A Helicopter Ride, Wine Tasting at a Vineyard, Bowling and a Yacht Scavenger Hunt

It’s the week before Hometowns and we’re flying at a fast pace this season. Pascal, Chock, Guy and Jordan are headed to Hometowns! Keith and Mark each got one-on-one dates this episode. The group date was a bowling date. There were no roses on these dates because we are zooming to Hometowns. Usually, Hometowns are week 8, but we’re only 5 weeks in and the crew hasn’t really traveled at all. Next week is Hometowns.

Who got kicked off: Mark (Kelsey’s dad) went home ahead of the Rose Ceremony after his one-on-one date with Joan. Jonathan and Keith went home at the Rose Ceremony.

One-on-One Date: Keith got a one-on-one date with a helicopter ride to the vineyard Babcock Winery, where he and Joan got to do wine tasting. The vineyard owners had been married for 32 years. It struck a chord with Joan because that was how long she had been married to her husband John before he passed away. The date with Keith seemed to go ok.

Joan says she likes being in a couple and wants that again.

Meanwhile, at the mansion, Mark saw a hummingbird, and he told the other guys why that was so important to him. He was having doubts if he was doing the right thing by being at the mansion. His wife (who passed away from cancer) at one time had a hummingbird that would come and rest on her hand to eat. It was so sweet. And Mark cried with the men about his wife and about how the hummingbird here was a sign that everything was alright. It was heartwarming.

This mansion has been a bonding journey for all of the men and a healing journey for a lot of those who had lost their spouses – like Charles L. who lost his spouse to an aneurysm and Guy, the ER doc contestant there, told him she probably bit her lip when she fell, which gave Charles L. an answer for why she had blood in her mouth and something he had always questioned. And now Mark with his wife who he’s reminded of with hummingbirds. Everyone seems so sweet and supportive of each other.

Trista Sutter, the first Bachelorette, came to give Joan a pep talk. Trista told Joan to go for it and tell the men you love them because that had been her biggest regret with Ryan – that she didn’t fully tell him how she had felt during the process. I think things turned out alright without that though. Trista’s still married to her pick years and years later with kids.

Group Date: The crew went bowling. They talked about all of their injuries from kickball and joked about needing to warm up. Chock took up a lot of time on the group date with Joan, enough to where Guy mentioned, “Hey, maybe give some time to the other guys.”

One-on-One Date: Mark got the other one-on-one date. He went on a yacht with Joan, and to make it more exciting, Jesse (likely the Bachelor interns) put together a scavenger hunt for them to get to know each other a little better. The couple answered questions that were on the scavenger hunt cards and had a sweet charcuterie meal together at the end. The couple bonded over the passing of both of their spouses who had had cancer.

The next day after Mark’s one-on-one date, Joan went to the mansion and pulled him aside. She let him down, saying that she was having doubts after their date. She couldn’t figure it out, but she attributed it to the fact that they had bonded over their spouses who had both passed, but there was no “me” in their conversations. Joan told Mark she loved him and sent him home. Mark handled it like a champ. He’s gotta be the next Golden Bachelor or we riot at dawn.

All of the men were sad to see Mark go and shed tears. Pascal shed a lot of tears and said Mark was one of his best friends.

Keith and Jonathan were sent home at the Rose Ceremony. Joan wore a sweet leather dress with a slit that had lace in it. It was baller.

Next week, is Hometowns!!