Episode 2
“The girls didn’t lie when they said he had pillow lips."
—Becca K, after her kiss with Arie. This show is so weird.
Episode 2 kicks off with one of Chris Harrison's ever-so-rousing pep talks...
BECCA K'S 1-ON-1
Becca K gets the coveted first 1-on-1 date. The more I see of Becca K the more I like her. She's proving relatable and kind of tongue-in-cheek about being there while still remaining sincere. The following commentary made me laugh...
It seems the girls like her, too. You can tell by their shocked responses to her saying she was nervous to return to the mansion with all her free swag...
Believe me, if she were a braggart or annoying in any way, the above would come off braggarty and annoying. Period.
Note how Becca K is required to go back to the mansion with all her stuff, presumably so the girls can be jealous. Normally on a 1-on-1, the contestant's away for the whole day and would get ready for "dinner" with a producer at some other location, like in a hotel room somewhere. It would've been easy to send her stuff back with a handler, or to have her return with it after her date, late at night when most of the women are asleep. They literally made her do the above JUST for the jealousy factor.
KRYSTAL'S 1-ON-1
In a shocking twist of Episode 2 events, Krystal gets a 1-on-1 as opposed to the tradition of there being two Group Dates. Arie takes her to Scottsdale to show her a slice of his current and past lives. I loved when, while watching his wonderfully embarrassing childhood home videos, Arie shut it down. Note where he looks, up and off to his right, as he says the following...
Zero percent chance he's not looking at a producer when he says that. Yay, 4th wall!
Back at the mansion, the girls are casually drinking wine (aka assembled in Girl Chat* formation) when there's a knock at the door. Bibiana is this season's Jojo, calling out that knock for being as nerve-wracking as it is...
It might be hard to understand if you haven't been there, but there's something really heart-stopping about that knock. First of all, it's a really firm, loud, menacing knock (this doesn't really translate on TV). Also, when you're assembled together, you usually don't know why. You know something's about to happen, but that something could be anything from a knock on the door, to Chris Harrison showing up out of the blue, to a housemate making some announcement, to Arie strolling in. So it's more the on-edge anticipation of the unknown than the actual knock itself. But let me tell you, it all makes for a downright terrifying knock.
Krystal gets the 1-on-1 date rose, and in case you needed further proof of Pick-ups, note the freshness of her rose versus that of the one she's holding in her ITM (which may well be an entirely different rose)...
The morning after Krystal's 1-on-1, the girls are once again assembled in Girl Chat formation, this time to ask Krystal about her date. I laughed so hard at Brittany's decidedly NOT ambiguous aggravation with Krystal's non-answers to the girls' questions...
GROUP DATE
15 women are chosen for what has to be the coolest Bachelor date activity of all time. I mentioned this on The Morning After, but I am SO JEALOUS of this date!!! We got to do undeniably cool stuff on my season but I dare say a demolition derby takes the cake. I think what wows me so much about it is the once-in-a-lifetime factor, completely organized and executed for them. I actually googled how to take part in a demolition derby and it doesn't appear to be the kind of activity that just falls in your lap (my favorite step: "Find a car").
Tia continues to be a potty-mouthed delight...
In the evening, Chelsea attempts to explain away criticism of her aggression in taking time with Arie. (Although I have to say, after seeing Krystal act out at the Rose Ceremony, Chelsea's transgressions thus far seem like child's play.)
Marikh (rightfully, in my opinion) mentions that Chelsea being a mother doesn't mean that her time there is more valuable than anyone else's, but there was clearly WAY more to this conversation than what was shown. Note the many seating arrangements surrounding Marikh, during this supposedly short exchange...
We get to know a bit more about Seinne and the girl's resume is impressive. This isn't lost on Arie...
... but what I love is his ABILITY to say the above and make that comparison. This is serious humility that a lot of people might have a hard time admitting. I know some viewers (certainly a bunch of you in last week's comments section!) have their reservations about Arie, but you have to admire how he's not a victim to his ego.
Later, at the exact same fireplace where he kissed Seinne because this show continues to not be at all weird, Arie makes out with Bekah. I have to say, I am WOWED by how confident and self-assured this girl is. Something about the following exchange, especially with the impeccably timed "Wanna kiss?", has me in awe of her youth...
ROSE CEREMONY
At the Rose Ceremony cocktail party, Arie claims that the first thing he needs to do is make sure Brittany is alright (after her "Most Hardcore" demolition derby showing), but look at the group of women during the toast and the lack thereof as he finds her. Doesn't look to me like "first thing's first"...
Post-Rose Ceremony, Jenny is none too happy to be sent home and isn't afraid to show it. I'm not sure I've ever seen a contestant take it as badly as she did. We've seen some claim heartbreak and others not hide the fact that they were just sad to leave their friends, but Jenny's departure was an interesting combination of blaming the process ("I just definitely don't think this thing is for me"), claiming no affection for Arie whatsoever...
... yet admitting to having had high hopes...
I know we can't see "end up with him" come out of her mouth so I take this statement with a grain of salt.
In a voiceover Jenny said she felt embarrassed so I suspect she wanted to emphasize—on camera—that she was only sad about leaving her friends. I'm torn between loving this as it breaks the 4th wall and shows the strength of the friendships there (as opposed to the constant focus on the rivalries), and thinking it's just not a great look as she comes off a bit spiteful and retaliatory (when he's clearly just trying to have a cordial exchange and sending people home is a MAJOR part of this show). Either way, I'm glad they showed this and thought this was one of the most interesting early goodbyes we've seen.
THE FASHION
Requests
Sarah asked me last week via Twitter about Bekah's cool beaded choker from the premiere...
Bekah's choker is by Stephan & Co but I'm sorry to report it's sold out (HERE). I couldn't find anything similar but if I do in the future I'll let you know!
Sylvia asked about Krystal's metal-tipped booties from her 1-on-1...
Tia's dress is by The Jetset Diaries and is still available (and super on sale!) HERE.
Best Dressed
I have a few of honorable mentions. First up is Krystal with her denim jumpsuit...
I thought this was a very cute, easy daytime look and I wish we'd seen more of it. I think Krystal is really good at dressing for her body, and this jumpsuit is insanely well tailored for her. Her jumpsuit is by Abercrombie & Fitch and is available (and on sale!) HERE.
Next up is Becca K with her casual 1-on-1 daytime look...
The word that comes to mind here is "effortless". There's a bit of skin with that boat neck (but not quite off-the-shoulder) neckline, and the peek of lacy bralette is a feminine surprise. Becca K was wearing this when her name was read on the date card so I think this is actually what she just happened to be wearing that day. (I have SO much admiration for this because I would be scrambling over the perfect date outfit, meanwhile she just strolled out wearing what she already had on. Like I said, effortless.) Becca K's sweater is from Old Navy and while I couldn't find it anywhere online, there are two similar ones selling HERE and HERE (I would personally size up for that oversized look). And since you guys have mentioned liking these, in my search I found a metallic version that I love, HERE. Becca K didn't know the brand of her bralette (shout-out to the boutique where she bought it, though: Primp Boutique) but I'm near positive it's by Grace & Lace (HERE), pictured in black because the cream didn't show up well in photos.
Next is Brittany with her Rose Ceremony jumpsuit...
I LOVE a polished jumpsuit in a sea of dresses and this really stood out to me. (In fact, it's the only outfit from the Rose Ceremony I have in Best Dressed this week.) This jumpsuit is sleek and sexy, I love the color, and to me the feel is very #girlboss. Brittany's jumpsuit is from Lulu's and sells HERE.
Three runners-up for Best Dressed this week! First is Bekah with her Group Date evening look...
This girl can pull off things that would look kind of blah on someone else (her Night One dress is a good example) and makes them special. This silhouette isn't reinventing any wheels and the color might wash out a lot of people, but on her it looks very chic but like she didn't try too hard. I LOVE the balance of very covered-up up top and showing skin on the bottom. As she also proved Night One, Bekah is great at accessorizing. Her patent Mary Janes feel kind of old school and her chunky hoops have an 80s vibe, and together everything just somehow WORKS. This is talent. Bekah's dress is by Pretty Little Thing but I wasn't able to find it anywhere. There is, however, a very similar one selling HERE. (There's a cute, slightly more sweater-y one in black HERE.) Her Calvin Klein "Columbo" patent pumps sell (on sale!) HERE. Based on this look I'm inspired to get similar chunky hoops and the ones I'm eyeing are HERE.
Next is Becca K with her 1-on-1 evening look...
Ok, so she gets only partial credit as she was gifted this on the date, but this is a really cool dress. It feels so vintage glam and metallic is bold but show-stopping. I reeeeally wish she'd worn her hair up or back in some sort of tendril-y chignon to highlight the exposed shoulders, but I'm being picky here. Obviously, Becca K's "Glenda" dress is by Rachel Zoe (it sells HERE). In my search for a look-for-less I found a similar-ish one (that is infinitely more wearable for every day) in black, HERE.
Lastly, Caroline in her Group Date cocktail party dress...
This is a wonderful twist on the Little Black Dress. It's unique (I've never seen anything like it), sexy, and—you guys know I love this—expensive-looking. Seriously, this could easily be in any Intermix window display. Caroline seems to be skilled at going obviously sexy with her sartorial choices but still managing to look classy (not an easy line to tread) and I am at the point where I'm always interested to see what she wears. Caroline's dress is by Missguided and sells (for an impressive $43!) HERE.
Finally, my Best Dressed is a bit of a surprise this week, just since it was an outfit we hardly saw. It's Seinne with her casual daytime outfit during the Girl Chat with Krystal before she left for her 1-on-1...
I LOVE this outfit! It's so easy and wearable, yet adorable. I love that she just happened to be wearing it—this Girl Chat wasn't her time to shine or anything (in fact, we didn't actually see her say one word wearing this look)—and you can tell a lot about a person's style by how they look dressed down, just hanging out. It's inspiring me to wear more stripes with my overalls. Seinne's tank is by Club Monaco and is still available (on sale!) HERE. Her overalls are by Forever 21 and while her exact model is sold out, there's a super similar (and similarly priced) pair selling HERE.
Worst Dressed
This week's Worst Dressed is none other than Chris Harrison...
I'm sorry to say this shirt was BAD. Not only is the color off, it was so huge on him I wondered if something went awry in wardrobe and he had to take the shirt off the back of someone two sizes bigger than him. Considering he actually has his own clothing line, this is all the more reprehensible.
Until next week, fellow pandas!
