The Bachelorette, Ep. 9.9 & 9.10

Before I recap the last 2 episodes, I just wanted to point out what I had noticed, and RealitySteve explained in more detail about the schedule this season. Normally, the Men Tell All episode is shown after the overnight dates with the final 3, and right before the finale with the final 2. This year, they showed the Men Tell All after the hometown dates and before the overnight dates. Why? RealitySteve has a possible reason that involves why they made the finale 2 parts, and with the final 3. So as not to spoil the outcome of the overnights...keep reading, and I'll explain at the end.

The Men Tell All
The Highlights:

• Jonathan (aka "First Night Fantasy Suite Guy")--he apologized for his joke-gone-wrong, and he was happy he didn't get booed (Michael said it was because no one remembered him)
• Brian (aka "Guy With A Girlfriend")--he chose not to show up; the guys were proud of Des for quickly kicking him to the curb
• Ben is the first one in the hot seat. Some strong boos followed the clips of his time on the show. He regretted what he said in the limo after he got rejected by Des. Everyone said that he basically has 2 personalities: he's one way with Des and in front of the camera, and the opposite when the cameras were off and he was with the guys. Ben's son's mom met Dan in Vegas and said he has not been a father to Ben and that he only filed for custody after the show.
• James still doesn't think that he said anything wrong simply because he was talking with "the guys", and he thinks that he was bullied and attacked. He thinks that the guys ruined his chances with Des and that he deserves an apology. Mikey basically corroborated James's story and agreed that they didn't have a master plan to become the Bachelor. Mikey got very upset when Kasey said word for word what he heard them both say. Juan Pablo says he likes James, but he would not want him to date his daughter or his sister.
• Juan Pablo--basically there is not one person who doesn't love Juan Pablo! Can anyone say "the next Bachelor"???
• Zak--for some reason Chris called his relationship with Des a "love affair"...that was odd. He still seemed very emotional, and almost broke down in tears when Chris read what Zak had written in invisible ink in the journal he gave to Des. He admitted that he still loves Des and doesn't think that will ever go away. 
• Des joined the party and chatted with Chris and the guys. She asked Jonathan if he regretted anything that first night (and he did). She really let James have it and said that she felt, after watching the show, that she was being manipulated by James. She said his story was up and down and didn't think it was right to be thinking about his second wife while he was still with the first. Apparently, Des still can't say Juan Pablo's name, and she said she got the most hate mail when she sent him home. He asked her why she didn't give him a one-on-one date, and she didn't really give him a good answer. When she talked to Zak she said she thought he had everything she was looking for, but she had to weigh all of the relationships and she didn't know if their emotional connection was strong enough. She said that he is similar to her in that he hides behind his smile, which is something that Sean said about her. Zak seemed really surprised by that statement, but said that it totally made sense and he was appreciative that she pointed it out. Then he sang a song he wrote for her. Lots of tears during/after that one!
• Bloopers! Always one of the best parts of the show! They seriously need to show this kind of stuff each episode...seriously.

Finale Part 1-Overnight Dates (final 3)

Drew

• Drew is head over heels in love, and Des loves his abs and that he's gorgeous
• Some other adjectives she used to describe him were: sweet, loyal, romantic
• Drew is falling more in love with her every day and he is sure that he is going to marry her
• Fantasy Suite: YES

Chris

• She thinks he would make the perfect husband, and he is "truly, madly, deeply in love with her"
• Adjectives she uses to describe him: kind, romantic, hot
• He is thinking about the future and wants to know if she would move to Seattle with him; she said she would be open to it
• Fantasy Suite: YES

Brooks

• Brooks should feel pretty special: about 1 hour of the 2 hour episode was devoted to him.
• He doesn't know why he isn't ready to tell Des that he loves her. He goes home to visit his family to ask for advice. "The idea of proposing makes me uncomfortable." Yikes!
• His sister says that he should know by now if he loves her or not (really? he's only known her a couple months)
• Before meeting with Des, Brooks talks with Chris H. and tells him that he isn't sure if she is the right person for him or if he's ready to be married to her. When Chris asks if he's in love with her, he says "I don't know." By the end of the conversation, he decides that if he doesn't feel like he's in love with her by now that he probably won't feel it. Chris
• She says she has deeper feelings for Brooks than the other guys, and says she is falling in love with him
• Time for the date: Des says Brooks was always a front runner and that their date is going to be stress free and no worries. She says now that she IS in love with him and that if he proposed she "would definitely say yes".
• Right away she knows that something is wrong with him...and then the waterworks start. First her, then him, as he tries and fails at finding the right words to say exactly what he's feeling. He took forever to basically say nothing.
• She is devastated and asks him why he is telling her this now, and he said it was because he didn't know how he really felt. He says that when they are apart, he loses what he feels for her and it takes him awhile to remember how he feels.
• He said he just doesn't feel it, and she breaks down and curls up into a little ball. She says she can't look at him and she tells him to "stop it" when he tries to put his arms around her.
• She tells him she loves him and he wondered why she didn't say it to him sooner. The 2 of them are just a mess at this point. His hair is blown all over the place, and he runs his hands all through it and it looks like he's been through a tornado!
• She says that even though he broke her heart, she still loves him. 
• She walks him to the limo, and he says that he should just shut up because it isn't helping. She hugged him, said goodbye and quickly walked back to the dock, curled up in a little ball and sobbed uncontrollably. Cut back to Brooks, who is also sobbing uncontrollably and is all red in the face, saying it was the worst day of his life. Then he drops to his knees and cries some more.
• I think Brooks finally put an end to people referring to the men of the Bachelor/Bachelorette who cry as pulling a "Mesnick" (referring to Jason crying on the balcony). They will now call it "the Brooks".
• Des says it's over because she doesn't love the other 2 as much as she loves Brooks and they deserve more than that.

So now, back to why they decided to air the Men Tell All before the overnight dates. Brooks obviously comes back in Part 2 of the finale. If he didn't, they would have just had a 1 part finale like always, and Brooks would have been on the Men Tell All like all 3rd place finishers are. Why make a 2 part finale if she ends up with Chris or Drew who were obviously runners-up in her eyes? She was/is in love with Brooks, so there is no way that she ends up with ether of the other 2. She has not even tried to hide the fact that she likes/loves Brooks more than the other 2, so it would be the worst ending ever if she chose either of them at this point. And like RealitySteve pointed out...just because Brooks "goes home" does not mean that he doesn't or can't come back. Don't count him out just yet.