A two-on-one date, a "walk of shame," and a surprising twist during the Rose Ceremony highlighted the fourth episode of The Bachelor, as four more women were eliminated from the show by star Jason Mesnick.
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"I don't really think it's fair that Jason changed the rules up and didn't give out the last rose," an agitated Lauren said following the Rose Ceremony. "I told Jason how I felt, I was real with him, and then he just sends me home, and that's really wrong. I'm sad, it sucks, it's not fair."
"When I watched The Bachelorette I got insight on Jason and he sounded like the perfect man, that's what made me wanna come out here and do this," added Shannon. "I really thought Jason and I would have a connection. I wanted that but I just didn't get it."
The Bachelor's fourth thirteenth-season episode began with host Chris Harrison meeting with the nine remaining bachelorettes in the competition. Chris informed the girls that Jason would be taking them on three dates: one solo date, one two-on-one date in which one girl would have to be eliminated, and one group date with the remaining six girls.
Chris then added that in order to determine who would be going on the one-on-one date, each girl would be given 30 minutes write a love song for Jason and then perform it for him and the other bachelorettes. The bachelorette whose song Jason enjoyed the most would get to go on the one-on-one date.
"It's not about who's the best singer, or who has the best lyrics," Jason said of the challenge. "It's about opening up and just doing it."
As the girls prepared their songs, each chose various routes and techniques to express themselves.
"My strategy is the funny route, I'm gonna make him laugh and I think that's what he likes," said Molly, a 24-year-old department store buyer from Grand Rapids, MI.
"I have seen every episode of The Bachelorette, I know that [Jason] wrote a rap song for Deanna, so I chose to do a rap song," said Shannon.
However, while most of the bachelorettes were excited for the challenge, Nikki dreaded the situation, saying how she hated singing and was "terrified" as she cried in a hallway.
"I am freaking out right now, I'm gonna make an idiot of myself," she said.
The girls then convened with Jason to perform their songs. While he enjoyed the performances from Lauren, who wrote an elaborate song, and Nikki, who he credited for moving out of her comfort zone for her performance, Jason chose to award the one-on-one date to Molly for her humorous song.
"The contest was supposed to be for whoever has the best song, but from my perspective it seem a little bit unfair because I had the best song and I didn't get it," said Lauren following the competition.
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Unlike the previous week's one-on-one dates that saw private jets and trips to Las Vegas, Molly's date with Jason was low-key and consisted of them staying home together to "chill."
"I'm sure the girls come out here, and they're expecting these outrageous, amazing dates [with] helicopters and jets and that type of thing," Jason said. "But this is more me, and I'm gonna be relaxed. We're gonna hang out at the house and just get to know each other."
After eating burgers and fries for dinner, Jason and Molly talked about where they each wanted their life to progress, causing Molly to mention that she wanted to take the next the step in her life and begin a "serious committed relationship with someone."
"Yeah, but what about a guy who already has a kid and has been divorced?" Jason asked.
"That's nothing that scares me in any way," Molly responded. "If I love you I'm gonna love Ty because Ty is a part of you."
After moving outside for smores at a campfire with a tent nearby, Jason gave the rose to Molly and told her that he was eager to get to know her better.
"I have really enjoyed getting to know you," Jason told her. "The more I get to know, the more I like,
without a doubt."
Molly was clearly smitten with Jason as well, and said later that she was excited for the future possibilities with she and Jason.
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After moving into the tent, Molly and Jason zipped it up and the pair spent the night together under the stars.
Meanwhile, the remaining girls received a note stating that Jillian, a 29-year-old interior designer from Peace River, Alberta, Canada; Lauren; Shannon; Megan; Melissa, a 25-year-old sales representative from Dallas, TX; and Naomi, a 24-year-old flight attendant from Carlsbad, CA would be going on the group date -- which left Nikki and Stephanie, a 34-year-old medical marketing representative and single mom from Huntsville, AL, to face-off on the two-on-one date.
