On 'The Bachelorette,' Charity Lawson Channels Her Inner Barbie

I’m changing my mind pretty much every week but today: Dotun and Joey. ―Elise

My top three in order right now are Dotun, Joey, Xavier. But who knows where the next episode will take us! —Alexandra

Still unsure who Charity might ultimately pick, but I am compiling a list of dudes who would be ideal for “Paradise.” I could absolutely see cowboy/wrestler Caleb and, randomly, Tanner on the beach. He just has that vibe. —Jill

When Charity said, “No one piss me off, please!” before meeting Brayden, I felt that. He’ll be here for the next few episodes (and maybe even on “Paradise”), but echoing Alexandra, Dotun, Joey and Xavier are the real leading men. —Ruth

I really hope Charity doesn’t annoy me with her pick at the end of this. I definitely have Dotun and Aaron B. in my top — and then I want my boo Michael to fill in that third spot. He hasn’t had much screen time, but I’m hopeful for next week. —Erin

It’s Aaron B.’s week to annoy the other guys by bringing up a problem with Brayden to Charity, leaving everyone else with no time. This is never a good long-term strategy, Aaron, even if I don’t like Brayden much either! ―Elise

In a way, I relate to Charity: all talk, no follow-through. She says she’s prepared to rip the rose off of Brayden’s chest but then lets the guy who slut-shamed her talk his way out of it. To be clear, I know he’s most likely a producer pick, but I’m frustrated anyway! —Alexandra

I’m annoyed he brought Will Smith into this. Like, sir, sit down. Also, I need to do a deep dive on all of these contestants’ astrological signs. —Erin

I think every “Bachelorette” lead keeps a contestant around who is definitely not marriage material but is fun to make out with. I think Brayden is that contestant for Charity. —Jill

Very weird rose ceremony. Charity gives roses to Aaron B., Caleb (Why? And why the floral blazer?), Xavier, Joey, Michael, John, Sean and Tanner, leaving Adrian, James and Aaron S. rose-less. But instead of ending the rose ceremony, she just leaves and comes back and then ends it. Mmk? ―Elise

Why did Tanner get a rose? He and Caleb should have left last week! Did she leave to try to fake them out on her Brayden decision? All that suspense for her to keep him on for another week. Ugh. Bye, Aaron S., I’ll miss your biting commentary. —Erin

I guess Charity didn’t want a real man who could wakeboard after all. —Jill

I second all of your points, Jill. You’re absolutely correct. —Ruth

Charity and Dotun were positively giddy around each other, and I very much enjoyed it. Extreme final two vibes. ―Elise

Their chemistry is ELECTRIC, I’m rooting for Dotun big time. —Alexandra

They are really cute together! And their connection seems to be about each other versus getting caught up in the excitement and glamor à la Brayden’s date. Dotun was able to express his feelings about Charity and not have it sound canned or overly practiced, like I feel so many contestants on this series do — he seemed to really be speaking from the heart. I got little emoji heart eyes while watching them. —Jill

Love them together, too! He’s SO tall. I think I say that every single week. —Erin

Complete side note: I’m going to be that person, but it is absolutely killing me how everyone on this show is butchering Dotun’s name. The correct Nigerian pronunciation is Dōtŭn (Doh-toon), not Daw-tun. Maybe he’s chosen not to correct people, but the anglicization of a simple two-syllable, phonetic name is killing me. —Ruth

… At least about Xavier’s knitting project that we spied earlier in the episode on the bus ride to Oceanside. It was a SCARF for CHARITY, OMG!!! Since it’s not a sweater, I hope he isn’t victim to the telltale curse all crafters dread — once you give a significant other something you’ve made, the relationship is doomed. I will wish on all my double-pointed needles that we see Charity wearing it later this season with Xavier in tow if they go to a chilly locale. This ends my “Bachelorette” yarn watch. For now. —Jill

LOL, I remember when I tried to start knitting. I thought I could knit a nice scarf — and I immediately gave up and probably didn’t make anything bigger than the size of a pot holder. Oh, well. Xavier, I could use some personal knitting sessions. —Erin

