S28:08: Week 8 Hometowns!

[WatcherUp2]

Aw, her daddy is a sweetie pie.

[FlyingEgret]

3 minutes ago, bosawks said:

This Godfather music is EVERYTHING!

Along with the ticking clock in the background; did they want us to think Papa Bomb was going to explode?

[Lamb18]

Maria's dad isn't that bad. From a drama point of view, all the dads are duds.

[dizzyd]

Joey must be super charming. He’s definitely charmed me and charmed all 4 families including Godfather Georgas. I think a lot of it has to do with his calmness and the patience with which he listens.

Edited March 5, 2024 by dizzyd

[DEL901]

Well, Maria just ensured she isn’t getting a rose with her ambivalent words.  

[JenE4]

Oh, no. Now Maria thinks she won—not knowing he at least also asked the same of Rachel’s dad. This just seems to be the go-to line to disarm the intimidating dads.

[alexa]

He is so nice…I like him… he gets the process and doesn’t expect Joey to say more than he needs to.

[adhoc]

Tonight's theme apparently was:  "Let your guard down. Open yourself up and be vulnerable. Let him know how you feel, go for it. And if it doesn't work out, then at least you tried."

[dizzyd]

Why are they doing this RC in an airport hangar?

[WatcherUp2]

Do Daisy and Kelsey have identical clunky tan shoes on?

[Riplet68]

The music they’re playing with Maria’s dad is cracking me up. That was a really good discussion with Joey and Maria’s dad. 
 

what’s with all these parents tellling their daughters to let their guards down. Ooos, now Maria thinks he’s going to propose 

why are the rose ceremonies after hometowns always in plane hangers?

Edited March 5, 2024 by Riplet68

[DEL901]

Joey did not seem happy Maria wants to chat.  

2 minutes ago, dizzyd said:

Why are they doing this RC in an airport hangar?

So they can fly away to their next destination, leaving the woman without a rose behind.  

[Quickbeam]

Not this again, geez. 

[WatcherUp2]

Maria is all impulse and regrets and trying for do-overs.

[JenE4]

Didn’t Maria do this last week, too—pulling him aside right as he’s about to give out roses to gush about her feelings in attempt to make up for her earlier poor showing? I hope he takes her outside to talk and promptly puts her in the car while they’re out there.

Edited March 5, 2024 by JenE4

[DEL901]

Joey isn’t feeling it.  

He is over the drama.  

Too little, too late.  

[dizzyd]

I’m not feeling it either and I used to like Maria.

Hey Jesse showed up for his 1 line! I thought he was off having a baby.

[DEL901]

That is twice this season Jesse has broken protocol and said take all the time you need.   I think he does it when he likes the women leaving.  

[WatcherUp2]

2 minutes ago, dizzyd said:

I’m not feeling it either and I used to like Maria.

The word "flighty" used to be used for women like her. I like her, but she has emotional maturity issues she needs to address.

[DEL901]

She was classy hugging and congratulating the other women.  
 

[ECM1231]

No hug goodbye from Maria!

[Diana Berry]

Well he didn’t flower it up.  I respect that.  He wasn’t feeling it better to be honest. 

[DEL901]

Preview….why are the Golden Bachelor women there…again!

[dizzyd]

1 minute ago, DEL901 said:

Preview….why are the Golden Bachelor women there…again!

Because they are quite popular with the fans. GB had significantly higher ratings than the last few B seasons. And they’re probably still auditioning for GBette.

[alexa]

8 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

That is twice this season Jesse has broken protocol and said take all the time you need.   I think he does it when he likes the women leaving.  

I read somewhere that he changed up the last line, so it could be ongoing.  

[JenE4]

8 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

That is twice this season Jesse has broken protocol and said take all the time you need.   I think he does it when he likes the women leaving.  

Or, maybe it’s when the woman is most likely to have a dramatic reaction? Give her a chance to crack on the tarmac instead of holding herself together until she gets in the car.

[dizzyd]

I usually like HT episodes, but this one was blah, everyone was too normal and even Maria’s dad didn’t deliver to the Godfather hype. Nothing can beat Dean’s HT from Rachel’s season in my jaw dropping intensity.

