‘The Bachelorette’ Premiere Recap And Q&A: Jenn Tran Breaks Down Night 1, Including Most Memorable Arrivals & Her First Impression Rose
SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the Season 21 premiere of The Bachelorette.
It’s officially time for the world to watch Jenn Tran embark on her own journey to find love.
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Season 21 of ABC’s The Bachelorette kicked off Monday night with 24 eligible men doing whatever they can to impress the newest leading lady. Tran also spoke with Deadline about her first night in an interview below. First, here’s our recap:
ABC seems to have really taken a liking to these cold opens, because Jenn’s season is off to a very dramatic start with a flash forward to the 21st Bachelorette, presumably in the finale, telling someone “I can’t let you propose to me.” But we’ve got a long way to get there, and on night one, spirits are high.
Jenn seems to be taking things in stride during her arrivals, considering that they are not at The Bachelor Mansion. Instead, she’s meeting her men for the first time at Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Simi Valley, California. They won’t need the venue for long, though, because they’re jetting off to Australia after the first rose ceremony.
Some of the memorable limo arrivals include:
Sam M doesn’t do anything flashy, instead co-opting Jenn’s favorite catchphrase, asking her to imagine the two of them growing old together and still celebrating “shot o’clock” 50 years down the line. It leaves a lasting impression on Jenn, who mentions Sam M. several times throughout night one.
Brendan leaves his mark by eating a hot pepper while introducing himself. Perhaps not an effective way to pick up a woman, but surely it’ll leave an impression on the audience.
Austin goes big by spraying a fire extinguisher all over the driveway upon his arrival.
Tomas A arrives with two puppies. Need we say more?
Jonathan comes in hot with a case of “lovesickness,” wheeled in on a gurney, dressed in a gown, the whole nine yards. Even his face is bandaged, because he wants Jenn to get to know him on the inside before she judges him on his looks.
Hakeem walks up the driveway with a giant bouquet of balloons strapped to his back.
Honorable mention is Aaron, who drove up on a motorcycle. Not the most original entrance we’ve ever seen, but he is Noah Erb’s twin brother, which piques Jenn’s attention when she speaks to him later on in the night.
Speaking of the rest of the night, the cocktail party goes over without a hitch, for the most part. Sam M. steals Jenn away immediately and, when he leans in for a kiss, she offers her cheek instead. She says she isn’t sure yet who, if anyone, she wants to kiss on the first night, which leads to a bit of a competition between the men to see if anyone can be so lucky.
Jonathan finally takes his bandages off and, spoiler alert, he’s got good looks too. He doesn’t take that gown off though, mooning basically everyone the entire night.
Jeremy and Brian get in a bit of a tiff when Brian tries to steal Jenn away. Worth noting that Jenn and Jeremy are sitting inside the car that Jeremy arrived in, so he doesn’t take it too kindly when Brian wants to take his place in the drivers seat. In the end, he decides to be a gentleman and concede.
At the end of the night, Jenn circles back to Sam M. He gets the first impression rose and the first kiss.
Jenn also keeps Dylan, Devin, Thomas N., Aaron, Brian, Spencer, Jahaan, Grant, Hakeem, Marcus, Jonathan, Tomas A., Austin, Marvin, John M. and Jeremy.
She sends home seven men — Brendan, Dakota, Matt, Moze, Kevin, Brett and Ricky — leaving her with 17 to follow her Down Under.
Below, Tran spoke with Deadline about what to expect from the rest of the season.
DEADLINE: What were you most nervous for going into night one?
JENN TRAN: I guess what I was most nervous for night one was probably if guys were gonna try to kiss me before I was ready, honestly. Because, I know how these things go. I’ve seen the show a couple times, and I knew that for me, affection like that, it takes me a little bit to get to that level. So I think I was just kind of nervous if I was gonna have to reject a kiss or anything, because I didn’t feel it yet. So thankfully, that didn’t happen. But I think that was something that was something that definitely was kind of in the back of my head the whole night.
DEADLINE: The guys seemed very curious about who you were actually going to kiss first. How did you make sure that, when you did kiss someone, it was the right moment?
TRAN: I mean, I really was just trying to be as present in the conversations as I could be with the men. I knew that if someone was going to try to kiss me before I was ready, I was going to just tell them I wasn’t ready for it. But it is a weird conversation to be had, and like to be like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to kiss you yet.’ That’s why I was kind of nervous about it. But I really was just like, if it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna be with someone that I feel really comfortable with, and that I feel like has potential.
DEADLINE: So when you offered Sam M. the first impression rose, and you two kissed, what did you see in him that made you want to take that step?
TRAN: With Sam, I think I just felt super comfortable in our conversation. The conversation was just so easy. That first night, there’s so much going on, so I was constantly just thinking back to someone who made me feel so comfortable, and someone who I felt like it was going to be really easy with. And so Sam was that person.
DEADLINE: What was the most memorable entrance, in your opinion?
TRAN: Hakeem showed up with a bunch of balloons, and that really reminded me of the movie Up. So it was kind of a nostalgic feeling. I really loved that. It was just so creative. Jonathan showed up with his butt cheeks out. That was great.
DEADLINE: Speaking of Jonathan, what was going through your head when he finally took the bandages off his face?
TRAN: I was just so intrigued who the person was behind the mask all night long. I like that there was intent behind the gimmick. It was like, ‘I really want you to just know my personality, and I think that there’s more to a relationship than just looks.’ I really loved the message of it all.
DEADLINE: Before you started your own Bachelorette journey, did anyone give you any advice that stuck with you?
TRAN: One of my best friends wrote me a letter before I left for the show. She’s already married, so she gave me some advice on how you’re gonna the right one is the right one. One of the bullet points was, like, ‘Your person’s gonna think that you’re the funniest girl in the room.’ What that really meant for me was my person is going to understand me and see me and value me in that way, because I’ve dealt with a lot of previous bad relationships in which the guy didn’t listen to me. He didn’t think I was funny. He was just with me to be with me, but he didn’t love everything about me and my weird sense of humor. So that was really important for me, to find someone who you can be yourself with, and someone who loves every part of you.
DEADLINE: What can you tease about the rest of the season?
TRAN: I mean, there’s a lot of twists and turns in the story, so I’m excited to see all of that play out. Honestly, I’m most excited to see my self growth, because I really feel like I’m a totally different person now than I was at the beginning of it. So it’ll be really nice to see that growth, and all the moments that helped that growth happen.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
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