Baking for the Bach: Final Stretch

Last week marked yet another Fantasy Suite episode. We start with a dramatic shot of everyone staring at horses like they hold the secrets to the meaning of life and I swear I'll never understand this type of B-roll. They then cut to all the girls talking to each other about how excited they are to get engaged as if they're not all talking about the same guy and this isn't the most awkward thing to be a part of, let alone watch. This group share continues after every date btw. Enjoy!

Shifting from that to such a serious talk as the one Matt had with his dad is a choice. Their talk is intense. And while I sympathize with Matt's dad for not wanting to have this conversation on national television, he's already in it and watching him dodge Matt's questions made me feel like we should have been stepping out of the room and letting them air things out on their own. It was uncomfortable and raw and really powerful to see them get through it on a positive note, though. I truly hope they let Matt elaborate on this moment during ATFR.

Things got a bit lighter when they shifted to Michelle and her one-on-one—although she did have the most awkward reaction when he said spa day, and this was before he mentioned it was Pennsylvania dutch style. Quick question, did anyone else see Matt dip his finger into everything and play a game of 'smell my finger' with all the spa stuff or was that just me?

After they finished bathing in massive amounts of wasted oatmeal and butter, they sat down for a talk where Matt's transition skills truly shined. The man jumped straight from oatmeal baths to what she thought of hometowns—or maybe that was just weird editing. What is likely not edited is Matt's reaction to Michelle saying she loved him, which is just terrible. Enough with the open eye kisses and enough with these responses to I Love You's as if they're in a therapy session talking about their childhood bully. These are very different situations and deserve their own responses!

Bri's up next after an awkward relaying of Michelle's entire date and somehow gets saddled with a personal hike before the date even starts. She huffs and puffs her way to Matt only to have him mess with her and make her think she's stuck roughing it as if he thinks that's her fantasy—nothing says romance like twigs in your hair. Also, at one point Matt calls her Dora the Explorer which leads me to believe he has clearly not seem that show, ever. She does take it like a champ and they do eventually end up in an actual four-walled room, so all's well that ends well, I guess.

Cut to Rachael absolutely losing her mind on the day of her date. She's worried about her connection with him and solves it by making the start of the date both moody and awkward. She shows up in quite possibly one of the weirdest shirts I have ever seen and walks with his hands clasped behind her back which looks uncomfortable as hell. When they finally talk about what's bothering her, one of Matt's reassurances was that when she fell during skydiving, he wanted her to be ok and tbh I'm a little concerned he didn't think that should have been what everyone wanted: producers, skydiving instructors, viewers in the nosebleed seats...

Anyway, we made our way to the rose ceremony and the stunning Bri gets sent home, so in her honor, and because we all need something simple after this longggggg season, this week's recipe is Baked Brie!

A simple recipe, all you need for this one is a wheel of brie cheese and some puff pastry. Wrap the brie in the pastry and bake according to its instructions. Making sure the brie has melted, cut off the top of the brie and get to dipping, or just eat a slice wrapped in puff pastry. Either way, it's a delicious baked treat with the perfect savory flavor and minimal prep and clean-up time! And that's a wrap on season Matt!