‘The Bachelor’: Dendrophilia, Delis, and Heartbreak at the Hometowns - The Ringer

One of the biggest problems with this entire franchise is that it expects the lead to pick a partner while essentially dating in a fantasy world—helicopter rides and hot tubs in the woods and horse-drawn carriages and sleepovers at museums.

What follows is the realest shit I’ve seen in 27 seasons of The Bachelor: After they go grocery shopping at a bougie market, Kaity enlists Zach to carry a mattress and build furniture—FROM IKEA—and somehow, they still want to make out with each other when they finish.

Older siblings truly did the emotional heavy lifting this week, and none handled the task better than Ariel’s brother, Bobby, who made it pretty clear that he thinks that both Zach and this entire show are full of shit.

Zach, meanwhile, has spoken very little about his own faith—and didn’t even include it among his favorite f words on the first night, when he told the women he loved “family, football, and frozen pizza.” (See: I knew the “good cook” thing was a lie.)

The family portion of the date reaches its emotional peak in Charity’s one-on-one time with her brother Nehemiah, who breaks down in tears himself when he tells her he wasn’t sure she would be OK after her last breakup.

Later, after some intimate slow dancing at a country bar, Charity tells Zach that “it’s safe to say I’m falling in love.” He responds with a quick kiss and a hug and the five words every girl wants to hear: “Wild, I know, it’s crazy.”