On Monday night, two Jezebel staffers with varying degrees of encyclopedic knowledge about the modern Bachelor universe watched the third episode of Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor. The wine was poured, and the virgin jokes flowed. This is their story.
Maria: Can you believe we’re only in week three and the defining drama is no longer about Colton’s virginity but is instead about whatever’s brewing between Hannah B., Miss Alabama, and Caelynn, Miss North Carolina, the latter of which I misspell with increasing regularity? Their tension came to a head during the first group date of the week, which, of course, both ladies were on (god bless the sick minds of Bachelor producers.) The outing was pirate-themed at a pirate-themed restaurant, which I assume is some bootleg Medieval Times Los Angeles joint. Caelynn won the challenge, but not before Hannah B. gave us her enticing declaration of “I didn’t come here to compete in another pageant.” All’s fair in love, war, pirate role play, and virgin crushes, bitch.
Lisa: I was tired of the virgin storyline before the season even premiered, so I shall welcome this moderately juicy drama with open arms. Watching Hannah bring up her beef with Caelynn during her time with Colton for no apparent reason was absolutely cringeworthy, a suicide mission for sure. Although, I need more info about what actually happened at Miss USA. BRB, I’m calling Miss California for details.
After the knock-off Medieval Times date, we had a one-on-one with our favorite Alaskan cougar, Elyse. This date should have been a nice palate cleanser from the group date drama, and perhaps it was for many Bachelor viewers, but it was quickly revealed to be my absolute worst nightmare: Colton essentially tells Elyse they have to babysit a bunch of children at an amusement park in San Diego, before dancing at the concert of some country music act I’ve never heard of, as is Bachelor tradition.
Maria: It did seem like Demi tried to get to the heart of the Miss USA drama when she asked Hannah B. why she was crying—you know, after Demi blindfolded Colton, spanked him with a paddle and placed a plastic hand on his crotch in the weirdest display of virginal BDSM—but that got nowhere. It was the one and only, extremely rare occasion where Demi’s blatant disregard for social boundaries would’ve been useful. And then Colton kissed Caelynn and shouted, “WINNER”? I think I understand why he’s a virgin now.
I actually liked the kid-friendly date with Elyse, even though it, like this show, reminded me that heterosexuality is a prison. I will say it was weird that she kept stressing their age difference, because it is only six years? I’d say the real issue at hand is that she’s been boning for at least a decade now, probably longer, and he… has not. I also think I despise the “if you’re over 30 you must be close to death” undercurrent of the season more so than the puritanical worship of virginity.
Anyway, the country music performance was hilarious—I looked up the artist, and her name is Tenille Arts. Her single is “I Hate This,” which, coincidentally, was how I felt watching that scene. My friend had a good tweet: