‘The Bachelor’ recap: Alayah’s exit gives way to new villain

ABC/Maarten de Boer(LOS ANGELES) — A special two-night event of The Bachelor kicked off Monday with Peter deciding once again to send Alayah home.  However, a new villain is about to emerge.

That leads to the rose ceremony, after which Deandra, Kiarra and Savannah are sent packing.

Afterwards, Peter informs the rest of the ladies that Costa Rica is the next stop on their journey, in which he has another surprise waiting for them once they arrive. 

Unfortunately, the “surprise” is a freak accident involving a golf cart has left him with a 22-stitch scar on his forehead.

The first one-on-one date goes to Sydney, who’s whisked off by helicopter over the picturesque landscape, followed by a romantic picnic.  Over dinner Sydney, tells a heartbreaking story of facing racism while growing up in the Deep South. There, she reveals she’s the daughter of mixed race parents who divorced when she was four years old.  The story and Sydney’s strength earn Peter’s respect along with the date rose.

However, no sooner does one drama end…another heats up, as Kelsey — who had the infamous meltdown over a bottle of champagne in the first episode — tearfully opens up to Tammy about her insecurities over where she stands with Peter in relation to the others ladies.  Kelsey’s emotional breakdowns are becoming a source of annoyance to the other women, especially Tammy, who’s about to lose her cool.

Meanwhile, Tammy and Kelsey are part of a group date with Shiann, Victoria F., Madison, Natasha Victoria P., Lexi, Hannah Ann and Mykenna, all of whom are off to shoot a Cosmopolitan swimsuit fashion spread at La Fortuna Waterfall.  The winner, based on her modeling ability, is Victoria F., who gets to cover the issue alongside Peter.

At the cocktail party afterwards, Tammy uses her one-on-one time with Peter to warn him about Kelsey, whom she describes as “emotionally unstable.”  When Peter confronts Kelsey about it, she objects to her behavior being described as a breakdown.

Kelsey then tries to defuse her situation by sneaking over to Peter’s suite before the next rose ceremony.  He says her boldness “serves to reinforce to me that you want this just as badly as I do.”  After stepping away for a moment, he returns with a rose, explaining that he doesn’t need to wait for the ceremony to know how he feels about her.

The women are looking forward to talking to Peter at the pre-rose ceremony cocktail party, but instead, host Chris Harrison appears to deliver the news that Peter is so confident in his decisions this week, there will be no cocktail party.  The girls blame Tammy, accusing her of speaking out of turn to Peter, and she responds by accusing Sydney of the same thing.  When Sydney denies gossiping about Alayah, Tammy throws a fit.

Rising to her feet, she screams, “Shut the f*** up,” before launching into a tirade.

Fearing the drama has put her chances of getting a rose in jeopardy, Tammy steals Peter away just as the first rose is about to be handed out, followed by Mykenna, leading Lexi to quip, “I guess I’ll go next since this is now a cocktail party in the middle of the rose ceremony.”

When the roses are handed out, it’s Lexi who’s sent home, along with Shiann, who leaves him with an ominous warning: “Some of the girls that are here… Sometimes what you’re seeing is not really who they are.”

The Bachelor continues Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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