These past two episodes of the Bachelorette have been pretty crazy, but they’ve also been an hour and a half long. So, if you didn’t have time to watch this week, or if you’re just tuning in for the finale, here’s everything you need to know. If you want a summary of the first three episodes, click here, and for episodes 4-7, click here.
Episode 8: Men Tell All
Michael Allio, a widow and a single father, is FaceTiming his son when things go very wrong. After asking when his dad would come home, he says, “Maybe daddy left because he don’t want to see me.”
And just like that, Michael makes his decision. After the call, he immediately tells Katie he’s going home. It’s another teary goodbye, and an unexpected one, which makes it even worse.
Then, the Men Tell All begins. It’s basically just the men rehashing all the drama in the house, but it’s all happening live. The men talk about Karl’s vague accusations, Thomas’ Bachelor dreams, and make fun of Hunter a little more. Thomas is conspicuously missing.
Tayshia and Kaitlyn interview Connor B first. Apparently, he texted all his exes to ask if he was a bad kisser after he left the show. They said he’s not. Then, a suspiciously pretty audience member stands up and asks him to kiss her to prove it: “I just know you can’t be a bad kisser.”
She rates the kiss an eleven out of ten. Not bad for a guy who Katie dumped for not having a “spark” when they kiss.
Andrew S and Michael A both get on the hot seat, too. My money is on one of them as next Bachelor. After them, Katie comes on saying she’s “happy with the process,” which possibly means she’s engaged. She also makes amends with Thomas over a video call.
Episode 9: Hometowns
Then, it’s Hometowns. Or at least, Hometowns-ish, because of COVID-related travel restrictions. Blake is up first, and he shows her around “Canada.” His family seems to like Katie and they ask both of them if they’ve said “I love you” yet. Katie’s response is that she’s been “saving it” for her fiancé. Blake’s answer is less clear, and he seems like he wants to say it to her at the end of the night, but he chickens out.
Justin’s family, on the other hand, refuses to come. So after a carriage ride around Fake Baltimore, Katie meets his two best friends instead. Again, they ask about saying “I love you,” and Katie responds the same way: she’s saving it. Justin, just like Blake, is encouraged to say he loves her. Unlike Blake, he actually goes through with it. Katie gives him a passionate kiss in return and doesn’t say it back.
Then comes Greg. His Hometowns starts off great: they do the obligatory New Jersey-inspired things and then they play basketball together, like Greg used to with his late father, and end the day by kissing in the rain (again).
When his mom gets a moment alone with Katie, she tells her that she hasn’t seen him this happy in a long time. Then, after his family’s effusive praise of Katie, Greg takes the leap and tells her he loves her. She says, “I just love looking at you.”
You can see Greg’s heart shattering into a million pieces at the words.
From there, it goes downhill fast. They fight at the end of their date, then fight again in the morning when Greg goes to Katie’s room. He storms out and she follows him, apologizing profusely and asking what she can do to fix things. But Greg’s mind is made up. He goes home.
Afterwards, Katie breaks down. She says “there’s no point” if he’s gone, so she wants a flight home.
Where to Watch the Finale
And that’s where it leaves us. Some are Team Katie, some are Team Greg. All are devastated. How will Katie recover from this massive heartbreak and get engaged within two weeks? I have no clue, but you can find out during the three hour long finale, which airs Aug 9 at 8 on ABC. It’ll also come out on Hulu the day after.
