On the sixth episode of The Bachelorette (June 27, 2011), Ashley Hebert and the remaining 8 men jetted out to Hong Kong and braced themselves for the moment we all have been waiting for, the return of the dreaded Bentley.

BENTLEY’S RETURN
Ashley started the show with saying part of her heart is in the US with Bentley. And she was still fully focused on the “dot dot dot” Bentley left her with when he bailed on the show and her.  Three minutes in the show, and we heard the name Bentley 20 times. This is gonna be a fun episode to recap, I can tell.

Chris Harrison went to Ashley’s hotel room and told her that Bentley is her roadblock to happiness with any of the remaining men. Chris also said that he delivered on his promise to do everything he can to get her to resolve the open issues with Bentley and that the show had brought Bentley back to the hotel they were all staying in. Upon hearing that news, Ashley said, “Shut up,” and clinched her heart. There was silence between the two for a while and Chris kept nodding “yes” to Ashley. Once she believed this was not a joke, she asked for time to get herself together and prepare for the meeting. Chris advised Ashley to not be “vague” when she meets with Bentley and to get the answers she needs. With that, he left her with Bentley’s room number.

Ashley walked to Bentley’s room and on the way, we heard her voice over that she still feels the same way about Bentley as he did the day he left. She knocked on room #4315 after some hesitation and when Bentley opened the door, they hugged and kissed. He told her he flew around the world to see her. I may have to hold back my gag reflexes as I type.  He told her he’s been working back home and then asked her if she is OK. She told him after he left, she had a hard time and was crushed and he said he had a hard time too [Beware of men who just repeat what you say you feel]. He told her that her hurt was an affirmation that the two of them were on the same page: That since they had something good going, it would be hard to just walk away.

He said, “I told you to come to Salt Lake if it doesn’t work out with these other guys,” and Ashley said it wasn’t fair to her to leave her with the “dot dot dot.” He said he couldn’t believe he went home and missed her and missed being “here.” Man, he is good. She told him she has a gut feeling about him and knows fate brought them together to either learn from each other or to end up together. He finally said to her with him being back home, it doesn’t look good for the two of them and “implored” her to look to see what she has with the remaining men.

FINALLY, lights came on for Ashley and she asked, “So, this is our period?” No answer from Bentley. And Ashley finally spoke up for herself that he needs to man up and admit if he came here for the same reasons that Michelle Money had warned her about. She went off at him and said if he came here with the intentions of leaving her wanting him, “mission fo@king accomplished.” Bentley still didn’t man up and put the burden on her by saying based on where she is at, they should put a period on things.

Ashley grew some balls that I was hoping she had and bluntly asked him why he came all the way here to end things when he could have done so over the phone. She also accused him of coming cause he wanted a “free vacay.”  DING DING DING! Ashley left without shedding a tear. I am not sure I could have held it together that well. She said afterwards that he played her and disrespected her.

Ashley told her remaining bachelors about Bentley’s return at the cocktail party but as expected, this news does not sit well with her men, especially one in particular who leaves the show.

ONE ON ONE DATE WITH LUCAS
Lucas, Blake and Ryan P were the only guys who had not yet had a one on one date with Ashley at the start of the show. Ashley chose Lucas “to find good fortunes” for her first date this week. Lucas noticed a new glow about Ashley – YAY, project post-Bentley may be working.


The two first strolled the streets of Hong Kong and then enjoyed some authentic Chinese food. They then had a romantic steak and potatoes dinner on a boat.  Lucas opened up to Ash about his divorce. I didn’t see much chemistry there, but he got a rose. Maybe I am missing something – But, I mean, after they kissed, Lucas asked her, “was that our first kiss?” If you have to ask, that’s just weird. Ash did say Lucas makes her “feel like a woman” and protected and their date was one of the most romantic dates of her life.

GROUP DATE
Blake, Ryan P, Ben F., Mickey, Constantine, Ames and Blake got the group date, leaving JP with yet another one on one date and Ryan and Blake without any ever. The group date took place on Stanley Beach and the six men took part in the ancient Chinese pastime of dragon boat racing.

Ash divided the men in teams of two: Constantine and Ben, Blake and Ryan, and Ames and Mickey. The men had to go on the streets and recruit people to help them paddle the boat –they were told they needed at least 6 more people per boat. As the poor men tried to recruit people without speaking the local language, for a second, I thought I was watching The Amazing Race.