[WatcherUp2]

2 minutes ago, dizzyd said:

I usually like HT episodes, but this one was blah, everyone was too normal and even Maria’s dad didn’t deliver to the Godfather hype. Nothing can beat Dean’s HT from Rachel’s season in my jaw dropping intensity.

Don't forget Desiree's asshole brother.

[rlc]

Daisy’s family is the human embodiment of a ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ sign.

[Andyourlittledog2]

Hometowns give me a headache. I think it's my bullshit detector going off constantly throughout the episode.  It doesn't bother me as much when it's just the women. But add in their relatives and their scripted roleplaying and I just can't.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Always thought Maria had a slight resemblance to Jennifer Connelly. 

[Andyourlittledog2]

Kelsey - stereotypical Barbie (not a dig, just her look) ; in it for the likes or to be Bachelorette?  I don't get any real genuine emotion from her at all. It's all about being part of Bachelor Nation. And the like habit is hard to listen to.

Rachel - seems very real; great family; I'd buy what she's selling. Her dad didn't give his blessing. Not because he didn't like Joey but because he thought it was stupid to ask (at all or at this point). Good for him. 

Daisy - cute, bubbly, conventional; from the land of ten thousand likes. Vocal fry and like habit would drive me nuts.  Her family seemed like they were trying to unload her.  Leaning way too heavily into the Hallmark theme.

Maria: from the Anne Boleyn school of getting your man;  I'd run.

[phlebas]

I had wondered what Maria's dad had been up to since The Room

 

[Jax7917]

Just got to Rachel's home date and all I can think is.. this is just a waste of time and even Joey knows it which is why he can't even muster up any reassurance for the mother during their conversation. The only thing Joey says about them is that they have fun together and there's an ease with them. I think we've seen a total of 2 interactions with them this entire season. 

Also, her dad semi reminds me of Alfonso Ribeiro.

Edited March 5, 2024 by Jax7917

[Cheyanne11]

Thank god "Joey, can I talk to you for a second?" is gone.  Should've been given the boot weeks ago.  Though at this point I'm expecting a knock on the door of one of the fantasy suites and Maria saying "I just wanted to talk about one last thing..."

[gwen747]

15 hours ago, Diana Berry said:

I can’t understand a word Rachel is saying

I can't either. She doesn't enunciate.

[DEL901]

I’m still annoyed at how they portrayed Maria’s father in the previews, but he turned out to be a lovely man.

[kristen111]

14 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Maid of the Mist...brings back memories of a family trip when I was about 12! I loved the Canadian side of the Falls even more!

We went for our 40th Anniversity.  The boats were really old.  I have a feeling Joey will pick no one.  He doesn’t look that enthused with anyone.

Edited March 5, 2024 by kristen111

[Recyclorette]

15 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Preview….why are the Golden Bachelor women there…again!

I hope Joan isn't.  These beautiful young women don't need to see an example of "Hey, grab him now or you'll have to do this to your face when you're older and single."  Leslie also looked like she's aged 10 years since Golden Bach.  Must have been the devastation of returning that 70K wedding gown.

 

13 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

 

Daisy - cute, bubbly, conventional; from the land of ten thousand likes. Vocal fry and like habit would drive me nuts.  Her family seemed like they were trying to unload her.  Leaning way too heavily into the Hallmark theme.

 

Do you think the vocal fry might be related to her hearing loss or adjustment to her implant?  I've been wondering about that.

[DEL901]

12 minutes ago, Recyclorette said:

I hope Joan isn't.  These beautiful young women don't need to see an example of "Hey, grab him now or you'll have to do this to your face when you're older and single."  Leslie also looked like she's aged 10 years since Golden Bach.  Must have been the devastation of returning that 70K wedding gown.

I’m sure the lighting makes a difference.  Now it is natural light.  When she was on the Golden Bachelor, I’m sure the crew took care in lighting the women.  

[tennisgurl]

Turning the hometowns into movie homages is a shocking amount of fun, they have time to do things like that when the whole show isn't drama. The Princess and the Frog! The Godfather! Every single Hallmark Christmas movie ever! Honestly all of those were killing me, I was cracking up the whole time. 

