The guys are welcomed to Taiwan by Harrison. Mrs. Dugan points out the odd distance between the guys and Harrison. He is literally 30 yards away from them. He should have used a bullhorn when explaining the three one-on-ones and group date.
Greek Groban and the Pissing Dog
Ashley dishes that her relationship with Greek Groban is slowly proceeding compared to the others. But they have just the thing to get things heated up: a steam engine. BOOM.
Ashley explains that "wishes come true" during this rather picturesque lantern lighting ceremony. And she drops an early favorite for Dugan's quote of the night:
"He is taking this lantern thing seriously. It makes me think there may be a future there."
Greek Groban explains he has a big family. I know everyone's thinking it:
Greek Groban tells Ashley he has strong feelings, but is not ready to throw around the L word just yet. Perhaps because he's known her for approximately 13 days. While shown in the credits, it was probably the highlight of the episode, but a dog pissed on their wish lantern. It was hilarious.
Ben's Gorges Date
Ben heard about the Gorges date and wisely guessed there would be some "outdoor time." Unless Taiwan has indoor gorges, Dugan wasn't ready to proclaim Winemaker the next Nostradamus. Early on in the date, we learned just how much of a favorite Ben had become. Ashley claimed Ben was "the man" on his moped. ON. A. MOPED.
At dinner, Ashley made a pretty big faux pas in Ben's world. She compared the wine to the wine he brought her. You could see the devastation in Ben's face. The Dental Student does not have a deft palate. Ben's face relayed the wines were similar along the lines of "they were both white." The wine flop doesn't end the date, nor do they...until the next morning.
Cupcake "doesn't give a fuck" which clearly means he gives a lot a fuck. Winemaker gets a nickname from the men upon his arrival, Mr. 24 hours. I like it, but we're sticking with Winemaker at WWT.
"Group Dates Suck"
Another gem from Cupcake while completely unravelling on the group date of wedding photos. Lucas Oil had to wear a condom. El Douche was dressed up in the Dumb & Dumber tuxes. Lucas Oil and El Douche were set up to fail and excelled.
Cupcake gets to wear a tux and crumbles. But his connection with Ashley and whining secure a rose and a hometown date.
Solar Vienna and the lack of Sunshine
Perhaps it was an omen that the sun did not appear in Taiwan for Solar Vienna. But do you know who did? The fortune teller from Big masquerading as a Taiwanese God of Love.
Ashley searched and searched for the romantic connection with Solar Vienna but she came to the same conclusion as the rest of the guys in the house: "I'm just not feeling it." Hey, Ryan!!!
Solar Vienna got the boot mid date. Watching Ryan's meltdown, Dugan felt this date might as well have taken place in Fukushima instead of Taiwan.
Rose Ceremony
Consistent with the heavy theme of inserted pictures, we'll continue for the Rose Ceremony portion of the blog.
The crumbling cupcake is safe.
Who's joining him:
Greek Groban.
Winemaker.
El Douche.
Don't stress Lucas, any Texan knows a lot of wells end up dry. Keep digging, buddy. Keep digging.
Posts
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ReplyDeleteOutstanding recap, Dugan. Agreed - was surprised we are already nearing the hometowns. Where has the season gone?
ReplyDeleteAs a result of the shrinking group of uninteresting contestants, I noted the remarkable similarities between Greek Groban and Winemaker Ben. Benstantine, if you will. By putting their two 1:1 dates in consecutive order, I was convinced that the producers were setting up a priceless "Ashley can't tell these guys apart" moment. But, alas, it never came. Fleiss & Co., that's what we call a missed opportunity.
Yes, the wine moment between Ashley and Ben was noted in our household, too. (See Tim's previous post, while under the pleasure and influce of a certain Medlock Ames 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.) After Ashely's comment on the similarities of the wine to Ben's, we both let out an audible "ouch" knowing that her flip comparison would not be well received. How could it be when she said that the nondescrip producer's pick white wine reminded her of Ben's Evolve 2009 Sauvingnon Blanc, which was "was hand-picked from two separate blocks on a cold foggy morning to ensure flavors were locked in the berries". I mean, really ..... But, this SF wine snob-in-training can't wait to see how she fares in Sonoma. Hah!
Hey Dugan, not even a shout out for the Uverse dude? After all he did for you?
Lizkarwags,
ReplyDeleteFunny comment re the Uverse dude. He shows up at the house around 3:00pm EST and Mrs. Dugan and I figure that is PLENTY of time to watch/take notes of the Bachelorette. But as we are nearing 7:50pm, no TV in sight. We start to get nervous. TV starts to flicker and of all channels in the universe, ABC comes in locally in HD.
As Uverse guy walks outside to the truck, Dugan springs into action and tries to figure out the new remote to find and record the Bachelorette, and return to dinner with Mrs. Dugan so as to avoid the societal scorn of the Uverse installer for setting up the Bachelorette as the most important item on the DVR that I have to interrupt his installation.
Run. on. sentence.
Dugan. Great post as always. I agree with you that it's amazing that we are down to 6 guys (now 4). It just feels too soon for "hometowns." I thoroughly enjoyed being irritated by Ashley and the guys referring to hometown dates as "hometowns." It makes the show sound too much like a dating show....oh wait.
ReplyDeleteI had some strong feelings about Solar Vienna's strong feelings. I actually thought he kind of went out on top. Though he obviously was not trying to be the next Bachelor, I think he went out with grace. He has some very Pavelkian qualities.
I also thought that Ashley lost some major points when Solar Vienna asked her about the environment and what she does to conserve our planet. She looked at him like he was crazy and then told a story about how she laughs at recycling. That seemed like an especially antiquated viewpoint. In the post-An Inconvenient Truth era, shouldn't we all recycle?
I wish I could make a vegas bet on the final 3. I think I would bet my house that it's Cupcake, Winemaker, and Greek Groban. El Douche is just along for the ride right now.
My favorite line of the night was a quick one, but a good one. When getting on the not-so-masculine scooter, Winemaker commented, "Harry and Lloyd." I thought maybe they were headed to a place in Taiwan where the beer flows like wine.
How appropriate that there would be a Dumb and Dumber suit later in the episode.
Though the ratings this season are down 10%, my love of the show is up 100%.
Until next week.