Matt James is Our New Bachelor!: Episode One Recap
Who’s here, who’s not, and which women to watch for.
by LAYLA HARRISON ★ JANUARY 5, 2021
If Matt James becoming ABC’s first Black bachelor is the only historical moment that we live through in 2021, I will be content. Let’s be honest, we needed this YESTERDAY, but I’ll take what Matt James I can get! Last night’s episode gave us Matt shower scenes (thank you), a queen, and a sex toy. So let’s unpack and recap!
First, we are not at the Bachelor Mansion in LA. Filming took place at the beautiful Nemacolins Woodland Resort in Pennsylvania. I know some of us are missing Bachelor Mansion, but unpopular opinion from my mom: “I am loving these single location seasons! They make the producers work harder and the dates more personal.”
The episode kicks off with the 5-minute get to know Matt starter package. Cue the shower scenes and introspective strolls while Matt’s pre-recorded hesitations about vulnerability play in the background.
Now we’re ready. Matt stands on the steps of the resort, about to meet a limo full of women he doesn’t know vying to be his bride. But, he’s nervous. He takes Chris aside for a chat to “ask a few questions.” They head up a staircase with so many stairs it’s almost reminiscent of the Mount steps. This is when we see Matt open up about the pressure he feels about being the first Black bachelor. He expresses that people are rooting for him not just to find love, but find love with a woman of a certain race. Matt continues, emphasizing that he is biracial and reinforces what we all know is true: LOVE HAS NO COLOR. Chris responds with a classic dodgy and unhelpful comment, “If you’re not emotional about this, you’re not doing it right,” and Matt is right back out ready to meet the women.
One by one, the women pile out of the limos in sparkly dresses attempting to woo a man who without a doubt forgets their names immediately after meeting, but affirms them with a backwards glance at their rears as they walk up the steps. Chivalry? Very much alive.
First out of the limo we have the beautiful Bri, a communications manager from San Francisco. Matt responds to her entrance by noting how beautiful she is, but don’t get excited. It’s a theme. Her intro is simple but enough for Matt to remember and bring up later inside, recapping her sentiment of being excited for ~the journey.~ While Bri kicked off the episode with her calm and painfully normal demeanor, 30-year-old Katie Thurston—who I’m convinced is the love child of SNL’s Vanessa Bayer and The Bachelor’s Kristina Shulman—brings the heat presenting Matt with a vibrator upon entry. He loves it. Katie then enters the resort and sets her vibrator on the table for all the women to see.
While this entry was tough to beat, ballsiest entry goes to Miss Kaili Anderson, a 26-year-old from Chicago, who shows up in underwear with two gowns in hand for Matt to choose her outfit. If you’re wondering, he chooses a sparkly red strapless gown.
The next creative entrance is MJ, a hairstylist from Ohio, who pulls up in a Pizza delivery car. Unfortunately, when she goes to open the door to the backseat, she’s locked out of the car and has to go around and unlock it from the driver's side. Cringe! Finally, she gifts Matt a cheese pizza along with the line “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Who knows what the producers feed the cast, so for Matt’s sake I hope he held onto it.
Saneh, a 25-year-old from Denver, exits the limo and approaches Matt wearing “goat slippers” that were really just shoes that looked like goat feet. Her excuse? Matt is “the GOAT.” Very creepy. He did not look impressed.
Alana, a 26-year-old photographer from Canada, hands Matt a bowl of pasta and they Lady and the Tramp a noodle. This is technically the first kiss of the season. But beyond that she doesn’t make an impression.
We meet Rachael Kirkconnell, the woman of the hour. Rachael is a 24-year-old from Cumming, GA. Many reports from Cumming locals and even Reality Steve claim Rachael is the winner of Matt’s season. This claim was backed by the post-show vote of confidence from Jimmy Kimmel’s wife, who has correctly predicted the winner after each Bachelor premiere 8/11 times and believes Rachael will win the season. Immediately after the premiere, a TikTok went viral from a woman who went to high school with Rachael saying that Rachael bullied her for being attracted to POC. I see heated Instagram story defenses on the horizon.
