Down to 13 girls, these Bachelorettes still have a ways to go before the finale, but that just means this is the time in the season where peoples' true colours start to show through and the fun really begins. The girls find out that they'll be traveling to Seoul, South Korea to meet their Bachelor-in-waiting where they'll have two group dates, and one one-on-one date. Nikki, one of the blondes we've been keeping a keen eye on thanks to Juan Pablo's interest in her, started to show her frustrations by not having a solo date yet, having been on both group dates in the last two episodes, having to battle for JP's attention. Hoping that a solo date would be a turning point for her relationship with Juan Pablo, she was a little peeved when she was put in the group date again and didn't really hide her feelings when she said she was being put with some really annoying ladies.
The group date had Chelsie, Cassandra, Elise, Danielle, Kat and Nikki all headed to a dance studio to practice a routine with Juan Pablo and K-Pop group 2NE1—one of the biggest K-Pop groups in Korea—and perform in front of all their fans. Kat, a dancer since before she could walk, was all in her element, but Nikki wasn't having it. Adding insult to injury, the girl addmittedly can't dance, but insisted she was going to be a "team player" by rolling with the punches, only to bitch about everything to the cameras after. We get it honey, you can't dance. You're nervous. You want a solo date. We got it. (Side note: Nikki was my pick from episode one and I've already written her off. Hate them snobby Bachelorettes.) When it finally came time for the performance, JP went to round up the girls in the brightest red pants we've ever seen, but looked so adorable doing so. The performance went off without a hitch, even when Kat tried to steal the show by doing some grinding and robot moves. I mean, sure she made the other girls a little cheesed (try to google Nikki's impression of Kat's dancing—hilarious), but if you've it, work it, right? Later in the date, Nikki starts to call some of the girls (read: Kat) on their crap by saying some of them are fake and only act a certain way in front of JP (meanwhile, Kat was opening up about her sad childhood to Juan Pablo), providing us the first wildly hypocritical statement of the night. After Nikki got some alone time with Juan Pablo, her mood instantly switched from miserable to giddy and told him how much she wanted to be a stepmom to Camila and totally buttering him up, so much that she got the rose on the date. All of a sudden Negative Nikki is alllll smiles and effectively landed herself on every other girl's hit list. Well done, girl. While we're totally getting mixed feelings on Nikki, it seems as though Juan Pablo's feelings are just growing stronger and stronger. But, alas, she's here for at least another week.
On the one-on-one date with Sharleen (still not sure how we feel about her), Juan Pablo took her through a Seoul market, trying different foods (not Sharleens plate of food, obvs) while JP was loving every minute of it. Afterwards they went to a tea house and Sharleen finally opened up to JP in a non-teasing way that has come to be her hallmark throughout the show. She even sang for him, which apparently she doesn't do. Of course, not before she was awarded the line of the night with this gem: "[To Juan Pablo] You are also not bland." We love it when the girls talk dirty. Even after half telling Juan Pablo she's not really sure about kids (actually, we're not even really sure what she said, but apparently JP understood), Sharleen was still given a rose and another kiss, though slightly less awkard than last week's smooch-fest.
On the last group date of the episode (with Clare, Andi, Renee, Alli, Kelly and Lauren), the night started off on a high note, with all of the girls having fun. Juan Pablo took the group to do some karaoke, then to Dr.Fish for a fish pedicure (where little fish eat the dead skin off your feet—literally my worst nightmare) and then to stroll around Seoul. Clare was notably very territorial and had to be next to Juan Pablo almost all the time, making a point to move next to him or hold his arm. BUT, she made a big mistake by asking him if they were going to eat octopus (girl, don't you know him by now? He is gonna take every opportunity to take you out of your element), so naturally JP made sure each girl had a piece. Clare was being really dramatic about having a teeny piece, warranting the second-best line of the night, courtesy of Kelly: "I know you've swallowed bigger things than that." Hey, she said it. We just laughed. Hard. Later in the date, each of the girls got some time with JP, and almost all of them were gunning for kisses. Renee was let down gently because Juan Pablo wanted to be a better role model for his daughter and was concerned because he'd already kissed so many girls in the house, but Lauren not so much, making her think that she was undesirable because some of the other girls had already had a taste of JP—including Clare who was grilling each of the girls who chatted alone with him, interrogating each one on whether they had/were going to kiss him. Lauren had a bit of a breakdown with Juan Pablo because he didn't kiss her, but she got a pretty good snuggle sesh out of it, so little win? Even though Clare got the kiss, Andi deservedly got the rose, showing that you don't have to be crazy to get ahead.
At the cocktail party, things got a little tense when Nikki interrupted Clare's alone time with Juan Pablo, even though the girls who already had roses (Nikki, Sharleen and Andi) agreed to back off to give the girls on the chopping block some time alone with JP. Nikki couldn't stand Clare having the attention and swooped in, but was shocked when JP alluded to there being some issues with drama in the house (oh honey, if you only knew…). Afterwards, with Kelly wedged in between them, Clare and Nikki talked it out and Clare accused Nikki of being two-faced because she acts one way with the girls and another with JP (I mean, we kinda said that…). Even though Elise was sure she was going to be Juan Pablo's wife, her and Lauren were sent packing, and totally missed the next stop on the SS Bachelor—Vietnam.
Coming up roses: Nikki, Sharleen, Andi, Renee, Chelsie, Kelly, Danielle, Cassandra, Alli, Clare, Kat
Bachelorettes to watch: Clare, Nikki, Renee, Cassandra, Sharleen, Andi
Cry count: Episode- 2 (Lauren, Elise ); Season Total – 15
Kiss count: Episode- 3 (Nikki, Sharleen, Clare); Season Total – 8
Catfight count: 1 (kinda—it was very passive aggressive and slightly lacklustre)
