‘Bachelor In Paradise’ Recap: Katie Thurston makes Blake question his connection to Jess, and a comedy roast goes too far

DEVASTATION WARNING! This post contains details from Thursday’s episode Bachelor in paradise.

It depends on the thread Bachelor in paradise.

In just a few weeks, the beach was practically divided into established couples and lost souls. One of these lost souls is Olivia, whose husband has now been stolen twice. Most recently, Kat was the culprit, drawing John Henry’s attention after Tanner broke up with her.

But last week ended on a hopeful note for Olivia after Michael Barbour appeared in Paradise. This week’s episode begins with the answer we’ve all been waiting for. Michael actually asks Olivia on the date. And everyone seems to be happy for her, including Kat. For now she deserves it!

Because as excited as Olivia is about this date, you’d think she’d remember his name! In a confessional before her date, she asks producers to remind her after spending a few minutes talking about how he looks perfect for her and that she’s willing to give him her ring size. Hmmm. It seems as if Olivia’s misadventures in paradise are pushing her to abandon ship a little.

But once they start dating, they actually get along pretty well. They join a drum circle on the beach and, after a bit of dancing, take time to get to know each other better. Michael says he doesn’t want her late arrival to be a disadvantage, and Olivia says she’s trying to take care of her, even though she’s had several burns in Paradise now. The two become friends pretty quickly and everything can turn out well for Olivia.

Back on the beach, John Henry tells Kat about his last conversation with Olivia. He’s okay with where they left the stuff, and now he’s completely devoted to Kat. In a somewhat surprising twist, Kat admits that she hasn’t had the best experience in paradise so far, and that she’s hurt people’s feelings in the process. . Now she just wants to focus on John Henry, who she believes brings out the best in her. Good for you!

The next day, many couples meet, but Rachel still isn’t sure where she stands with Tanner. He gave her a rose, but she’s not sure if it was more of a friendship rose, similar to how Brayden gave Olivia a rose to bind her to him for another chance at love. However, Tanner was a little flirtatious, which upset her. Before she can get too deep into this spiral, two new men make their way to the beach.

There’s Taylor, who went home on the first night of the charity season. Then there’s Jordan, who went on her first one-on-one date with Rachel during her season with Gabby, but was sent home without Rose. Only one of these men will get a date card, and that has yet to be decided. Jordan wants to talk to Rachel for now. This puts a damper on Tanner’s day because even though he hasn’t quite told Rachel yet, he actually wants more with her.

It’s no surprise (because it makes for better television) that Jordan gets the date card. He asks Rachel for a release date and the two take a walk on the beach to attend a tantric yoga session. It’s a little awkward at first, but they quickly get used to each other. It wasn’t long before they were kissing during their yoga session. They end their date with a glass of champagne on the beach and Jordan says he’d like to explore with Rachel and see if they can get a second chance at love.

Meanwhile, Tanner and Wells go on a real rampage at the bar. He’s pretty upset that Rachel is gone. When they returned, Rachel pulled him aside. She says the date was good, but she’s not sure what she wants to do. Tanner thinks Rachel is careful and thoughtful. They don’t get very far in this conversation and both leave confused.

Rachel confides in Tyler and Wells, who tell her that she needs to be clear about what she wants and then just be honest with both men. She could also bear to let go a little. She admits she was a little too cautious, so she asks Tanner to speak again. She tells him that she’s been confused since he gave her the rose because she doesn’t understand his intentions. He makes it clear that it was not a friendship rose and he wants to investigate its connection. He goes on a long (and rather romantic) monologue about how fixated he is on finding love, and Rachel is hooked. Looks like they are giving this relationship a shot!

On a side note, Aaron surprises Eliza with a moment to himself. He tells her that he wants to commit to her and asks her to be his girlfriend. She gladly accepts it. After Kylee and Aven, they are now the second super tight relationship in paradise.

