Bachelor in Paradise Season 9 Episode 4 Recap: The Johns enter Paradise and men with ‘B” last names

NEW YORK — For the fourth episode of “Bachelor in Paradise,” we pick up right where we left off last week, wondering if Sam is going to be able to go to the bathroom before sunrise.

In the opening credits, we see this episode will be guest starring Dr. Kelly, so we know we are about to get our answer. Plus, even though Sam’s bowels may not be moving, the relationships on the beach are. Not to mention, Jess’s iconic glitter seems to have made its way around the beach and now the men and women alike are all sparkling.

Sam cannot go to the bathroom (still)

We learn that it has been nine days and 23 hours since Sam has last gone to the bathroom. She is “packed but not ready to go” when Dr. Kelly returns to the beach. He pulls her for a chat as she is talking to Aaron S, her “prospective poop daddy.”

Olivia says what we are all thinking as Sam goes to talk to Dr. Kelly about her options.

“Sam is so little. I’m like where is the poop even being stored right now? I don’t understand,” Olivia said.

When Dr. Kelly tells Sam she has to go home to seek more drastic measures, she starts to cry. She feels as though she and Aaron S. are a “match made in heaven” and now their time is being cut short because of her stomach issues.

Sam leaves Paradise, with her rose from Aaron S. in hand. Perhaps Dr. Kelly said it best as Sam left the beach.

“They say love conquers all, but for Sam, I guess that is not true,” he said. If he was not a doctor, Dr. Kelly could have been a poet.

John Henry arrives to the beach

John Henry, from Charity’s season, is a shy southern man. He is very nervous as he enters paradise, even though he is an underwater welder and should not be scared of a beach, Jesse says. John Henry says he is most excited to meet Kylee, but he pulls Kat to talk first.

“Everything makes John Henry hot. He talks, and I don’t hear what is coming out of his mouth,” Kat said.

John Henry tells Kat he is not the kind of person to connect with someone just based on looks, and he likes to get to know people before he is able to form a connection with them. Next, he pulls Olivia to try and get to know her. John Henry and Olivia seem to be the definition of “opposites attract,” and he asks Olivia on the date. Peter (who gave Olivia his rose) says he does not want Olivia to go on the date, but she does anyway.

John Henry and Olivia’s first date

John Henry says it has been a long time since has been on a date with a woman, and that he spent the last seven years of his life hard at work or traveling. The two of them get the spa day date, and as soon as Olivia sits down, she breaks the spa bed.

I think there is something to learn from this awkward moment. Instead of coming up with icebreakers for when you meet someone new, just become a bedbreaker! That strategy sure seemed to work for Olivia.

John Henry seems to relax in her presence (he was so nervous earlier that his hands were shaking), and he even puts his diver’s helmet on for her. He says he is ready to meet his best friend and start a relationship again, and you really cannot help but root for the guy.

Olivia and John Henry make out in the pool, and it seems as though Peter is a thought of the past.

John B. enters the beach

John B., from Charity’s season, enters Paradise. He pulls Mercedes for a chat first, and then Eliza. Poor Aaron B. (who gave his rose to Eliza) hides under a blanket as Eliza and John B. talk.

To be fair, just before John B. entered the beach, Aaron B. said a cursed phrase.

“It’s going to be smooth sailing for Eliza and I,” he said as he jinxed himself.

John B. asks Eliza on the date and she pulls Aaron B. to talk before she says yes, just as Olivia talked to Peter. It seems as though this season’s women are setting a good example for how to treat your partners in Paradise.

Eliza tells Aaron B. she feels she made a mistake last year in Paradise by not fully opening herself up to dating other people, so she wants to give John B. a shot. Aaron B. says he does not want her to go on the date, but she decides to say “yes” to John B. anyway.

In his confessional, Aaron B. says he is really catching feelings for Eliza, but the way he expresses his love for her is quite strange.

“Eliza is such an amazing woman. Like you see this fig jam, and you’re like wow, I have never seen that before. Right? Like, I want that on my charcuterie board. So, I just want it on my charcuterie board every time I drink wine. That is exactly how I feel about Eliza. I don’t want anybody else to know about that charcuterie board but me. That’s just how it is,” he said.

(To any future partner of mine reading this article, please, never ever refer to me as fig jam– not even if you mean it as a compliment.)

