The Bachelorette: Season 11 — Episode 9
Special contributor Andrée H. watches The Bachelorette for the right reasons. Here’s her take on the Shawn, Kaitlyn, Nick triangle. — Elaine F.
This was my favorite episode so far this season; for the first time Kaitlyn decided to take this seriously. One thing I do like— and I will be honest, there is not much — is that this has to be the most realistic season of The Bachelorette. You know exactly where Kaitlyn stands with all of the guys, exactly who is going to go home and when; the only thing we don’t know is if she is going to end up going along with her head or her recently plowed field.
The first date went to Ben H. and while he’s hot, their dates just bore me to death. I can’t even remember what they did on the date other than talk a bunch. He worries he’s unlovable, she assures him that he is loveable. It’s sweet, but let’s be honest she is going to dump him next week so she’s probably just screwing him up worse. The best part of the date is when Ben asks Kaitlyn if there is anything she wants to know and her question is: “Are you a virgin?”. “Um…no” was Ben’s response. Holy smokes.
As soon as the group date starts, Shawn pulls Kaitlyn aside, she says how much she missed him, even though the last thing she told him was that they needed to back off. No wonder the poor boy is slowly going crazy. They have a great time kissing and talking, but just as Kaitlyn works up the nerve to let him know about sleeping with Nick, who shows up, but Nick. He steals Kaitlyn for private time. She mumbles and starts to once again go into how things happened between them too quickly. Nick tells her, she isn’t The Bachelorette to him, she’s just Kaitlyn. Smooth.
Then it’s Joe’s turn. Yup, it’s as sad as you expected. He tells her he loves her. Bye, Joe. Kaitlyn says she doesn’t feel right about handing out a rose and sends Nick back to the hotel because she needs more time with Shawn. He’s thrilled and peacocks because he beat out Nick; the poor thing has no idea what is coming next. Of course The Bachelorette is brutal with the previews, so I do know what’s coming, and quickly refill my mimosa.
After repeating over and over again that she wants to be honest with Shawn, Kaitlyn finally ‘fesses up to her pre-fantasy suite sex with Nick, saying, “We went back to my place and I just feel like it went too far,” pan to Shawn’s face which is a mixture of shock and horror, “It’s hard for me to admit it, but we had sex.” she says. Shawn actually handles the fact that she did it with his rival way better than I thought he would; he turns a bit red and says that he is going to go to the washroom. I expected Shawn to blow up, but instead he comes back and thanks her for her honesty, says he is going to man up, deal with it and be there for her. Kaitlyn asks Shawn if he feels the experience is worth it, and he looks her in the eye and says “Yeah I do, I think you’re worth it.” Wrong. But what a man.
Before the rose ceremony is set to begin, Shawn has a lot of questions. Gotta say Shawn, you should probably run now. You are too good for this girl. Let Nick have her. Chris Harrison announces that there will be no party, Kaitlyn has made up her mind. She calls Shawn first, but instead of accepting the rose, he tells her he needs to talk. He says, “I did a lot of thinking last night and I had a real tough time sleeping.” He admits that he understands that she is going to have relationships with the other men, but he doesn’t get why she would jeopardize their relationship. [Editor’s Note: Bless Shawn’s heart but has he ever seen The Bachelorette? — E.F.] Kaitlyn responds that after this she will never be able to explore another relationship again, and once again says that she made a mistake telling Shawn he was “the one” halfway through the season. She asks him if he trusts her. In my book, trust is earned, Kaitlyn. They reenter the rose ceremony and Shawn stands in front of Kaitlyn. She again offers the rose and he says, “absolutely.”
Kaitlyn then sends Jared home and it’s sad because he is all adorable and offers her his coat as he is leaving.
Nick gets the first overnight date and spends the first half of it bitching about Shawn. He says that Shawn is insecure, that he doesn’t trust him and tattles that Shawn bragged about being “eskimo brothers” with someone because they both hooked up with a country singer who is supposedly famous. Kaitlyn questions Nick on why people are always complaining about him and not Shawn. She also asks about his motives after Andi’s season. She still offers him the key to the Fantasy Suite and I am sure they banged like rabbits again the whole night because that is the only thing that’s holding the two of them together.
This is where I got pissed off. They showed in the previews that Shawn and Nick were going to get into it, and I had been excited for it all episode, and it seemed like that was finally going to happen. Shawn figures out what room Nick is in, knocks on the door, sits down with him, and then it is “To Be Continued”. I would love just one episode this season that actually ends without a cliffhanger. All in all, a great episode. I am not jumping up and down to see Shawn or Ben’s one-on-one I have a feeling they will both be boring, but I am looking forward to hometowns soon!
To be continued….
Andree I share your hope that she ends up with the one she deserves – Nick