The Bachelor--Down to 4 and time for HOMETOWN DATES

I was worried that here on the East Coast, part of the show might be pre-empted by the Presidential Press Conference, but it all worked out and the show started on time. Whew. Before I get to tonight's episode, last week, I posted the Model Mayhem page for Jason's ex wife, Hillary Madison Wynn (or Hilary Buckhotlz-Monrean or Hilary Mesnick?). http://www.modelmayhem.com/710983


I got an email and strangely enough, another contestant from this show is also on the Model Mayhem website and it's Naomi, or Naomi Rose Crespo http://www.modelmayhem.com/745342 The picture at the top of this entry is from that site. I thought Naomi was only a flight attendant. I don't know anything about www.modelmayhem.com, but it sure seems like a small world??

Okay, on to this week's show! I was sad seeing Stephanie's exit replayed. I really wish those two would have had chemistry, but alas, we are down to the final four...Jillian, Melissa, Naomi, and Molly.

Jason is saying goodbye to Ty and packing for his hometown dates. Jason describes Jillian as smart, beautiful, passionate about her career and someone with a great sese of humor. He envisions his life with her would be exciting all the time. He recognizes that she's the backbone of the group, but he noticed that in Seattle, she began to pull away. He remembers that he had his heart broken by Deanna and he doesn't want the same thing to happen again.

When Jason first saw Molly, he recalls that her eyes gave him butterflies. He finds her stunningly gorgeous and he appreciates how she goes after what she wants. He liked their overnight date in the tent and he could see himself spending his life with Molly and it would be non-stop challenges. His concern is that he can't figure out all the depth of Molly and hopes meeting her family will help.

Naomi, according to Jason, is "amazing" and fun. She's free spirited and loves to travel and he says she has a passion for life. He feels she is serious about marriage and that she's open to life. His concern is whether Naomi is actually ready for his life with Ty and whether or not he can clip her wings of free spiritedness.

When Jason first saw Melissa, he didn't take her seriously because she's so beautiful and sweet. Jason says he had sparks with Melissa right away. He was touched by how she cried after the General Hospital date and he looks forward to meeting Melissa's family because he thinks she is "too perfect" and meeting the folks will give him a clear picture of where she came from and maybe what her flaws are.....

Jason is going into the hometown dates knowing that he will be keeping Ty in mind and knowing that his potential wife will have be a big part of Ty's life.

First stop is Kelowna, British Columbia to see Jillian and meet her family. They are both truly happy to see each other. The scenery is beautiful and Kelowna is situated on a lake and Jillian tells him about the myth of a Lochness Monster type creature living in that lake. They tour a winery and then relax by a roaring fire with some red wine. This sets the scene for Jillian's big revelation, which she hopes will help Jason to understand her better.

Back in the 1980's, she says her family was on top of the world and everything was perfect. Her mom was diagnosed with depression that lasted about 15 years. Her parents split up and then when they would get back together, her mom would be so depressed that they would split up again. Her mom tried to take her own life. As a result, her mom was hospitalized for months at a time. She explains how hard it was on her dad and on her, growing up. Somehow, in the past few years, something changed and her mom is better.

Jason is really understanding and tells her that he has some of that in his family. It explains to him why Jillian is the rock she is for all the other girls.

Jason and Jillian arrive at her parents' house. Her dad (Glen) and mom (Peggy) are holding a Canadian flag and her cousin (Tori) and cousin's boyfriend (Charles) are holding welcome signs. They all seem really happy to meet Jason and make him feel at home. An awkward conversation about the "hotdog theory" is rehashed, but thankfully, ends quickly.

The group sit down to dinner and Jillian notes that there is a great energy of everyone wanting to talk and get to know each other. After some small talk, Jillian's mom asks to make a toast and she reads a really nice and heartfelt poem she wrote to Jill. Immediately after, Mom asks to see Jason outside. She wants to have a talk with him and find out what he's about.

Out on the deck, she says she has a few questions and pulls out a sheet of paper which is about 25 feet long! She asks about marriage and how he handles conflict. After he answers she says, "You have your BA in Psychology," and he looks surprised that she knows and says yes. She laughs and replies, "Good to have in the family." It's nice that she can make light of the mental illness in her past.

Back inside, Jillian is chatting with her cousin, Tori, and saying how she's connected with Jason.

Mom admits her depression to Jason and compliments Jillian on her strength and depth. Jason asks Mom for her advice on keeping a marriage together. Despite their problems, Glen and Peggy have stayed together. Mom clearly likes Jason and she tells Jillian that she approves. Jillian tells her mom that she really feels Jason is the one.

Glen and Jason have a little one-on-one time in the garage and it's clear that Jillian's parents adore her. Grandma makes a surprise visit and Jillian is so happy to see her. Grandma thinks Jason is "beautiful." She's quite a character. She says that if Jillian didn't get married, she would have taken her to Northern Alberta and married her off to some Ukranian! Grandma comes bearing gifts--she has boxers for Jason with Canadian maple leaves. Jason appreciates the family sense of humor. All too soon, it's time for him to leave. The bar has been set high, says Jason, because he can't imagine a date with a family that could be so much fun.