Poor sweet, boring, sleepy Warwick. You could tell from guys’ reactions to him getting the date ― a whole lot of “Who?” ― that he was going to go. They always have to do an earlyish one-on-one where the lead eliminates someone during the date to show they are taking this really seriously, so we had to lose him. Hope you get some rest, Warwick! ―Elise

Sweet baby angel Warwick <3 I was rooting for him, but this was painful to watch. Hope he works on his communication and eventually finds love one day. —Alexandra

Warwick actively falling asleep while the producers tried to interview him was the most I related to him all episode. But, dude, take notes: The next date where you have an ice cream shop to yourself, scoop the lady’s cone for her, “like a gentleman.” —Jill

As we’re roasting Warwick for being a sleepyhead, Aaron S. referred to him as a potential “silent killer.” The scream I scrome when he said that?! You cannot see him as a threat. Be forreal. He is so clearly not ready to be married and isn’t introspective in the slightest. “I know, like, a weakness of mine … is communicating.” Yeah, Warwick, we see that. What I would like to know are the on-set conditions these contestants are subjected to… —Ruth

I’m thankful for this boring moment so I can catch up on publishing these blogs. I can’t believe he didn’t even scoop her ice cream! When Charity says, “I don’t know what’s happening. I just don’t know!” Whew, what a mess. —Erin

The dudes did not appreciate Sean getting one-on-one time after their Barbie singing contest or again on the night portion of the date. I loved the ITM of Aaron S., with the words “Glitter Beach Ken” under his name and wearing a sparkly crop tank top, explaining that a real man must ... water ski: “If you want a pretty boy, go chase after Sean. But look at me, I’m a fucking man. You know, he’ll take you shopping, country clubs, and wine and dine, but if you want, like, a real-life man who knows how to camp, fish, hunt, water ski, wakeboard, all that, hit me up.” ― Elise

A quote that I also wrote down immediately, Elise. Another crazy Aaron S. quote is, “Sean, are you an only child or what?” Sean’s entrance to the group date was so uncomfortable I had to look away, so maybe Aaron’s assessment is right. — Alexandra

Aaron S.’s reaction to Sean was so…visceral. I was like, “My guy, are you OK?” Always very perturbed by the contestants who seemingly can’t handle watching someone they like date multiple people, as if that isn’t the premise of this show. — Ruth

LOL, I’ve been clocking Aaron S.’s commentary since the first episode. He always has really sharp but often OMG-WTF assessments of what’s going on. I hope he stays around just for that chaos. — Erin

This group date was a big one: Joey, Aaron B., Michael, James, Caleb B. (last Caleb standing!), Aaron S., Sean, Xavier, Tanner, Adrian, Dotun, John. (Small side note: We also had a brief video cameo from Simu Liu to promote “Barbie” ― he has now been on “The Bachelorette,” “Selling Sunset” and “The Other Two.”) ― Elise

I don’t know if JoJo and Jordan’s chyron as “Successful Bachelorette Couple” was supposed to be humorous, but I LOLed when it came on-screen. — Jill

“They got me turning into Bad Boy Ken” absolutely sent me to the moon. That man is definitely not a front-runner, but I love the energy. — Ruth

Did you all notice that Adrian, who spent the last episode mad about people having fun, was Classic Ken and just wore a tux while all of the other guys were decked out in crazy outfits? Felt right. ― Elise

As a person who has been looking forward to the "Barbie" movie since the day it was announced, I was very excited about this shameless promo. All of the guys in their costumes writing songs with their fluffy pink pens was such unserious fun, I loved every second. Sean is such a cutie, I’m glad he got 1:1 time with Charity (I regretted this sentence less than 10 minutes later, but I’m keeping it here as a memento of my naivete). — Alexandra

I think the hardest part of this little segment was actually hearing them sing — then watching Caleb B., the wrestler, be the one person who took it a li'l too seriously. — Ruth

Everyone watching the episode is learning what I learned as a 14-year-old in high school theater: It’s always cringier to be the person taking it too seriously than to be the person who is not talented but is having fun nonetheless. — Alexandra

These men have clearly never had to rewrite lyrics to a popular song so they could crush it at their cabin’s end-of-camp skit night, but I’ll give them a break. While I also did not love hearing the awkward singing, I think dates like these show who is down to go with the flow and not take themselves too seriously.

