'Bachelor' recap: 'I want to punch him in the face.'

Editor's note: Waukesha native Nick Viall is searching for love during his fourth appearance on a "Bachelor"-franchise show. Will he find it? Our reporters will keep you in the loop with weekly updates.

What happened: One uncomfortable sudden-death showdown just isn't enough these days. In a surprising, but not unprecedented, turn of events, after last week's two-on-one date (in which Corinne secured a rose and Taylor was sent packing even after returning to "express herself" on the subject of Corinne's lies), Nick took a second duo of women on a two-on-one date.

But first, the group concluded their time in Louisiana with a rose ceremony, during which Jaimi, Josephine and Alexis said their goodbyes. This should warrant a moment of silence to honor aspiring dolphin trainer Alexis' strong contributions to this season's credits reel, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing her in "Paradise."

Nick and the remaining women traveled to St. Thomas, which — did you know? — is "celebrating 100 years in U.S. possession." (Thank Vanessa for that casual fact-drop.)

Nick, wearing pink and mint green swim trunks about three inches shorter than you're picturing, and Kristina, wearing a perfectly normal ensemble, flew off in a sea plane for a one-on-one date. In one of the most sincerely moving confessions in "Bachelor" history, Kristina opened up about her childhood in Russia, being abandoned by her mother at 5 or 6 years old and living in an orphanage until she was adopted by an American family at age 12. Nick was appropriately humbled by her past. He gave her a rose, saying she "brings color" to his life and "seems to have such a mature grasp and appreciation for life."

Corinne, Danielle M., Vanessa, Jasmine, Rachel and Raven were chosen for a group date, sailing with Nick to a beach for some mojitos, beach games and Nick's impersonation of an intoxicated baby dinosaur. The date quickly devolved as the women were forced to play beach volleyball, which, let's face it, is hard.

"I hate this," said Corinne, before threatening to take a nap.

Tears were had by many, but Jasmine became particularly unraveled. "In my head, I want to punch him in the face," she said. As the date continued that evening, she proceeded to completely self-destruct over her lack of "reassurance" from Nick, eventually confronting him and sharing her desire to put him in a "chokie." Nick responded by kindly escorting her to a limo.

On the two-on-one date with Whitney and Danielle L., Nick complimented Whitney on her beauty and calming presence, but after some verbal gymnastics ultimately deserted her on the beach, flying off in a helicopter with Danielle.

But the rose wasn't in Danielle's perfectly manicured hand just yet. Over dinner, the pair discussed the two words that would describe their ideal relationships. Danielle's answer ("love" and "trust") came off trite compared to Nick's ("adventure" and "raw") and poor Danielle apparently had trouble seeing the pained look on Nick's face as she gushed about how they both seemed to be on the same page. Nick denied her the rose, blaming his heart.

"Maybe it's me," he said. "The furthest I've gotten with someone is wanting to get engaged, only to realize maybe it was only the idea of something."

The remaining women were shocked to see Danielle's suitcase plucked from their suite (that's "Bachelor" for "Danielle be gone"). Further stirring the murky stew of "Bachelor" emotions, a teary Nick visited them to verbally process the events, saying, "My biggest fear right now is, is the same thing is going to happen, you know, with you guys?" before walking away leaving the ladies shaken.

Number of mentions of Wisconsin: 0.

What we learned about Nick: The middle weeks on his two tours of duty on "The Bachelorette" were the hardest. "I had anxiety, mild panic attacks. I didn't sleep. I was insane," he said. It doesn't look as if it will be any different for him on "The Bachelor."

Best quote of the night: "If Jasmine were a vegetable she'd be a turnip, 'cause she's turned all the way up," Raven.

Women remaining: 6

Coming up next: The quote we've been anticipating all season: "My heart is gold but my vagine is platinum." Corinne pursues Nick in his hotel room. How will he respond?

Alison Sherwood can be reached at asherwood @journalsentinel.com , twitter.com/AliSherwood  and facebook.com/a lisonsherwood .