The Bachelorette Season 18, Episode 2 recap: Game on!

The Bachelorette Season 18 proved that the contestants are not smarter than fifth graders, and also solidified Michelle Young’s status as a bad a** queen. Watching her dribble the ball up and down the court and making the guys keep up with her was the best thing I’ve seen in a while.

Michelle’s one-on-one date got extremely emotional (more on that later), but that didn’t prevent drama from unfolding later in the episode. We also learned which contestants are extremely problematic and obnoxious, and how one of them reminds us of Yosef Aborady (we’ll never forget that guy).

It was quite the episode this week of The Bachelorette Season 18 with so many O-M-G moments along with those inevitable eye-rolling ones. Find out what unraveled during Michelle’s journey to find love in our recap below!

The Bachelorette Season 18 gets schooled and plays ball

Brandon, Romeo, Rick, PJ, Will, Olumide, Casey, Daniel, LT, and Pete all got to go on the first group date. Michelle invited three of her special friends, aka actors posing as fifth-graders. They quizzed the guys on math problems and spelling and had to deal with Peter being as obnoxious as can be. Seriously, this guy was getting on my nerves–anyone else feel that way?

Peter gets heated up after Will makes fun of him for losing, and so during the afterparty, Peter confronts Will about calling him a narcissist. It was very reminiscent of Yosef Aborady’s behavior during Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette and I wasn’t here for it.

At the end of the date, however, Brandon J. got the rose, because while he can’t spell, he isn’t knee-deep in drama already.

The second group date involved some basketball (of course!) and a visit by two WNBA players. Joe, Clayton, Rodney, Martin, Mollique, Chris S., Chris G., Pardeep, Nate, and Spencer were all on this group date, but the MVP of the game was Joe, hands down.

And even though his team lost, Michelle invited Joe to the afterparty where he made some moves and got in a few kisses. However, before the lip-locking started, Joe shared that he had just found out that his basketball coach in Minnesota had just passed away. This revelation created a sweet moment between Joe and Michelle, and it gave me all sorts of feels because these two are getting very close to endgame material.

Oh, and he got the group date rose, so there’s that.

The Bachelorette Season 18’s first one-on-one date

Jamie snagged the coveted first one-on-one date but was rather odd about it. His points were valid but his delivery was strange. He basically said that this date is just as important for him because he needs to make sure that she is right for him. Apparently, he likes to travel internationally on a day’s notice so she needs to keep up with that spontaneity.

Michelle and Jamie’s date took them to Joshua Tree National Park for some rock climbing and a picnic. Michelle kicked some major butt climbing up the mountain and even when she did struggle, Jamie was a gentleman in helping her get all the way to the top.

Jamie didn’t give off the best first impression before the date, but things did get very serious and vulnerable during their dinner. He opened up about his upbringing and about his mother’s issues with mental health. Michelle attentively listened while Jamie revealed that his mother died by suicide when he was 24.

It was a very difficult moment to process for them, and I really admired Jamie for being so honest about something so traumatic that happened in his life. For the first time, in a long time, we saw this show allow serious conversations to take place, and it was much appreciated.

The Bachelorette Season 18 drama unfolds

The drama begins to unfold later in the episode when rumors start circulating about whether or not Joe and Michelle dated before the show. While the other guys decide not to bring it up to her, Jamie decides to step in and tell Michelle all about it.

It turned her into an emotional wreck and we can’t blame her because Jamie really exaggerated the whole thing. He said everyone was talking about it all day and that some of the contestants were questioning her character and authenticity.

It clearly upset her and when she went to confront the guys, they were all rather confused about what she was referring to. Clearly, they had no idea because Jamie made it all up but I’m confused as to why the group didn’t speak up when she asked them about it. And also, how lame is Jamie for not fessing up to it?!

Of course, this causes Michelle to cancel the cocktail party and go straight into the rose ceremony.

The Bachelorette Season 18, Episode 2 rose ceremony

To everyone’s surprise, Michelle sends home Pardeep (WHY?!?!), Alec (not sure who this is), Daniel, and PJ. Unfortunately, Jamie gets to stick around for another week, but looking ahead to next week’s promo, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be there for much longer.

See you all next week!

And that’s a wrap on this week’s recap!

What did you think of this week’s episode of The Bachelorette Season 18? Tell us in the comments below!