Tonight we do Hometown’s
Eric:
Rachel first meets Eric in Baltimore, MD – as Rachel walks
up Eric starts dancing. Eric shows her what he calls the nice part of the city…
“not the part where I am from.” They play a fake game of one on one: So Eric’s
A1 (His cousin Ralph) meets up with them on the court, nice to see Eric was
smart enough to bring his hype man.
I was so happy to see a big family, so often the black family
is portrayed as a non-nuclear unit with very little support so this was cool to
see.
Eric’s family does a really good job of talking him up, Kid has no chance to
win this but it is nice to see. Eric tells us in his interview that he is going
to tell Rachel he loves her, but she spots that he never actually directly tells
her that, instead he says “I really care about you.”
Bryan:
Rachel tells us that Miami is like Bryan “Its Hot, its
steamy” well someone is sprung.
I was just in Miami this weekend so it is fun watching them
hit spots I just hit. Bryan takes Rachel to play dominos, they are TERRIBLE at
it. He of course takes her to Calle Ocho.
Bryan’s mom tells him that marriage is a very serious commitment;
she then tells Rachel that she prayed at Mass that she would be the one. Bryan
tells Rachel that he loves her and she turns giddy, contrast that with her
reaction to Eric…Eric has no shot.
Peter:
Madison, WI is up next and only when Peter says its name
do I notice his accent. They go to what looks like a Farmer’s market and Peter
claims he does it every week. Some of Peter’s friends come to meet Rachel, I
always joke that if I was on this type of show I would try to get all of my
friends on so I respect this move. A bit weirdly Peter tells Rachel he wants to
go off and talk to his male friends while leaving her to talk to his female
friends. Peter tells his friends that in 3 weeks he might have to get down on
one knee and propose and to him that is terrifying.
Peter and Rachel meet up with his family and Rachel likes
how Peter is with his niece but she is still nervous that he will not want to
be husband material. Peter’s mom tells him that she will be supportive if he
proposes.
Dean:
We go out to Aspen, CO – Dean comes across as so young.
Parumrup = the name that Dean’s Dad has given himself
after becoming a Sikh. Santantar is the name of Dean’s stepmom. Dean does not
think that it is his responsibility to talk to his dad over the last 2 years.
This is clearly a weird family dynamic and Dean is trying really hard to
prepare Rachel for it. Even while walking up “This is not a good of indication
of who I am, it is an indication of who I was…I am legitimately terrified”
these are the words Dean says as he is walking up to his family’s home.
Dean and Rachel walk in to see the family sitting on the
floor (because they do not have a dining table). Dean’s dad then plays the gong
for everyone, as they lie with their heads towards the gong.
Rachel is from a traditional black church background, I
really wish I could see inside of her head as each moment unfolds.
Dean’s dad thinks Dean is talking from his Male Chakra
and it is giving him “all new points of energy” Dean rolls his eyes.
Dean’s sister is talking to Rachel at the same time as
Dean and his dad are talking and she tells Rachel, that Dean has been very
strong through tough situations.
Dean and his Dad have a heart to heart about the death of
Dean’s mom and the rift it caused in their family that does not feel like it
should be on national TV. Dean’s dad is saying he is honoring his son but he
does not want to talk more intimately so they curse at each other and the dad
walks out.
Rachel sees Parumrup walking outside and says “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“If you must.” Despite being angry at him Dean’s dad says “Dean is an amazing
man.” They begin to talk but Dean’s dad breaks it off intimating that he cannot
talk any further because it is too much for him. Rachel then goes inside to
talk to Dean and while they are talking we see Dean’s dad walk up to the window
and look in like a spectre.
Time for a rose ceremony (these have been
increasingly rare this season):
OMCH comes in to talk to Rachel – this moment was nothing
more than a cheap recap ploy.
Of course Bryan gets the first
rose. Dean does not get a rose, he tells Rachel “I hope you find what you are
looking for.” I thought I had misheard Rachel telling Dean that she was falling
in love with him but in this goodbye moment it was confirmed that she did. Dean
tells us that he thinks that Rachel made a mistake.
