If you ask me, the worst episode of any Bachelor or Bachelorette season is The Men Tell All. So, I was relieved to see that this season the MTA was half normal episode and half men gabbing. It makes sense. At the end of the last episode, Tayshia still had seven men left. (Plus Bennett.) She had to let some of them leave so they could go yell at each other in front of Chris Harrison.
By the way, Chris is back! That was fast. We didn’t get that much Bachelorette insight from JoJo. Tayshia and Chris talk about the fact that Bennett returned and her thoughts at this point in the journey. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many men in touch with their feelings,” she says. Me neither.
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The first date of this episode is with Blake, who is clearly going home because I’m not sure he and Tayshia have even spoken to each other before this. Their date is with a “reiki and crystal master.” They learn about crystals and then the reiki master asks them to disrobe — thankfully, she just means to their bathing suits, but you never know with this show. They have to stare into each other’s eyes while Tayshia sits on Blake’s lap. I don't know why this required less clothing. Tayshia’s takeaway? “I don’t feel like he’s my guy.” She breaks up with him before the nighttime portion of the date.
Tayshia then goes to visit all the other men. Through tears she tells them that she’s having a hard time because she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and pulls Riley aside. It’s another breakup. She explains that they’re not in the same place in their feelings, and she doesn’t want to put him through hometowns unnecessarily. He’s really hurt. I just want to know why this isn’t happening at a rose ceremony, because we’re due for one. Tayshia mentions knowing Riley cares a lot about his family — and we’ve heard about his tough history with them — so maybe this was a logistical thing where she didn’t want his family to have to enter the La Quinta quarantine bubble? We don’t get those details.
The rose ceremony is the next day. As the guys are waiting, Bennett walks in. The men are not happy to see him, especially Zac and Noah. Bennett says he returned, in part, because he was being written off “as some Harvard d-bag.” He also says he’s there because Tayshia invited him. I guess this was the simplest way for her to get rid of him again.
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Ben already has a rose, and Tayshia hands out the other three to Zac, Ivan, and Brendan. Noah and Bennett are sent home, proving that Bennett’s return was just for drama in the previews. Also, she totally could have just let him and Noah both go during that two-on-one. Same outcome.
And now that we have the two most dramatic contestants of the season kicked off and ready to argue, it’s time for The Men Tell All. Only eight guys are there: Ed, Kenny, Bennett, Riley, Demar, Jason, Noah, and Blake. As Chris explains, “Due to the times we’re living in, this will be a more intimate Men Tell All.” Later Yosef, the guy who was terrible to Clare, joins them.
Of course, the main drama stems from Noah and Bennett, which means we have to hear this hashed out again. Bennett thinks Noah created the drama. Noah thinks Bennett is intimidated by him. Kenny takes on the classic Men Tell All role of the rando who is very passionate about issues that didn’t exactly involve him. At one point Noah calls Kenny “the One Direction party boy manager wearing camo with your star tattoos.” We know Kenny’s a “boy band manager,” but this diss is actually pretty generous. Noah and Bennett don’t end on good terms. The last word is Noah calling him a “d-bag.”
Next, Yosef comes out. In case you forgot, he’s the one who told Clare, “I’m ashamed to be associated with you” and “You’re not fit to be a mother to my child,” among other offensive things. His main issue was that he thought it was “classless” that some of the guys were asked to get naked on a dodgeball date, and he took this out on Clare. On The Men Tell All, Yosef says he doesn’t regret “speaking up for these guys,” which sets all of them off. They don’t need Yosef to stand up for them, period, but the way he talked to Clare was uncalled for no matter what his issue was. Kenny, who was on the date says, “At the end of the day, Yosef, we could have said no.” Riley says, “You’re a terrible person. Ladies, watch out for this man.” Chris Harrison asks if Yosef would be okay with someone speaking to his daughter the way he spoke to Clare, and he said, “If my daughter did something like that, I hope someone would call her out.” Yosef showed up during a pandemic to double down on being an absolute jerk. There’s no doubt about who this man is.
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Tayshia’s up next. She’s asked about her breakups with Bennett and Blake and basically just repeats what she said when she sent them packing: They weren’t at the same place in their feelings. There wasn’t enough time. She also has a conversation with Riley in which she reassures him that she didn’t send him home because of what he said about his past with his family. He’s relieved, clearly has a lot of respect for Tayshia, and doesn’t regret being so vulnerable on the show. He calls her "outstanding," and says, “I appreciate everything that you did for me, and I would not change this experience.”
The episode closes with a couple bloopers and that's it. Hometowns are tomorrow night, then next week, fantasy suites and the finale. Based on the preview, it looks like Ben and Zac are two of the men who make it past hometowns, but you know the editing can be tricky. We shall see.
Winner of the episode: Riley. He completed his emotional, introspective arc and had that great “Ladies, watch out for this man” line about Yosef.
Loser of the episode: Yosef by a landslide.