We see a blur of women spilling out, none of them with particularly memorable intros. But, last out of the limo is a woman named Victoria, soon nicknamed Queen Victoria. There’s nothing more dull than someone whose name reminds you of someone greater with the same name. But you will never read a history book the same way after seeing this woman. Victoria is carried in on a throne. She anoints Matt as her king, very banal, and proceeds to walk up the steps while an interview clip of her saying she’s going to put her “best foot forward” plays. Of course, at that moment she trips up the steps. Matt calls out, “You good?” to which she responds quietly and coldly, “I’m good.” AWKWARD. Oh and it gets worse. The last thing you should do walking into a room of 30 other women competing for the same man as you is say, “The queen has arrived, bitches.” Ohhhhh but she did it. Literally send help. While she is given a villain edit, none of the women seem threatened by her. She’s clearly a producer pick and is truly so much fun to watch. I cannot wait for more weeks of Victoria clowning around the house. She’s an instant favorite for all the wrong reasons and is MADE for paradise. No choice but to stan.
Matt enters the resort and joins his 32 girlfriends, soon to be 24. Instead of giving the traditional “I can’t wait to start this journey with you all; I definitely see my wife in this room” speech, Matt prays over the women. Swoon. He shares that he prays when he’s nervous or overwhelmed with emotion and promises the women he’ll be—you guessed it—vulnerable.
Matt is then thrown into conversations with all of the women. He is in conversation with Abigail when the first impression rose is brought in. Abigail is a 25-year-old financial manager from Oregon who was born deaf. She tells Matt about her disability right off the bat and tells him she will be reading his lips all night, but that they’re “beautiful” so she doesn’t mind. Matt quickly responds promising to annunciate. During their chat MATT LEANS IN FOR A KISS. He. Instigates. The. Kiss. Night. One. She gets the first impression rose.
It’s time for the rose ceremony and we have a CODE RED. Two women—Anna and Alana. One red dress. For the first time in forever, two women showed up in the same dress. A first-night horror story. Of course, the producers made them stand next to each other. Luckily both women got roses, so I guess it’s not a bad luck charm after all! Myth debunked.
Who gets eliminated:
Alicia: 24-year-old ballerina from NYC, NY.
Amber: 30-year-old nursing student from Costa Mesa, California
Carolyn: 30-year-old journalist from LA, California.
Cassandra: 25-year-old social worker from Newport Beach, California.
Corrinne: 22-year-old marketing manager from Pomfret, Connecticut.
Emani: 25-year-old realtor from Albuquerque, New Mexico
Kimberly: 28-year-old airline recruiter from Seattle, Washington
Saneh: 25-year-old IT Consultant from Denver, Colorado.
Women to Watch For:
Bri
Bri is going to make it far, maybe not to fantasy suites, but certainly to hometowns. She and Matt have calm conversation and I don’t see any crazy coming out of her this season.
Sarah
So far, Sarah is flying under the radar. My parents described her introductory greeting to Matt as “awko-taco.” Honestly, I can’t blame them. She had nothing special planned and it was just small talk outside and then again at the cocktail party. During her contestant preview, we meet her father, who suffers from ALS. Wholesome. Content. I see her coming out of her shell and being one of Matt’s favorites. If she makes it to hometowns and we see more of her family, Bachelor Nation will be shedding tears. Definitely watch for her. Serious slow-burn vibes.
Chelsea
Chelsea is a runway model and the second girl out of the limo. She wore a black flowy goddess-style cut out dress with a plunging neckline. Even Matt had to comment, saying, “She is WEARING that dress.” She didn’t get much airtime tonight, but she has a good vibe and will probably stick around for a few more weeks.
Kit
Kit, 21-year-old daughter of fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, is a self proclaimed fashion-entrepreneur from NYC. By fashion-entrepreneur she means: might create a small label in a few years after becoming a high-profile influencer, gaining Instafame, and securing brand deals from her Bachelor appearance. Before tonight's episode she had around 50k followers and is ending the night with almost 60k. Is she there for the right reasons? No. Do I totally dig her vibe? Yes. She shows up in a gold Bentley, but sits shotgun instead of in the back. Gotta stay humble somehow! Throughout the night, she repeatedly pronounces herself the “king” and “CEO.” Of what? We may never know. But we know one thing. This girl is boujee. Where’s Bennett from Tayshia’s season when you need him?!
The biggest WTF moment comes at the end of the episode. At the end of the premiere, Chris Harrison blesses us with a season preview that promises crying and last minute entrances. And guess who’s back? Heather from Colton’s season, the girl who’d never had her first kiss, shows up insisting that Matt is the one for her. Have they met before? Is she sent home the same day? We’ll just have to wait and see!
Cover photo credit: Instagram (@bachelorabc)