Welcome back to “A Local Rose,” Chapelboro.com’s weekly recap of “The Bachelorette.” I’m your local reality TV expert Ali Evans (please don’t tell my mom that’s how I describe myself) and for the last five weeks I’ve been guiding you all through each episode. We are on this journey together, for the right reasons, to chronicle Carrboro’s Xavier Bonner quest to find love with the star of the 20th season of “The Bachelorette,” Charity Lawson.

If I seem to have a little more pep in my step this week, it’s because Bachelorette was finally moved back to its original 8:00 PM time slot on ABC! Between not staying up past 11:00 PM and not having to spend any energy on Brayden, I’m feeling pretty good this week.

Good thing my spirits are high because this week’s episode felt a little… blah. Now that we’re nearing the end of Charity’s journey, there aren’t as many forced dramatic moments. For those of you who are new to the reality TV viewing experience – this is a good thing for Charity, but a little boring for us.

Because each of the men saw significant screen time in this episode, I felt it would be helpful to change my format a bit and recap each contestant’s experience instead of moving scene by scene through the episode. Plus, we’ve ditched any duplicates and can finally remember everyone’s names. In keeping with my power rankings each week, these are in a particular order.

Sean finally made himself look terrible for the last time. Actually, we still have the ‘Men Tell All’ reunion episode, so there’s still one more opportunity this season for him to humiliate himself. After not being picked for a one-on-one date, only to be picked for the dreaded two-on-one date, Sean has had just about enough of not being the center of the universe. The most awkward part of Sean and Tanner’s joint outing with Charity (other than Sean complaining about the most delicious looking Low Country Boil I’ve ever seen) is that Sean is the guy doing too much, and Tanner is the guy who isn’t doing enough. I’ve done the math and decided that of all the people who suffered from the Brayden nonsense, Tanner is the biggest victim. More on that in a moment.

It all comes to an end for Sean when he goes to visit Charity in her hotel room, proceeds to exude too much ‘nice guy who is owed something’ energy, and manages to get himself sent home on a day he shouldn’t even have been on Charity’s radar. This is a long overdue departure and now that it’s over I personally can’t wait to see what brand Sean or his dog ‘influences’ for first.

I originally had such high hopes for Aaron B. He got the first one-on-one date, he’s gorgeous, and he dresses well… but none of that can save him from being a corny try-hard. I know he likes Charity and I don’t doubt his feelings are genuine, but he still can’t drop the “I need every moment to be about me” vibe and be patient. We’re going to see his Hometown experience next week, and while I figured he would make it far, I can’t help but feel like he’s the next boot.

Oh Tanner. Poor, sweet, quiet Tanner. He’s kind, gorgeous, polite, put together, and just too darn nice. He let Sean steal the show on the first part of their two-on-one date, but more than made up for it during dinner when he finally opened up and showed some vulnerability. The nice thing about being the quiet guy in a room with the guy who won’t shut up is you usually don’t have to do all that much before guys like Sean cause their own social demise.

A personality like Tanner on The Bachelorette is a modern-day Shakespearean tragedy. He and Charity aren’t short on chemistry, but they are short on time. Their final conversation at the end of last night’s episode tip-toed around the admission that maybe they could date in the real world, but their feelings aren’t strong enough for the pace of this show. If she could have spent more time connecting with Tanner and less time babysitting Brayden, maybe there would be more there. At least Charity is kind enough to visit Tanner privately and send him home with as much dignity as someone leaving The Bachelorette can have.

 

Contestant Power Rankings

The great news about Joey at this point (other than every single thing about him) is that he’s either going to win Charity’s heart, become the next Bachelor, or we’ll see him on Bachelor in Paradise. Joey continues to be the whole package and Charity continues to be happy to have that package appear at her doorstep. Their date in New Orleans seemed to be perfect – with the most important part being their conversation about entering into an interracial relationship. I shared in the first recap article that having a Bachelorette of color would carry a different tone throughout this journey, and I think Joey is extremely brave to admit he doesn’t have all the answers. The vulnerability to be honest doesn’t usually win over the eagerness to appear perfect.

