Joan meets the families.
Can you believe we’re already at Hometowns? Feels like just yesterday we were watching all the guys step out of the limo to meet Joan for the first time. In case you need a reminder, last week on The Golden Bachelorette, Joan narrowed down her suitors to the final four, which are Pascal, Chock, Guy, and Jordan — and if you’re wondering what they’ve learned about dating later in life, we’ve got the tea.
Now that we’re all caught up, let’s review what happened on The Golden Bachelorette last week.
Golden Bachelorette Episode 6 Recap
Guy’s hometown visit
We begin in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where Guy lives. Snazzy! If I were Joan, I’d be thinking, “I could get used to this.” They are, of course, going boating on Lake Tahoe.
The hometown dates are so important because, as Guy says, it’s when you really start to figure out whether you can actually spend your life together, outside the mansion.
Guy says that legend has it, if you make a wish on Lake Tahoe, the lake will grant you your wish. BRB, booking a flight there ASAP. I’ve got some things I need to make happen.
Guy wishes to make a connection in a special place with an incredible woman. Joan wishes to find someone to spend her golden years with. Well, legend also has it, if you tell people your wishes, they don’t come true. But, regardless of the wish, I have faith these two will find the companionship they’re looking for.
Afterward, Guy tells Joan that he didn’t think he’d be in this position of the competition or have the feelings he’s having.
Joan says that she has feelings for the four people who are left, and she has a tough decision — in part because she’s thinking of John’s memory and feeling guilty that she has feelings for four people.
Guy says that he’s not here to replace John, nor could he.
Cut to meeting the whole fam: Guy’s kids, grandson, and — I’m guessing by the fact that there was a slew of people with G names — his siblings. The gang’s all here! Overall, the meetings go very well.
Guy’s sons ask him how good he’s feeling about Joan, and he says a 9.5 out of 10 and that he would propose. Guy’s sisters tell him that they’re all but ready to welcome her into the family already. Joan got off easy — nobody pulled the “what are your intentions” interrogation with her.
She says she feels hopeful after this meeting and their relationship is “better than ever” because it was “a perfect day.”
Pascal’s hometown date
We actually have two hometown dates in Chicago, and the first one is with Pascal. Oh right, I forgot he lives there now. Well, that’s a bit of a disappointment. Sorry, Joan, no Paris for you.
Pascal’s excited to be in charge for once. Why does that not surprise me?
First up, we’re headed to Pascal’s salon, and I’m hoping for a What Not To Wear-esque makeover scene. Not that Joan needs it, obviously, but it would be so fun to have him be like:
Pascal knows it’s time for serious conversations, so he tells Joan that he was recently involved with someone and his heart was broken, so he’s guarded. Who isn’t, amirite?
Anyway, he then whisks her off in a convertible to his apartment, where his children, grandson, and some friends are waiting.
Joan first sits down with one of Pascal’s sons. She asks if Pascal has had a lot of girlfriends and Maxim confirms he has — but he’s looking for the one now. It seems like all his kids are invested in their dad finding the right person to settle down with.
Joan tells Pascal’s daughters that he reminds her of John because “everything he does is big.” She expresses a concern that she’ll pick Pascal and he won’t pick her at the end.
She also does a cute handshake with Pascal’s grandson. Actual footage of that handshake:
Adorable! I’ll be honest: I never really seriously considered Pascal as the winner, but after this, I could see it.
Jordan’s hometown date
I love that Joan says Jordan “has a really young attitude.” He is the only one here still in their 50s…
They start off by eating rainbow cake — standing up. On a bridge. Chased down by nips of some kind of dark-ish liquor. That’s a bit odd…But we’ll move on.
Jordan’s got a full house, and his kids start crying when they see him.
Joan sits down with Jordan’s brothers, and they explain that Jordan “kvells” over his kids — essentially, he’s overcome with love and emotion. I feel like The Golden Bachelor/ette has surprisingly had the strongest Jewish representation of any reality dating show (aside from like, The Jewish Matchmaker), and I love that.
One of Jordan’s daughters tells Joan that he hasn’t dated anyone seriously since his divorce 10 years ago. She wants to know if the other guys are more emotionally open than Jordan. (Digging for intel to try to help her dad get a leg up — I love it!) Joan also tells her that she’s worried that if she picked Jordan, he wouldn’t pick her. Being too guarded could be Jordan’s downfall. Joan could be the one to break down his walls, but does she really want to put in all that work at this point in her life? Especially when she has two other guys who are already open. I wouldn’t blame her either way.
Chock’s hometown date
Finally, we’re off to Wichita, Kansas, for Chock’s hometown date. We’re going to meet Chock’s father and his wife, Chock’s kids, and his late love Kathy’s dad. That is powerful. I’m not a betting woman (too risk-averse), but for the past few weeks I’ve been feeling like Chock all but has this in the bag. (I don’t read spoilers, so I’m very much prepared to eat crow if I’m wrong.) Unless he gets fed up with the whole process and pulls a Greg from Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette, which I could also see happening because we’ve seen how much Chock struggles with the idea of Joan dating other guys — and I could easily see him getting impatient, especially as we reach the Fantasy Suites. I digress.
They’re planting a tree for Chock’s mother, which is so meaningful since she just passed away while he was on the show.
Joan meets with Chock’s kids, and I think it’s over for these other guys because she’s absolutely glowing and gushing about Chock. Her face really lights up when she talks about him in a way that hasn’t quite happened with the other guys.
Kathy’s dad is the sweetest and tells Joan that the only other time he’s seen Chock as happy was when he was with Kathy, and he hopes she chooses him.
Chock’s dad tells Chock that he’s never seen him as in love as he seems with Joan. He doesn’t quite admit he’s in love but says, “I’m getting closer.” Chock’s dad thinks he is in love and doesn’t want to get hurt. Everybody’s in that boat now, it seems.
Joan and Chock get a moment alone and she confesses that she has strong feelings for Chock but also guilt for moving on — but in a way, it’s good because it means they really have something. Chock admits he’s falling for Joan! It took a minute, but we got there, folks.
Who went home on The Golden Bachelorette last week?
The eliminations keep getting more difficult, and tonight’s no exception. We’ve got team Emotionally Available (Chock and Guy) against Team Aloof (Jordan and Pascal). Not that they’re really against each other per se, but you know what I mean.
Through narration, Joan tells us that she should be feeling more confident about her decisions and her relationships at this stage, but she’s less sure than before. She tells Jesse Palmer that the conversations she had with two of the guys were not what she expected.
She says that she feels she might have the deepest relationship with Chock. Things with Guy are really easy. Jordan keeps her laughing, and they made big strides in their connection — but he never says things like, “I see a future with you.” Finally, Pascal said he needs to move slowly — which is normal and understandable in the real world, but in this experience, kind of a roadblock.
Joan starts off the rose ceremony by saying it’s her intent to leave this journey with someone she can picture a future with and have a commitment with. And on that note, the first rose of the night is given out to…Chock.
She gives the second rose to…Guy.
Looks like Team Emotionally Available is here for the win tonight. And rounding out the final three is…Pascal.
Unfortunately, that means Jordan is going home. Guess he just couldn’t quite open up in time.
Coming up we have overnight dates in Tahiti and the Men Tell All special We can’t wait to hear what they have so say!
