'Bachelor' recap: Hometowns include race conversations and expensive sweatshirts
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: Uncomfortable family chats on beds, missed opportunities to say "I love you" and awkward requests for fathers' blessings: it must be hometowns week on "The Bachelor."
Nick's round of hometown dates included some sincere moments, like in Hoxie, Ark., when Raven's mom announced that Raven's dad's latest scan showed no signs of cancer. Or in Montreal, Canada, when Vanessa's adult special education students showered her with love. Or in Dallas, when Rachel's family directly addressed the fact that they are black and Nick is "a white" (Rachel's white brother-in-law's words).
"It's sad that we have to talk about it, but I've always raised you to see people for who they are," Rachel's mom said.
Rachel put Nick on the burner by taking him to her predominantly black evangelical church to see how he fared. Catholic Nick looked like a Franciscan at a Mardi Gras parade, but seemed to pass the test.
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Since Rachel's federal judge dad was tied up with work obligations during the visit ("Obviously, I'm bummed," said Nick, convincing no one), we will have to wait for next season of "The Bachelorette" for him to lay down his gavel on Rachel's suitors (should we be angry with ABC for dashing our hopes that Nick chooses the Marquette Law graduate or thanking them for giving us another entire season with her?).
In Miami, Corinne showed Nick "a day in the life of Corinne." Shockingly, it wasn't spent sweating over spreadsheets while "running" her dad's multimillion dollar company. Instead, Nick was treated to a four-figure shopping spree at "one of the most exclusive malls in Miami."
All dressed up in his new, very ordinary looking $650 gray sweatshirt, Nick met the star of this season, Corinne's nanny Raquel (who appeared to be a very sweet lady), and gave Corinne's "very Greek" family the ultimate sign of approval: he liked her dad's homemade olives.
Corinne's dad wasn't sold quite so easily, though. He had concerns about Nick's ability to support his daughter's expensive taste on the salary of a — wait, what is it that Nick does again?
Vanessa's family in Montreal had some similar questions.
"What is he planning on doing after this anyway?" Vanessa's sister Melissa asked, oblivious to all the lucrative Instagram modeling gigs clearly on Nick's horizon.
Nick pried a questionable marriage blessing from Vanessa's father after being forced to admit he had also asked all three of the other women's families for their blessings.
Offering more proof that the "Bachelor" producers are powerful sorcerers, the skies poured rain as Vanessa found out about the multiple blessings and began to doubt their relationship.
The episode concluded in New York City as the women (and all of us) await the rose ceremony.
Number of mentions of Wisconsin: 4
How it came up: "You don't sound like you're from around here," Raven's brother Weston, a cop, commented in his Arkansas drawl when pretending to bust the pair. "I'm from Milwaukee," Nick responded.
Vanessa introduced her special ed students as "the creators of the book I gave you in Wisconsin." While chatting with her family, Nick said, "I got to show (the women) my hometown, which was pretty special." Vanessa later recapped their adventures thus far to her dad, mentioning their time in Wisconsin.
What we learned about Nick: He has gone on dates with black women before, but never seriously dated a black woman. He says he has expensive taste, but is a bargain shopper.
Best quote of the night: Corinne's mom sagely reminded her, "Remember this is fantasy." "No, Mom. This is very real," Corinne replied.
Women remaining: 4
Coming up next: The episode ended with a sassy entrance by former "Bachelorette" and Nick's first love interest on the franchise, Andi Dorfman. We'll see what she has to say before the rose ceremony, where Nick will presumably send one woman home and take the remaining three into fantasy suite week.