Sean was not someone who initially stood out to me, but something about that double denim outfit really works for him. He was right that he literally looks like a Ken doll. Also, I want to be part of the Barbie backup band. — Jill

OMG, Jill, same. I was so impressed with Sean! He had been playing the background, so it felt good to see this. I’m very impressed with how Dotun leaned into this challenge. Xavier looked like Puffy in that big coat. Adrian was horrible, and he seems like he’d be boring in a relationship. I want someone who can have fun in a ridiculous moment! — Erin

Someone needs to tell Brayden that it’s OK if he’s not the upbeat party guy all the time! I found it kind of striking when he told Charity during the evening portion of their one-on-one that he doesn’t like to think or talk about his ex cheating because it’s a contrast from his chill, happy outward persona. Men, talk about your feelings more! It is OK to feel sad about hard things. Also, why did I like the little writing-on-baseballs-and-trading-them moment?! Was it genuinely cute or am I just a sucker? I am probably a sucker.

I also really related when Charity said she’s normally the nurturer in a relationship, which makes her more forgiving of early red flags with a person because she wants to help them. Been there. (Am I doing this right now with Brayden?? Tbd.) — Jill

Charity also just tweeted this about the baseball date: “Black eyes and red flags, my two favorite things.” Ouch on both accounts! — Erin

No one works harder than Bachelor producers and editors. The clip of Brayden saying “I’m turning into an evil person” on the helicopter is so on-the-nose that I wouldn’t be surprised if they asked him to say that.

Brayden is filling the classic Bachelorette archetype of a guy who is jealous and possessive on a show where the woman is literally meant to be dating multiple men at once and therefore makes it her problem that he can’t cope with his insecure attachment style. Snooze. — Alexandra

This annoys me so much, Alexandra! Like, it is literally the structure of the show for her to fall for multiple men. Get over it or get out! — Erin

It’s clear that the other suitors don’t like him, and he certainly loves to lean into his role. On the one-on-one date, Brayden seemed so distracted by the fanfare that he was more focused on soaking up the moment than getting to know Charity. Most important, though, this boy is not ready in the slightest to be engaged. Based on an ambiguous tweet from Charity (which was tweeted around when Brayden received a rose last episode), he is absolutely the producers’ choice. — Ruth

Their date had weird vibes because the producers couldn’t seem to decide whether to make it fun and romantic ― which seemed to be how the pair experienced it ― or whether to remind all of us viewers that we’re not supposed to like the guy. I’m going to say something (kind of) nice about Brayden: His zest for life seems fun to be around for at least a couple of hours. But him telling her that he might get spooked and leave felt very much like what someone says when they want to keep the upper hand and leave themselves an out so they can say, hey, I warned you I might leave. ― Elise

Brayden has a certain kind of bluster and tactlessness that’s easy to spin into reality-show villainy — and the fact that Charity seems into him makes him a prime target for the other guys to single him out as not here “for the right reasons.” I know being in Brayden’s presence IRL would tire me out so fast, and I don’t love how he’s dangling the threat of leaving — is it legit or just a tactic to get Charity’s attention? — but you gotta appreciate the guy’s exuberance for dolphins. I do agree with Ruth, though, that he seemed way more into the helicopter ride than the fact he was there with Charity. — Jill

Honestly, I’m just imagining the entertainment we might get with Brayden on “Bachelor in Paradise.” What a time! — Erin

I think “Bachelor/ette” time just moves too fast for me. I’m still trying to remember these guys’ names. We just had the classic barbecue in lieu of a formal cocktail party, and already they’re leaving behind the familiarity of Bachelor Mansion and hitting the road. Granted, Charity and her crew are only venturing to Oceanside, California, a leisurely *checks Google Maps* three-hour drive from where the mansion is located in Agoura Hills. I can’t wait to hear Charity say Oceanside is an ideal place to fall in love. — Jill

Hey, even if she doesn’t, we got an amazing blurb from wrestler Caleb, who offered his thoughts on the interior design of their Oceanside hotel: “It’s simple yet very elegant.” — Alexandra