‘The Bachelorette’: Hunter Is the Guys’ New Target, Plus Katie Cleans House (RECAP)

The Final Rose

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We’re officially at the halfway point in Katie Thurston‘s journey to find love on The Bachelorette and it hasn’t exactly been all roses for our girl. Between Blake Moynes joining the season late to some of the men having ulterior motives, it’s clear she has a lot of drama to sort through before finding the one. Read on for tonight’s recap to find out who gets one step closer to becoming Katie’s happily ever after (or…you know, her significant other for the foreseeable future).

So, Katie sits down with Kaitlyn and Tayshia for their usual pre-show girl talk and Katie has a brilliant idea. Just for FUN, she wants the men to withhold from touching themselves for as long as possible. Like I said, a brilliant idea. Apparently not getting jiggy with yourself for an extended period of time proves you’re marriage material. Needless to say, the men aren’t too pleased with this new challenge, and now I can’t stop thinking about how much lotion these guys go through on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Hunter reveals his true colors during a private conversation with Greg. He seems to be pretty confident that not only will he make it to the final four (LOL, good one), but he predicts Greg and Connor B. will be getting a hometown date as well. This kind of talk is always taboo, so I’m pretty sure you just sealed your fate, Hunter.

 

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Justin’s one-on-one date

Because we’re all about recycling old Bachelor dates apparently, today, Katie and Justin spend the day taking wedding photos. But despite the smile on her face, the date was difficult for Katie. Later at the nighttime portion of the date, Katie reveals that standing in a white wedding gown and walking down the aisle only reminds her that her late father won’t be present for her future wedding. She also shares that before her father’s passing a few years ago, she found out that he wasn’t actually her biological father.

“I want to know how I can support you. When you’re feeling down, I want to be that person who’s there for you no matter what,” Justin replies.

Katie admits that Justin makes her feel “taken care of” before offering him the rose.

“I can tell that you care and I can tell that you’re going to be a great husband,” she tells him.

The group date

Blake, Andrew, Michael A., Greg, Aaron, Mike P., Brendan, James, Tre, and Hunter get the group date this week and the boys meet Monet X Change and Shea Coulee who explain that they’ll be participating in the Great Royal Debate. Basically, the men will have to tear one another down in an effort to make themselves look better.

After being asked which man is the least compatible for Katie, the men naturally start dragging Hunter’s name through the mud. They call him out for having a Top 4 list and for being a Bachelor superfan. And in a desperate attempt to clear his name, Hunter shares that he’s falling in love with Katie. Ugh, this is giving me Luke P. from Hannah’s season flashbacks.

 

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Things pick up later in the evening when Katie gets alone time with Greg. They both reveal that they’re “falling for” one another which is like, two levels below straight up saying “I love you,” so this is pretty big. “It is reassuring that this is working,” she says.

After her chat with Greg, she moves on to Blake, who gives her a full-blown rundown of his “personal handshake” schedule. Basically, the weekend is where Blake really spends some extra time with himself, and like, every other Tuesday after 9 pm.

 

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But tensions start to rise when Katie pulls Hunter aside to question him about his new reputation in the house. Even when he’s defending himself for being calculated, he comes across as calculated. It seems as though he’s watched enough of The Bachelorette in the past that he knows what he needs to say to stick around longer. But it seems as though Katie is slightly starting to see through Hunter’s game and excuses herself from their conversation. Katie is so distraught that she ends up throwing up in the bathroom. Nice job, Hunter.

Naturally, after puking, Katie is no longer in the mood to hand out a group date rose… so she doesn’t. Girlfriend leaves early and hopefully gets some Pepto Bismol in her stomach STAT.

Connor B.’s one-on-one date

So Connor B. gets the last one-on-one date of the week, but it’s not exactly a one-on-one. More like a two-on-two, as Kaitlyn and her fiancé Jason will be joining them. Sigh. Katie herself admits that she’s been struggling to get out of the “friend zone” with Connor, so what better way to heat things up than to invite another couple and play games?

 

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Later on that night, a tearful Katie heads to Connor’s room to share that something is missing with their connection. After struggling to get through her words, Connor interrupts. “It’s OK, I know where this is going. It’s OK,” he says before cradling her in his arms like a true gentleman.

“I just hope that when he leaves here tonight that he knows just how worthy he is of finding love,” she says through tears.

But surprisingly, the mood quickly picks up after Connor leaves. Just as Katie is sitting in a puddle of her own tears, she hears something coming from her window. Blake is standing there holding a radio above his head, Say Anything style. Katie and Blake have a fairly aggressive makeout sesh pressed up against the wall which pretty much solidifies that Blake is going to lose the “don’t touch yourself” challenge when he returns to his hotel room.

The rose ceremony

Katie informs the men that there will not be a cocktail party tonight because she knows in her heart what she wants to do moving forward. Naturally, the men with surface-level connections are scared.

So, the rose ceremony kicks off and Katie, with rose in hand, calls Hunter’s name, but asks him to talk outside. Their talk is pointless because pretty much nothing is said, and surprisingly, Hunter walks back in and stands with the other men. But all of this hoopla is for nothing because when the rose ceremony continues, Hunter is still sent home.

Also going home is James, Tre, and FINALLY the pot-stirring king, Aaron. See ya, boys.

Until next week!

The Bachelorette, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC