I watch them so you don’t have to, right? The Bachelorette was on for two hours on Sunday night AND two hours on Monday night this week. I’ve been catching up on DVR because, well, we don’t get that many sunny days in June here in Nova Scotia and I couldn’t waste them watching this nonsense.

But I did catch up, and they were quite the episodes.

Sunday Night Highlights:

• Andi’s first date was with Nick, and he got what I’d consider the best date. It was stuff normal people do! A bike ride, a brief hike, dinner. Nick never took his jacket off during dinner, and for that I would have withheld a rose. But Andi liked him, so he got a rose.
• The group date was even more realistic – everyone joined Boyz II Men in concert! (Do you ever wonder if Boyz II Men really regrets the spelling of their band name? Or if they’ve tried to change it to just “Men”?) The singing was horrible. Later, Andi played the world’s lamest prank on the meathead and had this conversation with Marquel, a black contestant:

Marquel: “What’s your favorite color?”Andi: “Is black a color?”Marquel: “Duly noted…”

What? Was that on purpose, or an accident? I don’t think I want to know. Josh the Baseball Player got the rose – I have a feeling he’ll be around for a while.

• The next one-on-one date went to JJ and was, believe it or not, even weirder. They dressed up as old people, in full makeup and wigs. It was so dumb, you guys. I didn’t sense much of a romantic connection between these two, but JJ got a rose.
  

  JJ looks old. Andi looks like she’s wearing a wig and had some mud splashed on her face.

• During the cocktail party, there was lots of drama amongst the men, but none of it made its way to Andy. JJ and Josh were upset that Andrew (a guy I could swear I’d never seen) grabbed the number of a restaurant hostess after a dinner one night, and bragged about it to the other dudes. He was confronted about it, but no one ever told Andi (in this episode, anyway) and she gave him a rose.

Monday Night Highlights:

• Andi’s first date was with a guy named Dylan, who’d been waiting for the right time to tell Andi about his tragic family history. On an empty train, they talked about failed relationships and the death of his brother. It wasn’t exactly Before Sunrise. During dinner, Dylan recounted the sad deaths of his sister and brother. It was a heavy date, and at the end Andi gave Dylan a rose.
• The group date was slightly less stupid than singing with Boyz II Men (these things are never normal) – the guys would play basketball against some WNBA players. They were slaughtered, so after a brief game they switched and the guys played against one another. It was competitive, but thanks to Brian – who is a basketball coach for a living.

• The winning team got to spend extra time with Andi. She confronted Eric about not knowing enough about his life, and got some personal information in return. (Once again, I found it strange and sad to watch Eric discuss his personal life.) Brian blew his chance to steal a kiss after sinking a shot from half-court. Lucky for him, he got the rose anyway.
• The next one-on-one date went to Marcus, and it was a classic: “Do a scary thing that can act as a metaphor for taking a chance in love!” Andi, who is terrified of heights, had actually requested a date like this. Andi screamed, swore, and practically had a panic attack at the edge of the building. Eventually she made her way down, because Marcus decided to “be the man in this relationship and hide my fear”. Great. He distracted Andi by asking about her mom, waved to the guys in the hotel room, and kissed her. So he passed the weird, twisted test. The rest of the date was boring, and Marcus got a date. Who doesn’t Andi like?

Now let’s talk about what actually happened…

OK, let’s talk about the cocktail party. Under normal circumstances, I would have been absolutely delighted by Eric’s confrontation with Andi. He was feeling defensive about their previous conversation, and felt like he’d opened up a bunch while she was giving nothing back. “I came on this to meet a person, not a TV actress” was a fantastic line. But again, given Eric’s death, this is just strange to watch. Andi was hurt, angry and crying. She let Eric go home, and was still so angry about his “poker face” comment that she took it out on the other guys.

After the commercial break, Chris Harrison announced that they wouldn’t air the rose ceremony, and instead they showed an interview with Andi. What? How is the rose ceremony the thing that feels insensitive to air here? I do not think The Bachelorette should have aired any of Eric’s scenes this season. They should have made the announcement of his passing, and told viewers that they’d removed his scenes out of respect for his family.

Did we really need to see Eric and Andi argue? Did we need to see Eric so heartbreakingly reveal intimate details about his family, his past, his hopes for the future? It’s tacky.

Andi never got to talk to Eric again. And, frankly, I think she was in the wrong during the argument they had. Andi was quick to dish it out, and to very frankly tell Eric that he hadn’t revealed enough. But when he tried to tell her the same thing, she got very defensive. But knowing that she never got to speak to him again, I can’t imagine how Andi would feel watching that scene back. I just don’t think it should have been included.

What do you guys think?