No one panic, but Xavier has moved out of the number one spot this week. I still think he’s absolutely wonderful and I’m rooting for him to win, but at this point in the journey, he isn’t doing enough to be the front-runner. It’s crunch time, and Xavier can no longer afford to wait passively for Charity’s attention. During his time with Charity, Xavier is very honest about his qualms up to this point. This is a tricky situation for honesty because the timeline is so condensed there’s almost no room for anyone to second guess anything. In reality, you want someone who is honest and upfront with their feelings, but on reality TV a teensy bit of second-guessing is enough to derail these surface level relationships.

I think the final decision in this week’s episode between Tanner and Xavier was closer than we’d like to admit, and it’s time for Xavier to really put himself out there. The difference between Charity’s connections with Joey or Dotun versus her connections with Xavier or Aaron B. is becoming clearer and clearer. If Tanner had gotten a one-on-one date when Xavier did, I think we’d might be looking at a different top four. All that said, hometown visits have been known to change things for contestants, and I believe in Xavier’s ability to move the needle once he’s more in his own element.

Xavier coming in second this week means for the first time in five weeks, we have a new name in the number one spot. Dotun is the most genuine person I can recall on reality TV in a long time. His feelings for Charity are very real, and he truly seems to forget the cameras are there when he is with her. Plus, if you told me to meet you at sunrise to run a half-marathon through the streets of New Orleans, I’d laugh and tell you to meet me at Cafe du Monde when you were done. Dotun stole a piece of Charity’s heart from the moment he walked out of the limo, and I’m having a hard time imagining any other scenario than him at the bitter end of this journey.

 

X Marks the Spot

Speaking of the streets of New Orleans, we can’t forget about X Marks the Spot! I was really excited to try and recreate these NOLA dates this week, but I’m truly looking forward to next week’s XMTS with hometown dates typically going all in on small town charm.

Charity and Joey cover a lot of ground during their Jackson Square date and the Third Friday series in Durham would be a great way to recreate this experience. There’s art, music, food, and thanks to Durham’s social district, you can grab a cocktail to walk around with. There are only certain locations around downtown to do this, so make sure you know where those are before you ask for a to-go cup for your gin & tonic.

For Sean and Tanner’s two-on-one date, I can’t help but send you to Tom Robinson’s Seafood in Carrboro to create your own Low Country Boil! While the New Orleans version will always have crawfish, my husband and I make ours with shrimp, corn, potatoes, andouille sausage, onions, lemons and as much old bay as I can handle. In fact, I’m putting a visit to Tom Robinson’s Seafood + Perkins Orchard on my calendar before next week’s episode.

Finally, if running a long distance race together and calling it a date is your thing, the Tar Heel 10 Miler is a fun race through Chapel Hill. If you want to pretend you’re in New Orleans for the day, run the race, get an amaretto sour at the AC Hotel, then enjoy a French-inspired dinner at La Residence. They may not have beignets, but their menu has always been fabulous and you will feel like you’ve been transported to a little patio in Paris.

I can’t believe it’s only been a few weeks and we’re getting close to the end of this journey. With hometown visits next week, the remainder of this season will be full-speed-ahead and I’m ready to see who gets that final rose! We’ll see you next week for Charity’s whirlwind world tour of meeting skeptical parents and visiting high school hangouts!

Ali Evans is a three-decade Chapel Hill resident currently living in Mebane with her husband Brian, dogs Cameron & Macaroni, and cats Brooke & Dexter. Ali is a Marketing professional in Durham, and a reluctant reality TV expert. She currently serves as President of Leadership Chapel Hill-Carrboro through The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill Carrboro. Ali loves all things local – food, drinks, people and places and is a really big fan of trains. You can find Ali on twitter @helloalievans, or get in touch via email – helloalievans@gmail.com.

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