The real roses this Bachelorette season were the friends the guys made along the way

I have complained about this show for so long that this season is actually feeling odd to me, just because of how high it is on the enjoyment scale. I mean, Matt’s season was rough, right? Also: The Clare/Tayshia fused season was not without its hurdles, Peter and Colton were boring, Hannah B kinda clueless, and wow, you probably have to go all the way back to Becca’s season to find a Bachelor/Bachelorette lead I liked as much as this one. Like Becca, Katie is a strong, confident, does-not-put-up-with-bullshit kind of person. And like Becca, Katie is surrounded by an impressive group of guys who seem like genuine, compassionate, supportive friends, give or take the occasional outlier. Did anyone else straight-up shudder when they saw the next Bachelor In Paradise cast list? Kelsey? Karl? Serena C? Queen Fricking Victoria? Who ever wanted to see these people again, except to stoke up drama?

This episode pretty much perfectly displayed the affection among (again, most) of the remaining 12 guys. First they were unable to even come up with anything at the drag-queen themed roast about anyone except Hunter, because honestly, how could you come up with something mean to say about Greg? Or Michael A? And I think Hunter didn’t retaliate not because he was trying to show Katie what a good guy he is, but because he wasn’t clever enough to come up with anything. (How cute was Michael A getting so psyched over those queens though, loved it. Also, I thought the challenge was going to be to have the men dress up in drag, which would have been fun.)

The Justin date was just kind of a snoozefest, and bizarre to boot. What is pushing Justin and Katie into a fake wedding supposed to prove? The Connor date, in comparison, was riveting, but for some pretty awful reasons, depending on how much you liked Connor. It was nice to see Jason again (from Becca’s season!) and it’s clear that he and Kaitlyn have an enviable chemistry that Kate and Connor just lacked (just like Kate and Matt, actually). Unfortunately, Connor was not aware of this on his end. If Katie just wasn’t feeling it, she was right to break up with him and to be honest about it, but his “How bad of a kisser am I anyway?” despair was soul-crushing.

Fortunately, spirits were soon lifted by seeing all the guys say goodbye to Connor. We’ve seen a lot of people leave mid-date on this show, so I’m sure this has happened before, but it was nice to see Connor get to say his farewells to the many friends he’d made. The kiss on the cheek he got from pure heart Michael A almost killed me, and even Aaron was surprisingly emotional. Katie Thurston tweeted out shots of all the guys hugging Connor with the caption: “This over drama,” and I fee like that is what I’ve been saying over the course of several Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons. Yes, they’re all competing for the same person, but they don’t have to all hate each other while they’re doing it, and it’s a lot less painful to watch when they don’t.

Godspeed, Connor. Somewhere out there is a cat lady who is sure to fall for you. Katie was also appropriately devastated by Connor’s departure, as it was a tough decision for her, but Blake’s late-night visit just proved her point: If you don’t have mad passion, especially at the beginning, what’s the point?

Although now, with Hunter leaving, we might finally have a no-bad-apples bunch left for Katie. I am shocked she picked fire fighter Brendan—have we ever even seen the two of them talk?—but am relieved that she got rid of Hunter straightaway. Also not seeing the appeal of the virginal Mike P, so my pic for the Top 5 (I can’t just pick 4, but I will not lie about this list, unlike Hunter): Andrew S, Justin, Blake, Greg, Michael A. I really could see Greg going the whole way, but we will find out over this last handful of weeks.

Only one thing was disturbing about Katie’s final picks: It seemed like she killed all the messengers. James, Tre, Aaron: They all tried to warn her about unscrupulous guys in the past. And they’ve been right. By Katie pointedly getting rid of all of them, there’s some kind of “snitches get stitches” (or, a ride home in the limo) lesson to be learned here.

I am also unsure about Katie’s WOWO (week off from whack off) challenge that kicked off the episode. The point may be to show Katie who the master of their domain is, but it also just seemed kind of mean and pointless. But it was almost worth it for the aftermath of Blake’s visit to Katie, complete with do not disturb sign and perfectly timed sprinklers. Bravo, editors, and really, well done all around for an extremely satisfying Bachelorette episode.

Stray observations

• The girls thinking that Katie was talking about the guys’ skincare routine instead of masturbation was hilarious.
• Pro tip: Don’t ever say on a Bachelor show, “I just don’t know how this night could be ruined.” It’s like saying Beetlejuice three times. Terrible things are bound to happen.
• So Blake was the big mystery guest they were pushing in the promos? Not much of a surprise, he was already there.
• That Katie vomit-cam was a bit much; she was obviously upset, just leave her in peace!
• Next week: More tears, looks like, as hometowns get closer.