‘The Bachelor’ season 24 recap – episode 9

Welcome back, Bachelor Nation, to yet another season of 30 women vying for one man’s heart. The 24th season of the franchise features Peter Weber, a Colton Underwood look-alike nicknamed Pilot Pete. Keep reading for the Daily Bruin’s recap of some of the season’s most notable controversies, heartbreaks and awkward moments, along with a drink suggestion to accompany the drama.

Captain Morgan’s canned mojito complements this fantasy suite episode. They’re both slightly sweet but a little lackluster with a salty aftertaste – and one is definitely enough.

As Peter and his top three bachelorettes enter the fantasy suite part of the season, this episode centers on intimacy and insecurities. It all begins moments before the group heads off to Australia’s Gold Coast, where Madison pulls Peter aside to tell him her expectations of his nights with the other girls. Although she withholds the fact that she is saving herself for marriage, she is very clear about possibly leaving the show if he sleeps with the other girls. Peter, clearly stressed out by this information, asks multiple times for clarification, and it almost seems unfair of Madison to present him with an ultimatum.

With this stressor in the back of his mind, Peter starts the trip off jet-skiing with Hannah Ann. Eventually, they end up on a beach having a heartfelt conversation at twilight wherein Hannah Ann reveals that she is more mature than perceived, expressing her support for Peter no matter what decision he makes in the end. Peter validates such honesty when he admits that what they share is true love.

[Related: ‘The Bachelor’ season 24 recap – episode 8]

For the evening portion of their date, they continue to vocalize their support for one another. Their cheery – and relatively light – conversation leads them to a hotel room with a conveniently placed hot tub, but Peter clearly has other plans in mind as he carries Hannah Ann bridal style onto a bed. Silhouettes and hand palms pressed against a frosted glass bathroom door are suggestive of what happened that night.

Back at the house, where the remaining women are staying, Madison paces nervously in the living room. Throughout the entire episode, she can’t stop thinking about the prospect of Peter having sex with the other women.

Victoria F. tells Madison that it’s important that Peter spends the night with the women to get a sense of what waking up next to each other might feel like for the rest of their lives. But at the mention of any intimacy with the other women, Madison becomes visibly upset and suddenly goes quiet. However, she continues to exist in limbo as Peter’s next fantasy suite date is with Victoria F. where they attempt to clear the air after last week’s turbulent hometowns.

The Bachelor generously forgives Victoria F. and the two start off on a clean slate. Their date is yet another helicopter ride through a foreign country boasting beautiful scenery. Peter and Victoria F. stop for a waterfall picnic while discussing their communication issues, and it seems that they are actually making progress as Pilot Pete confirms that they are definitely on the same page now.

[Related: ‘The Bachelor’ season 24 recap – episodes 5 and 6]

The couple continues to discuss their miscommunications over dinner when Victoria F. attributes her defensiveness to not being asked about her feelings during her past relationships. For a moment, it seems as though Victoria F. and Peter are about to get into another argument, but they are able to pull themselves out of it to end the night on a happy note in the fantasy suite. For the first time all season, Victoria F. is finally starting to open up, admitting that she is very much in love with Peter.

Madison’s date is saved for the end of the episode, and despite her nerves and prior concerns, she and Peter have an amazing time together while literally taking their relationship to new heights by climbing one of the Gold Coast’s tallest buildings. Throughout the entire date, it is evident that Peter is completely smitten with Madison as he noticeably laughs and smiles the most when he’s with her.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere of the couple’s evening portion of their date changes drastically as Madison once again brings up her expectations of Peter. She finally reveals that she had been saving herself for marriage, and while the Bachelor admires her honesty, mistakes are made when he returns the gesture by telling her that he has indeed been intimate with the other women. The news visibly upsets Madison as she struggles for a response, leaving a remorseful and teary Peter at the table.

The strongest pairing of the season now faces one of their most trying moments, and only time will tell if Madison will find true love or if Peter will end the season with a broken heart.