Molly is at a Country Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan waiting for Jason. Molly has said that she won't date in a guy in the future that her parents don't approve of and she makes it a point to reiterate this fact. She and Jason go golfing because Molly explains that golf is an important family pasttime and based on her preppy argyle vest and upturned collar, I believe her. Luckily, Jason is a decent golfer. At a picnic after golf, Molly says she's proud to be bringing Jason home.

Molly's mom and dad meet them at the front door and sit down for a short conversation about golf, that leads to Jason mentioning Ty. Molly's mom (Maryann) says she wants to do something and leaves the room and re-enters with hats for everyone. Jason's is an Indian head dress. Molly's sister, Katie, arrives with her husband, Nick, and they, too, don hats from Maryann's hat box. Her mom's kookiness continues as she takes Jason into another room to "draw a picture for Molly of your most favorite memory of her face." Bizarre. He drew Molly's face as he sees it at every rose ceremony--green eyes and a big smile.

Molly has a little alone time with her dad and he tells her that he's not surprised she's made it so far because she's a winner and he makes her promise that if she does get eliminated, to get into the limo and NOT cry.

Molly's mom watches poor Jason as he draws. Apparently, Jason has passed Mom's hazing. Because he wore the head dress and drew, she feels he has passed the test. They present the drawing to Molly and shockingly, the date is over. No dinner? I guess they spent so much time golfing that the day seemed like it went quickly. Molly leaves him in the driveway and Jason feels the date couldn't have gone better and he hates saying goodbye to Molly because he can't get enough of her and he knows that he won't be seeing her for a while.

In Lake Elsinore, Calif, Naomi is waiting for Jason to arrive. She expresses how important it is to show Jason that she's ready to be married and settled down. They have mimosas and Naomi brings up their previous conversation about Jason's doubts that she's ready to be part of his family. Jason believes that she believes it. They head to her parents house. In her voiceover, Naomi says she's worried about what her mother might have up her sleeve, but apparently, she didn't warn Jason. Her parents are divorced and she's hoping her parents will get along. Mom breaks out a bunch of hula hoops and Naomi's huge family all tries to hula hoop and Jason struggles with it.

Next, mom tells a long story about hitting a dove with her car and the dove killed itself (?)... and to the surprise of everyone, the dove is in the refrigerator, in a bag. Jason does his best to keep it together, but he looks mortified. Naomi's mom wants to bury the dove and she wants Jason to say the eulogy.

In his voiceover, Jason points out that Naomi's mom killed a dove--the symbol of peace and freedom--and now they are about to have a burial for that dove. Naomi's mom, for some reason, refers to the dove as "Rosie." They dig a very shallow hole and Jason places Rosie's bag into it.

In the house, Jason has a little talk with Hector, Naomi's dad in a family room full of slot machines. Hector goes where no one should go--RELIGION! Despite his own divorce, Hector expounds on "the Lord" and "His" role in marriage. I know I read somewhere that Jason is Jewish, but not devout so this conversation must have been uncomfortable. Before it gets COMPLETELY awkward, Naomi's mom, Joanne, interrupts. She has a glass of wine in her hand and asks if she can speak with Jason alone.

Jason sums it up in his voiceover by saying, "Today I learned that Hector loves Jesus!! He takes funerals, dying, and Jesus more seriously than Joanne does."

Joanne says she wants to do something unique and Jason reminds her that they kind of already had that (with the hoola hoops and the dove burial). Joanne tells him that stuff was nothing..that was FUN STUFF....she wants to talk about premonitions and psychic stuff. She teaches him about "Indigo children" and righting injustices. She says that from the moment she saw Jason's picture, she believes she knew him from a past life. She believes Jason had at least one lifetime.....as a MOM!

Naomi has a chat with her dad and he informs her that he spoke with Jason about their faith in God. Naomi tells Hector that she doesn't care if Jason shares her faith. She says she wants the family she never had, which is kind of sad to tell her dad. In her voiceover, Naomi expresses that she wishes she had discussed religion with Jason before he visited because it's so important to her dad. Actually, I think she should have done a whole lotta explaining to Jason before he walked into this mine field of craziness.

Naomi and Jason spend some time chasing around what appear to be her nieces and nephews and Jason reflects that her family is fun--and out there, in some ways--but he thinks there is a lot of love. He likes watching Naomi with the kids because it helps him to visualize her with a family. Finally--with the dove funeral, Jesus talk, past lives, etc, behind him...it's time for his visit to end. The visit, for Naomi, confirms that she is falling in love with him.

For the final hometown date, Jason heads to Dallas to meet Melissa's family, but there is a glitch. Jason and Melissa look extremely happy to see each other and Melissa presents Jason with something she made for Ty--a tooth fairy box. As they sit on a picnic blanket, Melissa confesses the problem. Jason will be meeting some of her closest friends. Her family is opposed to what she terms the "publicness" of the show and her dad feels it's too special of a meeting and with cameras, he couldn't be himself. Jason asks Melissa how she feels about that and Melissa admits she's upset. She says she even asked her brother to meet Jason and he declined.

In Jason's voiceover, he expresses his disappointment and how important her family is to making his decision. In fact, last week, as Stephanie left, she implored him to pay attention to the family dates because that will be the FAMILY he is marrying.

They drive to the home of her friend Stephanie and her husband, Joe and also there are her friend, Morgan, her husband, Jason, and their two kids. Despite not meeting Melissa's family, he's open to whatever happens.

The group sits outside to have dinner and Melissa mentions that she never brings guys home ot meet her family OR her friends. Her friends are pretty protective of her and they joke about her being the fifth wheel.

Jason plays pool with the husbands as Melissa sits with her girlfriends. The husbands tell Jason that in past relationships, Melissa's boyfriends would rather spend time with the guys than with her and the husbands definitely want someone better for her. Next, Jason meets with the wives and he tells them that he's disappointed that he didn't get to meet Melissa's parents. They don't know Melissa's parents too well so they can't really fill him in. He seems a little troubled that even her best friends don't know Melissa's family.

After they leave the friends' house, Jason and Melissa go back to her hotel suite for a nightcap and she explains that her parents never even went to her Dallas Cowboy games when she was a cheerleader. They are apparently very private. She says she is nuturing like her mom and she inherited her dad's adventurous side. They drink wine and make out--so although Jason didn't meet her family, of all the dates, Melissa definitely had the most one-on-one time with him.

Jason returns to Seattle to make his decision of which three girls will stay and who will be sent hoome. Chris Harrison stops by to dish the dates and let Jason talk out the hometown visits.

Jason says Canada was beautiful and Jillian opened up to him and showed him where she came from. He needed to understand the depth and after Jillian explained her family to him, he was relieved. He thinks she is a carbon copy of her dad. In the wrap up, he tells Chris that he and Jillian definitely have a connection, but he wonders... is that enough?

Jason said Molly's hometown was fun and he appreciated that she never brought guys home. Meeting her family showed Jason who Molly is--her dad is conservative, but her mom has the wacky side. His final analysis is that as much as he completely adores Molly, he wonders if she is completely ready.

As Chris begins the lead in to Lake Elsinore, Jason breaks into a smirk because meeting Naomi's family wasn't what Jason expected. Although Naomi had said her mom was quirky, he recounted the burial of Rosie, the dove. He says Naomi's mom is one of the most "unique" people he's ever met. He concludes that he thinks Naomi he's someone who might settle in his life, but after a while, would she need to spread her wings?

Jason tells Chris that he had looked forward to meeting Melissa's family in Dallas, but he saw a part of her world by meeting her close friends. He was definitely disappointed not meeting the family and he's unsure how he can make the decision with that puzzle piece missing.

Jason thought it would be easier to make the decision after the hometown dates, but of course, it will be THE TOUGHEST DECISION YET. Jason says he has a million things running through his mind and he knows he will hurt someone with his choice.

For the rose ceremony, everyone is back at The Fairmont in Seattle. He says this past week was, by far, one of the best of his life and he thanks each of the ladies for having him into their homes. He recalls details of each of the dates fondly.

The first rose goes to Molly. The next rose goes to Jillian and the final rose goes to Melissa. Jason walks Naomi out and they stop on a couch and talk. Jason says he's sorry and it's not about her family because he says they are "amazing." In his heart, he thinks they are in different places. It was really classy how he told her that it was no fault of hers....and she told him that she wishes him all the best. In the limo, Naomi is still pleading her case that she is ready for marriage. She says she let her guard down and she got hurt and right now, she is better off on her own because she doesn't know where to go from here.

Back in the hotel, Jason shares a glass of champagne with Melissa, Molly, and Jillian and he tells them that he's taking them to New Zealand for their overnight dates.

I have been meaning to link Chris Harrison's blog. He gives some good detail about behind-the-scenes kind of stuff and insider info. Enjoy! http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/02/chris-harrison.html

Okay, and to add to the strangeness of Melissa's family *not* agreeing to the hometown date, someone just send me an email with a link to site called "Men of Note" and it's men who do singing Valentine stuff. One of these men, who appears in 4 pictures on this website, is a guy who goes to people's homes and sings...and supposedly, is Melissa's dad, Bob Rycroft. If you open this link and go to pages 5 and 6, he's the taller gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a beard. I'm not intimating that the family is avoiding the show, but I got the impression that the family was private and singing to strangers, for me, is a little outside the definition....http://www.menofnote.org/voice/Vo200502.pdf