The previews were really hyping up Maria's dad as some kind of Greek mafia kingpin who would challenge Joey to a knife fight, but he was a perfectly nice guy. All of the families seemed really nice and they all really seemed to like Joey, which I cant blame them for. He has a very natural charm and sincerity to him and he isn't afraid of the tough questions. I swear I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Joey to show an asshole side, but it just hasn't happened yet. 

Oh Maria, did you really learn nothing last week? She basically tried to pull the same routine all over again, the dramatic one on one, the "I'm so vulnerable" confession, trying to back peddle when it seemed like it wasn't working, she really played this wrong. I was pretty sure she was doomed ever since the stunt last week, and this was the final nail in the coffin. 

Daisy has been my number one pick for awhile, but now I wonder if Kelsey will be the winner, I saw some pretty major chemistry between them. Kelsey, Rachel, and Daisy all seem quite nice and seem to vibe with Joey, although I'm not sure if any of them are the obvious One yet. 

I so wish that the episode ended on Joey asking the Alpacas for their blessing. 

Edited March 5, 2024 by tennisgurl

[Ivana Tinkle]

I know this show is formulaic, but this hometowns episode nearly put me to sleep. All the girls say the same thing "Blah blah blah falling in love, blah blah, need my family to validate my feelings, blah blah, now I feel better and I see a future, blah."

I've read that in some cases the houses shown aren't even the family home and have merely been staged to look as such. I get it, not everyone may live in a TV ready home but I actually would love for them to show a hometown date where, just once, they meet the family in a regular apartment and the couple stands outside for several minutes waiting to be buzzed in and it gets awkward because someone's in the shower and totally forgot what time they were stopping by.

Also, if I were a lead I would get so sick of answering the same questions over and over again. All of the parents asked some version of "I know you have three other girls you're banging dating, how is my daughter different?" I wish someone would just be like "They're not, but I'm contractually obligated to keep them around until the end of the week", because I love how this show always makes it seem as if the Bachelor/ette's feelings for someone conveniently change when it comes time for the Rose Ceremony.

And yet, here I sit, week after week.

[Hip-to-be-Square]

20 hours ago, Diana Berry said:

I can’t understand a word Rachel is saying. 

She talks really fast, even my closed captions can't keep up with her! 😅

[JenE4]

7 hours ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Thank god "Joey, can I talk to you for a second?" is gone.  Should've been given the boot weeks ago.  Though at this point I'm expecting a knock on the door of one of the fantasy suites and Maria saying "I just wanted to talk about one last thing..."

When we saw that Joey, we need to talk note in that preview, I just assumed it’s about a 70-30 chance it’s Maria because she thinks if only she can explain herself one more time, Joey will understand they’re meant for each other. 

[Sweet-tea]

19 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

Hometowns give me a headache. I think it's my bullshit detector going off constantly throughout the episode.  It doesn't bother me as much when it's just the women. But add in their relatives and their scripted roleplaying and I just can't.

Same for me. I fast-forward through a lot of it. 

Joey was over Maria. Did anyone notice his expression after she told him she was in love with him? I knew then she was done. 

I'm calling Daisy and Kelsey as final two with Kelsey being Joey's pick. I don't Joey and Rachel have much chemistry. He seems really into Kelsey though. And I agree her dad is hot. Next GB because he's not as old either. I think he's a better age for it, early 50s?

Edited March 6, 2024 by Sweet-tea

[Starlight925]

I didn't like Maria from night 1.  I don't think she's pretty either.

She has this "look at me", pay attention to me insecurity that's so annoying, and we saw how her dad holds her up on a pedestal, and seeing her as a little girl in those home movies, how performative she's always been.  

Daddy is gaga over her (and he does seem like a great guy), and I'm sure he always paid 1000% of his attention to her, which gives her that waaah waaah look at me thing around Joey if she isn't getting all the attention.

Her mom said not one word (that we saw), which tells a lot.  Maria had a hard time with several of the women, so her energy focuses on the one guy, and when he doesn't laser focus on her, she pulls little stunts, which I'm sure work on her dad, but Joey....notsomuch.

She looks too much like Patti Stanger's daughter-from-another-mother:

Edited March 6, 2024 by Starlight925

[JenE4]

42 minutes ago, Starlight925 said:

I didn't like Maria from night 1.  I don't think she's pretty either.

