‘The Bachelor’ 2021 Episode 2: Queen Victoria Loses Her Cool (RECAP)
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After being introduced to Matt James and his group of women during last week’s premiere episode of The Bachelor, it’s already clear Season 25 is going to be a doozy. And, with the drama already heating up between a few contestants, we can’t wait to see what unfolds this week.
First One-on-One Date
All the ladies are moved into Nemacolin Resort and ready to start their love journeys. Chris Harrison greets the group and reveals there will be three dates this week — two one-on-one dates and one group date — but not every woman will get a date.
Bri, who made quite the impression the first night, gets the first one-on-one date of the season. Matt and Bri ride ATVs through the woods, crash in a mud puddle (we wish we were joking), and finally end up at a wood-fire hot tub. The pair share a steamy kiss in the tub — despite the fact they’re covered in mud — and we can already tell Bri is going to be a front runner.
Meanwhile, back at the resort, Victoria reveals she’s not happy that Bri’s on the one-on-one date. “I’m literally so sick of you guys, I want to hang out with Matt,” she sort of jokingly tells the group. “I think all the girls that are happy for Bri are all fake as sh*t.” Victoria, if you’re already upset about someone else getting a date, you’re in for a rude awakening.
Alright, back to Bri and Matt’s date. Following their day of ATVing and hot-tubbing, the pair sit down to have a more serious conversation. Bri reveals her mom got pregnant with her when she was 13 years old and raised her as a single mother.
Matt shares he had a similar upbringing, as his father wasn’t around very much. “A lot of what you’re saying and you’re feeling are resonating with me because when I was growing up when I needed him the most, my dad just wasn’t around,” he says. No surprise here, Matt gives Bri the one-on-one rose!
Back at the house, Victoria is irritating the other women, which leads to her feeling a bit ganged up on when they react. “I’m going to be with Matt and the rest of it is just ridiculous. I’m literally a queen,” she says. OK, Victoria, whatever you say!
Group Date
Chelsea, Serena P., Abigail, Sydney, Alana, Kristin, Lauren, Jessenia, Serena C., Kit, Kaili, Katie, MJ, Mari, Pieper, Rachael, Illeana, and — you guessed it — Victoria are invited on the group date. The ladies see Matt dressed in a suit getting his photo taken which can only mean one thing — photoshoot.
Matt tells the women they’ll be putting on wedding dresses for this wedding-theme event. “Considering I’ve never tried on a wedding gown, it’s crazy to go from zero to doing a photoshoot with potentially a man I could marry,” Jessenia says. While the ladies are having fun, it’s clear Victoria is making everyone a tad uncomfortable. Victoria asks Matt to take off her garter (cringe) and even interrupts Matt’s photos with Rachael.
Partway through the photos, Chris comes out and tells the ladies that they’ll have to “fight” for Matt’s love. Chris splits the group into two teams and reveals they’ll be playing “capture the heart,” aka Capture the Flag. But, instead of tagging people out, the goal is to get paint on the opponents’ dresses.
The winning team gets to spend the night with Matt, while the losers will be sent home. Honestly, this game has no rhyme or reason, but we’re here for it. The red team captures the heart first, which means the yellow team is sent packing. Better luck next time, guys!
During the night portion of the date, Matt has a great conversation with Lauren, someone he didn’t get to talk to before. He also connects with Jessenia, who opens up about being cheated on in the past, and tries to go deeper with Victoria, but the whole conversation feels forced.
After talking with the women, Matt pulls Lauren aside again and gives her the Group Date rose, which of course annoys Victoria.
Second One-on-One Date
Sarah gets the second one-on-one date of the week and Matt takes her on a two-seater plane. While the plane looks a little scary, it is a great way for the pair to bond. After their joyride, the pair head into the woods for a cute date set-up, complete with wine and a fire. Sarah, whose father is fighting ALS, is nervous to open up about her home life and Matt can sense she’s holding back.
During the evening portion of their date, Sarah finally opens up and tells Matt about her father’s health struggles. “Watching him trying to grapple with this disease as it’s progressed and not being able to express himself or speak, and losing the ability to talk, and his voice changing over time, it was just unimaginable,” Sarah shares.
Sarah also reveals she quit her job in broadcasting in order to be a caretaker for her dad. Matt’s clearly moved by Sarah’s story and is honored Sarah’s taken precious time out of her life to spend time with him.
Matt gives Sarah the one-on-one date rose — duh! — and opens up about his feelings for her. “What’s attractive to me about Sarah is the fact that she’s selfless, she’s loving, she’s caring, she’s compassionate, she’s resilient, like what more could you ask for in someone that you’d be looking to spend the rest of your life with?” Matt says.
Rose Ceremony
Because so many women didn’t even go on a date this week, we already know this cocktail party is going to be intense. Matt reconnects with Abigail — who is so adorable — Rachael and Kit, and even surprises Marylynn with an orchid, her favorite flower!
After seeing Marylynn with the orchid, Victoria decides to tell Matt about her roommate situation with Marylynn, claiming she’s been bullied. “I wanted to share with you how truly toxic the house can be,” Victoria shares.
Matt decides to get to the bottom of the situation and pulls Marylynn aside to tell her about his conversation with Victoria. Marylynn denies ever bullying Victoria, but she also recognizes it’s her word versus Victoria’s at this point.
Marylynn apologizes to Victoria for hurting her feelings, but Victoria is not interested in reconciling. Meanwhile, the other women are frustrated with Victoria for bringing this drama to Matt and are annoyed it’s taken time away from substantial conversations.
OK, now for the rose ceremony. While Matt is handing out roses, Sarah starts to stumble and nearly passes out. As to be expected, we get hit with a “To be continued.” Guess we’ll have to wait until next week to see who goes home!
The Bachelor, Tuesdays at 8/7c, ABC
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