Cringiest Moment
Candice Wierzbowski, digital product manager:?I¡¯m calling it: Colton has the worst taste of anyone who¡¯s ever been on this show, farmer or contestant, and that includes Joy, whose??last season. Everything he picked out during his shopping date with Zoe was cringey, though cringiest of all was him telling her he thought her style should be ¡°gaudy.¡±
Karen Lefever, paginator:?Well, guess who is it again? Yep, y¡¯all guessed it! Thanks for not letting me down, Colton. I would have to say the entire episode of Colton was one big cringe. First, his one-on-one time at the barn dance with Zoe, when she tells him to spit it out (meaning let¡¯s talk). But he had a mint in his mouth and thought she meant to actually "spit it out." And for a moment, it looked like he actually did spit it out ... how gross. But then he asked if she wanted to split it ... even more gross. Second cringe was in the same scene when he said, ¡°I am a bad kisser. Want to try?¡± Oh Colton, nice try, but he got shot down. Colton the kissing machine?¡ª now I know why he needs a mint! Just please don¡¯t share.
Stephanie Speicher, social media editor:?As much as I like Jay, my cringiest moment has to be when one of Jay's football players asked him if Karina was his girlfriend. How on earth is Jay supposed to explain to a group of children that he has four women living in his house right now? He never should have put himself in that position in the first place.
Lindsey Yoder, copy editor/editorial assistant:?When Colton tried to kiss Zoe at the barn dance by asking if she wanted to experience how bad a kisser he is. I¡¯d like to know where he¡¯s studying these pickup lines. Maybe an eighth-grade dating manual? (Good for Zoe for being like, ¡°nah.¡±)
Favorite Date
Candice:?I enjoyed John and Kaylee¡¯s golf date. Activities with low-stakes competition are fun and I think we got to see John loosen up a little.
Karen:?I liked all the dates for different reasons. I love sports, so a golf date would be fun and I have always wanted to drive a golf cart. Plus, John and Kaylee looked like they were having a fun time. I would probably crash the cart just like she did. And I want to rock the cute golf outfit and shades like she did, too.
Colton, wow a date walking around his town. While lame, I wouldn¡¯t mind my date taking me shopping and buying me something. But I would hope he wouldn¡¯t say my style was gaudy.
A date to a winery is always one that I would pick. A nice red wine, a charcuterie board and a beautiful scenic vineyard?¡ª well-done Matt.
This brings me to Jay¡¯s date with Karina. I will admit, a date to a kids football practice would not be an ideal date for most people, but I think he wanted to share something that is a big part of his life. And since both Jay and Karina are coaches, it seemed fitting. And she looked like she was having fun. What saved this date was the romantic?¡ª although clich¨¦?¡ª?part in the back of the pick-up truck with candles. I felt this date was genuine, and it most certainly had the most chemistry of the four dates. Sprinkle in some candles and romance with the sports and you have me at ¡°hello." I think Karina and Grace have similar personalities, so it will be interesting to see where this goes.
Stephanie:?I'm going with the date I think I would have enjoyed the most, the winery date with Matt and Alex. I also appreciate that Matt finally opened up a little bit more and got a tad bit deeper with his past and his emotions.
Lindsey:?If it were me, I would have enjoyed playing golf. But as a viewer, Matt and Alex¡¯s date at the vineyard was most revealing. Alex opened up and shared a lot about her marriage and why it ended. And the most we got from Matt about his last relationship was something along the lines of, ¡°It just didn¡¯t work out.¡± I¡¯m starting to think his placid smile is the only side we¡¯ll ever see.
Funniest Moment
Candice:?I can¡¯t decide which made me laugh harder: Colton¡¯s attempt at luring Zoe in for a kiss with, ¡°I¡¯m a terrible kisser. Wanna see?¡± or his declaration that she¡¯d have no trouble finding a job in healthcare because, ¡°People in Arkansas always hurt themselves.¡± Someone check on Colton. I think the connection between his brain and his mouth has been severed.
Karen:?By far the funniest thing was the young football players giving dating advice to Jay. First, they asked if she was his girlfriend, and Jay and Karina chuckled because technically he is dating all the girls. One even asked for her number. Sorry kid, I think you are a little too young for her ... but look out future ladies! And then the last one was so funny ... one of the boys said Jay needs to keep up the "rizz" if he wants to keep her. I needed to ask my coworkers what that meant. So for any of you older women like me, it means charisma. I certainly think Jay has that already. Show your charm and cute smile, Jay, and that is all you need to do.
