See who’s falling for Gerry Turner — and who he’s falling for in return.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Last episode of The Golden Bachelor, tensions were high — partly because Theresa and Kathy got into a little tiff about oversharing, and partly because this show has thus far been so wholesome that the bar for drama is the floor.
The latest episode opens at the house with Theresa and Faith trying to do some kind of DIY kickboxing. Theresa talks about how upset she was over her squabble with Kathy, saying, “I know I have a great relationship with Kathy and I want to put all that behind us.” From what I’ve seen, I’m not sure if Kathy has gotten the memo about them having a “great relationship”…
A new person walks into the Bachelor Mansion and I’m worried. If this is one of those common reality TV tactics of introducing new competitors to freak out the current contestants, I don’t think the ladies are ready for that. Turns out it’s…well, I don’t actually know. Thankfully, the ladies offer that it’s Trista Sutton, who was on the first season of The Bachelor and served as the first Bachelorette 20 years ago. Trista is here to reassure the women that this process works. Statistically, that’s debatable, but let’s let the ladies live in this love bubble.
Theresa wastes no time in grabbing Trista’s hands to tell her how she got the first one-on-one date. Now (I’m starting to see Kathy’s point about the boasting.)
Trista leaves a group date card and explains that anyone who isn’t going on the group date is getting a one-on-one. And going on the date is everybody except…Leslie! Which means she’s getting some alone time with Gerry.
The pickleball group date
The pressure’s got to be on for Ellen, whose listed profession is pickleball captain. Gerry’s already there with Trista when the ladies get there and they are joined by Joey — no last name, just Joey. My brain immediately went, “Joey Tribbiani?” and expected to see Matt LeBlanc.
Unfortunately for Friends fans and Bachelor Nation newbies, it’s not that Joey — it’s Joey from The Bachelorette last season. (I find it funny that on night one, most of the women admitted they’d never seen The Bachelor before, and now, all of a sudden, they’re on a first-name basis with former contestants.)
The pickleball warm-up starts, and unfortunately it seems some of the contestants didn’t read our article on how to prevent pickleball injuries because April just spontaneously falls on the court, completely out of nowhere. It honestly looks a little something like this:
April’s on the ground and Gerry comforts her. With a wink, April later says, “Actually, I’m totally fine.” OK, now that that’s confirmed, I have to respect her attention-seeking skills.
They’re playing a pickleball tournament to get featured in Pickleball magazine, and this is Ellen’s Super Bowl. If she doesn’t win, she can (probably) never show her face on the court again.
The teams are:
- Theresa and Susan
- Faith and April
- Kathy and Ellen
The first game is Ellen and Kathy versus Faith and April, and Ellen and Kathy clinch it.
The second match is Susan and Theresa versus Sandra and Nancy, and Sandra is a surprise superstar at this! Susan misses a shot but Sandra runs behind her to rescue the ball and hit it before it drops. They win! They point out that Sandra’s playing with two replaced knees, but they don’t mention that she might also have a bad back from carrying the team. (Sorry, Susan.) Even wilder is the fact that Sandra is apparently missing her daughter’s wedding for this!
The final match-up is Ellen and Kathy versus Sandra and Nancy. This game just might get me to start watching sports — this is riveting. It’s a real nail-biter, but Ellen and Kathy win the championship!
After the date, Gerry pulls Sandra aside to talk about the fact that she’s missing her daughter’s wedding. Sandra says, “[My daughter] told me, ‘Mom, I got my guy. I want you to go get yours.’” So Gerry pulls out his phone so Sandra can FaceTime her daughter, and after a couple of awkward minutes where they try to figure out the app, they get to chat with her daughter and new son-in-law.
Off the courts, Theresa pulls Kathy aside to talk to her again. Theresa says, “I just want to make sure everything is good with us.” Spoiler alert: It’s not. Theresa says she didn’t mean anything malicious, and Kathy says that she just doesn’t want to know about what goes on with her and Gerry’s relationship. There’s a whole lot of back-and-forth that doesn’t go anywhere productive and just amounts to a fundamental disagreement. Kathy says, in what will be her most famous last words, “Can I give you some friendly advice? Zip it.”
