The second episode of Grant Ellis’ season of The Bachelor had Us asking if we were watching the ABC dating series or a High School Musical remake. (Grant is basically real-life Troy Bolton!)
After going from 25 to 18 women during the premiere, the Monday, February 3, episode featured basketball and musical-themed dates.
For the first group date, the women joined Grant and several children to play basketball. While it’s safe to say that the ladies have varying levels of basketball skills, the competition for Grant’s attention is definitely on. During the slam dunk competition, Zoe, the 27-year-old tech engineer / model, is the first one to steal the lead and when the twosome return to the gym, things are tense. Lucky for Zoe, Jesse Palmer subsequently arrived and announced a five-on-five basketball game.
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You can always count on The Bachelor for an absurd sports date, but it was truly something special to see a score of 18-2 as the two teams, “Grant Prize” and “The Grant Slam,” played for Grant’s affections. Things “got physical” on the court between Zoe and Alli Jo, the 31-year-old boxing trainer from New Jersey, with several women breaking nails and getting increasingly angry at Zoe. Chloie, the 28-year-old model, couldn’t let Zoe have all the fun, however, and made a move to kiss Grant after winning the MVP award.
During the evening portion of the group date, Zoe was back in the hot seat, defending her decision to steal Grant because “you’ve gotta do what you gotta do.” When she was informed that the women felt disrespected by her actions, she doubled down, declaring, “The card said, ‘Shoot your shot,’ so I shot my shot.” In a confessional, Zoe acknowledged that she expected the women to be a little upset, but thought it would be because they didn’t think to steal him first. If you ask Us, Zoe forgot to do her homework and watch even one episode of The Bachelor before making her big move on day 1.
Alli Jo’s “Jersey came out” when Zoe went for her third steal of the evening, and we’d be lying if we weren’t thinking that she could grow up to be a great addition to The Real Housewives of New Jersey after getting a few more episodes of reality TV under her belt.
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While Grant and Juliana, the 28-year-old client service associate, shared a flirty moment and kiss, It was Natalie, the 26-year-old PhD student, who came out the real winner. She secured the group date rose after impressing Grant with how she bonded with the kids on the date.
For the first one-on-one date of the season, first impression rose winner Alexe met Grant at a closed mall. After living out their best Saved by the Bell or The O.C. dreams (we can’t be the only one who immediately thought of those classic episodes of TV), Grant sat down at the piano and freestyled an original song for Alexe. (As if the closed mall wasn’t already making Us feel like we were watching a teen drama.)
The pair both opened up about their childhoods, bonding over past patterns that they hope to break. Alexe got the rose and there’s definitely a connection between them. If we could look into our crystal ball, it’s giving surprise exit right before hometowns. (No spoilers, just educated guesses!)
For the second group date, Grant’s vocals were briefly traded for the musician Mario who serenaded the group with his song “Let Me Love You.” He then informed them that they had to write a song for Grant — and perform in front of a crowd — with the help of Pussycat Dolls creator Robin Antin.
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Grant went first, showing off his musical skills again with an original rap. The women, well, let’s give them props for getting through that and pray that our own karaoke tapes never make it to primetime. (At the risk of going too far, they made Scheana Shay sound like she should’ve taken the Grammy stage!)
Carolina, the 29-year-old public relations producer, left an impression by performing part of her song in Spanish and wasted no time making out with Grant in front of everyone after he gave her props and she won a dance with him. She’s lucky Alli Jo was on group date one because if we thought Zoe was the villain …
During the night portion, Grant can feel the tension and it was unclear how he was going to pass his first real test as the Bachelor. During his one-on-one time with the women, however, he appeared to smooth over concerns, telling Rose that he was thinking of her during the group date and fitting in one more makeout with Carolina. He also had a moment with Litia, who confronted him over comments he made in the premiere about how she probably doesn’t hear “no” a lot because of her beauty. After Grant immediately apologized and explained, she got emotional. Grant later made a remark that Litia made him feel like this journey could work, which officially makes Litia one to watch! (She also got the group date rose.)
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When it was time for the cocktail party, Grant made a speech about emotional availability, leading Bailey, the 27-year-old social media manager, to cry uncontrollably. (Didn’t see this coming from the girl who took selfies as her limo entrance — it’s only night 2!)
All the main players secure roses at the rose ceremony, with Ella, Rebekah and Allyshia saying goodbye to Grant.
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
Us Weekly
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