Bachelor Power Rankings: Breaking down the champagne incident

Week 2 of The Bachelor delivered an all-time great meltdown.

Peter Weber hit some major turbulence on his journey to love in Week 2 of The Bachelor, as bitter rivalries are already forming between members of his cast. We’ll be recapping each episode and ranking all the contestants weekly on FTW. 

1. Kelley

Last week’s rank: 1

We didn’t see Kelley at all in Week 2, but fortunately for her, that means she completely sidestepped all the ridiculous drama that developed in this episode.

2. Madison

Last week’s rank: 3

Madison didn’t get much time with Peter in Week 2, but he told her that it feels like they’ve been dating for years, and that his parents love her already after their first one-on-one date. Peter surprised Madison by handing her a wrapped gift, which happened to be a framed family photo from his parents’ vow renewal ceremony.

If Madison doesn’t win, this is going to be so, so awkward.

3. Victoria P.

Last week’s rank: 2

Victoria P. also had a quiet week, but was fairly prominent in the season teaser at the end of the episode and is poised to make a deep run.

Unranked: Hannah B.

Last week’s rank: Unranked

The episode began with Peter and Hannah B. continuing their conversation backstage at the group date, where Hannah had presented a challenge to the rest of the women by recapping, in great detail, her sexual escapades with Peter inside of a windmill.

Neither Peter nor Hannah B. seem to know what to do about their relationship, and after some very long hugs goodbye, you get the feeling that Hannah B. will be back later in the season, even if she isn’t joining Peter’s cast as a full time member. Peter admitted in a confessional that he wanted to kiss Hannah B., and it certainly seemed like Hannah B. wanted to kiss him. This is setting up perfectly for Hannah B. to waltz back onto the set right before Peter proposes to someone else.

The group date, at this point, had been entirely derailed. Peter apologized to the women he had invited but canceled the performance portion of the date, leaving them with just a cocktail party to look forward to. More on that later.

4. Mykenna

Last week’s rank: 19

Mykenna came to the mansion with a strategy to be aggressive, and it’s paying off. At the cocktail party after the failed group date, Mykenna got Peter to show off some dance moves, leading Peter to stop her mid-sentence with a head pull into a kiss. As we saw on Hannah’s season, physical affection is going to be a big deal for Peter, and Mykenna is making the right moves.

Mykenna was also involved in a ridiculous early fight with Kelsey, who accused her of ruining her champagne moment by stealing Peter away. Upon a rewatch, Mykenna appeared to have no idea Kelsey had “claimed” Peter at the time, as Kelsey was off on her own setting up her champagne spread by the fireplace, while Mykenna, in a different part of the mansion, found Peter and whisked him away for a quick moment.

5. Hannah Ann

Last week’s rank: 4

Hannah Ann had an excellent showing in Week 2, winning the fashion show challenge on a group date to earn herself a brand new wardrobe – but her new beef with Kelsey threatens to ruin her run on the show.

To recap, Kelsey had saved a bottle of champagne for more than a year, and intended to open it with Peter on opening night. She didn’t get the opportunity, but decided to share the bottle with Peter at the post-date cocktail party.

Kelsey prepared the champagne on a tray and left it sitting next to a fireplace, and then simply walked away and left it unguarded. She had told a small group of four women about her plans on camera, but that group did not include Hannah Ann. Naturally, later in the episode, Kelsey was stunned to hear the pop of a champagne bottle from another room as she was talking about her plans with the other contestants.

Kelsey alleges that Hannah Ann knowingly stole her champagne bottle, while Hannah Ann said she had no idea the bottle belonged to Kelsey. We only get to see a small portion of the footage, but from the show edit, Hannah Ann was never in a room with Kelsey as she talked about her champagne. Interestingly, and perhaps nefariously, Bachelor producers had set up a second bottle of champagne in a different room, perhaps leading Hannah Ann to believe they were a natural cocktail party prop free for the taking.

Kelsey attacked Hannah Ann for the rest of the night, leading Hannah Ann to tell Peter that she felt bullied by Kelsey. Peter then confronted Kelsey, who defended herself by telling Peter that she’s been bullied in the past, and that Hannah was misusing the term “bullying.” Not knowing who to trust, Peter gave both women roses – but this beef has the potential to explode in the coming weeks.

