The Bachelor, Ep. 17.8

Hometown Date Week with the Top 4

AshLee - Houston, TX

For their "date", all they did was sit and talk in the park...pretty boring.

AshLee's dad didn't waste any time letting the questions fly. She breaks down crying when she talks about doing the polar bear plunge and why she did it for him. The parents did not look happy when she said there was a lot of romance in St. Croix. Ooh, if looks could kill...eek!

One-on-one with Mom: "Are you going to break her heart?" Geez lady! I get being protective but ease up a little bit. One-on-one with Dad: "Are you in love with my daughter?" The one question he was afraid to answer...of course. Sean fires back with questions about signing permission to let her get married at 17. And then he pops the question....to Pops: "Would you be OK with me proposing to your daughter?" Pops gives his blessing.

Tough questions aside, her parents did seem very sweet, and both seemed very OK with welcoming Sean into the family.

Catherine - Seattle, WA

For their date, she shows him some shops in Seattle...oh and they toss/catch fish. Lots of goofiness going on that day. It's OBVIOUS that he is a very different person when he's with her. She's definitely starting to grow on me, and he really seems to be happy with her.

Lots of people to meet on this date...he's definitely out-numbered: 5 girls! Grandma thinks he's handsome! Ha! Everyone's having fun until she talks alone with her sisters. They were very stern and VERY skeptical. She really had to do a lot of defending and a lot of convincing.

When Sean talks to the sisters, they didn't really do a lot to help her out. She was right to think that someone might mess it up for her. They said she's messy, moody and maybe not ready to settle down. Mom wasn't much help either.He asks if she would give her blessing; "We'll see what happens." Ummm....that doesn't really answer the question lady.

He left doubting their relationship.

Lindsay - Fort Leonard Wood, MO

Sean's nervous about meeting her father, who's a general. I would be too! He (and Lindsay) have a hard time coming up with what Sean should call him...Mr. or General...haha!

She takes him to see antiques and they walk around the town. The best part of the date was when she put him in an Army shirt and she started yelling at him like a general and he was trying not to laugh. She put him through the ringer "Drop and give me 20", "faster, faster"...haha...that was great!

Her Dad really didn't look like a general. You can definitely see where Lindsay gets her fun, bubbly spirit from...her Mom is just like her. Mom asks the "Do you love her" question. Sean's answer was very honest about what saying that means to him. Mom was impressed.

Time to win Dad over. Sean handled himself very well with him. Then he pops the question. Dad didn't have an answer at first. He eventually gave his blessing...as long as Lindsay says "yes". If she says "no" the offer is revoked. For a general, he seemed like a really nice guy. When they left, Dad gave him a set of dog tags...aw!

Desiree - Los Angeles, CA

For their date, she takes him hiking in the canyon.

Time to see what all the previews were showing: horrible acting. It's pretty hard to believe that this dude is actually a boyfriend and that he's actually serious. Poor Sean...he seemed to buy it hook, line and sinker. He should know better...he's a jokester himself. And...he even pulled a joke on Emily on his hometown date. She said it was payback for him pranking her on their first date.

Little did Sean know that the actor wasn't the only "tough" guy he was going to meet on this visit. Her brother was way tougher than all of the Dads combined. He had some real issues. He was tough on her too. He said the whole thing was "stupid" (his words). He said "there's no way this can work out". He tells Sean that he doesn't think that he's into Des. He thinks she likes him, but there's no "reciprocation". Sean says he's crazy about her and the brother's response was "you're probably crazy about a lot of girls, right?". Yikes! He's not afraid to say what he's thinking, is he? Whoa...awkward silence. Oooh...he just said that he thinks that he's "a playboy" (his exact words). Sean said tried to tell him that that's not who he is, but the brother flat out said he wasn't buying it. He said he thinks he is just going to go after girl after girl. Wow. He doesn't even know him...he has no right to make judgments like that. Poor Sean...he really wanted to tell him off. Then her sweet parents were embarrassed and her Dad starts talking about the weather and how they have 4 distinct seasons.

Sean leaves, and Des can tell that things were tense. After he leaves, her parents really try to set her brother straight. Her Dad said that he was all wrong about Sean, but he stood firm and said that he thinks Des is going to get hurt. Poor girl. That probably just sealed her fate.

Her parents were very strange, and I'm sorry, but they were really dorky! They didn't really show much of Sean's conversations with either of them. We didn't see him asking for a blessing...that probably means something.

Rose Ceremony

Sean sits down with Chris and he says that he was hoping to get some clarity and he didn't get it. He is not sure who he is sending home. He has it narrowed down to Catherine and Des. His concerns with Des are really just about her brother. If he chooses her, he's always going to be there, and they are probably never going to get along. With Catherine, he's not sure if their lives align. She's really independent, and he's not sure if she's ready to settle down, because she has a lot of goals in her life right now.

Sean gets ready to start handing out roses, but before he does, Des wants to talk to him. She wanted to apologize for the night before. She said that she could tell that he was upset by what happened. He said he understood and that it wasn't her fault. It was her brother.

He calls out AshLee's name and then Lindsay's. He picks up the last rose and then PUTS IT BACK DOWN! What?! That never happens! He wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't sure who he wanted to send home. He was obviously really struggling with the decision. Poor Catherine and Des having to wait all that time.

Receive Roses: AshLee, Lindsay, Catherine
Going Home: Desiree

Poor Des....her brother gets to say "I told you so." :( As Sean walked her out, he told her she has every quality that he's looking for and that he might wake up tomorrow and regret his decision. That's really got to hurt to hear those words. He hugs her goodbye and he says he's going to miss her so much and she says "then don't let me go." Oh, so sad! In MY opinion...I think it should have been AshLee going home. I think they have the least in common and she seems way too boring for him.