The Bachelorette Hot and Cold with Alayah Benavidez: Blake takes the cake

THE BACHELORETTE - "1601" - Clare Crawley will finally embark on her journey to find her soul mate as "The Bachelorette" returns for its sizzling 16th season on a new night. After putting Juan Pablo in his place on the memorable, 18th season finale of "The Bachelor," and gaining a new sense of resolve and self-worth, Clare is more than ready to put her romantic disappointments in the rearview mirror and start a wild ride to find her happily ever after on the season premiere of "The Bachelorette," TUESDAY, OCT. 13 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)CLARE CRAWLEY, BLAKE MOYNES
THE BACHELORETTE - "1601" - Clare Crawley will finally embark on her journey to find her soul mate as "The Bachelorette" returns for its sizzling 16th season on a new night. After putting Juan Pablo in his place on the memorable, 18th season finale of "The Bachelor," and gaining a new sense of resolve and self-worth, Clare is more than ready to put her romantic disappointments in the rearview mirror and start a wild ride to find her happily ever after on the season premiere of "The Bachelorette," TUESDAY, OCT. 13 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)CLARE CRAWLEY, BLAKE MOYNES /
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Hot & Cold is a weekly look at which direction our Bachelorette contestants are trending, featuring The Bachelor season 24’s Alayah Benavidez.

Becoming a fan favorite on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette often comes down to the intricacies of famed producer edit. Perhaps no one knows that better than Alayah Benavidez. Alayah was an early favorite on Peter Weber’s Bachelor season before inadvertently finding herself in the crosshairs of some early-season drama, leading to her untimely exit.

With Clare’s Bachelorette journey underway, lines are already being drawn in the sand. Rumors are swirling, a second bachelorette may be on the way and Chris Harrison, for perhaps the first time ever, might be correct in labeling this the “most dramatic season ever.”

Throughout this season of The Bachelorette, Alayah and I will break down the contestants we believe are making a great impression and the ones who are on the receiving end of a bad edit (whether deserved or not).

Let’s kick it off with the positives – here is your “hot” contestant from the Bachelorette premiere.

Blake Moynes
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)BLAKE MOYNES, CLARE CRAWLEY /

Hot: Blake Moynes

Alayah: “Blake M. is my favorite right now.”

Blake Moynes had a great first episode. He shared a touching moment with Clare in which she thanked him for breaking the rules and reaching out to her when she most needed it. In that moment, Blake won over Clare and fans alike. Despite narrowly missing out on the first impression rose to Dale, Blake locked up the first kiss of the season.

Alayah: “Blake just looks like he gives good hugs. 10/10 would like a hug from teddy bear Blake.”

Bruin: “Personally, my night one favorite was the straitjacket guy (Jay). By staying in the jacket all night, he showed that he definitely isn’t afraid of commitment. That said, Blake seems like he would be a blast to hang out with.”

(ABC/Craig Sjodin) YOSEF, CLARE CRAWLEY
(ABC/Craig Sjodin) YOSEF, CLARE CRAWLEY /

Cold: Yosef

Yosef has been the rumored villain of Claire’s Bachelorette season and from what we saw in the promos, “cold” might be a bit of an understatement. Yosef found himself right in the middle of night one drama almost immediately, after Tyler C. received a tip that he’d been reaching out to women on Instagram after he was announced as part of the Bachelorette cast.

Alayah: “Bad vibes from that guy. He never really denied mass DMing other women and I felt like he was using the ‘I have a kid’ card, but not in a good way. Basically saying ‘I was a sh**ty person and having a kid made me realize that.’ He also got Tyler C. sent home and I kind of liked him. Bad vibes from Yosef for sure.”

After watching the promo video, Yosef might spend a little more time in the weekly “cold” spot before his time is up. It seems as though he is likely the one calling out Clare in the age-related incident and in doing so, books himself a one-way ticket back to Transylvania (that’s a vampire joke).

Bruin: “I wholeheartedly agree. Yosef seems VERY shady. My ‘cold’ choice this week was Chris Harrison because he should have let Clare’s dogs out sooner.”

Alayah: (Laughs) “For real! Dammit Chris, show us the dogs!”

Honorable Mentions

While we only truly met a handful of this season’s cast, there were a few other standouts from the opening episode. It’s impossible to ignore limo entrances, even if this batch of contestants weren’t quite up to the usual standard.

Alayah: “I didn’t feel like any of the entrances were amazing, but if I had to pick one, I’d say Chasen was original. The knight in shining armor and the whole ‘I’ll shed my armor for you’ was cute.”

Bruin: “And you know he was just dying in that suit. It looked so heavy.”

As Clare’s Bachelorette journey progresses, many contestants will find themselves flirting with the line between hot and cold. With Alayah’s help,  we’ll decipher who does and doesn’t belong on either side as we continue watching this season that only 2020 could dream up.

Next. Top 3: The Bachelorette Season 16, episode 1 rankings. dark

The Bachelorette airs every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.

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