It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. After “the shortest Bachelorette season ever”—as predicted by Clare herself—Clare’s finally leaving the Bachelorette. But more importantly, Tayshia is almost here.
The episode picks up after the events of the group date from last week. The guys are discouraged and—rightfully—upset at her treatment of the non–Dale contestants. Some of them are still convinced that they have a shot, though. To whom I ask: Have you been paying attention to what’s been happening at all?
Chris Harrison pays a visit to Clare in her room, interrupting her “I love Dale” journaling time, to echo their concerns. "The path we’re on right now, we can’t continue,” he says, alluding to the cauldron of resentment that is the La Quinta Resort and Club. Clare, on the other hand, doesn't care.
"I'm totally, like, heads over heels for Dale," she says. Clare doesn’t want to continue pursuing the other guys. She admits to stalking all the contestants’ social media pages, and that she’s felt a connection to Dale since then. However, Clare claims she didn't talk to him at all before filming started, contrary to rumors swirling around the contestants. She decides she just wants to spend time with Dale, and Chris Harrison finally gives us the line that we’ve seen in all of the previews: “Congratulations, you’ve just blown up the Bachelorette."
The guys are not caught up on what’s happening, and they’re talking about wanting more clarity—or should I say CLAREity—when Chris Harrison interrupts to tell them that there will be no rose ceremony or cocktail party. This is when you would expect him to explain the situation, but instead, Chris Harrison leaves it at that. Instead, he pulls Dale to the side and explains that he, specifically is the reason everything's gone to shit. Clare wants to spend more time with just him.
At the dinner date, Clare wants to confess her feelings for Dale and hopes that he feels the same way. Clare tells about the story of her parents, who met and got engaged 3 weeks after—which might explain why everything’s moving so quick—and how her dad hitchhiked to propose to her mom. Dale adds that his dad also hitchhiked to see his mom—which just seems a little bit too coincidental—and how he loved Clare’s “beautiful presence and aura” when she was revealed as the new Bachelorette.
Clare then takes the chance to tell him that she’s falling in love, and that Dale resembles her dad, which is the type of man that she’s always wanted. Freudian much? Then, Dale responds that he is falling in love, too, and they then walk around the resort and slow–dance to a live performance by “Listen To Your Heart” winners Chris & Bri. Fantasy suite’s here early this season, and the date ends with them entering Clare’s room, and the camera dramatically zooming out.
It cuts to next the morning with Dale and Clare in bed discussing what’s going to happen next. Clare gushes over how perfect Dale is once again, claiming that she “will gladly spend the rest of [her] life with Dale.” This of course foreshadows what comes next: the proposal. Chris Harrison drops in to talk to Clare and explains that she'll be engaged by tomorrow night.
It’s now time for Clare to talk to the rest of the guys. She explains that she found what she came for, which is Dale, and she doesn’t want to lead anyone on—despite already having done exactly that for the past three episodes. The guys are all supportive except Kenny, who claims she should apologize. She asked, “For what?”
Kenny clarifies that he means that she should apologize not for falling for Dale, but “for faking it when [she] should have admitted [she was] in love with Dale after the first night." After this, she does—kind of—apologize with “I'll apologize if I hurt you. But I’m not going to apologize for love.”
We get a scene of Clare crying outside about how great the guys are—which is very different from what the editing in the previews made it to look like. We also finally get to hear Joe, the token Asian contestant, say something before he’s back to getting 1 minute of screen time per episode.
Chris Harrison talks to Dale, who confirms that he’s in love with Clare, and Chris gets straight to the point: Dale needs to propose. We get some clips of Clare being scared that Dale won’t show up and Dale staring dramatically at the ring—which Chris Harrison FaceTimed Neil Lane only a few hours earlier to get.
The night of the proposal arrives, and Chris already is in the mood to sensationalize. "There’s something I need to tell you," he says to Clare, making the collective blood pressure of Bachelor Nation rise. Really, it's just short blurb about how proud everyone is of Clare for acting like a normal person and not wanting to date 30 men when she only likes one of them. A little bit later, Dale shows up, and Clare gives another speech about how she felt a connection the minute their eyes met a whole 14 days ago. Clare claims he embodies “everything she wants” to which Dale says, "It’s wild, right?"
Don’t worry—that’s not his whole proposal. He continues with, “I know without a shadow of a doubt that you would go to the end of the world for me." Finally, he proposes, and the next five minutes is just the pair jumping around happily, chanting "we’re engaged."
Back at the resort, the guys are packing up. Chris Harrison comes in to reveal that Dale did propose, and that he and Clare have left the resort. He then gives them the choice of continuing with their journey and starting the process over again with a new Bachelorette or going home. They get until the night to decide. A few of the guys are conflicted as to whether they want to stay or not, while some, like Zac C and Bennett, are excited for a new person.
Chris Harrison walks in, and he explains that there’s a new Bachelorette coming. Tayshia enters, and she looks absolutely stunning—as always—in her dress. We’ll have to wait to see how the contestants react though, because the episode cuts off right when she enters the building.