John B. and Eliza go on their first date

John B. and Eliza have a romantic “dinner” date. We do not get to hear much of their conversation, as the edit is mostly focused on Aaron B. and how sad he is back on the beach. However, we do see John B. and Eliza kiss, and a mariachi band serenades them. We are all left wondering which man with a last name that starts with the letter “B” will win Eliza’s heart in the end.

Olivia returns from her date with John Henry

When Olivia returns to Paradise, we learn that she and Peter have yet to kiss, but she spent plenty of time on her date kissing John Henry. Olivia says her date with John Henry was the “best date ever,” and it was “cute, awkward and great.” She pulls Peter to talk about how the date went, and she tells him she likes John Henry. But before the night is up, Peter makes sure to kiss Olivia, and she seems torn between the two handsome men.

The Paradise Truth Box

Paradise bartender Wells Adams calls everyone over to the bar. For the last five seasons, he has been a voice of reason and often gives advice to the cast. He tells them that every season people tell him that they regret being scared to share their true thoughts and feelings in Paradise. As such Wells introduces the “Paradise Truth Box,” which will stay on the bar for the rest of the summer. He invites the men and women to put their truthful thoughts into the box anonymously, and he says he will choose some to read at the end of the following night.

With the Paradise Truth Box looming in the distance (back at the bar), some of the men start to feel like it is their time to speak their truths.

Sean (who gave his rose to Rachel) says he wants to shoot his shot with Jess. He even goes so far as to sing a song (inspired by her favorite artist, Taylor Swift) in his confessional. I am not going to recount the lyrics of the song to you. All you need to know is that is a good thing Taylor Swift writes her own songs, and that she doesn’t have Sean writing them for her.

Jess ultimately friend-zones Sean.

“I love you… as a friend,” she said. “I care, and I don’t want to string you along.”

Meanwhile, as Sean is talking to Jess, Brayden realizes that means Rachel is up for grabs. However, instead of letting Rachel know he is into her, he tells her what Sean has been saying about Rachel behind her back. Rachel is shocked to learn that Sean wants to peruse things with Jess instead of her, and she gets very upset. Rachel pulls Sean to talk and as one cast member says, “I’ll put it this way, Sean and Rachel are not getting married.”

Cocktail Party

It is only the second Rose Ceremony of this season of Paradise, but several love triangles have formed. Olivia is pulled between John Henry and Peter, Mercedes is torn between Will and Tyler, and Eliza has to choose between Aaron B. and John B.

To kick off the Cocktail Party, Jesse Palmer provides an update on Sam’s stomach issues: she has yet to go to the bathroom. I find myself wondering how many more episodes this plotline will be carried through.

Wanting to get the truth out before the Rose Ceremony, Wells opens the Paradise Truth Box. He starts by sharing some milder truths like “Brayden and Rachel should make out” and “stop serving half shots of tequila.” Aaron S. interrupts Wells and says he wants to open the box himself to see the harsh truths. Since Sam is gone, Aaron S. feels like he has nothing to lose, and he breaks open the Paradise Truth Box. Some of the more revealing truths he shares are “Kat played Brayden,” and “Tanner should watch out for Kat.”

Plus, for the second time someone wrote “Brayden and Rachel should make out,” which prompts Brayden to pull Rachel and, of course, they make out. According to Rachel, Brayden is the best kisser on the beach.

Back at the bar, Kat is very upset about the truths from the box. In fact, she yells so loudly in her confessional that the rest of the cast can hear her down at the beach.

In the meantime, Sean and Aaron S. are sitting, praying for a miracle from the Paradise gods, as they are both convinced, they are going to go home. And, huzzah, a shooting star flashes across the screen, and we see a woman start to make her way down the stairs to Paradise. With 12 men on the beach and only seven women, this new woman may be able to save one of the five men from going home.

Next week on Paradise

Next week on Paradise, we will meet the mystery woman who comes down the stairs right before the Rose Ceremony. Plus, Brayden and Rachel get to see if they can grow a connection on a date together. Lastly, it is Kat’s birthday and someone from the cast warns that “Hurricane Kat” may be unleashed when Tanner says yes to a date from another woman, Davia.

“Bachelor in Paradise” airs Thursdays on ABC following “The Golden Bachelor.”