I expected Night One of the season to be the standard over-stimulation of drunken antics, clashing personalities, and budding rivalries of the new class of alpha males. It wasn’t. And it wasn’t until I was putting together my “top four” list that I realized hardly any importance was given to the thirty men vying for roses, and that’s because this premiere was a second campaign for Hannah as Bachelorette (Women Tell All being the first).

Table 1 below lists a set of qualities the ideal Bachelorette must possess (created by me). Per her Bachelor edit, Hannah possessed most of these qualities when she was cast as Bachelorette. But the two qualifications she did not meet (again, per her TV edit) — charisma and maturity / decisiveness — are crucial to the success of any Bachelorette, and a large portion of viewers were upset at her casting for this reason. The purpose of this first episode was to attribute these two missing qualities to Hannah because she was denied them previously. (Note: her edit as a “work in progress” on the Bachelor furthered her other qualifications — namely affected by hardship and girls’ girl below. Producers have purpose.)

Hannah shined with the charisma piece: she came prepared with an endearing cocktail speech, and the montage of nervous men highlighted her ability to comfort them. Interestingly, feeble Scott was used as a prop to promote Hannah as mature and decisive in the deliberate act of Demi and Katie sleuthing at the mansion to identify the contestant with a girlfriend. We’ve seen contestants (usually men) come on to the show with girlfriends and throw leads into emotional spirals upon learning of their relationships at home. DeMario from Rachel’s season was the latest. But DeMario having a girlfriend mattered because Rachel was interested in him and felt tricked by him. Scott having a girlfriend only mattered because his drama elicited an emotional but strong response from Hannah in the very first episode of the season, early enough to establish her as a perfectly capable lead. Bye, Scott.

Without too much to go off, here are my top four predictions –

Peter, 27 | Pilot | Westlake Village, CA

Peter — I love Peter. He gives me Ben Higgins puppy dog vibes but seems more dynamic. He was the last guy out of the limo, and his full entrance was shown (followed by Hannah’s comment that “he was really cute”). His Night One conversation with her was also shown, during which Demi and Katie commented that she seemed to be really into him.

Jed, 25 | Singer / Songwriter | Nashville, TN

2. Jed — I’m not a fan of the singing / playing guitar gimmick for Night One but Hannah was. She said she has a crush on Jed, and that’s more than she said for anyone else. Plus, cameras seemed to pan to his reaction a few times through the episode (particularly after commentary from Luke P.). He somehow seemed to be more relevant than some of the other men.

Mike, 31 | Portfolio Manager | San Antonio, TX

3. Mike — Her full conversation with Mike was shown. He complimented her speech, asked her about herself, and told her she was ready for this process. He seems grounded, fun, and an all-around good guy. I don’t think he’ll be the last one standing, but I do think she’ll appreciate his vibe and will be able to find comfort in him through some of the oncoming drama.

Luke P., 24 | Import / Export Manager | Gainesville, GA

4. Luke P. — Not a fan. Every conversation he had with Hannah was centered around himself. In his limo exit, he said something along the lines of “I’m the king of the jungle… change your title to my queen”. When he took the “initiative” to speak to her after the Scott fiasco, he said “it hurts me to see you like this”. When she gave him the first-impression rose, he said “the affirmation that you’ve given me feels amazing”. He’s in my top four only because I needed to rant about him, and because it could be a few weeks in before Hannah has any realizations about him. I’m curious to know how his exit from the show will play out.

Honorable mentions: I have high hopes for Garrett (because he was the first limo exit and because he shares a similar background with Hannah) and Connor S. Connor S. was close to being in my top four (they kissed and were so giddy with each other!), but I’m not sold that it’s more than puppy love. I think he could end up being on Paradise.

Bachelor in Paradise ready: Demi, Katie, Joe (The Box King), Matt Donald, and Chasen are gone for the season but will be on Paradise.