Bachelor Nation, we’re back! "The Bachelorette" is back in our lives and this season, JoJo is up to bat with 26 of her own guys to compete for her heart. A quick run through about JoJo Fletcher: Her heart was broken by Ben Higgins last season on "The Bachelor," she’s 25 years old, she’s from Dallas, Texas, and she is a real estate developer.
The episode kicked off with a recap of what happened last season with JoJo being in the final two, Ben telling her he loved her, and then proceeding to dump her by stating “I found [love] with you, but I found it with somebody else more.” But bygones are bygones and now JoJo’s life post the Ben-pocalypse is better than ever! At first she was hurt and betrayed, but now she’s completely moved on and ready to find love once more. Following the recap and montage, JoJo is then greeted by three former Bachelorettes (Kaitlyn, Desiree, and Ali) to get some advice on the process. This portion of the segment is clearly a filler as to prepare the viewers for what lies ahead, when JoJo meets her suitors. As always, a majority of them are mediocre with only a few diamonds in the rough.
Bring on the men! What you need to know about a couple of the contestants:
1. Grant is a firefighter with chiseled features, and he hopes JoJo is the one that lights his fire.
2. James S. (It’ll be like the Laurens all over again!) is a self-proclaimed "Bachelor" fan, what will begin the introduction to many many men who basically have no profession whatsoever. He may be more excited to meet Chris Harrison than JoJo.
3. Evan is an Erectile Dysfunction Specialist. "It's a hard business. It's draining."
4. Christian is probably the most motivated person you’ll ever meet and does super techy geeky stuff as a telecom consultant.
5. Luke is a fellow Texan and a war veteran who is ready for real love.
6. Jordan always felt overshadowed by his brother Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, but he’s not going to let that get in the way of finding love for the second time.
Limo Arrivals
After a whirlwind of cheesy puns and props, memorable standouts were Jordan (the first one out of the limo a la Lauren B.), Nick B. aka Santa Claus, Sal who asks JoJo to squeeze his blue stress balls, Jonathan who comes in wearing a kilt, and Wells (personal favorite) who brought an acapella group.
The Cocktail Party
All you need to know is that if you put 26 men in one mansion, they are going to desperately do anything to get the Bachelorette’s attention. This season is no different, as the alcohol was flowing, contestants kept interrupting JoJo’s interview, and one contestant (there’s always one!) stripped down and jumped in the pool. Standouts during the cocktail portion of the evening were Alex, a U.S marine who did pushups while JoJo sat on his back, Will, who used a paper fortune teller to get JoJo to give him a cringe-worthy smooch, Chad (who will play the villain this season) but surprisingly JoJo liked him, and Damnnn Daniel, who was an absolute trainwreck.
Rose Ceremony
Ah, the much awaited and best part of any episode. JoJo sent many of the men who got no air time home. During their brief interviews before exiting into the limos, many of them wondered why they were being sent home as they believed there was so much more they had to offer to their relationships with JoJo. Alas, JoJo did not think the same. One “shocking” moment occurred when Jake Pavelka (*never forget the post break-up interview extravaganza*) came back to tell JoJo to go with her gut (groundbreaking stuff, really), and James S. got to clue the contestants in on who Jake really was. Afterwards, JoJo handed out her remaining 19 roses (first impression was given to Jordan, no surprise there), and Coley, Peter, Jake, Nick. S, Sal and Jonathan were all sent home.
Stay tuned every Monday night to be a part of JoJo’s journey to find love and what kind of a psycho Chad ends up turning into.
