Courtesy of Mark Coffey/ABC
Welcome to The Bachelor version of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Power Rankings. Each week, THR‘s Bachelor experts will be tuning into the romantic connections and dramatic shenanigans taking place on season 21 of the long-running ABC franchise. In an effort to cater to viewers who opt out of show spoilers, these rankings are based on opinions and observations week-by-week.
The fifth week of Nick Viall’s The Bachelor kicked off with a battle of the brains, as Corinne and Taylor brought a 2017 twist to the classic reality competition catfight — instead of battling over Nick, they bickered over each other’s brain power.
On the heels of last week’s “To Be Continued…” ending, Taylor questioned if Corinne has the emotional intelligence to date the 36-year-old Bachelor. Corinne fired back, calling Taylor everything from a “dumb bitch” to a “stank face” (more insults below).
The Bachelor producers couldn’t resist milking the moment, even after flying Nick and his remaining women to New Orleans. While Rachel scored a “fairytale” one-on-one date (details below), Taylor and Corinne landed the first two-on-one date of the season, forcing Nick to send at least one contestant home. Corinne’s pep talk ahead of the face-off: “I’m intelligent in my own way, I’m people smart … Is intelligency a word?” She also tried to coin the phrase, “Make America Corinne Again.”
Even after Corinne detailed how Taylor “emotionally attacked” her and “basically called [her] stupid,” Nick gives the budding politican the date rose. But Taylor stormed her way back onto the show after being eliminated — pulling a Chad from Bachelorette JoJo’s season — and refused to peacefully exit. Crashing Corinne and Nick’s dinner date, she called Corinne out for “lying” and Nick for “listening to his dick” and building a relationship “off of whipped cream and lies.”
Now that Taylor — along with Astrid and Sarah — is out of the picture, see how Nick’s remaining women rank below. The top two are the only contestants left in their thirties, highlighting the collective age difference between Nick and many of his contestants. Share your thoughts on the episode with THR in the comments below.