Stephanie:?I'll give an honorable mention to John's little shimmy of a dance move, but the one that truly made me laugh out loud was Colton saying Zoe, an?anesthesiologist, "puts people to sleep." I'm not totally sure if Colton knows the difference between anesthesiology and euthanasia.?
Lindsey:?Colton saying in a serious manner that Zoe could easily work in Arkansas because people there hurt themselves a lot. Or anything Colton said in this episode.
Any Shockers?
Candice:?Farewell to Samantha. I was surprised and disappointed that John didn¡¯t do more to fight for her, despite his repeated claims that she was his favorite. I think his lack of response when she put all her emotional cards on the table was the final nail in the coffin for her.
Karen:?Shocker, Colton didn¡¯t go in for a kiss with Zoe on their date. It was so shocking the producer even asked him about it. He was very giddy about the date and he said he just liked talking to her and getting to know her. Wow, maybe he might respect her and didn¡¯t want to kiss her for this reason. We will see how this all plays out.
But wow, the big shocker for the week is Samantha¡¯s exit. She poured her heart out to John, telling him that sparks flew immediately, that he was the most amazing man she had ever met and that he is everything that she wants in a man. Sounds like she shouldn¡¯t leave. But then she ruined it and once again brought up my pet peeve of the season?¡ª needing to be at the wheel. That was her reason for leaving. At least I don¡¯t have to hear that ever again. Unless she comes back because she made a big mistake. But the biggest shocker was John¡¯s cold-hearted response of basically nothing. He said, ¡°Princess, it¡¯s been real.¡± Seriously, John, nothing? That spoke volumes to me about his character.
Stephanie:?I was a bit surprised that Samantha actually left, but even more surprised that John didn't even try to stop her. He told the producers??that he thought she was "perfect," but not he won't even fight for her to stay? I expected him to have some kind of reaction to her leaving, but certainly didn't expect him to just tell her that it's been real. Wow. Maybe our suspicions on our Afterparty podcast that John is secretly a robot are correct.?
Lindsey:?Samantha¡¯s departure. I think if John had urged her to stay and said he wanted to make things work, she would have stayed. Maybe the bigger shock was that he didn¡¯t make any effort to change her mind, despite saying in past episodes that she was ¡°pretty much perfect.¡±
Favorite Farmer
Candice:?It¡¯s still Jay. Despite taking Karina on what might be the worst date in the history of this series, I liked that he recognized the fact that she was someone who was helpful and engaged on his farm.
Karen:?Very simple, Jay keeps being my first choice. I think he is so genuine and adorable. He seems to be the one to have deeper conversations with his women and is very caring. I am looking forward to meeting his family in future episodes and seeing that part of his life. I think he will be the one farmer who ends up with someone at the end.
Stephanie:?Jay is still on top. He seems to have the most emotional maturity by far.
Lindsey:?Jay is undefeated. I think he handled the T¡¯yana situation well. He was kind to her during their talk, even though it was becoming clear to him from Karina¡¯s comment and Grace¡¯s story that she¡¯s not popular in the house. I think he has his eyes open but wants to give her a chance and is not interested in hurting her feelings or making assumptions. I respect that.
Final Thoughts
Candice:?Look at that! Colton made it through a date without kissing someone! Colton, for not kissing Zoe, you are hereby released from tom cat jail, but unfortunately, due to your horrific taste in women's shoes and accessories, you now must go straight to fashion jail.
Karen:?As a mom of two sons, I can¡¯t wait for next week to see who the moms choose for their sons. A son and a mom have a very special bond. I have tried a few times to pick a match for my sons, but it didn¡¯t work. Sorry! I want to see if these new women are ones I would have picked for each farmer. But like?, I don¡¯t really like the twist they added. I don¡¯t think it is fair to the original ladies. One thing I know for sure will happen is Colton will kiss his new lady.
Stephanie:?The line Colton used to try to kiss Zoe at the dance was probably the worst line I've ever heard. I'm so glad she didn't actually kiss him. Also, major props to the producers for calling Colton out after his date with Zoe to rib him about all his kissing. Even Colton seemed shocked that he might actually be forming some kind of emotional connection rather than just a physical one.
Lindsey:?I¡¯m not sure what to think about Matt. Of all the farmers, he¡¯s the one I know the least about. I don¡¯t see sparks when he interacts with any of the ladies. He seems to regard them all as nice-looking female friends. Alex said it best when she said she likes Matt but can¡¯t tell if he likes her. Neither can we!
