When I first saw this it felt like a cop out answer, like Colton couldn’t really articulate what he and Caelynn shared and thus didn’t really try. I wrote in my notes: “Great. What every dad wants to hear from his daughter’s boyfriend, especially right before being asked for his proposal blessing.” Now, I still don’t love that Colton did ask for John’s blessing given he had to know at this point he would never need it, but I do feel like there’s heavy producer pressure for leads to ask it of all the ladies’ fathers. (You know, to add some sort of drama to the evening.) I know Colton himself “needs” his future fiancée’s father’s blessing (ugh, that’s a topic for another day), but I doubt even he needs it from all FOUR of his girlfriends’ dads. That said, watching this back after having seen Caelynn go home at the end of the episode, and parental blessing aside, I respect Colton’s overall behavior on this date. He may have told Caelynn he was falling in love with her last week, but this week, when she told him, “I am IN LOVE with you now”, he only responded with a kiss. In general, it felt like he made a modicum of effort not to build her up as high as humanly possible before sending her home.

HANNAH G’S HOMETOWN

Hannah G’s Hometown brings us to Birmingham, AL. Hannah G takes Colton to an etiquette class with the explanation being that he needs to be turned into a “Southern Gentleman” prior to meeting her parents. Despite this having nothing to do with Birmingham or Hannah G’s upbringing (once again we were somehow robbed of getting to know her), I was all for this activity given it was the clear comedic relief of the episode. My favorite part was, while being taught to tear off single bites of bread, the zoom-in of Colton’s (appropriately) incredulous expression…