Bachelorette Blog: Des week 3

I know, I know, I'm so far behind on my Bachelorette Blog this week! It's been a little crazy so I'm just now getting to this!

This week there were 2 group dates and only a single one-on-one date. I feel like this is something new, I don't remember another time where there were two group dates in one episode but I really liked it because I *think* all of the guys got a date this week! Good idea Bachelorette!

Group Date #1 - Dodgeball!

This date was really funny, the guys got into the game and were very competitive! Drew's play by play of his win was hilarious and he was so excited! The guys played 3 games, best 2 out of 3 was the winning team. In game 2 however, Brooks broke his finger. It looked pretty nasty and he ended up having to leave the date to go to the hospital. Des was clearly upset that Brooks got hurt and especially that he had to leave (you can tell she really likes him). The blue team ended up winning the challenge but because Des is so sweet and she really wants to spend as much time as she can with the guys she brought them all to the after party (where Brooks was able to attend and get some precious alone time with Des after his hospital visit).

At the after party we got to see a couple of "stand out" guys that we've heard very little from before:
Brad - Brad was able to reveal to Des that he has a three year old son named Maddox whom he takes care of full time with the help of his family. It turns out his son's mom was a pretty volatile person, with a drinking problem and things ended after one night she tried to leave in his car while drunk. After trying to stop her the cops came and arrested him on domestic charges. Lucky for him, he was able to get the charges dismissed. I think Des really appreciated his honesty, and seriously it's good that he revealed this up front because if he makes it to the top 5 or so, you know it would be coming out in the tabloids! Brad seems like a nice guy, I handn't really noticed him before but I could see things going further with Brad and Des.

Chris - Chris seems quite, shy and honestly a little nerdy. He proved himself the romantic though when he found a private spot on the roof with an amazing view to steal Des away to. Good move Chris, and their interaction and his initiative won him the rose on the group date! The weird part of winning the rose was that he and Des got to watch a  private performance but all the other guys could see them! It was so awkward. Des and Chris were enjoying the performance and dancing and kissing and all the other guys were just watching them.... why didn't they go back to the house?

The first date was pretty much drama free, and surprisingly so since Ben was on the group date. We saw very little of him which was fine by me... but the Ben drama was just waiting for later in the episode, more on that to come!

One-on-One date - Casey

For the one-on-one date Des chose to take Casey (another guy we haven't seen much of up until now). But before she could leave on her date with him Chris Harrison had some upsetting and extremely drama filled news!

Brian and his girlfriend

The mysterious girlfriend from all the show promos up to this point was Brian's! They had a really annoying confrontation where she got all squealy. For as upset as she was she barely cried. It seemed a little forced to me and kind of fake but whatever, Brian is officially gone. I kind of think the show plants one guy every season who is "there for the wrong reasons" and has a girlfriend so that they can show how "serious" the Bachelorette is about her journey for love by sending the scoundrel packing.

All that drama made for a weird day and unfortunately that reflected on Casey's one-on-one date. It was so uncomfortable. Pretty much everything went wrong and at one point Des even said "This has been a disastrous date." Obviously she didn't feel like the disaster was Casey's fault because she thinks he has potential and gave him a rose in the end. I don't really see any chemistry between these two so my guess is she was just being nice.

Group date #2 - Cowboy Boot Camp (Lone Ranger Stunts)

It was a really good idea to have another group date instead of a second one-on-one! Since it was a smaller group of guys she got to spend a lot of individual time with each of the guys and we got to see a lot more of their personalities! For the group date she had the guys work with the stunt people from the new Lone Ranger movie and each guy got to perform a cowboy scene. The winner (Juan Pablo) got to have more alone time with Des while they watched a screening of the movie.

The guys did a great job with this "challenge" and Des swooned over each and every one of them in their cowboy garb, I think she said she'd like them to dress like cowboys all the time and no more street clothes would be allowed which cracked me up! And although Brydon was "dreamy" Juan Pablo with his Spanish version of a cowboy won the challenge (but not the rose).

At the after party, Des got to spend a lot of time with each guy and her's what stood out to me the most:
James - Poor James! He's feeling conflicted because his father is sick and he wants to make sure he's there for a reason and that she could see things moving forward with him, otherwise he feels like he should go home to be with his father. Sweet guy, he's obviously very loving and caring. Turns out Des really wants him to stay around because she gave him the rose and in exchange he gave her a daisy. It was pretty cute. Probably the cutest interaction of the week.

Zak W - oddly confident and I'm starting to think he's a creeper. What I don't like is that he said he needs to "convince her" that he's the one for her... ummmm you should have to convince someone to love you. I don't like it.

Cocktail Party = Pool Party!

In lieu of a cocktail party, Des decided to have a more casual pool party! I really like the way Des is "playing" this game. She's making great decisions on how the dates are conducted. Having a more relaxed day with the guys instead of a tense cocktail party where everyone is gossiping and drinking when they aren't alone with her made for much more natural interactions.

Even though it was a fun, relaxed pool party, it was still chalked full of Ben drama! Before Des even came in to the house Ben met her at the car and asked if they could go for a ride for some alone time. I don't really see anything wrong with this. Ben is this season's Courtney, Vienna or Michelle Money. In their seasons, they did everything they could to see their Bachelor, including "breaking the rules" for more alone time and rubbed all the other girls the wrong way. And guess what? It works! Courtney and Vienna both won, but eventually broke it off with their Bachelors. Ben knows how to play and he wants Des!

The drama came in because he lied to the guys about having time with her. All the guys saw him get out of the car when he got back and he turned around and told them he hadn't had any one-on-one time with her this week. Which lead to a confrontation, of course. Seriously Ben, just don't lie and all will be fine. You big liar!

I love this dress!

We also go a lot of Brandon drama this week because he told Des that he was already in love with her... way to scare her off Brandon. He's a very emotional guy and unfortunately in the end his heart got broken because Des didn't love him back.

Leaving us this week: Brandon and Dan (who's Dan?)
Standouts of the week: James and Brad
Overall favorites thus far: Brooks and Brydon