The Bachelor Week 2!

Another 2-hour episode...good lord!

OK, so here's my little crew I'm cheering for after seeing this episode:
Jillian - I really like her. She seems very much herself around Jason and doesn't seem like she's trying too hard.
Lauren - I like her too, but she is a smidge high maintenance. We'll see.
Melissa - Awww! Yeah, she's still adorable.
Stephanie - I. Love. Her. So sweet and genuine.
Nikki - She seems like she's pretty cool, and a lot more mature than many of the other girls.
Molly - I know she's a little bit of a schemer, but I can't help rooting for her.

Surprise Pool Party and Impromptu One-on-One Date

I'm glad Shannon has a new nickname: "Sha-Nay-Nay." The girl is crazy. Throwing ice = lame. And I don't think she has an internal monologue; it's like everything that crosses her mind, then crosses her lips.

I loved that Nikki was coaching poor, sweet Stephanie on how to steal Jason away from Natalie! The poor thing is so gentle, she wouldn't hurt a bug, much less a blonde. I think Jason was probably impressed by her tact in not breaking up his conversation to take him away.

I think Jason is doing a really good job of getting to know the girls on his own terms. I loved that he surprised them at the pool; I think he really wants to get to know them in a more relaxed setting, without them being all dressed up and made up. I thought it was hilarious that the girls were freaking out because they had no make-up and ponytails! He seems very at ease and seems to genuinely want them to have a good time, unlike Deanna, who threw a fit when no one was paying attention to her (remember that from last season?!!).

He picks Jillian for an impromptu one-on-one, which makes Lauren totally jealous. Until she thinks about how frantic she would be... "I mean, she didn't have very much time to get ready. I would be freaking out, and I don't know what I'd do with my hair. I'd have to wear it curly. No, I'd have to put it in a ponytail!!! Ok, I'm glad it wasn't me."

Lauren is pretty high-maintenance and Jason is picking up on this. I think he's looking for someone who can roll with the punches, which is probably a lot of what being a step-parent is about. We all know how high-maintenance Deanna was, and I hope Jason steers clear of that this season.

Jason's date with Jillian is at Disney Hall, which you may remember from the movie Get Smart. Very cool. And inside is Robin Thicke with a full band, singing for just the two of them! (How awkward would that be to be up there performing with a full set for just two people who were dancing/watching/smootching the whole time?)

Melissa gets to go on the other one-on-one date. At first I'm worried that she's going to turn into a brat and not have a good date, but when Jason feeds her the oyster and she obviously hates it, and then admits that she thought it was gross, I was back to cheering for our little cheerleader! She is just too cute. And then the Good Year Magic 8 Ball Blimp came by to answer some questions. And Melissa asked some good ones, including "Will I get a rose?" and "Will I get a kiss?" And as Jason knows from personal practice, when it comes to kissing...ask and you shall receive. Well played, Melissa. Or, as she would say, "Nicely done."

Group Date

Jason takes the girls shopping (aww!) and then it's back to the pool so he can hang out with the ladies in their bikinis and show off his wonderfully sculpted torso again. Molly gets a rose on this date after showing Jason her "secret talent," which is kissing, and also showing her goofy side by coordinating a synchronized swimming dance with Sharon and Kari.

Molly is slick; you have to hand it to her. I know the other girls got mad at her for the "secret talent" thing and for spending time with him when she'd already gotten a rose, but I think she knows that if you play too nice, you go home, and she's showing Jason that she's there for a reason.

Naomi told Jason that she'd be his friend no matter what. I had to ask myself if she was seriously asking to be put in the Friend Zone. Then to get him to kiss her, the line she used was, "Do friends kiss?" Sigh...yes, Naomi, sometimes friends DO kiss. That's called a friend with benefits. And that's not the same thing as a fiancee.

Erica says something to Jason about having certain standards that he needs to meet...or something like that. I didn't really get what she was saying. Then she tells the camera that it's hard for her to see Jason with the other girls, because she was cheated on in her last relationship and that's why it ended. "She was 52," she says.

Wait, did I hear that right? I had to rewind and play it again. "She was 52." Yup! That is what she said. So Erica's last boyfriend was either stolen by a senior citizen woman, or her last boyfriend WAS a senior citizen woman. I'm still not clear on that.

Raquel pulled kind of a creeper move by climbing into Jason's car and waiting after he dropped the other girls off after the group date. (Does anyone remember when one of the guys...Twilley, I think...did this to Deanna? I do, and I think it was equally awkward this time around.)

On to the Rose Ceremony...

Megan...kinda sucks. Nothing is working out for her. First the fake elimination rose, then she doesn't get a date, and then Molly pops by with her rose in the middle of Jason's conversation with her and takes him away (and is it just me, or did Jason look relieved?). That led to a completely pointless fight between her and Erica. And to put a cherry on top of her Bachelor Disaster Sundae, she decides to find out more about the mysterious Stephanie and "what her deal is."

"So, we haven't gotten to know much about you, " she starts out in her nervous, abrasive manner. "What happened with your ex?"

Then Stephanie, the angel of this cast of contenders, tells this beautiful, tragic story about how her husband died in a plane crash. And then she shows her poise and grace by turning the conversation's focus back to Jason instead of keeping everyone's sympathetic attention on her. This woman is too sweet to be on reality TV.

Lisa tells Jason she has to leave the show because her grandma is terminally sick with cancer. Boo. I was really hoping we'd get to see more of her. And wow, the girls don't even try to act like they feel bad for her. "One less girl for me to worry about!" they all said. Geez!

Nikki tells Jason she is worried some of the girls are not there for the right reasons, or aren't prepared to settle down and be a mom. There's always one in the bunch, folks. Someone who is ready to sell out their fellow competitors because they care about the Bachelor so much (or the Bachelorette; it happens with the guys too). I like Nikki, but I think it's always a dangerous move to try to turn the object of your desire against other contestants. I'm just worried someone's gonna put gum in her hair while she's sleeping.

At the end of the night, Jason only has to eliminate two girls because Lisa left voluntarily. The roses go to:
Megan (booo.)
Nikki (duh.)
Lauren (again, duh.)
Naomi (not quite in the Friend Zone yet.)
Stephanie (YESSSSS!!! with arm pump.)
Kari
Natalie
Sha-Nay-Nay
Melissa (one-on-one date)
Jillian (on-on-one date)
Molly (group date rose)
Erica - (booo...and she does this whole trashy thing where she goes, "Stop doing this to me!" because he called her name last, and she makes him put his hand on her chest so he can feel her rapidly pulsating heart.)

Sharon is sent home to find a new job, since she gave up her old one to be on the show. Oops. Raquel salsas into the sunset, snuffing our hopes for an international hometown date. Oh well.

Next Week...
We'll get to see an amazing one-on-one date with Stephanie as she is surprised by a visit from her darling little girl! I think I caught Jason crying during their reunion, but we'll just have to see.

Oh, at the end of the show, they played a clip of Stephanie's numerous bags of luggage and (of course) she let all of the girls try on and borrow anything they wanted to. Is this lady for real?!

I can't wait for Deanna to come back. When do you think that will happen?!!

Supplemental Reading...
Lincee (for the funniest recaps on the planet)
Chris (for those of you who, like me, are fascinated by what happens behind the scenes of a reality show...and this is also a hilarious read!)

And of course the ladies who go Beyond Reality...see what they have to say this week: