The Bachelor--Episode 7 (The Overnight Dates), Jillian Harris gets sent home!

In case you haven't read Chris Harrison's blogs on The Bachelor, they are a must-read. http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/02/chris-harriso-2.html This week's entry was slightly cryptic, but I'm sure it will all make sense in the end (and to be fair, I am so used to Chris throwing out lines like, "The most dramatic rose ceremony ever," that I kind of ignore the hype).

Now that it's down to three girls, it's time for the overnight dates. I am far from a prude, but this concept has always skeeved me out because the bachelor/bachelorette is dating three people at this point. I, personally, don't want to be sleeping with someone who I *know* is sleeping with two others on consecutive nights.

We're in New Zealand and Jason arrives, by helicopter, to pick up Jillian. They are wearing matching plaid flannel shirts. (Odd?) The mountains and scenery are beautiful, but I'm not sure I am sensing a chemistry vibe between these two. They land on a ledge, overlooking some water and settle in for a picnic. Jillian explains that she is looking for a best friend. Jason says used to want that, too , but he wants something more passionate, as a couple and he's not sure if it's too much to ask to have both.

At dinner, Jillian is wearing a shimmery and short pink dress with boots. They are having dinner at a winery. Jill says that when she's not with Jason she feels super overwhelmed. She's away from her life and career and she's okay with it as long as she's with Jason and she admits that she is crazy about him. Jason doesn't say anything in return, but he kisses her.

Jillian asks if he has something to give her--as in, the invite to the fantasy suite. This is how you know the show is getting played out....it's predictable and I was kind of surprised that Jillian was so forward.

After Jason gives Jillian the key, she says in her private interview that she wanted him to know it was going to be a long night and he would have to deal with "all her fire."

Jason admits that his family would love Jill--maybe way more than anyone he has ever dated before. He says it's possible that he's falling in love with her. They head off to the hot tub and suddenly, we hear some strange Spanish music as they make out and grope each other. As Jason notes about the hot tub..."It was steaming in there.... because of us ."

The next day, Jason is standing in the rain (with an umbrella) waiting for Molly. As he says, "I had a fantastic date with Jillian, but today, IT'S ALL ABOUT MOLLY." Wow, he got over that pretty fast....

Jason covers Molly's eyes as he takes her to the bridge where bungee jumping was invented. I have to admit that I was terrified, just looking at the height, but they suited up and jumped together and Jason was the only one screaming.

Molly has to remind us (yet again) that her parents didn't like her previous boyfriend and she would never date a man they didn't approve of again. To lunch, she brought a list of questions. "If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?" Hamburger . What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Peanut butter chocolate . Molly says it's important, in a relationship, to know the little things. His favorite holiday? Birthdays. Favorite car? Mustang . Favorite meal of the day? Not breakfast . Whose concert would he go to, if he could chose anyone? Elvis! . If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be? The President, because you can make a big difference (look out, Obama) What is your favorite period of time in your life? NOW, says Jason.


Apparently, Jason gets ready in 20 minutes. It takes Molly 45 minutes, but she can get it together in 5 minutes, if she had to......Molly decides to save the final question for "later." I gotta say, Molly is no Barbara Walters, but she was amusing and she did get to know a little about Jason since it's usually he, trying to find out about the ladies. (Small shout out to Shannon, aka, "Tooth Nazi." I just know, girlfriend, you WISH you'd had this treasure trove of trivia to throw Jason's way, while dropping his brother's ex girlfriend's dog's birthday, which you read on Myspace or Google).

Molly goes into the dinner date knowing that Jason needs to get to know her emotional side. Jason's biggest worry is that Molly will curl up and shy away from everything. Jason kind of calls Molly out on some BS. She says New Zealand is her FAVORITE place and he asks how she could know that based on just landing there . She explains that it will always have a connection to him and she saves the day with that answer.

It seems like Jason needs to be validated by Molly, unlike with the others. It's a different dynamic altogether, but for me, not a preferable one. I don't care much for Molly or her snooty golf family. There's something about her which doesn't ring true as being genuine. Chalk up another girl who, knowing the fantasy suite is in the midst, blurts out, "I think I am falling in love with you."

Now it's time for Molly's final question from her earlier list. She asks Jason to spend the night with HER. That makes her the 2nd girl to take the initiative and make the move. Jason says he finally felt "loved." Somehow, he seems like the "chick" when he's with Molly. The two move into a bubble bath in an awesome tub.

Day three and Jason is waiting for Melissa. They run to each other and they are so happy to be back together. They go out on a lake on Winston Churchill's old boat. Jason revisits his doubts about not meeting Melissa's family on the hometown date.

They go into a hot pool, with a view of the lake. Jason broaches the subject of Melissa's parents. She reassures him that if he makes her happy, her parents would accept him, but she still wishes they had met him. Jason is bitterly disappointed and he rationalizes that he can fall in love with Melissa without meeting her parents, but it can only go so far...

Jason and Melissa are downtown in Queenstown and they had dinner in a private dining room. The conversation goes back to Melissa's family and she confides how scared she was to admit that her parents didn't want to be part of the process. FINALLY, he is able to be the one to offer spending the night in the fantasy suite and Melissa says, "Absolutely."

They head off to the Matakauri Lodge, overlooking all of Queenstown. (Complete aside, watching the dinner and afterwards, I am convinced that Melissa doesn't drink--not that I care--but she appears to have water or sprite in her glass at all times.) Almost with a gun to her head (not really--but all the contestants at this point feel COMPELLED to say it), Melissa admits that she's fallen in love with Jason. Now I just hope she washes off all that horrible black eyeshadow because she looks so fantastic without it. Jay admits all his doubts about Melissa are gone and he's been waiting a long time to have Melissa all to himself.

Funny trivia--as we see Jason get ready for the Final Rose Ceremony, he looks in the mirror and he's wearing a hideous blue/purple tie. Then, as he exits his hotel room, he's wearing a much nicer tie, which is explained in Chris Harrison's blog. Why in Earth would a man own a tie so ugly--much less pack it on the trip to New Zealand to wear it on a tv show??? Ugh!

Jason bounces his deliberation off Chris and explains his week of adventures with the three girls and he says he's falling for all three. He tells Chris how Jillian wants to marry her best friend and although it sounds fantastic, he wants a whole lot more than that. He says they have always had the best friendship quality, but since coming to New Zealand, they definitely have the passion.

Chris brings up date number two with Molly and Jason lights up. They laugh about the bungee jumping and how he's glad that Molly finally opened up and showed her "emotional" side.

Talking about Melissa, Jason can't help but mention his disappointment about not meeting her parents. He can't see proposing without ever meeting her parents. Jason knows that after he sends one of the women home, the remaining two will meet Ty and his family. To help with his decision, each of the girls has sent Jason a video message (or as Chris degradingly calls it, a "video plea," give me a break!).

Jillian starts out with possibly a too-familiar, "Hey, babe." She thanks him for showing her how it feels to fall in love again. It was a sweet message.

Molly starts with, "Hey, Jay." She thanks him for a great date and for helping her to open up with her emotions. She is positive that she's madly in love with him.

Melissa starts with, "Hey, you." She thanks him for being him, says she misses him and loves him.

At the Rose Ceremony, there are just two rose and three girls. Jason issues the standard speech about how he's falling for each of them, for different reasons, and how he hates to have to send one home and break her heart.

The first rose goes to Melissa. After a dramatic pause, the final rose goes to Molly. Poor Jillian is breathing visibly through her mouth and Jason asks to walk her out. They pause on a couch and Jason admits his strong feelings for her and he tells her their lives are more different than he originally thought. Apparently, Jason is really AGAINST marrying his best friend and Jillian thinks when they are both 90, that's ALL that will matter. Sadly, for Jillian, she has hit "the friend zone." All single people understand that once a member of the opposite sex hits "the friend zone," it's almost impossible to resurrect them to "flame" status.

It was hard to listen to Jillian talk about a dream she had about her and Jason and Ty. It was very real for her, yet she has to go home to Canada. Jason's eyes tear up as Jillian enters the limo to leave. In her interview, Jillian says that before she was on the show, she had a jaded notion that she would never find love. Still, she opened herself up and maybe one day, she will have the fairy tale ending. Her heart is broken.

As she is talking, Jason slumps down on the couch and he's crying into a tissue. It was difficult for him to send her home, but he rationalizes, "I was falling for Jill, but I wasn't in love with her. He returns to Melissa and Molly and promises to introduce them to Ty and his family.

Next week will be the "Women Tell All," followed by "the most dramatic conclusion EVAH!!" Since before this show started, we all knew Deanna would be back, but as we haven's seen that witch yet, it has to be that she shows up in time to ruin the finale. Nice!!

For next week, it will be behind-the-scenes from this season and some previous bachelors/bachelorettes. In two weeks, it's the most dramatic finale in history. The previews show Melissa getting along great with Ty and Molly? Not so much.

Then--even the preview got dramatic!! It showed Deanna coming back, Jason running outside to break down (but we have seen that clip since the beginning). I don't think Deanna is saying she still has feelings...when she says, "I think I made a mistake." "You haven't proposed yet and that's why I cam here." I believe she's talking him out of using the show to find a wife.

Then Chris says, "Nothing could have prepared us for what happens next. What you are about to witness is potentially so dramatic, so emotionally difficult, that we decided, out of respect for the parties involved, to keep the taping of the show as intimate as possible." I have no idea what this means--except that maybe ABC realized that this season involved a small child (though not wholly exploited) and whatever the issue was, though GREAT for ratings, should be handled with some sensitivity.

Final analyis--I think Melissa has been getting the favorable edit from the very beginning because Jason isn't good at hiding his emotions through his facial expressions. He has been crazy about Melissa since the beginning. I'm not sure what his attraction to Molly might be, but I think she is in it to WIN (and *not cry in the limo if she loses*). I just don't see Molly + Jason. I am sorry Deanna was giving a platform (and, apparently, an airline ticket) to show up on this show a THIRD time. I know she still hosts some silly show about getting married--a subject about which she is a stranger and her reappearance damages the series more than the damage it does to her--because she's a non entity.

I'll tune in next week to get the inside scoop from the girls who were sent home and I'm looking forward to the wrap up for Jason.


***Just as I was about to drift off to sleep for the night, I had a thought. With the build-up of the bitter disappointment of not meeting Mel's parents and their fierce need for privacy, could that be all the mumbo-jumbo Chris Harrison is talking about at the end of the episode...."something so potentially dramatic and emotionally difficult" and mentioning the "parties involved" (I.e., Melissa's parents) that they decided to keep the taping as intimate as possible--because Mel's parents didn't want the "publicness" of the show??

Maybe I am delirious, but I can't see Jason ending up with Molly and yet, he's drawn a line in the sand with meeting Melissa's family (and God knows they've dragged that tired storyline all season, just about). It would be a situation never before seen and therefore WORTHY of Chris Harrison's build up? Maybe?? Okay, for once??***