Mrs. Drama Queens: Bachelor Ep3
This week, the drama is drama-ing, the first match-up of the season is testing the waters. Historically, if a contestant knows the lead doesn’t have strong feelings for them, the classic move is to start some drama. Single someone out. Create tension and paranoia about a contestant being there for “the wrong reasons” or having obscure beef in the house. Just like clockwork, that’s exactly what happened this episode.
Honestly, I’m a bit tired of the trope. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a resurgence of the Bachelor “girl group,” with many contestants staying close after their season, despite all sharing the same ex. So episodes of purposeful targeting for an extra 15 minutes of fame can be truly disheartening to watch.
The episode starts with an ominous clip of Joey taken aback by rumors of bullying among the group. We see the remaining 18 women get excited for a group date—well, almost everyone.
“It sucks to be on a group date with MARIA,” says SYDNEY. That really set the tone.
To recap, last week, MARIA overheard MEDINA being insecure about her age (31) compared to Joey (28) and found it odd, raving about how gorgeous and young MEDINA is. SYDNEY, despite not being involved at all, took it as a personal attack and called MARIA out. The constant chatter about it made MEDINA admitted uncomfortable. As a seasoned Bachelor fan myself, one can assume SYDNEY is simply trying to secure her spot in the house through producer points (i.e. good TV moments). The whole situation was very uncalled for, and much of the internet agreed.
For the first group date of the episode, April, Susan, Kathy, and Nancy from The Golden Bachelor come in to help host a pageant for Joey’s “Mrs. Right.” In the first “Sunday Chill Loungewear” portion, KELSEY A. sticks a felt tennis racquet and ball onto her shorts and MARIA throws him a sock to smell. It’s odd. The question portion isn’t much better. For talents, EDWINA writes and sings a song for Joey. MADINA does acrobatics. CHRISSA struggles at the trumpet. SYDNEY performs an original cheerleading routine. LEXI decides to just make out with him, and goes home with a crown on her head. The whole section was very choppy and lackluster.
In the night portion, Joey assures LEXI she won because of the growth in their relationship, but the other girls aren’t having it. He also can’t stop gushing about KELSEY A., excited at the opportunity to get to know her better. He opens up to MARIA about being low-key and needing someone who doesn’t require constant validation and excitement, which I appreciate. It shows he knows himself and what he’s looking for at the end of the day.
He also decides to open a can of worms, having MEDINA address the drama of the house: Who is to blame for the uncomfortable chatter about her? According to MEDINA, while MARIA’s comment made her insecurity feel invalid, it’s the chatter surrounding the comment that’s made her even more insecure. But his acknowledgment does anything but bury the gossip.
Joey and JENN head to the beach for their first 1-on-1 date, where he teaches her how to surf. They laugh (and kiss) a lot, with most of Joey’s comments being about her lips. In the night portion, JENN opens up about feeling closed off due to her parents’ dicey relationship. She accepts a rose under an electric firework sign.
As a tennis pro, Joey’s second group date of the week happens on the court. It’s a bit intimidating to the women, groaning at the prospect of competition. Dressed in costumes (whose idea was it to do this in the LA heat while exercising?) the women battle it out, and this time the winner gets love (Get it? Tennis pun? Wink. Wink). No one is great. They have some drama-free athletic fun, which is entertaining. KELSEY T. brings some laughs with her swinging butter cap—and the trophy.
The next day, the cocktail party becomes a KFC-catered daytime hang-out pool party (with some pretty obvious product placement). Yum! One would think the casual daytime element would bring chill vibes, but alas the drama follows. SYDNEY decides she needs to “tell Joey” for the sake of her character while sitting next to MEDINA (who the drama is actually about, who is also completely silent).
At this point, justice for MEDINA! Everyone needs to stop talking about it drama like she asked. Drop it. Let the girl have a moment of insecurity without being made the drama-of-the-week for a cheap screen time opportunity.
When talking to Joey, SYDNEY approaches the subject like she had no idea about the hostile environment until the day before. Joey is justifiably concerned. But it drew a line in the sand. When confronting MARIA, realizing his mistake, an ultimatum is made: “With Sydney, if you like her, there’s no way you can like me.” Cue the haunting music because a drama storm is brewing.
ROSES: Kelsey A., Jenn, Katelyn, Lexi, Lea, Kelsey T., Medina, Daisy, Jess, Edwina, Autumn, Allison, Maria, and Sydney.
Next week, the international Bachelor journey begins in Malta. Looks like drama central. We haven’t seen a proper 2-on-1 date since Clayton’s season. They always make me cringe, but I’m excited. Who will go home? Will either last at all? According to Bachelor Data, 1-on-1 attendee has never lasted long. Catch our 2-part review next week for all the details.
