Hometowns- Blessings are hard to come by.

Whoa. Hardcore hometowns! Tears, Uncertainty, Fear and Anger.

Ashlee
Dear perfect Ashlee..had a lovely hometown date with Sean. They walked her tiny dog, sat in a park and then had a pastoral outdoor dinner with the lovely foster parents.
When Ashlee's dad told the story of how he fell in love with Ashlee when he first met her I teared up. The years of Bachelor watching are wearing me town!

The way Ashlee talks about Sean is exactly what the wedding industry wants out of a potential client. She talks of magic, pixie dust and dreams coming true. Pixie dust? Seriously? Maybe that's just setting powder from make-up that's on Sean's clothes.
Pixie dust.

Seriously.

Something fishy about Catherine
Well if that wasn't the smelliest date ever! Catherine meets Sean at Pike's market and they throw around some fish. cute to watch.not to do. All that fish juice flying everywhere. I can't imagine Sean's jacket smelled very good. After tossing a few fish (not Plenty of Fish), they walk around the market, eat, do a jig..and then put their bubble gum on a big bubble gum conglomeration. I wonder if that thing smelled too. I wouldn't want to touch it.

Off the Catherine's house, to meet her pretty sister's, lovely grandmother and odd mother. The sister's give Sean the impression that Catherine isn't really ready to settle down and the sister's don't seem to buy it the Catherine is into Sean. Catherine's mom gives Sean no direction or reassurance..but tells him there are 3 other girls to decide from. They had a weird conversation that had no warmth or substance standing by the kitchen sink. Maybe mom is camera shy..but she seemed very emotionally detached.

Sean does not seem convinced Catherine is ready to settle down.

Keeping it real with Lindsey
Lindsey is sweet but she seems a bit clueless at times. Sean meets her at her hometown where her dad is a general. They walk around the town. She can't tell Sean what to call her Dad. General, Mark or Mr. XXXX. You'd think she's know.Sean says this feels like a real town to raise a family? Huh? Like the other cities are figments of imagination? The other places felt dream-like. I know the US likes to idealize the army, but to say that this hometown is more real than others in absurd.
We couldn't escape this date with portrayals of army life, especially army training.
Lindsey does some version of Bachelor basic training where she commands 20 pushups (I saw 5) and some sit-ups (which were rewarded by kisses). Nothing like working up a sweat before meeting the family. but he probably didn't smell worse than after a visit to the fish market.Of course Lindsey was commandeering this. It was a bit weak.
Sean wins over Lindsey's mom and kinda gets a blessing from her dad..but only if Lindsey wants to marry Sean. That's an odd caveat.  you'd think that would be a given and not a special clause.
Sean gets dog/Identification tags to remember the visit. Nice..a little army souvenir. Now that's PR at work.
Sean thinks he's falling in love with Lindsey..but apparently he's crazy about all the other women and can see them as future potential.

Dez. Whoa Nelly. I mean Nathan.
Dez and Sean go on a wholesome hike. Then they 'make dinner' at Dez's house. I saw no food preparation. I think Sean looked like he was setting the table. There's a knock at the door..and then an odd exchange happens between Dez and a dude..but that's just Dez pulling a prank on Sean. Good think Sean didn't get angry..i thought he was going to.
But it was Dez geting Sean back for the gallery prank.
Ha ha well.not really. It was a bit flat.
Dez's mom seemed a bit hippie like..her hair and she seemed a bit off. Dez's dad seemed nice, but not super involved. Brother Nathan made up for both of him. Nathan was like the northside met Jersey Shore. Was he being protective or did he just want to be a faux tough guy. Making other people feel small does not make your tall (I can't exactly remember that quote I read on FB the other day)..but he tried to get in Sean's biz-ness..but Sean handled it really well. Nathan called him a play-ah..and disingenuous. I'm not sure if Nathan knows what disingenuous means..but he did allude to the his perception that sean was not authentic. Nathan does seem to like the word reciprocation. That's a lot of syllables for that dude.
Sean was very annoyed..but tried to be pleasant at the table and minded his manners. Dez's parents just seemed to avoid confrontation. I get that..but we all know that never helps.

Rose Ceremony...lotsa lotsa drama
What will Sean do??? He basically says he is going to toss Dez or Catherine. Right at the start of the ceremony, Dez decides to pull a hail mary and asks to speak with Sean. This is only to apologize for the rude display at the hometown. She provides no further clarity. She cries and apologizes. Hmm.not helpful Dez.
Back the ceremony.
Ashlee and Lindsey..safe!
Sean needs to grab some more time.  So back to the deliberation room for Sean. Chris gives him some sage advice. Take your time and 'get this right'. Thanks coach. Pretty useless tip.
That's like telling people, moderation is important in healthy eating. That is useless guidance.
Sean takes a moment..takes the rose..and hands it to.....
CATHERINE!!! yeah!! she's safe another week!!!

Sean walks Dez out. Dez and Sean sit on the good bye bench by where the limo is parked.
Dez tells him he is making a mistake and they are good together. Sean has no words..he hugs her and says he will miss her. Dez says "then don't let me go". Hmmm....good point. But this is the Bachelor..and someone needs to go home tonight..an tonight it's Dez.
Dez is crying in the limo.."all I want to do is make someone happy..that's all I want to do". That's All you want to do. Sigh....another question..whether this is about 'losing' or is it about losing Sean.
Well...you can bet your bridesmaid dress that Dez is not going to be happy with Nathan.

Until next week..and the FODs in Thailand... I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!