Warning: Spoilers ahead for "The Bachelorette" Season 21 episode 6, which aired on ABC on Aug. 12, 2024.
From seven contestants at the beginning of this week's episode to the final four at the end. With hometown dates on the horizon, "The Bachelorette" Jenn Tran had some major calls to make. One of those? Dismissing a former frontrunner AHEAD of the rose ceremony.
On the other hand, she told a contestant who previously told her he was falling for her that the feeling was mutual. Eeeek!
Tran, a University of Wisconsin-Madison grad, and her posse returned to the U.S. for this week's episode. It was set in Seattle, nicknamed the Emerald City, a place Tran had never been to before.
It was crashed by several Bachelor Nation alums, including a couple of Tran's friend-testants from her time on "The Bachelor" Season 28 with Joey Graziadei.
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Tran and Marcus had a "Wicked" movie-themed one-on-one where they followed the yellow brick road. Things got incredibly emotional when they talked about their families and he opened up to her about his "rough" childhood.
For their solo date, Tran and Jeremy threw fish (yes, you read that right), had their palms read and busted a move at the Pike Place Market. Later, things took a more-serious turn when they discussed the importance of their faiths.
But, the biggest revelations of the week were made during a radio show group date. While all the other guys were giving what was being asked of them, Sam M. fell back on the regurgitated lines he's been saying all season.
When Tran was confused rather than wooed, he threw a hail Mary proclamation of love her way.
Tran gave him another chance. And then, another. But eventually, she got fed up and sent him packing.
In the spirit of the episode, Alexa, you can go ahead and play "Ding-Dong! TheWitch Is Dead."
Here's a recap of how it all went down this week, including who else was sent home and who made it into the final four:
After 'Wicked' movie-themed date with former Bachelor Nation stars, Marcus opened up about 'rough' childhood
While Jeremy hadn't gotten a one-on-one date yet, Marcus scored his second. And, along with it came a green and white letterman jacket.
Host Jesse Palmer — in a velvet emerald suit — pulled up in a green trolley and let them know they'd be celebrating the upcoming movie (drum roll, please) "Wicked." All that emerald makes sense now, huh!
After a trolley ride — complete with green champagne flutes — the two were dropped off in front of a emerald curtain.
When the curtain opened, it revealed Kelsey and Daisy, who were contestants with Tran on "The Bachelor." Tran made it to the top six that season, Daisy was runner-up and Kelsey was chosen by Graziadei.
Kelsey and Daisy — donning gowns reminiscent of Elphabaand Glinda — had a game for Tran and her date to play.
At stops along the yellow brick road, they'd be faced with two opposing choices. Together, they'd have to decide on which they wanted to go with.
Sweet or spicy: After counting down from three, they both said "spicy." They had to eat spicy peppers, but were romantic with it — or however romantic you can be in that situation.
Whisper or scream: They went with "scream" and had to shout their feelings at the top of their lungs. They both yelled "I like (insert each other's names here)!"
Playful or passionate: While they went with "playful" — which pointed to a mountain of pillows for a pillow fight — it turned passionate. Marcus plopped onto the pile and Tran plopped onto him as the two made out.
Slow or fast: While Marcus wanted "slow," Tran wanted "fast." Marcus explained that in relationships, it typically takes him a while to warm up. "I'm a fast girl," Tran countered. While that concerned Tran, Marcus said he wanted to try giving fast a shot.
A bell was under the "fast" box. When Tran rang it, Daisy and Kelsey pulled up in a surrey. Marcus and Tran pedaled it to Charity, Season 20's "Bachelorette," who told them they'd be popping Glinda's famous "Popular" bubbles — in this case, they were shiny pink balloons — to uncover pieces of home that made them who they are.
The first one Tran popped revealed a card that said, "Share your proudest moment." It was a photo of Marcus, who's an Army Ranger veteran, with his sister Gabby when his family flew out to see him graduate from basic training.
Getting emotional, Marcus told Tran his sister is the "most important person" in his life and that the two talk every day. If he makes it to hometowns, he said, Tran would be meeting her.
The next balloon pop revealed a TV with a video message from Gabby, which made Tran tear up, too.
With the next balloon pop, it was Tran's turn. She got a long, lovely letter from her mom.
"I'm sorry for not being able to give you a perfect family with both parents," a choked-up Tran read. "I never wanted it to happen. I tried my best, but couldn't because that's out of my hands. I'm always right there in your heart. Love you more than anything in this world and you're everything to me."
Marcus pulled Tran in and the two embraced one another.
As the two continued down the yellow brick road, they were met with Season 1 "Bachelorette" Trista.
Trista told them to let their love "defy gravity," an homage to the song "Defying Gravity," and the couple was taken up into the sky by a hot air balloon. Cue more kissing.
Later that night, Tran — in a flowy fushia gown — and a suited-up Marcus met up at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners. A table was set at home plate and the scoreboard displayed their names.
Tran let Marcus know she wants to be a "safe space" for him to be vulnerable, even though it's hard for him. He said he knows and feels that from her, and is grateful she sees him trying.
What Tran's mom said in her letter from earlier struck a chord with Marcus.
When Marcus was a kid, he said, he and his sister were born into a "rough" situation with parents who "weren't fit to be parents." Marcus' parents took him and his sister to daycare one day and never returned.
Marcus and Gabby ended up in foster homes with families who would "try us on for size," he said.
"That experience kind of made me feel like there was like something wrong with me," he said, crying.
"There's nothing wrong with you," Tran whispered, holding back tears.
There's a "huge canyon" between liking and loving someone, Marcus said, but he wants to fall into that canyon and have a love that stays.
"I hope you know how strong you are," Tran told him. "I hope you truly believe that and you see that. Sharing your story doesn't show weakness, doesn't show that you're broken, doesn't show that you're not worth anything. It shows how incredible of a person that you are to have overcome all of that. I see that. And, I see you."
Tran — who couldn't imagine her "Bachelorette" journey without Marcus — gave him the first rose of the week. That means he'll officially be a part of hometowns.
The night was capped off with fireworks — and more making out.
Radio show group date: While all of the guys gushed over 'The Bachelorette' Jenn Tran, Sam M. blew it big time
Tran went to the iHeartMedia radio studio to be on "Love On-Air Seattle," hosted by Jubal and Bender. She was joined by two Bachelor Nation veterans, husband and wife Jason and Molly Mesnick. They had done the whole radio show group date thing 15 years prior during Season 13 of "The Bachelor."
Tran gushed to the hosts about Sam M. before he, Spencer, Jonathon, Devin and Grant showed up to the station.
In a confessional, Devin said the radio show was in his comfort zone but thought Sam M. would be in trouble. Devin, you can go ahead and add "psychic" to your already-impressive resume.
The hosts kicked the show off with a rapid-fire word association game. It was light-hearted and funny ... until it got to Sam M., who was given "fantasy suite." His response? "Aggressive."
His fellow contestants face-palmed as Tran let out a "What the hell!"
Next, the guys were asked to use three words to describe Tran. Words like "spontaneous," "intellectual" and "open-minded" were thrown out.
It was like a "Who loves Jenn more" competition ... until it got to Sam M. Again.
"I would say, just fire. And like strong passion," Sam M. said.
Then, he started spewing clichés without finishing the prompt. He said he had been falling in love with Tran since their first conversation. Tran wanting a "ferocious" love struck him because he describes his own love as "reckless." He said he's someone who constantly pours into his partner's cup. With those things, "it's tough to lose in a relationship," he concluded.
"I don't feel like his answers make sense to me," Tran said in a confessional. "And, I'm not sure how authentic his answers are."
All of the guys were dismissed from the studio except Sam M., "who needs to get to know Jenn better and Jenn to get to know them better," Jason said.
Essentially, the hosts gave Tran the opportunity to interview Sam M. herself.
When Tran asked for his first impression of her and how it's changed, he talked about how he almost didn't come on the show, but decided to look at it as an opportunity to potentially find his future wife.
When he got out of the limo on premiere night, he said, Tran wasn't his type and was expecting either Daisy or Maria, two of Tran's fellow contestants on "The Bachelor." The hosts and guys were straight-up dumbfounded.
But, Tran wanted to know what it was about her that made him think they'd have a great future together.
"Truly your selflessness," Sam M. said. "Because I consider myself a very selfless person as well."
When she asked for an example, he couldn't seem to come up with one. Oh wait — yes, he did.
"After Night 1, that connection that we had was hot," he told her. Ope, never mind.
When she asked Sam M. if he felt like he really knew her, he fell back on their physical connection — again. He grabbed her face and planted one — well, way more than one — onto her. It was a painful watch.
When Tran and the group daters reconvened later, she said one of them left her feeling unsettled. Wonder who that could be?
When Grant and Tran had alone time, he told her he cherishes how she's been carrying herself throughout this journey. He said he's already chosen her, sees a future with her and is falling in love. That made her happy and she knew it was coming from a real place.
Tran told Jonathon he made her feel seen during the radio show. "The feelings I have for you skyrocketed," he told her. "And, it makes me so happy." That was exactly what she needed to hear.
Spencer called their one-on-one from the other week the best date he's ever been on. She feels seen and understood by him.
Devin told her he's enjoying the thought of her coming home to his family because he knows exactly who she is.
"I have only ever told my mom I want to bring a girl home that makes me proud. And, makes her proud," he said. "You are the definition of both of those things."
"You've expressed before like you're falling in love with me," Tran told him. "I want you to know that today, I feel all the same things and I'm falling for you as well."
Then, it came time for Sam M.'s turn. Dun, dun, duuunnn!
Tran told him he didn't seem to see or understand her earlier that day. He continuously cleared his throat and started running his lines again until he said:
"How do I know it's you? I don't. I do trust that I'm here for a reason."
"How do I fit into that?" she asked. Valid.
He said it's just something that he feels.
"But, why me?" she rephrased the question.
He was visibly frustrated.
"I love you," he blurted out.
Her face — off-put and confused — said it all.
