The Bachelor – Episode 6

There are only 4 women left, Gia, Ali, Vienna and Tenley.  In this episode Jake got to visit with all of their families which were fun to watch.  I’m sure it was nerve wracking for him, meeting one woman’s parents for the first time can be stressful enough.  Poor Jake had to go through it 4 times!

The meeting with Gia’s family went well – her family doesn’t want to see her get hurt.  Again, some of the questions he was asked were pretty easy to answer.  For instance, “Would you have her back?”  How’s Jake supposed to answer that?  No?  I guess it might put the family at ease to her Jake say it though.  I think Gia really sees the big picture – she tells her mother that Jake acts the way he does for all of the other girls too.  She’s reluctant to really fall for him yet.

I though it was sweet that Ali brought Jake to her grandmother’s house.  She was such a big part of her life that it would have been a shame if she didn’t share that with Jake.  Ali’s mother spoke very highly of her, saying, “she’s got a heart of gold.”  What mother wouldn’t say that though?  Now that I think about it, these mothers are almost sweet talking Jake by building their daughters up.

Jake’s time with Tenley was special – she choreographed a special dance for him and he really loved it.  Preparing that dance was very thoughtful of her.  Tenley’s father seems like he is really down to earth.  He had seen Jake on The Bachelor last season and asked him if the perception shown on TV was correct.  He knows how it works and he lets Jake know that he is really protective of her.  There was a touching moment between Tenley and her father.  They have been through so much together and seeing her happy again must be wonderful.  At the end of the visit, we see Jake ask Tenley’s father if he would have his permission to take her hand in marriage.  It was nice to see that.  Based on some of the things Jake said, I’m sure he did the same thing with the other girls’ families but ABC decided not to show us.

Finally, Jake got to meet with Vienna’s family which was very interesting.  Vienna’s father starts crying as soon as they walked in the door.  Later he takes Jake aside to “drill him a little bit.”  They talked in a garage and were standing near a motorcycle – obviously not Jake’s motorcycle.  As the two men talked Jake was leaning on the handlebars of the bike!  I couldn’t believe it.  Dude, that’s not your bike!  I think it was a little forward of him and almost disrespectful.

At the rose ceremony, Ali had to make a tough decision – whether to stay and compete or go back to work.  After talking with Jake, she ultimately decides to leave.  Chris comes out and lets us know that it’s the first time in history that no rose has been given out at a rose ceremony.  I find that hard to believe – I’ve never seen any previous episodes though, so he may be right.

I’ll wrap things up with a few notes of my own.  First of all, did you see the size of the watch that Chris was wearing when he was talking with Jake?  Pardon me, do you have the time? That thing was huge!  You could tell me it was a sundial and I’d believe you!

As far as the whole Ali thing, I though Jake could have had more of a visual reaction (or even a verbal one).  He kinda just sat there in awe for a few minutes.  At first, it seemed like he didn’t even want to help her make that decision.  I guess later on he justifies it by saying he didn’t want to bring that burden on himself, but still.  C’mon man, you’re falling for this girl – show it!  Why on earth would Ali’s work do that to her?  They must know where she is and what she’s going through.  Personally, I would have said forget it.  She took the chance when she began this journey; why not go all the way?  Sure, she loves her job, but how many millions of people know her now?  Even if she wasn’t chosen by Jake, I’m positive that there are quite a few companies out there that would be willing to hire her.  Oh by the way, wouldn’t that be something if she was the next Bachelorette?  I’m not sure how they go about really choosing the Bachelorette, but if it’s her, guess what?  She’s going to need some more time away from work!  One last thing – how hard do you think it’s going to be for her to go back to work knowing that they pretty much made her give up on a chance at being with a really great guy?

When this is all over with, Jake’s getting more than just a woman – he’s getting in-laws too.  The potential in-laws that we saw all have issues that Jake would have to deal with.  It seemed like Tenley’s family thinks that she’ll have emotional spillovers due to her divorce.  I really don’t see it happening, but her family knows her best.  Gia’s family is very protective of her, which is absolutely fine.  Except, her brother mentioned physical harm at one point.  As far as Vienna’s family, her father made a point of saying that he expects his daughter to be treated like a princess.  From some of the things we’ve seen and heard, that might be a tall order.  Having her father looking over his shoulder won’t make it any less stressful.  Did you like how he walked in on them kissing?