It’s only been the very first episode, and there’s already somehow been both drama and confessions of love—but that is to be expected from any Bachelor show. This season of ABC’s The Bachelorette follows 39–year–old Clare Crawley from Sacramento on her journey to find love.
But as some rumors have hinted, it may be short–lived. Advertised as “unprecedented”—which, to be fair, is what the producers say about every season—it appears from the drama–filled trailer that we’ll be getting a very interesting, although potentially abrupt season. This season, however, actually is unprecedented. There's the impacts of COVID–19 and the rumors that Clare Crawley will leave the season early and be replaced by Tayshia Adams. I’m curious how they’ll be changing their date nights and trips with a global pandemic raging on.
The episode starts off with a brief explanation of how COVID–19 has affected filming. Clare goes through the classic quarantine routine: laying in bed, baking, sitting on the couch, and hanging out with her adorable dogs. Chris Harrison explains the precautions they’ve taken and this season's changes, which include taking COVID–19 tests and moving into a different mansion that bears an uncanny resemblance to The Bachelor Mansion.
Next up, Clare meets the 31 contestants. Sadly, we didn’t get the typical "meet the guys" intro videos, which makes it harder to keep track of all the suitors. This might be a good thing, though, because I already know that Bennett’s video would be five minutes of him talking about how he went to Harvard—we all know how Ivy League guys are. To make it even worse, he’s a consultant too.
The only one who seems to matter though is Dale, who Clare somehow falls in love with immediately. I guess she really meant it when she said, “I can pick my husband out the second I meet him." Right after their two–minute conversation, she tells Chris that she thinks she’s found her husband. Hold up—you just met the guy. Chris echoes my thoughts exactly, reminding her that she still hasn’t even met half of the guys yet.
It wouldn’t be the Bachelorette if we didn’t have any drama, and we soon learn that Tyler C has some tea about Yosuf—and isn’t scared to let him know. This quickly backfires on Tyler C, and Yosuf decides to talk to Clare before Tyler C gets the chance to. She gets the two of them to talk it out before deciding that she doesn’t want to deal with it, opting to talk with Blake Moynes instead.
Clare takes the chance to thank Blake for breaking a canonical Bachelor Nation rule—no contact with the Bachelorette before filming—to reach out to her during quarantine. Clare emphasizes how much it meant to her, so Blake takes yet another risk and kisses her. We also get some snippets of Clare hanging out with some other contestants. There's life–size bowling with a giant hamster ball, origami, and most importantly, lots of unexpected screen time from Clare's dog.
Before we even know it, it’s the end of the night, and Chris brings out the first impression rose. Unsurprisingly, it goes to Dale.
During the Rose Ceremony, Blake Moynes, Eazy, Ben, Riley, Zac J, Tyler S, Joe, Jason, Demar, Chasen, Jordan C, Blake Monar, Kenny, Brendan, Garin, Ed, Bennett, Zac C, Jay, Brandon, Ivan, and Yosef all get roses—but it’s only a matter of time before Clare will likely just run off with Dale.
While this might be the “most dramatic season yet,” so far, all I can say is, it can’t be any worse than Pilot Pete’s.