"Like, I literally wanna cry," Nikki said as she broke into tears after learning that she would be competing against Stephanie. "I don't wanna go against you!"
"That was my biggest fear, being on the two-on-one date," she added later. "One of us will most definitely be going home, and to be up against Stephanie is really difficult because she is a mother. She has that experience and that bond that I can't even really come close to. She definitely has an advantage over me for sure."
The following morning, Molly returned home following her date wearing Jason's clothes and drew the attention of the bachelorettes at the house. She later admitted to being embarrassed that she had become the "first girl in [The Bachelor] history to do the walk of shame."
"It stings a little bit," Melissa said. "She has a little smile to her face today after being with him all night. I
don't like that she smells like him and is wearing is pants right now."
Jason arrived soon thereafter for his group date with the bachelorettes. After getting into a limo with Jason, the girls were surprised and excited when they arrived at the set of General Hospital and met with actors Bradford Anderson and Kirsten Storms and were told that they would be acting out their fantasies in scenes with Jason using the show's set, makeup and wardrobes.
"I'm really excited about today, because the girls can show me if they've got any acting skills, they can be dramatic," Jason said. "This is about having fun and just enjoying the moment."
After getting into costume and getting their lines, the bachelorettes performed their scenes with Jason. Some of the highlights included Naomi getting to perform numerous takes of a scene in which she kissed Jason, irking Melissa in the process.
I think Naomi got to kiss Jason about 11 times in their scene, and it got harder, and harder and harder to watch," she said.
As the scenes progressed, Melissa surprised even herself when it came to how affected she was by watching Jason kiss other girls.
"I was not expecting to feel this way, it just opened my eyes to how much I really do care about him," she said. "I don't feel really good right now."
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"Earlier I was having fun with Jason, we got to have our own little make out session, but as the date went on and I saw different connections that he has with different people, they're just glowing," Naomi said. "It makes it feel like it's less special."
Some of the highlights from the wrap party included Jason comforting both Naomi and Melissa, Megan becoming frustrated with the depressed girls and suggesting that they "man up," Shannon breaking into tears as she pledged that he "can't let [her] go" because she had "too much to offer" him, and Lauren admitting she was being extremely "forward" with Jason and telling him that he "needed" to give her the rose that evening.
At the end of the emotional evening, Jason ultimately decided to give his rose to Naomi.
"I am very happy that I got the rose, it means to me that tonight he wasn't only telling me that 'I want you here.' He backed it up and gave me the rose tonight," a smiling Naomi said following the group date.
The next day, as Nikki and Stephanie were surprised by the delivery of two Alberto Makali dresses for them to wear on their two-on-one date. Before leaving on the date, both girls expressed doubt regarding their chances of surviving the evening and remaining on the show.
"It's crucial that I get a rose tonight, because it determines the fate of staying here," Nikki said.
"Nikki is a really beautiful girl, I think Jason likes dark hair and dark eyes too, that's a concern," Stephanie said.
Jason also admitted that the two-on-one date would not be easy and present a new set of tough decisions for him.
"It's gonna be really tough tonight -- Nikki's the girl that caught my eye right of the bat, she's beautiful, she's sexy. She got the first impression rose, but my concern with Nikki is she just stays inside the box, and I don't," Jason said. "Stephanie, I mean she's fun, she enjoys life, she's a great mom, but I need to make sure there's a romantic connection there."
For their date, Jason took Nikki and Stephanie to a romantic restaurant where, before eating, they all received ballroom dancing lessons.
After struggling to dance with Jason, and subsequently watching Stephanie -- who had previously worked as a dance instructor -- fare much better, Nikki felt that her chances of not being eliminated were beginning to dwindle.
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felt like I was a third wheel," Nikki said later. "This is definitely one of the worst case scenarios, like this is do or die."
Stephanie also agreed with Nikki's "third wheel" assessment.