Ryan was quickly able to get a full team together. The other teams got their folks together too with Constantine and Ben (Team red Dragon) being able to draw their team to themselves after they put on red robes and walked the streets. Team Red Dragon gave their team a chant of “Baichi” which they thought means “eat it” but later found out it means, “idiot.” Needless to say, the “idiots” came in third.

Ames’ and Mickey’s team was neck in neck with that of Blake and Ryan but Ames and Mickey won last second. When they were all sitting on the beach just enjoying each other’s company, a couple got engaged near them and Ashley asked the guys, “who’s next?!” She saw the close by proposal and engagement as a good omen for her future.

Later that night, Ames said he wants to take their relationship to a different level and sneaked Ash away to an elevator. He pushed the 48th floor button and then attacked her with a kiss…very cute. Once the elevator stopped at their floor, they walked into a patio with a beautiful view.

Ben also got some alone time with Ashley and said his walls are coming down and falling for her.

She met with Ryan and when he asked for a one on one date, Ash told him to wait. She left him to go get the group date rose and took it to Ryan. This came as a shock to the men who can’t stand Ryan.

ONE ON ONE DATE WITH JP
J.P. had the first date the day Bentley left the first time around, so, it makes sense that he got a date the week Bentley leaves for a second time. He and Ashley met up at Victoria’s Peak Park for a picnic. JP told her that this relationship of theirs feels like meant to be for him and he feels comfortable around her. She told the camera that she thought JP is the whole package she is looking for, so, she wanted to be honest with him about Bentley coming back. He was the first of the guys she told that she saw Bentley in Hong Kong. She also told JP that despite how strong she feels for him, she still felt “what if” about Bentley but now she has closure after seeing him. JP took it like a man and sweetly said he’s glad she has closure and thanked her for telling him. Of course he got a rose….


COCKTAIL PARTY 
She started the night with a bit too much honesty by telling these guys that she had “completely fallen” for Bentley. The look on the men’s faces showed how defeated they felt at that moment. She also told them about “dot dot dot” and not having had a proper closure with the guy. She then hit them with the fact that Bentley came to Hong Kong.  Awkward.

Constantine stood up to her first and said on their date, she told him she had let go of past relationships and that contradicts what she just told them. Then Lucas chimed in and asked why she had not found closure earlier. She said she reached a point of a roadblock with some of the men so she had to meet him. Lucas challenged her again said the whole thing was weird.

The heat got strong and Ashley left mid interrogation. The men kept discussing her among themselves and JP tried to stand up for her by saying she did not need to even tell the men but she did. Lucas told the men Ash is wasting his “f*cking time.” The men even discussed how unfair it was for some of them to end up in the hospital (Ames) fighting for a chance of a one on one with Ash when Bentley got one without any effort. Finally, they all felt like second fiddle, saying, “Ash is saying Bentley is my first choice, but he’s gone, so, you guys are still in it.” I can’t say I blame the men for their reaction, can you?


Mickey told her one of the things most important to him is honesty and he felt that she had lied to the men. He also said he just can’t see what she saw in Bentley. Mickey added that if Bentley is the kind of man she is looking for, he’d beg her to send him home. She turned the table on him and said if he felt that strongly, she wanted him to take the initiative and leave. So, with that, she walked him out to another boat and he was gone. COP OUT ASHLEY, you know he was speaking the truth!


Ashley then came back to the men and cried and you know men can’t stand seeing a woman cry. So, all the sudden. everything felt forgiven and the men were ready to move on!

ROSE CEREMONY
Blake Julian who never got a one on one date is eliminated. Mickey walked out at the cocktail party. Ryan, JP and Lucas had roses from their dates.

The men who received a rose at the ceremony were:
Ben
Constantine
Ames

Remaining 6 men are:
Ben F.
Constantine
J.P.
Lucas
Ryan P
Ames


MYSTERY MAN #2 COMING BACK
So, in previews for remainder of the season, we see one of the men Ashley sent back coming back. Who do you think it is? And we see more tears and drama. Will this misery ever end?


So, what do you all think? Did Ashley handle her meeting with Bentley well? Did she grill him enough? Should she have told the guys she had fallen in love with Bentley? Should Mickey have left? Is Ashley the worst Bachelorette ever or is she just human with normal vulnerabilities?