Dates during the first official week of a Bachelor season usually equate to modest trips to the beach or a casual helicopter ride, but Arie Luyendyk’s first one-on-one dates on Monday’s episode took an extremely different turn.
Although I loved the down-to-earth realness of first date receiver Becca Kufrin, seeing Arie shower her with fancy dresses and expensive shoes felt a little strange. Have we entered an alternative time zone that’s two months ahead and showing us the final four contestants’ dates? The glitziest gift Rachel Lindsay gave one of her Bachelorette guys was a watch while in Europe, which I guess is like the male equivalent of a coveted dress-and-shoe combo?
Nah, just kidding. It’s totally not.
Krystal Nielson, the second one-on-one date, wasn’t spoiled to the same extreme, but she had the unprecedented task of visiting Arie’s hometown and meeting his family during the competition’s first week. The date got intense pretty quickly, with Arie whipping out baby photos and home videos despite the fact that it was evidence of his past life as Zach Braff. Meeting the Luyendyks also inspired Krystal to open up about her difficult relationship with her family, which is huge for first date conversations.
While the show’s attempts at being more serious sooner could be a good sign, count me among the fans confused about how extra Becca and Krystal’s dates were. Here are 10 of our favorite real AF tweets about these women’s peculiar dates.
Walking in from a date with Arie like.. #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/SLxyY8fPYc
— Life of Y’all (@LifeofYall) January 9, 2018
Firstly, the goodies Becca came away from her date with were pretty excessive. Who else thinks that she’ll have to find a stellar hiding spot for those Louboutins when there are still that many jealous women around?
This first date feels more like Arie signed up to be a sugar daddy than #thebachelor…just me? pic.twitter.com/nHEK34KMRI
— Taylor Nolan (@taymocha) January 9, 2018
In fact, just how doting Arie was of Becca felt a tad creepy. There is such a thing as coming on too strong.
I’m not sure what kind of baby they’re having after that confetti gender reveal. #TheBachelor
— Jill Biden (@JillBidenVeep) January 9, 2018
In an Instagram moment gone wrong, Becca and Arie’s attempts to launch a confetti release stalled before they essentially triggered a sonic boom. Like…why did there have to be confetti? They were alone? In an abandoned-looking room?
The Bachelor blew its budget on Becca K’s date so they can’t afford anything else but home visits, apparently. #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/roHGsf3q4c
— Jackie K. (@___jackiekiley) January 9, 2018
Becca’s date included a motorcycle, a shopping spree, a B-list celeb appearance and an unnecessarily high confetti budget. So…should everyone just go home now?
When he takes you to meet the parents on the first date #thebachelor pic.twitter.com/plTVvHx8aj
— Jennifer Grothe (@jjgrothe07) January 9, 2018
“Oh, nvm, we’re just going to slowly introduce the women to Arie’s parents each week. That’ll save us money for another candlelit personal concert by the end of the season!”
That sound you hear is ovaries dying all across America… #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/4wVOU8y8wq
— Samantha Highfill (@samhighfill) January 9, 2018
Going through the family archives of home videos is cute if you’re at your sister’s baby shower. On a first date, I don’t even want to see a picture of the guy’s bad haircut from two weeks ago.
Krystal meeting the parents on the first date like #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/0SFVl03FRW
— Cassidy Waugh (@CassWaugh) January 9, 2018
Imagine being one of the final two to meet Arie’s parents and all your future mother-in-law can talk about is how nice that Krystal girl was.
i feel like things are turbo-charged so far: neil lane, meet-the-parents, hometown visit… IN THE FIRST EPISODE. at this rate, the show’s going to devolve into bachelor in paradise by the overnights. #TheBachelor #Bachelor pic.twitter.com/IvIMl7tyL1
— citizen janey (@citizenjaney) January 9, 2018
Plot twist: Arie proposes mid-season and a new Bachelor arrives…
Maybe Arie can just choose Krystal right now and then Peter can take over for the rest of the season #TheBachelor
— Patti Murin (@PattiMurin) January 9, 2018
I mean, I’m down.
These dates are so over the top for this early. Methinks the network felt like they needed to overcompensate for the fact that no one knew who Arie was? #TheBachelor
— Emma Gray (@emmaladyrose) January 9, 2018
Ultimately, if this episode is any warning of how the season may go, we have many a drastically intimate one-on-one to look forward to. If there are any dates that require Arie to put on scrubs or a white lab coat a la Braff’s J.D., I’m totally fine with this faster pace.
Like looking in the mirror. #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/r7skRQOqqJ
— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) January 9, 2018