The Choice, S1 Episode 4: Recap & Review

It was ladies night on The Choice, when model Hope Dworaczyk, performer Sophie Monk, Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih and the one and only Carmen Electra came looking for love with a blind eye and a love handle at the ready.

After we caught up with the celebrity bachelors from last week (Taylor’s hip hop dance class date led to phone number exchanging, Rocco’s romantic meal from his food truck failed to make sparks, Warren and his smooth karaoke date left on a promise to keep in touch and The Situation came out with the strongest connection, texting ever since their romantic dinner date), though, we quickly realized that these four were not going to produce the best episode to date.

That’s not to say there weren’t some shining moments throughout the episode. Sophie, Australian accent and all, proved herself to be a bit of a show stealer constantly making us laugh. Carmen, too, had us amused with her faces during her decision making process in the blind round.

But aside from Carmen, we’re not sure the “celebrity” of the remaining three bachelorettes could compare to that included on episodes prior. That would have been fine if they made up for it with ample personality and banter. Instead, the majority of them said straight to the potential date’s face that they made a mistake in turning around and didn’t want them to pick him. Come on, ladies, that’s just rude!

Nevertheless, we were still kept well amused, both by the reactions of the bachelorettes and the things that came out of those men’s mouths. Cat was also a breath of fresh air on the show, but still it was up to the four bachelorettes to make it work!

Here’s the rundown:

HOPE DWORACZYK

Things started off strong for Hope as she nabbed the first guy out who happened to be a Ricky Martin look-a-like, but her dating pool seemed to be home to some still water for a turn-arounds, because she ended up being the last bachelorette who needed her three men. But she did bring her game by the end of the blind round, using phrases like “but I’m sweeter than Carmen,” to try and get the guy. (Note: That particular line didn’t work.)

Overall, she had the worst combination of three guys to choose from and in the speed round she rather smartly opted to leave the man who cockily said to choose him “because you’ve already seen your other choices” behind. Despite her lacking selection, she seemed like the most grounded of the bachelorettes, but she soon had to play along and when making her final decision mixed a little bit of everything into it: after checking out both the guys’ butts, she went with Brant… because he’s good to his mom. But, can someone explain to me what the relevance of including the whole having guys constantly throw themselves at her aspect into her final question? It came off as nothing but bragging – and it was sad – so maybe she shouldn’t have dismissed Mr. Cocky too fast.

Final Question: Hope is the playmate of the year and guys are constantly throwing themselves at her. If the two of you fell in love, how would you propose to her?

SOPHIE MONK

What a pill! From the second she spun around in her chair – that, she explained, could only be better if it also vibrated – she established herself as the savior of this episode. She seemed to turn around for every single guy, even when she tried to force herself not to. But what made her so enjoyable was not just her humor, but her straightforwardness. On the first guy, she fought for him by saying she can’t cook, so when they go out to dinner, she generally pays and when the second guy picked her over Carmen she was genuinely shocked (as was everyone else). The only downside was that she was the first to fill up her dating pool and so we didn’t hear too much from her for a good 10 – 15 minutes of the episode.

But she came back full force in the speed round, where she continued to make us laugh. She didn’t have the greatest selection of guys to choose from, but she sent home a good one in the speed round. We knew he wouldn’t make it too far, but we wish he did because he seemed like one of the most down to earth and personable of the group. If only she could eat pastries! With only two to choose between, she had them give her some celebrity impressions and after staring closely at each of the remaining guys’ faces, she opted for the Elvis impersonating, little bit creepy Shane with an accent and a ukulele that had Sophie from the start.

Final Question: Sophie once played Marilyn Monroe in a movie. Would you give her a little bit of your best celebrity impression?

RIMA FAKIH

While things began quietly enough for Rima, she soon made her way to the bottom of our favorite bachelorette list. She seemed to be the one pioneering the whole let’s-tell-him-we-shouldn’t-have-turned-around thing, employing it on multiple guys in the course of the evening. And while it must be hard to sit next to a funny woman like Sophie and try to banter with her, please Rima, you were trying way too hard to be funny. It came off stale and simply not funny. She did have a few shining moments though, when she would use strange voices and playful reasoning – usually revolving around being from Queens, although the jury’s out on whether she’s from Michigan, too – to convince the guys or when she was coughing and telling Carmen to “pull it” after her own dating pool was filled.

But the best part of Rima’s appearance on the show was her ultimate choice. One of the guys who she openly admitted to making a mistake in turning around for, Andrew, ended up being the one she wanted to go on a date with. Whether it was his persistence, optimism or tongue tricks, we don’t know, but it was nice to see that while Rima could seem insensitive at times, she wasn’t afraid to backtrack on her statements and go with the guy she didn’t even realize she actually wanted! She was probably pretty happy with her decision when he whisked her into his arms and carried her back to the chair.

Final Question: Rima competed in her first beauty pageant during college and her talent was belly dancing. If you were competing in a pageant, what would your talent be and why?

CARMEN ELECTRA

Carmen has no problem with confidence and that was clear from the start. But it was nice to see her choosing some guys for more than just what the audience was trying to tell her. Whatever her process was, it worked because she had the best all-around group of 3 guys to choose from. In the speed round, Carmen covered all sorts of questions, from the series “how long was your last relationship” to the frivolous “what’s your favorite color?,” and ultimately made the right decision on who would be her final two.

Now, the one she didn’t pick in the end was definitely a worthy opponent, but as soon as Christopher came out on stage, said three words in his strong New York accent and came face to face with Carmen for the first time, it was clear that these two had some palpable chemistry and that Carmen’s choice was essentially already made. But that didn’t prevent Carmen from having a little cruel fun with the two when it came time to make her decision. While it was clear she wanted Christopher, she made a convincing act as though she were going to choose the other guy, going so far as to outstretch her arms to him only to whisk around and hug Christopher instead. Ouch! That was pretty mean, Carmen! Although we do know that Christopher is the best match for you. New couple alert? Shark Week is coming up!

Final Question: Carmen really loves animals. In your opinion, if you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be and why?

Be sure to tune in next week when we’re back to the bachelors – and hopefully some better banter! The girls were pretty good this evening, Cat Deeley had a couple great moments and we met a lot of interesting potential suitors, but we’re ready for the men to get back in the spinning chairs.

What did you think? Did it stand up to the other episodes we’ve seen? Did anyone in particular stand out for you? Sound off in the comments below!

New Episodes of The Choice Air Thursdays at 9/8c on FOX.