Theresa and Gerry get some one-on-one time to talk about the issue with Kathy. Theresa tells him, “I thought Kathy was my friend. I was trying to be nice to her and she said, ‘Just snip it.'” (Maybe she said zip? I heard snip. Either way, Gerry does not like what he hears.)
I can tell Gerry took a conflict mediation course or two because his next course of action is to pull Kathy aside to get her take. Honestly, I’m already over this drama and I’ve seen like 10 minutes of it in total, so I can’t imagine how tired Gerry is of dealing with this.
Gerry says, “I heard you told her to zip it.” (At least he got it right.) Kathy says, “Can I explain what that means to me?” (Although I think we all know what “zip it” means, and that Kathy’s not talking about the fly on a pair of jeans.)
The veil has been lifted, so to speak, and Gerry doesn’t like the pot-stirring he sees. Kathy says, “I’m not a villain, we’re all people of a certain age here who have hearts and feelings.” The real question is: Will Gerry buy this explanation?
Now Kathy is mad that Theresa told Gerry about the whole “zip it” thing. Just when I thought we were closing the book on this drama…
On a lighter note, Gerry gives Sandra the date rose because she’s missing her daughter’s wedding. Honestly, it’s the least she should get.
Leslie’s one-on-one date with Gerry
Leslie’s one-on-one date is ATV-ing, which combines two of my nightmares: driving and the potential for injury. This would not be my choice for a first date, but I’m glad they’re having fun!
Back at the house, the ladies are playing Never Have I Ever but with ice cream instead of putting their fingers down — or with alcohol, which is the way I play it. But the game does resemble the way I play it in that it quickly devolves into a sort of competition about who’s had the wildest sex. But it’s refreshing to see these women having this conversation on national TV.
But let’s return to the romance: On their date, Leslie tells Gerry that she hasn’t chosen the best men in the past (relatable). She’s divorced twice and has been single for 22 years. I’m glad Gerry got to see a different, more vulnerable side of Leslie, and he clearly agrees because he gives Leslie a rose. (Sidenote, I haven’t cried yet watching this episode, which is a record.)
The cocktail party
Back at the house, Sandra is in bed with an upset stomach. Nancy has a stress fracture from pickleball and her foot is in a boot.
Gerry takes Susan aside, which is so nice because she hasn’t had much alone time with him. He gives her a rose quartz for empathy and strength, because he says she has those qualities, which remind him of Toni, his late wife. (OK, now I’m crying!) That’s really the highest compliment he could give.
Then, the first L-bomb drops: Ellen tells Gerry that she’s falling in love with him. He responds, “I feel your emotion and I’m in the same place.” It’s not an, “I’m falling in love with you, too,” but it’s close enough to get me crying again.
This big moment marks a painful but necessary step in any Bachelor or Bachelorette season: The star starts to see the magic happening because some of his relationships are evolving, while others aren’t.
Then, fittingly, Nancy confronts Gerry about their stalled relationship status, and Gerry validates her feelings, so she leaves before the rose ceremony.
Who gets eliminated on The Golden Bachelor week 4?
Gerry says, “The roses beside me have increasing significance with every week and every rose ceremony but knowing all of you has made me a much better man.”
The first rose goes to… Ellen
Followed by:
Faith
Susan
At this point, April, Theresa, and Kathy are left with only one rose. Wow, they are really not playing with the pacing of this show — the group is getting smaller and smaller each week, and these rose ceremonies are getting much shorter.
And the final rose goes to…
Theresa.
Well, it looks like stirring the pot doesn’t play, as I predicted last episode, because it never does, and Kathy is going home, along with April. Unfortunately, her fake leg injury wasn’t enough to get her to stay.
Gerry walks Kathy out and says, “I hope you find your guy and your true love.” Kathy says, “I wish the same for you. You deserve it.”
And just like that, we’re already halfway through the show! Still to come are Hometowns, which will be an interesting twist since Gerry will be meeting children and not parents, plus what looks like an exotic getaway.
