‘The Golden Bachelorette’ Recap: Joan Kicks Off First Week Of Dates With Senior Prom, A Disneyland Trip & A Talent Show
SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Wednesday night’s episode of The Golden Bachelorette.
It’s Week 2 of The Golden Bachelorette, and Joan Vassos’ suitors are toasting to 401ks and Medicare in honor of making it past the first night.
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There are 18 golden men left vying for Joan’s heart, and they’re ready to get their week of dates started. Jesse Palmer kicks things off quite quickly with the first date card, which goes to Gary, Bob, Jonathan, Charles L., Mark, Jordan, Guy, and Keith.
Joan’s date card says she has a question for them, which they’ll find out in the other room. “Will you go to prom with me?” reads a handwritten sign hanging in the room, filled with suits for the men to pick from, along other goodies for the group date. This isn’t just any prom. They’re taking it back to the 1980s with bright colors, sequins, and ruffles galore.
Once they’re dressed, Joan meets them in the driveway with a white limo. After a quick photo op, they’re off to their senior, senior prom. Joan says she’s hoping that the prom date will bring them back to “how innocent life was” when they each first fell in love and experienced so many firsts in their teens. That’s the energy she wants to bring to her dating life this time around.
By the end of the night, they’ll be crowning a Prom King to stand next to Joan as Prom Queen, and Joan will be giving out a group date rose. First, it’s time for a little fun. Before long, everyone’s inner child is coming out as they take silly photos and bust a few moves on the dance floor.
But, each of the men still try to take a moment to steal Joan away to have more serious conversations and dig a little deeper into their budding relationships as well.
Ultimately, Joan crowns Jonathan the Prom King, offering him the group date rose. She says she appreciated his vulnerability in opening up about being rejected when he tried to take a girl to prom the first time around. He ended up skipping the affair altogether, making this group date his first prom. Joan’s recognition “patched a hole” right over that heartache, he says.
The one-on-one goes to Chock, who says he’s the “luckiest guy in the world” to land the first solo date of the season. For their first date, they meet at the Happiest Place on Earth. You guessed it, in the ultimate showing of corporate synergy, Joan and Chock spend the day at Disneyland.
Their first order of business upon reuniting in the park is putting on their Mickey and Minnie ears and heading for a photo op with the world famous mice. They try out several rides including Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Of course, they have to snag churros before making their way to Galaxy’s Edge, where they try some blue milk and also run into R2D2.
The pair reminisce about all the memories that the park brings back to them, and they chat about the dreams of bringing their grandchildren to Disneyland — and how exciting it would be to do that together. Joan says that her date with Chock has been everything she hoped for and more, and the day isn’t even over yet. It’s time for dinner at 21 Royal.
Over dinner, Chock opens up about past. He tells Joan about his first wife Heather, with whom he had two children before they eventually split. Later in life, he says he met his second wife Kathy, who was diagnosed with cancer eight years into their relationship. Sadly, she passed away five months after her diagnosis, which Chock says was “heartbreaking.” Much like Joan, Chock says that Kathy wanted him to find love again. He says Joan reminds him of his late wife, which she is very honored by.
Both of them agree that they make each other feel quite safe as they open up, and it’s not a surprise when Joan offers Chock a rose, which he accepts. Before the night is over, they enjoy the fireworks show over the castle and share a kiss.
There’s one more date left for the week with the remaining men. That’s Dan, Charles K., Gil, Pascal, Kim, Christopher, Gregg, Michael and Jack.
It’s the second annual Golden Talent Showcase! If you remember, Gerry Turner kicked off this tradition on the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, and Joan actually won that talent show with a poem that she read. The winner of this challenge will get a romantic one-on-one dinner with Joan, so all the men are on high alert and are ready to impress.
Gregg kicks things off with a bit of standup comedy. Charles K. does martial arts. Christopher performs Yo-Yo tricks. Michael reads a poem, just like Joan did. Jack gets a lot of laughs with a sock puppet show. Pascal brings out his hairstylist skills for this challenge, giving a mannequin head a new ‘do in three minutes. And Kim sings a song.
Ultimately, Dan, who performs a rousing ribbon dance, catches Joan’s attention, because he gets on stage and does his best despite having a tremor. He wins the one-on-one dinner, much to his surprise and the others’ dismay.
During dinner, Dan shares that he struggled with some life-threatening health issues a few years earlier, which prompted him to put work aside and focus on getting better. Since then, he’s been nervous to date, because he’s unsure if anyone would want to be with him through any other issues that might arise.
Joan is more than accepting of Dan exactly how he is, and she offers him a rose, which he takes enthusiastically.
Just like that, it’s time for a rose ceremony. The men whip up a barbecue to impress Joan beforehand, and they soak up their last moments to connect with her before she hands out another round of roses.
After a few more hours of bonding, Joan gives out roses to Mark, Gary, Pascal, Jordan, Charles K., Keith, Gil, Charles L., Kim, Gregg, and Guy. That means Bob, Jack, Christopher, and Michael are headed home.
The Golden Bachelorette airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. It’s also next-day on Hulu.
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