As if the beach needed more drama, Wells pulls out the truth box again. There are two fragments that refer to an inside joke about Peter shaving his legs. Another note says that John Henry and Kat will go the distance. The last one that really messes things up is that Tyler just isn’t that into Mercedes, and everyone can see it.

This is clearly sending Mercedes into a spiral. As she thinks more about their relationship, she feels that they are faltering and not deep enough into each other. She wants to give him the benefit of the doubt because last season of Paradise he left a relationship that dissolved when they returned to real life. Mercedes talks to Tyler and asks if that’s why he’s putting up walls. He says yes, but he tries his best not to compare. He is quite comfortable, which Mercedes does not appreciate.

Now Mercedes is even more upset and thinks they don’t see eye to eye. One of their concerns is whether they can survive a long-distance relationship, which Aven believes Tyler doesn’t want. We will continue with it for now, but it will definitely come up again before the rose ceremony.

Aven and Peter receive a double date ticket and ask Kylee and Sam to join them. The two couples go to a day club and Kylee hopes it will be a moment for Aven to step out of his comfort zone. They play some daring games and Aven tries his best to be more playful than usual. During their one-on-one conversation, both couples seem to be on the same page. Peter asks Sam to be official and she says yes. A third fixed pair!

Jess is also trying to get out of her lame situation with Blake and deepen their bond. They all seem to be in harmony with each other. Until Blake’s ex-fiancée Katie Thurston goes to the beach.

Don’t forget that Katie got engaged to Blake during her season The Bachelorette. They broke up a few months later and Katie quickly moved on to John Hersey. She dated John for about eight months. As she heads to the beach, she admits that she moved on faster than Blake expected, which hurt him. Apparently, they haven’t spoken to each other at all since their breakup.

Everyone is shocked to see her come down the stairs, especially Blake and Jess. Katie wants to clear the air, so she pulls Blake aside almost immediately. As they talk, she mentions that they broke up over the phone, which seems pretty crazy considering they’re engaged. In my notes I wrote “WHAT?!” Well, that sums up my thoughts on it.

At one point, she sent him six voice notes, which he listened to but never responded to. They’re not revealing what was said, but Blake says whatever it was, he was too bitter to answer. She says she understands his feelings and will not contact him again because she wants to respect his peace. She apologizes for the way she handled things and says that if she could go back, she would do things differently. Blake tells Katie about Jess and says he thought their connection would be easier to navigate, but it isn’t. Both Katie and Blake admit that there are feelings between them, but they can’t quite place what they are or how to deal with them. Katie assures Blake that her feelings for him are real, which really fools Blake.

When a producer asks Katie if she’s still in love with Blake, she avoids the question but begins to cry. This is definitely suspicious.

Meanwhile, Jess feels like nothing is going right with her. It’s sobering to watch Blake talk to his ex-fiancé and she starts thinking about breaking out and leaving Paradise.

Then Katie reveals that she is not ready yet. Instead, she’s there to host a Paradise Comedy Roast. Bizarre, but also hilarious. Everyone is really looking forward to finally blowing off some steam and dealing some acceptable blows to the enemies on the beach.

Of course the barbecue ruffled a few feathers. Although there are some light-hearted jokes, some people really get into it. A lot of people make a big fuss about Kat, including Tanner, who John Henry calls colorblind because he can’t tell the difference “between a red flag and a homie hopper.” Tanner also jokes that everyone was hoping for Gabby in paradise and had to settle for Rachel. When all is said and done, both Kat and Rachel are pretty unhappy with the jokes being made at their expense.

The next day is the rose ceremony and the atmosphere is gone. The episode immediately cuts to the evening as everyone gathers for the cocktail party. Everything exploded again. There are still many conversations to be had before most women feel comfortable giving a rose.

The episode ends with Blake telling Jess that after seeing Katie, he realized their connection should be more advanced than it is. Yes.

How this will be resolved and who will spend another week in paradise remains to be seen. The next episode of Bachelor in paradise airs November 30th at 9:00 PM ET/PT.