by Chris De Burgh singing his classic Lady In Red, and I’ll admit I had no idea who he was. I always thought that song was by Bryan Adams for some reason.

Group Date. Since the girls are in the birthplace of psychotherapy, Gabby, Teddi, Rachel, and the very introverted Genevieve get to go psychotherapying.

I have real issues with this date, so allow me to editorialize. I know that the cast signs a contract that will enable the show to do many things to them in the name of “entertainment.” So, there is no “but,” here, except . . . but it was horrifying. G-vieve’s high walls go even higher in her and Clayton’s meeting with the therapist, which ends with the therapist calling her out, Clayton cutting the session short, and him sending her home on the spot. Just brutal and not at all entertaining, especially with someone like G-vieve. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you have to. Or you can choose a better way.

The therapist also violated privacy by sharing with the Claytun and the girls that someone was very “performative.” As a coach, I found this public utterance offensive. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance in counseling/coaching. And it is also an apparent passive-aggressive attack on Sarah. Again, I know there are very few rules when it comes to the EGPs putting together their show. By watching, I’m also granting my consent that I’m going to be offended at times. This was one of those times. End of rant.

The attack on Sarah emboldened the girls to come for her at the after therapy after party. Clay-tonne hears them out, and for the first time all season, Mr. Football shows a spine and dumps Sarah. And with that, an early frontrunner is gone.

Serene 1-on-1. It went great. She’s getting a Hometown [cue Juniper Lane Take Me Home]. My Daughter Cassandra (MDC) recognized the (Gustav) Klimt painting (The Kiss) and gave me a lesson about this iconic artist.

Summary and Rose Ceremony. With Hometowns hanging in the balance, there were three dates in Vienna. Susie got the spectacular Princess Date. Serene got art and the second-best red dress. The other girls went to therapy. Susie wins that round, LOL.

With G-vieve being sent home, The Rose Ceremony had two spots left for Gabby The Dark Horse, Teddi, and Rachel The Whisperer. It was easy to see Teddi losing out but not without My Daughter Cassandra (MDC) saying that she was “the girl who went farthest with natural hair, so I feel this is a Bachelor milestone.”

My rant aside about the therapy, by keeping continuous villains in the mix, the EGPs did manage to get us to Hometowns. From here, we don’t need much invented drama as the reality of families, Fantasy Suites, and an impending engagement should be enough. And, of course, we have those juicy previews.

See you next week.

P.S. This week’s viewing wine was a delicious Chopo Monastrell. Rich, intense, and around $10.