"I just don't even feel like we truly know each other," Tran told him. "You can't even express to me who I am to you and it can't just be a feeling. That's not real love."
There's no substance or logic behind his words, she said in a confessional.
Tran opted to not hand out a group date rose that night.
'The Bachelorette' Jenn Tran and Jeremy threw fish, had their palms read and busted a move at Pike Place Market
Tran's date with Jeremy was just what the doctor — err, future PA — ordered.
After meeting up at Pike Place Market, Jeremy — who Tran calls Jer Bear — asked a flower vendor if he could hop back there and make his date a bouquet.
"That was very sweet," she said before they shared a cutesy kiss.
They consulted with the Psychic Chicken of Seattle, who gave them the fortune: "Lives are not meant to be built on laughs alone."
"But, a lot of laughs," he said.
They went to Christopher's Lamp Palm and Tarot Readings, where they were told they have a lot of good things going for them.
One of the things the palm reader told them was that Jeremy would have to bring Tran flowers. Check!
Jeremy played with The Gum Wall, which is exactly what it sounds like. They tried their hand at catching and throwing fish. And, danced to buskers — Jeremy busted out an impressive worm.
The pair later reconvened at Chihuly Garden and Glass, where they sat under a 100-foot-long red, yellow and orange sculpture.
"You bring out the most me out of anybody here," Tran told him.
But, with hometowns coming up next, she wanted them to dig deeper that night.
"I love spending time with you and I feel like I've always looked for someone who's like — I'm not trying to compare you to my mom — but someone who's as caring as my mom," he said. "She would do anything for the people that she loves. Like you said you are."
Jeremy let Tran know that being Jewish culturally is "super important" to him, though he wouldn't expect her to convert. He wants to pass on that identity to his future kids. Tran said she has a lot of Jewish friends in Miami and she does Shabbat with them.
Tran, who's Buddhist, said she plans to continue going to temple for big holidays and being around the faith. She would want her mom to teach her future kids about her traditions.
They were both very receptive of each other's wishes and open to incorporating both cultures into their own lives and the lives of their hypothetical future children.
After the way they aligned and how he spoke highly of his family, Tran said, she was excited to meet his "mishpachah" (family in Hebrew).
The second of four roses for the week went to Jer Bear and the two shared some smooches.
Fed up, 'The Bachelorette' Jenn Tran dismisses Sam M. before the rose ceremony
In her shimmery yellow rose ceremony dress, Tran went on a hunt for Sam M. The guys were shocked to see her in their quarters.
When she found Sam M. alone in his room, she asked how he's feeling.
"Terrified," he said with nervous laughter.
He apologized for how the group date went and said he had been trying to walk the fine line between being vulnerable and protecting his feelings.
"But the only way for me to see it was to fall in love again," he said, doubling down on his earlier profession.
"To you, what does it mean to love somebody?" she questioned him.
He said love means selflessness, sacrifice, understanding and listening to your person, always validating them and making sure they feel like the only person in the world.
"You're saying all the right things, and I just, it's hard for me to believe you," she told him.
Putting feelings into words, he said, is "the biggest learning curve" for him. Tran twirled her hair uneasily.
"Everything that comes out of my mouth, I feel like I'm downplaying the way that I actually love," he said.
The way he loves would be evident, he said, when he interacts with his family and friends during hometowns. She was confused by how someone she has had such a strong connection with wasn't seeing her.
When he brought up the "ferocious" love thing ... again, Tran said: "Love isn't a script."
She asked what he learned about her on their one-on-one. He told her he learned that she yearned for a powerful, endless love.
When Tran repeated the question, he changed the subject, saying she has no idea how much he appreciates her.
"I love you," he blurted out. 'Cause that went over so well the first time.
"To love someone means to really understand them," she clapped back.
She needed a second. Don't we all?
In a confessional, she said their convo made her feel confused, frustrated, annoyed, dismissed and ignored.
When Tran returned to Sam, she told him she really wanted it to work between the two of them, especially with their connection from the get-go. But, he wasn't asking what she was needing and there was clearly a disconnect between them.
Sam M. said he felt like she was waiting for a particular answer or response. Tran couldn't sit there with someone who says they love her, she said, but doesn't want to get to know, understand or see her.
Sam M. said Tran didn't hear anything he had said. She heard, but didn't feel there was any weight to his words.
"I'm done with it," she said.
They gave each other a quick hug and Sam M. immediately got to packing.
In a confessional, a frustrated Sam M. called Tran's energy "very dull" and said that he was not at fault.
Oh, and he also managed to squeeze in his catchphrase one last time: "I will always keep the main thing the main thing."
"I don't know exactly what love is," Tran said in her confessional. "But I know that that is not what love is. "
'The Bachelorette' Rose ceremony: Who was sent home?
Spencer and Grant, who has been named the next "Bachelor."
Who received roses and have made it to hometowns?
Devin, Jeremy, Marcus and Jonathon.
How to watch 'The Bachelorette' Season 21
"The Bachelorette" Season 21 airs at 7 p.m. CT Mondays on ABC. It streams on Hulu the next day.