She has this "look at me", pay attention to me insecurity that's so annoying, and we saw how her dad holds her up on a pedestal, and seeing her as a little girl in those home movies, how performative she's always been.  

Daddy is gaga over her (and he does seem like a great guy), and I'm sure he always paid 1000% of his attention to her, which gives her that waaah waaah look at me thing around Joey if she isn't getting all the attention.

Her mom said not one word (that we saw), which tells a lot.  Maria had a hard time with several of the women, so her energy focuses on the one guy, and when he doesn't laser focus on her, she pulls little stunts, which I'm sure work on her dad, but Joey....notsomuch.

She looks too much like Patti Stanger's daughter-from-another-mother:

That wasn’t her mother. Her mother left her when Maria was very young This is why she’s especially daddy’s girl.

However, it’s interesting how many of us (or at least speaking for myself) didn’t like her day 1 but then gave her the benefit of the doubt when everyone was calling her the devil for just existing. THEN we (I) turned on her again once all of her “natural enemies” were gone and she became her own very worst enemy by how she was acting—she had no one else to play against. So now I think we need to give Sydney and Lea and whomever else the benefit of the doubt Maria likely was manipulative off camera but they just didn’t do a good enough job of providing examples OR (and most likely) the producers/editors wanted to hide some of the crazy and just play up the sexy so when she later couldn’t hide her behavior we’d be more surprised about it. I’ve read articles where Joey had just responded with a “stay tuned” kind of message when asked about the Maria vs half the girls drama, that more about Maria would come out. Joey didn’t come out and say, okay, now I see what everyone meant about you—but he had to have been thinking it.

Edited March 6, 2024 by JenE4
Wait, Kelsey’s mom is the one who died, but Maria’s mom is also not in the picture

[Starlight925]

 

Did Maria tell us a story about her mother to make her appear more "vulnerable"?

Edited March 6, 2024 by Starlight925

[DEL901]

17 minutes ago, JenE4 said:

That wasn’t her mother. Her mother left her when Maria was very young This is why she’s especially daddy’s girl.

However, it’s interesting how many of us (or at least speaking for myself) didn’t like her day 1 but then gave her the benefit of the doubt when everyone was calling her the devil for just existing. THEN we (I) turned on her again once all of her “natural enemies” were gone and she became her own very worst enemy by how she was acting—she had no one else to play against. So now I think we need to give Sydney and Lea and whomever else the benefit of the doubt Maria likely was manipulative off camera but they just didn’t do a good enough job of providing examples OR (and most likely) the producers/editors wanted to hide some of the crazy and just play up the sexy so when she later couldn’t hide her behavior we’d be more surprised about it. I’ve read articles where Joey had just responded with a “stay tuned” kind of message when asked about the Maria vs half the girls drama, that more about Maria would come out. Joey didn’t come out and say, okay, now I see what everyone meant about you—but he had to have been thinking it.

Maria’s mother was seriously injured and spent many years recovering from all the broken bones and other injuries.  Maria was also injured in the accident which probably explains the closeness. 

1 minute ago, Starlight925 said:

 

Did Maria tell us a story about her mother to make her appear more "vulnerable"?

She never said he4 mother died.  Just that because of the extended recovery, he4 mother wasn’t around for a long time. 

[JenE4]

1 minute ago, DEL901 said:

Maria’s mother was seriously injured and spent many years recovering from all the broken bones and other injuries.  Maria was also injured in the accident which probably explains the closeness. 

 

3 minutes ago, Starlight925 said:

 

Did Maria tell us a story about her mother to make her appear more "vulnerable"?

Okay, before I edited i had written something about the accident and Maria’s mother dying and Maria surviving the accident made her especially daddy’s miracle angel baby, but then I thought wait, Kelsey’s mom is dead and Google told me that Maria’s mom just abandoned her as a child. But, yeah, now I see that I was just mixing up the stories. The accident story was Maria. But her sob story was her mom I thought physically abandoning her but maybe she was just emotionally checked out. It was surprising that mom was there—but not surprising she didn’t talk, I guess, as Maria seemingly wouldn’t need/care to have her “blessing.”