This episode reminded me of why I love The Bachelorette more than The Bachelor – 25 men and all of those shirtless afternoons by the pool. *Sigh*

That and the bachelorettes aren’t afraid to ask the hard questions. Granted they usually wait until they’ve gotten a few dates in, but not this one. Oh no, Emily is coming out with guns-a-blazin’, putting those boys to the fire and making ‘em sweat. Exhibit A: For her second one-on-one date she asked Joe where he saw himself in 5 years and made him explain his very vague answer. Spoiler alert: she sent him home at the end of the date and watched the fireworks that had been planned solo.

Who Got Kicked Off: Well, we already know Joe…
The men in red were eliminated last night. Interestingly enough, 2 out of the 3 (Aaron and Kyle) were from Long Beach, CA. I guess Emily’s just not feeling the Long Beach love.

One-on-One: Ryan was lucky enough to go on the first one-on-one date. Instead of an over-the-top date, Emily really wanted to test Ryan. After having him help bring in the groceries, they baked cookies together for her daughter’s soccer team. Ryan seemed particularly uncomfortable and caught off guard. (I don’t know about this one – he had to force enthusiasm when he should have been excited just to spend time with her.) Emily fulfilled her duties as “snack mom” by delivering the cookies to the team, and made Ryan wait in the car again reiterating that she is very protective of her daughter. Kudos, Mom.

Group Date: 13 guys on one date. Talk about overwhelming. Plus Emily got to meet Kermit the Frog and Ms Piggy. She had the bachelors perform with The Muppets to raise money for The Ricky Hendrick Centers for Intensive Care at The Levine Children’s Hospital.

3 things I learned from this date: 1.) The Muppets still make me smile and give me warm fuzzy feelings all over (especially when Kermit sang Rainbow Connection with Emily and her daughter. Adorable.) 2.) Charlie melts my heart. 3.) Kyle and John are terrible comedians.

As we will recall, Charlie had a major accident falling from a 15 foot balcony, suffering a coma and severe injuries. He had to relearn quite a bit and speech is still hard for him. When he was assigned the comedian group, he admitted to Emily he still had insecurities about his speech and could not perform that act. He still volunteered to do the dancing or participate in some other way. Then of course, surprise twist, Ms Piggy hosted an impromptu talk show bit and guess who was chosen to go up. Yup, Charlie. Ms Piggy asked him how he would impress a woman. His response: Tell her how beautiful she is and how happy he was to have her in his life. Heart melted. Despite Kyle and Jon’s terrible comedy routine (A for effort, though) the group raised $20,000 for the charity.

Rose on the Group Date: Jef, (still my fave) had a nice heart-to-heart with Emily and walked away with a rose.

One-on-One: Emily took Joe to Greenbrier, a resort in her hometown of West Virginia where she spent a lot of her childhood. Well, we all know how that date ended. I have to say I respect Emily for taking this so seriously. She knows what she’s looking for and wants this engagement to be the last.

Plus, sending him home sent an unspoken message that she is serious about finding a dad for her daughter and isn’t just here to mess around. Although this did spur the “I’m great with kids” avalanche during the rose ceremony.

Arie didn’t have a date this week, but he didn’t need one. He is too cute for his own good. Emily told him, “You make me nervous.”

Awkward Moment of the Night: Rose ceremony – Ryan wrote Emily a letter. Correction: a novel – 7 pieces of paper (Friends reference: front and back!) Se-ven and they’ve been on ONE date. Can you imagine the trees that will suffer if they go on any more dates? He had her read it aloud. Get this, Tony was going to come steal Emily away but instead had to stand by and listen to her read it aloud for SEVEN pages. It was awesome.

Kalon vs Stevie: Rant part 2 on Kalon – I don’t like him. I think he is presumptuous and arrogant and I don’t like him. As Sean put it, “He uses his vocabulary to display dominance in the house.” And this is getting on Stevie’s nerves.

Quote of the Night: I had my doubts about you, Wolf (John), and I still can’t get on board with the nickname, but you’re alright in my book. You just jumped up a few pegs with this little gem of the night in reference to Kaylon: “I have a rule. If you have Louis Vuitton luggage and you’re a dude you’re a *bleep*.” If I can read ABC’s blurred mouths correctly, that word was douche. Amen, Wolf.

But apparently Emily is seeing a side of Kalon that editors aren’t showing, because she called his name first at the rose ceremony. Yes, there were shouts of disapproval echoing our abode.

Next week brings another week in Charlotte, NC.

Side Note: Chris Harrison informs us that the Ostrich egg is “alive and well” and that Travis has been taking excellent care of it.

Side Note, Side Note: Ryan (henceforth known as paper boy) really likes his lined notebook paper. Fun Fact: He’s the one who greeted Emily with a note on night one of introductions. (see previous recap)