SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Thursday’s episode of Bachelor in Paradise on ABC.
Buckle up, folks. We finally have another rose ceremony in Paradise.
Five weeks in, and this is only the second rose exchange. The men are on pins and needles, since it looks like five of them are going home. As some of them make last ditch efforts to form a connection, I can’t help but wonder why Aaron S. didn’t leave with Sam when he had the chance. But, just as he and Sean are praying to the Bachelor in Paradise gods, the producers throw them a lifeline.
Sam Picco, from Canada’s edition of Bachelor in Paradise, is here on the beach and she’s going to be handing out a rose tonight.
Her entrance is met with some excitement and a lot of confusion, since no one has any clue who she is. But, none of the men really care. They just want a rose. That’s probably why Sam seems to be going through a revolving door of conversations with the single men — starting with Sean, then Aaron S., then John B., then Peter. And they’re all putting their best foot forward. Sean brings her a shot, and Sam admits she’s put off by his age. Meanwhile, Peter compliments Sam’s looks for her age (even though she’s only 34?).
After watching the single men fight for Sam’s rose, it’s time to find out who she’s going to throw a buoy to. Kylie gives her rose to Avan (unsurprising). Rachel offers hers to Brayden. Eliza chooses Aaron B. Jess picks Blake. Kat gives Tanner a rose. Olivia chooses John Henry, and Mercedes picks Tyler — bringing two love triangles to a close. Sam, sort of shockingly, settles on Peter.
Bye bye, Sean, Will, John B. and Aaron S!
The next day is Kat’s birthday, and she can’t wait to celebrate with the group and hopefully ring in 27 with some romance from Tanner. But, her excitement is short-lived after she endures a one-two punch of date cards that are not for her. The first goes to Rachel, who asks Brayden on a date.
Not long after, Davia from Zach’s season of The Bachelor enters the beach with another date card. After one conversation with Tanner, she asks him on a date without speaking to anyone else. He accepts, and he pulls Kat aside to chat. She tries to play it cool and tell him he should go on the date if he feels the need to explore his options, but inside she’s fuming. Tanner tries to explain that this could bring some clarity, but Kat thinks he should know by now if he wants to commit to her…it all sort of feels like a bit of a double standard though, considering that Kat went on a date with Tanner without ever having a conversation with Brayden about it.
Regardless, once Tanner departs on his date with Davia, Kat is ready to kick him to the curb. Everyone else is trying to cool her down and encourage her to celebrate her birthday, but when they sing her happy birthday and bring her a cake she runs away and throws it in the ocean. Sam tries to tell Kat she should put the birthday thing aside, because it was just poor timing. In her eyes, Kat can’t blame Tanner for taking another date opportunity just because it’s Kat’s birthday. But, shocker, Kat does not agree.
Tanner seems fairly unbothered on his date, though. We don’t see much of his conversation with Davia, besides the part where he tells her he’s been seeing Kat but is very much open to other options. He says in a confessional that he feels bad for missing Kat’s birthday, but he doesn’t regret his decision.
Meanwhile, Rachel and Brayden have pretty much been shielded from the drama du jour since they left on their date. After spending a fun day letting loose and decorating each other like piñatas, they show up on the beach covered in paint and paper mache and ready to party. The only problem is that Kat is still fuming about Tanner — and Brayden feels slightly vindicated once he finds out what happened.
There’s a small moment of Wells repairing his truth box after Aaron S. destroyed it last week, and Sam seems ready to spill some tea with an anonymous note. Hopefully we’ll circle back to that, because I am eagerly awaiting what she could possibly have to say after spending less than a full day in Paradise.
The rest of the group decides to play truth or dare, and things get a little messy. Olivia dares Brayden to give a lap dance to the “most exciting” person on the beach, to which he chooses Jess. Peter kisses Kylie as a dare. Mercedes makes out with John Henry. Kat takes a body shot off of John Henry. Olivia sucks on John Henry’s finger…lots of love for John Henry tonight. The tension really reaches a fever pitch when Jess is asked if Blake is her No. 1 person right now. She hesitates…for a while. Then, she says yes, but only because he’s really her only connection at the moment.
Yikes. Blake is rightfully confused, so he asks Jess for some clarity. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like he’s going to get it. When he asks Jess why she’s unsure, she starts to cry. She doesn’t think she’s put enough effort into exploring her options, and she isn’t sure what she wants. Blake takes that to mean that she needs some space, and they both leave the conversation more confused than when they entered it.
The next morning, the vibes are weird. Everyone is eagerly waiting to hear about Tanner and Davia’s date and, at the same time, they’re still reeling from last night’s truth or dare.
Davia hits the beach first, and she tells the girls that her date went well. They try to warn her that Tanner and Kat’s connection might be stronger than he let on, so Davia decides she wants to hash things out. Kat admits to Davia that she and Tanner hadn’t had any talks about exclusivity, but she isn’t sure she wants to continue to pursue anything with him if he’s wishy washy. Davia says she feels confident after the date, so it’s going to be up to Tanner to put an end to all of this.
Finally, Tanner graces the beach. He pulls Kat aside to talk pretty immediately, but we’re going to have to wait until next week to see what exactly goes down. Whatever is said, the previews make it seem like Kat is not going to be happy at the end of it…and she might just be moving in on John Henry as a result.
Can’t imagine Olivia will take that well.
Bachelor in Paradise airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT following The Golden Bachelor on ABC.