Don’t fret, rose lovers. Tayshia Adams has finally come to the rescue. After Clare Crawley self-exited with Dale Moss and single-handedly blew up The Bachelorette last week, we can finally resume watching season 16 with a new, improved lead. To say the least, producers pulled the show out of a death spiral that made the first four episodes nearly unwatchable.
With Crawley finally out of the way, it’s easy to see Tayshia Adams should have had first grabs at leading the season. Better late than never. She’s charismatic; she’s romantic; she’s perky; she’s been married before; she’s everything we would hope for and more from The Bachelorette.
Overnight, the vibe of this season has completely changed for the better, as the contestants are finally being given a chance to explore what they came on the show for in the first place. Everyone’s excited, and so are we. Here are some highlights you may have missed from episode five of The Bachelorette:
Biggest Surprise: Four new men
The biggest twist in this episode was when four new contestants walked through the door. Initially, the producers casted an unusually high number of contestants -- fearing that some would test positive for COVID-19. However, it’s a little suspicious that the “extras” were just hanging around the resort, waiting to be tapped in if an emergency were to happen. The Bachelorette lead swap was the emergency in this case.
Did they have to stop filming for two weeks so the new contestants could quarantine? Did Tayshia Adams herself quarantine before stepping in? It all seems fishy and has led many people to speculate if this season was calculated and planned for the dramatic swap.
Nonetheless, we have four new men: Spencer, Montel, Peter and Noah. As soon as they come strolling out of the limo, there’s instant animosity between the new-comers and the other 16 remaining contestants. The guys choose to gang up on Spencer, who shows no problem in putting in the effort when getting to know Tayshia.
Unlike most, he truly made the most of his time with pulling her aside first, which leads him to receiving the first impression rose of the night. The men were obviously pissed, but it only makes sense Tayshia would gravitate toward someone new that doesn’t have hung-up feelings on Clare.
Most Respect: Jason
Most of the remaining, overlooked men were overjoyed when given the opportunity to stick around, getting to know someone who is more enjoyable and will reciprocate some sort of interest that Clare never fulfilled. Well, everyone but Jason, that is.
Sure, he had a brief one-on-one with Clare and expressed his inner “demons,” but also, he makes it clear that he just isn’t over her yet. It meant a lot to him, but clearly not to Clare who chose to just focus on Dale. After all, she basically forced Jason to pry open dark parts of his past to just leave him in the dust.
Jason respects Tayshia, but ultimately decides he’s still in love with Clare and can’t open up to something new. “I love you guys. I came here not knowing what to expect. I think I fell in love with Clare,” he tells the other men. “It’s not respectful for me to be here anymore.”
In the middle of the night, Jason pays a visit to Tayshia to break the news. He tells her how happy he is that she stepped in, but that his feelings for Clare were real and still present.
“You deserve someone amazing, you deserve someone who is all in, and unfortunately I can’t do this anymore,” he expressed before leaving the resort. It would have been nice to know Jason more this season, but he doesn’t deserve any heat for respecting his own feelings and not wasting Tayshia’s time.
Simply put, he handled it like a champ.
Worst interruption: A tell-all from Clare and Dale
The last thing we wanted to see? A sit down with Clare and Dale. Roll your eyes all you want, because it’s a sob fest we certainly didn’t ask for. It could’ve been possibly the best episode in Bachelorette history, but producers just had to take down the fun meter a notch, so we could hear just “how amazing” Clare’s engaged life is.
She’s dead-set on the fact that Dale will always show up for her and that he’s all she’s ever wanted. “Now I have this man to be alongside me, to ensure that even if I’m not OK, he’s there to back me up.” News flash: Just because you need a man to feel fulfilled, doesn’t mean it’s a good message for young women. Even Chris Harrison has no problem telling her she blew up her own season.
The most embarrassing moment was when Chris asked what was next for the couple and Clare shouts, “babies!” With panic on his face, Dale tries to dismiss her response and power through by stating that marriage will be before anything. We could all see his weakness. Nonetheless, they clearly aren’t on the same page, but good luck to the happy couple.
Hopefully, the show isn’t Clare Crawley cursed and Tayshia can take The Bachelorette baton and run toward her happy ending.
