This week in Prague there were six guys, four roses, three one-on-one dates, two confessions of love, and a final group date. We are one week out from the pivotal hometown dates and I feel like a new frontrunner has inched into the lead. It’s no secret that I’ve been a big fan of Arie from the start, but this week may have actually bumped him down to the runner-up spot in my mind.

Date 1 – Arie

So let me get this whole dating scandal out of the way right now. It came to light in this episode that Arie briefly dated, for maybe a couple of weeks, one of the show’s producers ten years ago. This kind of pissed Emily off at first because I guess this producer is the one that is constantly on the scene with her and she thought it was weird Arie never said anything. She passive aggressively pushed Arie to tell her about it for awhile by asking him if he has any secrets (he admitted to having had and removed a tattoo of an ex’s name, which was funny) and there was some awkward conversation as a result. When she finally brought it up directly he explained that it hadn’t even occurred to him to say anything since they didn’t really even know each other anymore. Okay then. I’m glad we had this talk.

Obviously imma give you this rose. You’re hot and good at kissing.

By the end of their date they apologized to each other and were back to being quite lovey and kissy, and Arie told her he loves her. She totally lit up at that admission and talked to him about meeting his family, making no secret of the obvious fact that he would be hanging around until next week. Cue fireworks and more making out.

Date 2 – John

Let’s toast to my complete absence of personality.

I can’t say that I remember much about Emily’s date with John because he is possibly the least interesting person to ever be on this show. He talked about some personal stuff with Emily, but I kind of suspect he was trying to artificially “open up” enough to maybe stay in the game another week. They had dinner in a dungeon and there was a kiss. They participated in this tradition where they wrote their initials on a lock and locked it to a fence with those of other couples, but they had some trouble getting the lock closed. Emily joked that it was a bad sign, which is funny because it’s true. Still, he seemed pretty confident after the date that he had “knocked it out of the park.”

His smugness was enough to turn Chris into a crazy person. Chris went into this week feeling nervous, (rightfully) suspecting that Emily’s relationship with some of the other guys (*cough*Arie/Jef/Sean*cough*) had progressed further than his.

Date 3 – Sean, Chris, and Doug

Three guys went to the group date at a castle but only two made it out. This definitely goes on the list of most awkward moments this season. When Emily took Doug aside for some one on one time during the group date Doug looked like he’d rather be sitting on an ant hill than next to Emily. Emily, always considerate of the dads on the show, decided to finally cut him loose and didn’t bother waiting for a rose ceremony. Unfortunately, as she was giving him her goodbye speech outside under an umbrella, he didn’t understand what was going on and decided that was the perfect moment to finally kiss her. Her response? “Thanks for that.” Ooooh, not good. He was none too happy when she proceeded to send him home.

With him gone she finished the date with Sean and Chris. Chris was pretty sure he’d get the rose for the date for whatever reason, but obviously Sean got it because Emily is way more into Sean. Chris decided to be kind of aloof and pissy for the rest of the date. The best was as Emily was giving the rose to Sean she muttered “so awkward” under her breath. Well, at least you won’t have to go through any more of these weird group date situations.

Date 4 – Jef

“I really like your nail polish.” – Jef’s puppet to Emily’s puppet

Ok, guys. Jef is adorable and the two of them are adorable together.

Exhibit A: They went and bought marionette puppets together, and as they were walking away with them Jef ran back into the store to buy one for Ricki. Brownie points! Emily commented on what a great dad Jef would make because he’s like a big kid.

Exhibit B: Next they went to a library that looked like it was straight out of Beauty and the Beast. They used the puppets to reenact their story. Yeah, I found it incredibly charming and endearing. I am kind of a sap. He took the moment to have his puppet confess to her puppet: “I’m one million percent in love with you and I can’t even imagine what I would do without you in my life. Can we…get a dog together?” Awww!

Exhibit C: Jef told Emily about his family growing up, tons of kids who are super tight and parents who are crazy about each other. He seemed genuinely excited for her to meet his siblings. It was really sweet, even though Emily seemed a little nervous when Jef admitted to breaking up with a girl that his family didn’t like.

Exhibit D: They set up a blanket on the floor of the library and cuddled and talked about their future together like normal people. They talked about how neither of them wants to live together before they get married and they both want to have kids pretty much right away. Wow, really? I think these two might just be meant to be.

Ok, Jef. Consider yourself my new frontrunner. While the connection with Arie was very apparent right away, it hasn’t really built since then, and Jef and Emily just get closer every week. What sealed the deal? When Jef said to Emily, cuddled up on the floor of library, “I want to date you so hard and marry the f*** out of you!”

The Rose Ceremony

By the time the rose ceremony rolled around, Emily opted to skip the cocktail party since it is pretty obvious who’s staying at this point. Sean had a rose and she gave roses to Jef and Arie right away, duh. Chris was freaking out due to John’s confident demeanor and interrupted to pull Emily aside and apologize for being lame on the group date. It’s ok Chris, Emily was obviously going to send John home this week. John said he was surprised when he got cut but still conveyed zero emotion.

Ok, onto hometowns next week! Barring some unforeseen disaster, Chris is definitely the next to go. Looks like Emily will have another wave of guilt and tears over breaking so many hearts, and we’ll see if Jef and Emily’s connection continues to grow!