Bachelor In Paradise Season 6, Episode 4 Recap: A Break From The Blake Show

The August 12 episode of Bachelor in Paradise ended with a cliffhanger when it was teased that Blake Horstmann and Hannah Godwin's connection was suspiciously deep because they'd already gotten to know each other in the real world. Wait... You mean to tell me Blake met up with a Bachelor lady in the real world? Ya don't say!

On episode 4 of Bachelor in Paradise, we find out what that situation was really about. And, better than that, we also get to hear from a lot of the other cast members, who hadn't received a ton of screen time because it was all being hoarded up by Blake and Hannah G. Seriously, so much happened in this episode, but refreshingly, the episode actually opened with a focus on Demi Burnett (Colton's season) and Derek Peth (BiP 4), a pairing we haven't seen a ton of so far this season, but, in the eyes of the other cast members, are the strongest couple there. The thing is Demi and Derek don't particularly feel that way, especially Demi, who is concerned about her feelings for Derek since Demi was dating a woman back home.

Demi doesn't open up to Derek about it just yet, but she does talk to Katie Morton (Colton's season) and explains, "I do miss her and I think about her all the time and I am so in with her." She adds that she came to Paradise to try to figure things out about herself (like Demi told Hannah B. on the premiere) and says that she only recently opened up to her parents about her sexual orientation. (They were very accepting of their "Dems".) In the most moving part of the conversation, Demi explains that she puts on a tough exterior as a shield, because she'd long felt she couldn't be her whole self.

And then, of course, we have to move back to the Blake (Becca's season) and Hannah G. (Colton's season) drama for a little. After Dylan Barbour (Hannah B's season) was denied his request to talk to Hannah the night before, they chat and he asks why she's so into Blake if things had been going so well between them. "I feel like I don't know something," he says. And, eventually, Hannah gives in and admits that she and Blake met — and kissed — when he came to meet her in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. (Apparently, Blake told her, "In order to show you who I am, I booked a flight to Birmingham.") At this news, Dylan just walks away. Poor Dylan!

Afterward, Blake is also shown telling a group of cast members that he'd visited Hannah. Tayshia Adams is one of them, and she's upset, because, she says, she and Hannah bonded over being blindsided by Colton Underwood on The Bachelor. This being the case, Tayshia thinks Hannah should have told her about her previous connection to Blake before Tayshia went on a date with him on the first night. She's not wrong.

So, Tayshia confronts Hannah about it. Hannah says she didn't say anything because she thought Blake visiting her "was a private thing that he did." This harkens back to the week 1 where Blake appeared as though he didn't want things that happened outside of the show to be mentioned on the show. These two might actually be a good fit.

Tayshia, in her confessional, says Hannah "plays this innocent card ... but she knows what she's doing." Hannah says of Tayshia, "I feel like she Mean Girl-ed me," which is very inaccurate considering that Tayshia took Hannah aside to ask her calmly about a situation without anyone else around.

Anyway, the place needs some new blood, so Dean Unglert (BiP 4) and his new mustache make their way down to the beach. Dean's got no job, lives in a van, looks like he'd be filming videos in The Valley in the '70s, according to Chris Harrison, and is really to mingle!

Dean hits it off with Caelynn Miller-Keyes (Colton's season) and asks her on a date, which leads to more sad staring into the ocean from Cam Ayala (Hannah B's Bachelorette), who somehow still thought he had a chance with her. On their date, Dean and Caelynn are super into each other. She says that she's "intrigued" by his "lifestyle." Which, okay, that sounds dumb, but I get it — he's traveling to all the National Parks! They end up going for a swim and making out in the pool. There's some real chemistry there.

After this, another new dude arrives. Christian Estrada, who left on night one of Becca's season, shows up, immediately asks to talk to Nicole Lopez-Alvar (Colton's season), and asks her on a date. This guy had beef with Jordan Kimball on The Men Tell All special for their season, which prompts Jordan to say, "Go buy a pair of espadrilles you fucking asshole," when Christian shows up to the beach in running shoes. (For the record, espadrilles are a great beach look.)

Nicole and Christian's date is full of chemistry, including a make-out on the beach. She's impressed by how assertive he is, especially in comparison to her other connection, Clay Harbor (Becca's season). Nicole has now been on three dates, which leads her to declare, "I feel like the Bachelorette!" It's very cute, even though the shit is about to hit the fan.

Nicole and Clay chat when she returns from the date, and she straight up tells him that she wishes he would be more assertive like Christian. And, shocker, then Christian shows up during their convo and says that it's still his day with Nicole and Clay can have her tomorrow. Clay is all, what the hell are you talking about? And Nicole says that she wants to hang out with Clay right now, thank you very much. Yeah, he's assertive alright.

Next up, it's time for the cocktail party and we get to visit Derek and Demi again. Demi decides to tell him about the woman she's dating back home. "Thank you for choosing to talk to me about this," he says. He also tells her he's "okay with slow" as long as she's just open and honest with him. Demi says in her confessional that his response was "perfect". The whole thing is pretty reasonable for Paradise, considering they're there for such a short time, anyway.

Meanwhile, some other flirting is going on. Mike Johnson is getting to know Sydney Lotuaco. Katie and Chris Bukowski are still hanging out. And, most importantly, John Paul Jones has memorized lines from Romeo and Juliet to recite to Tayshia, who he calls "hands down the most beautiful girl here." His recital doesn't go so smoothly, but it wins Tayshia — and Bachelor Nation — over. No one saw this coming, including Tayshia.

The last big moment of the night — jeez, so much happened this episode — has to do with Nicole, Christian, Jordan, and Clay. Yep, it's time for that long-teased fight. The scene: Christian has set up drinks, chocolate covered strawberries, and a piñata to woo Nicole. Clay is watching from afar and is being pressured by Jordan to go take Nicole away. Action!

Clay walks over to Christian and Nicole to do the whole "steal her for a sec" thing, but it doesn't work because he's timid, Christian is super pushy, and Nicole just wants to stay where she already is. So, Clay returns to his buddies and Jordan asks if he should go break the piñata. Clay is all, dude, please chill for once in your life. But, because Jordan is there to stir things up, he runs over to break it anyway. Honestly, it feels disrespectful to Clay. This is his drama, Jordan! Let him handle it as he sees fit!

But, Jordan runs up and grabs the piñata and Christian tries to stop him and that's how the fight happens. It moves very quickly from a little shove over the piñata to a full on wrestling match. The episode ends before the fight is even over.

And that's that. It was so nice to have a break from The Blake Show — and I'm sure he thought so, too. Next week is The Rose Ceremony, where nothing is certain except the fact that that guy Kevin (who?) is going home.

Question of the Night: "Where do you shower?" — Caelynn to Dean after processing that he lives in a van.

Highlight of the Night That I Don't Want to Mention Because I'm Mad at Jordan, But It Was Entertaining: Jordan and Demi making fun of people. They just watched their cast mates from afar and said things like, "Who's getting a rose this week? Anyone But Cam" and "Oh! It's a Forever 21 commercial!" about Katie and Kristina Schulman frolicking on the beach.

Mystery of the Night: Why more people aren't into Mike Johnson. They all seem to like him, but he's not really dating anyone. Are they all part of a plan to make him Bachelor? ~Conspiracy!~