Chris Harrison Blogs ‘The Bachelorette’ Week 3

Welcome back, Bachelor Nation! Every week feels like an eternity when you’re waiting for the conclusion of the epic drama from last week to unfold. This week was no exception.

I think most of us in Bachelor Nation were pretty sure that Rachel wasn’t going to give DeMario another chance, but it was good to see it all play out. The rest of the men were right there beside her and cheering her on as she declined to spend any more time in the past, and chose to move right into the future. The party overall was so lively, with Jonathan’s giant hands and all the men vying for her time, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything so unusual as the ongoing feud between Lucas and Blake. Lucas had bizarre accusations and Blake had equally bizarre answers to those accusations. I think at this point it was taking so long for Rachel to even figure out what was going on she decided to just start over and send them both home, letting them figure it out for themselves.

And they did exactly that, which was something we had truly never seen in our many years at the Bachelor Mansion. These two guys went at it for a solid twenty minutes. I wish you could have seen all of it, but there was simply too much to show you. Not to say that you missed anything, because it was basically this same fight over and over again — but man, this truly was one of the strangest endings to a night I’d ever seen.

With the great whaboom behind us we finally were able to get back to dates, and this week was a doozy. Ellen DeGeneres was kind enough to have us over to her stage for a show and a good time. The men were unbelievably excited and the audience was right there with them. There was booty shaking for charity, and a very telling set of questions and answers that led to a pretty interesting night ahead with Rachel’s younger suitor, Fred.

Ah, Fred. Truly, if things had gone a little differently there is no question this would have been one of the greatest love stories ever told, but it was not to be. Rachel was already having a hard time with the idea of dating him, but then when he asked if he could kiss her — well, I think that was the last nail in the casket. She sent him home after that fateful kiss and in some ways, it was merciful. Fred is a hopeless romantic and I think he’ll keep looking for love, but I don’t think he’ll be bringing his yearbook along with him anymore.

The one-on-one date was something we had only ever dreamt of doing, but there was no one more suited than Rachel for it. You can take the girl out of Dallas, but you can’t take the Dallas out of the girl. Some of the shops out there on Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills were nice enough (and had big enough doors) to let Rachel and Anthony bring their horses inside. This date was one of those that could only ever happen in Los Angeles, and the moonlight dance capped off an amazing evening. Anthony is a little slow to open up, but I think this date was a big step for him. Hopefully he can keep moving forward and not retreat into his shell.

And the final group date taught us a valuable lesson: Don’t let Alexis, Corinne, Jasmine, and Raven plan anything. Then again, a mud wrestling competition was just about exactly what the doctor ordered. Kenny was the most confident I’d ever seen him. No one else had a chance, but in his kindness, Kenny may have accidentally allowed himself to lose. I actually think it said a lot as far as Kenny’s character goes. There is no way the average man with that advantage wouldn’t have totally slaughtered the other guys, but not Kenny, who helped the other men learn some moves and made sure a fun time was had by all. And it was, until the after party.

There’s no reason to even get into the he said, she said of this group date and the aftermath at the cocktail party this week, but there’s one thing we are becoming sure of… Some of these men are absolutely willing to throw each other under the bus for a chance with Rachel. This is only the beginning of a pretty elaborate fight that lasts a while. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen as much passion in the Bachelor Mansion as I saw this week, and when we come back next week, you’ll see just how quickly things really heat up. Until then, we’ll see you on twitter @chrisbharrison — have a great week!

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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