6. Lexi

Last week’s rank: T-6

Peter, to his credit, is proving himself to be adept at creating small moments to make contestants feel special. In his meeting with Lexi, he pretended not to remember her mansion entrance on night 1, and asked her to refresh his memory. He then pulled a small toy convertible out of his pocket as a present. What a guy.

7. Sydney

Last week’s rank: T-6

Sydney earned a surprise group date rose from Peter after telling him about her difficult upbringing in the south. Peter replied by telling her how strong she is, and quickly transitioned into kissing her, because that’s what Peter does.

8. Natasha

Last week’s rank: 17

Natasha had absolutely zero patience for the Hannah Brown situation in Week 2, and she didn’t hide her disapproval throughout the episode, telling anyone that would listen that it wasn’t fair for Hannah to be around. At the cocktail party that night, Peter saw that Natasha was obviously annoyed and asked her to “get it out,” and later praised her for being so direct.

We saw in the season preview that Natasha appears to take at least one international trip, so she’ll be around for a while.

9. Tammy

Last week’s rank: 5

We only saw Tammy this week when she was hilariously reacting to Kelsey cursing out Mykenna, but the episode preview revealed that she gets involved in a profane shouting match with another contestant later in the season.

The “no screen-time” division

Week 2 was a weird episode due to the cancelled group date and #ChampagneGate, and a few women stole the show and dominated the screen. We’re grouping together all of the contestants who have yet to make an impact on the show, but have done enough to avoid elimination.

T-10. Alayah

Last week’s rank: T-6

T-10. Kiarra

Last week’s rank: T-6

T-10. Alexa

Last week’s rank: T-6

T-10. Jasmine

Last week’s rank: T-6

T-10. Sarah

Last week’s rank: T-6

T-10. Deandra

Last week’s rank: 18

T-10. Shiann

Last week’s rank: 20

T-10. Savannah

Last week’s rank: 21

18. Victoria F.

Last week’s rank: 29

In Week 2 we discovered that Victoria F. is not comfortable at all in a group setting, which doesn’t bode well for her future on a group dating show. Victoria was extremely nervous prior to the fashion show yet flourished when she actually hit the runway, and even broke out lingerie in order to differentiate herself from the rest of the contestants. Victoria F. advanced to the final walk-off against Hannah Ann, but was crushed when she lost and broke down backstage, saying she wanted to go home.

Peter did his best to console Victoria afterward, but she said that she wasn’t sure if remaining on the show was worth her mental health. Peter later surprised her with the group date rose, which felt like a bit of a sympathy rose.

19. Kelsey

Last week’s rank: T-6

Kelsey got herself involved in two separate disputes with Mykenna and Hannah Ann, and both delivered some excellent TV moments. We’ve gone over the Mykenna fight, but Kelsey’s assessment of Mykenna was legendary.

“Do I think she’s a snake, and snaky? Yeah.

I don’t tolerate snakes, I don’t like them. They’re my least favorite animal.”

Kelsey appears to be playing The Bachelor like someone who has never watched the show. If you aren’t aggressive and constantly taking the initiative, you’re probably going to lose. Kelsey could have avoided both disputes in Week 2 if she simply hadn’t been wasting time by talking to the other contestants, but here we are.

The cut of the show we’ve seen reveals that Hannah Ann has a decent claim that she didn’t know about Kelsey’s champagne plans, as she wasn’t in the room when Kelsey announced them, and she said later that they had barely talked to one another. Kelsey, however, is adamant that Hannah Ann “knows what she did,” and she might hold that grudge for the rest of her life. When Kelsey finally gets the chance to have a special moment with Peter, it literally blows up in her face.

But wait, there’s more! The season preview revealed that Kelsey says “I’m in love with you” at some point in the season, though that could be deceptively edited. We aren’t sure if Kelsey is talking to Peter at the time, and it wouldn’t be beyond the Bachelor producers to tease a moment that never happens. At this stage, though, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Kelsey pulls a Jean Blanc and drops an L-bomb on Peter as soon as Week 4.

The “women we never met who might pop up in Paradise” division

T-20. Lauren (eliminated)

Last week’s rank: T-6

T-20. Courtney (eliminated)

Last week’s rank: T-6

T-20. Payton (eliminated)

Last week’s rank: T-6

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