"I would love to be here with just Jason, but we do have Nikki here with us and ah, you know there is kind of a third wheel," Stephanie confided the cameras.
Following the dance lessons, Jason and the bachelorettes sat down and spoke about what they had in mind for their futures. Both bachelorettes said that they would be willing to uproot and move to Seattle if they fell in love with Jason. However, Jason was taken aback and took some one-on-one time with Nikki after she revealed that she had previously been in a long-term relationship for 11 years that she hadn't yet disclosed to him.
"It caught me off guard because that's a huge part of her life," Jason said later of Nikki's previous relationship with her high school sweetheart, which she told Jason had ended more than a year ago.
Before presenting the rose to Stephanie, eliminating Nikki, Jason told the bachelorettes that his decision had not been an easy one. He later had additional compliments for Nikki as well.
"It was really hard to send Nikki away because Nikki's one of the sweetest people here," Jason said. "But I had to make a decision tonight, and the more I thought about it, it just made more sense with Stephanie. It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but I think I made the right one."
While Jason extolled similar compliments to Nikki before putting her in the limousine, she told him that he didn't need to feel bad.
"It's okay, I loved it, every minute of it," she told him.
Once in the limo, Nikki reacted to her elimination with more shock than actual anger or sadness.
"I never saw this coming. I'm in so much shock, I don't know how to react," she said through tears. "I don't know what else I can be, like I don't know how much smarter I can get or how much prettier I can get."
"I know that I could've been really, really good for Jason, I could've been really, really good for Ty," she added. It's just [that] somebody else can be better. I'm disappointed, and I'm just sad that it wasn't enough."
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Jason was noticeably sad upon returning from putting Nikki in her limo, but was comforted by Stephanie who thanked him and said that she realized he had just made a hard decision.
"We still have a dance to finish," responded Jason with a smile, before going back to the dance floor with her.
"I am so convinced that Jason and I have that connection, that we could definitely live forever together," Stephanie said later of her successful date with Jason.
Prior to the Rose Ceremony, Jason used the cocktail party with the remaining bachelorettes to try and straighten out any issues amongst them that may have come up during the tumultuous and emotional week. Some of the highlights included Jason comforting Megan -- who had felt she had not received enough alone time with Jason -- and teaching her the waltz, and then confronting Lauren about the fact that she was mad at him because he didn't "listen" to her and give her the rose during the earlier group date.
"My relationship with Jason is in a great place right now, I feel really confident that I have the strongest connect with him," Lauren incorrectly proclaimed with a smile before the Rose Ceremony.
At the Rose Ceremony, Jason presented roses to Melissa and Jillian -- who joined Molly, Naomi and Stephanie as the bachelorettes who received roses that would allow them to remain in the competition and advance to the next Rose Ceremony. However, after picking up the final rose to hand out, Jason hesitated and then surprised Megan, Lauren and Shannon by putting the rose back down.
"I'm sorry, I can't do this. I can't give out this final rose," Jason told them. "Megan you are amazing. You give, and your view on the world is amazing, Lauren, you are more honest and real than almost anybody I've ever met. Shannon, you are just a beautiful person. We are all just so lucky to be around you, but I can't lead anybody on, and I just don't see it forever, so I just can't give out the final rose tonight. I'm sorry."
After learning that they had been eliminated, the girls who did not receive roses were shocked as they said their goodbyes and left the house.
"When Jason picked up the last rose, I felt like it was for me," Megan said following the ceremony. "I felt like I knew he was going to give it to me, and when he put it down I was just shocked and surprised and I didn't really know what was going on."
"It definitely hurt, and I'm really, really confused and I'm really sad," she added. "Jason is a fantastic man, it's pathetic how much I don't wanna go home right now."
The next episode of The Bachelor will air Monday, February 2 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
(Photo credit ABC/Adam Larkey) About The Author: John Bracchitta
