Bachelor Recap Week Seven: Shoulders On Display

Welcome to Tuscany! The land of pizza, pasta, prosecco and off-the-shoulder shirts. The women take in the leaning tower of Pisa before encountering Chris Harrison to learn that this week will not culminate in a rose ceremony. Instead, there will be 3 one on one dates and a group date where roses will be handed out. It's the week before hometowns and Arie needs to decide which parents he'd rather face. 

They check into the Renaissance Italy and find the first date card: 
Becca K, let's fall in love under the Tuscan sun. 

Apparently not one to learn a lesson from the car debacle in Paris, Arie pulls up in a vintage red car. Fortunately for him, this one runs, and they head to Barga in search of their missing passion. After wrecking cars back in American and footing Jenna's open bar bill, ABC is strapped for cash so there is nothing fancy planned for Becca's date. Instead, they plan to walk around and maybe have a picnic.  After strolling through alleys and purchasing the makings of a sandwich, Becca comments that Arie is easy to travel with. Again, of course travel is easy with a parade of cameras following your every move. Try travel when you're low on sleep, don't have a translator, and are stranded in the Milan train station overnight. 

During their dinner that evening, Becca describes her family and who Arie would meet. Arie would be the first official boyfriend that she'd be bringing him. She lets him know to buckle up for Uncle Gary's questions. Becca confesses that she's falling for Arie, which was the magic thing Arie needed to know to pick up the rose and book his flight to Minnesota. They shuffle down a steep hill at the pace of an old couple before finding a wall to make out against. Mission passion: accomplished. 

Back at the hotel, Jacqueline the future psychologist is in her head. She doesn't know how to be in a situation like this where everything is accelerated and doesn't know how she'll be ready for Arie to meet her family next week. She knocks on Arie's door that evening and shares that she just isn't confident enough in their relationship to continue. Overall, I was incredibly infused by this breakup because she'd say break up things like "swirling doubts" and "just don't trust my feelings" but then make out with him. In the end, she decides to remove herself from the experience and willfully climbs into the SUV of sorrow. Arie expresses that he is blindsided by her decision, but letsbehonest, he wasn't actually going to sit around for 6 more years while she finished shrink school, right? 

Ding Dong Date Card: Lauren, let's break down our walls.

Lauren is surprised, as she just received a one on one in Paris last week. They climb aboard bikes and Arie attempts to execute a couple of tricks. They stop for gelato and stilted conversation. Lauren hasn't introduced a man to her family since she was engaged and is nervous about that scenario. At dinner, she admits that she is scared to put herself in a place where she could get hurt again and that she feels like she is starting to fall in love with him. Arie immediately and abruptly leaves the table. Food poisoning? Breath mint break? No, just needed to walk around under some trees for a sec. He comes back to the table and says WAITFORIT that he's falling in love with her. Hello?! Are we seeing the same Lauren here?! She gets the rose and the ABC intern scrambles to look up flights to Virgina Beach. 


ding dong date card: "Sienne, I'm searching for the one."

Sienne and Arie meet in the woods to go truffle hunting with Guilo. After digging in the dirt, Gulio invites them back to his home for an authentic Italian meal that is not at all staged. They make pasta and pizza and fend off personal questions from strangers. At dinner that evening, Sienne and Arie start talking about the future and if they have had enough time. The clock strikes in the background, foreshadowing that this Cinderella has almost met her midnight. Sure enough, Arie reveals that something is off and that he can't give her the rose. Though she is surprised, she wishes him the best and boards the hearse of heartache. As her suitcase is rolled away from the hotel, the girls are gobsmacked. All but Bekah, who is thrilled that her odds on the group date just went up since a rose is back on the table. 

ding dong date card: Bekah, Tia, Kendall  meet me at villa Raele.

The women arrive at one of the oldest estate in Italy. Kendall was just at an old chateau last week so she'd love a city date next...

During her time with Arie they talk about how their lives might work after the show. She's never been in a long distance relationship and she is open to moving. Arie says he is trying to picture her hometown. And her taxidermy? 

Tia is up next. She feels it is her duty to guard and protect Arie's heart (Kasey vibes, anyone? who's been here since the Ali days?) from Bekah, who she fears may be on a different page than everyone else in regards to being ready for marriage, etc. She brings up her concerns to Arie, who essentially tells her not to focus on comparisons. Tia has zero doubts in her mind that she is ready for Arie to meet her family. 

Tia comes clean with Bekah that she just ran her over with a bus during her chat with Arie. Bekah immediately starts crying (note: she's not a pretty crier) and runs off to find Arie. He cradles her in his arms like a little sister...or a daughter...(cringe) and tries to interpret her sobs. She is adamant that she wouldn't be here if she didn't care about Arie. She doesn't foresee her family having an issue with the age gap between them. 

Kendall gets the first rose of the group date and seriously screws up my fantasy bracket. Tia and Bekah suddenly find themselves on a two on one date. Tia sits down at dinner first and Bekah enters wearing bridal white and no bra. Her nipples are on full display. Tia and Arie snuggle up in some blankets. She reiterates that she has given a piece of her heart to him and that she hopes he will protect it. Kasey has ruined me for being able to stomach that phrase. Bekah admits she is falling for him. 

In the end, Arie picks up the ticking time bomb rose and offers it to Tia. He escorts Bekah to her chariot of cheerlessness where she maturely whispers that she knows it will end well for him. Arie sheds a few tears of his own that his last fling with a shockingly younger woman is over for good. 

Next week, hometowns and some very direct parents! But until then, Bachelor Winter Games are here to entertain. Seriously, who coerced Ben Higgins back on this show? I thought he was better than this!!! 

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