ABCIt's hometown dates night, aka one of the most notoriously entertaining episodes of all Bachelor Nation, but it's also a sad night as host Chris Harrison informs Andi, Nick, Chris, Josh, and Marcus of Eric Hill's tragic passing due to a paragliding accident. Here's how it all went down:
Nick the Jerkface: No secrets here, guys: We do not like Nick. We haven't liked him for weeks, and we're tired of the fact that he is still there and still making Andi swoon. His Milwaukee family is either creepy or cute. They have a very Pinterest-y picture wall, and a small child who is endearing. Nick can't dance, though, and he's dumb. That's how we feel. Sorry not sorry.
Chris the Farmer: Andi's not sure she could move to Iowa and be a "homemaker," but Chris is pretty sweet, and also he has a house! A plane flies by that says "Chris Loves Andi." They ride a tractor, with Andi sitting on Chris' lap. Chris' mom (who is awesome) tells Andi that they both have gumption, and that she has to know what's in her heart.
They play Ghost in the Graveyard, and Andi says she had a wonderful night, and that there is some momentum with Chris. Seeing him around his family has helped her see that, and we kind of see it too. In fact, we're in. We want to ride tractors with Chris the Farmer, as long as we're also "allowed" to have our own career, should we so choose.
Josh the Former Athlete: First thing Josh and Andi do in Tampa? Sports, of course, because Josh is a former athlete, if you didn't know. Andi asks him how it feels to be back on the field. It's great. She's great at baseball, or great at breaking bats, so it's time for snuggles. She explains to us that Josh has an inner struggle with baseball. It's a love/hate type of thing, because of all the memories, and we're not quite sure about a guy whose main trauma comes from him not being a baseball player.
Apparently, everything in Josh's life is all about his brother Aaron, who is working on becoming a professional football player. Josh's mother informs Andi that Josh will probably need to go away on weekends to watch Aaron's games, so that's an important consideration in their relationship. His family is nice, but very obsessed with sports and Aaron's sports and we kind of understand why failing at sports is all Josh can talk about.
Marcus the "Stripper:" In Dallas, Texas, Marcus reenacted their first date by giving Andi a private strip tease. From a completely shallow perspective, Marcus wins and the other guys can just go right on home.
Apparently, Marcus doesn't open up to people very often, which makes Andi feel very special that he's been so open with her. She has some serious talks with both his mother and sister, and thinks he has a great family, and is impressed with their strength after all the things they've gone through. No one mentions sports. While this visit is nice and sweet and momentarily sexy, it did seem a little more boring than the other dates.
Later, the guys all show up at Chris Harrison's house, and sit in complete silence as they wait for Andi. After she arrives, Mr. Harrison tells them about Eric's death. They react with silence and tears, and the entire crew gathers to cry and comfort each other while we also start to cry. The odd positioning of the camera, looking through the doorway of the room everyone was in, made us feel like we were watching something very private that didn't need to be filmed. Was this real and compelling television? Absolutely. Was it necessary to show us? Probably not.
Andi was nearly losing it as she talked to Chris Harrison the next day. She worried about being strong for the guys, but he assured her that she had no responsibility to anyone.
As Andi stood in front of her final four and talked about losing "one of their own," it had never seemed so strange that a large group of guys all spent the past few weeks bonding over their desire to love the same woman.
It got to be too much for Andi. Before she could hand out the first rose, she abruptly walked out of the room, followed closely by Chris Harrison and, of course, a camera. She just needed a moment, however, and is soon back at the rose ceremony.
Josh, Chris, and Nick (ugh) all receive roses, and poor Marcus is sent home. Andi tells him that part of her knows he would give her the world, but she also knows they're not meant to be. They cry together, and everything is kind of devastating. He feels "like an idiot" as he rides away in the limo, regretting that he told her he loved her.
Tonight was sad. We're sad now. Not even the outtake involving Chris' family's lipstick anecdote could make us feel better. We wish Nick had gone home instead of Marcus. We feel for Eric Hill's family, and we feel like we were present for something we shouldn't have been present for.
What did you think? Did you feel like you were intruding? Did the right guy go home? Do you hate Nick as much as we do? Discuss with us in the comments.