Week four of “The Bachelor” took the romance overseas as Grant Ellis and the remaining 10 contestants jetted off to Madrid for the season’s first international trip. With suitcases packed full of glamorous outfits — and plenty of lingering drama — the women prepared for another week of vying for Ellis’s heart.

One-on-one: Dina Lupancu

Exploring the streets of Madrid, Dina Lupancu and Ellis played soccer with local boys and learned traditional dances in a town square. The day continued at a local store where visitors wrote wishes on paper to decorate the building. Lupancu and Ellis both wished for marriage and family and were excited about their mutual dreams. 

As the date unfolded, a romantic rowboat ride tested Ellis’ rowing skills, as they floated with the ducks and shared a lighthearted moment. 

The evening wrapped up in a classic “The Bachelor” fashion with an intimate dinner, deep conversation and ultimately, a date rose for Lupancu.

Group Date 

Alexe Godin, Litia Garr, Natalie Phillips, Rose Sombke, Parisa Shifteh, Zoe McGrady, Carolina Quixano and Juliana Pasquarosa met Ellis in the town of Chinchón, where they explored the town via donkey. 

After their comedic ride through town, they arrived at the main event: matadora, meaning female bull-fighter, lessons which involved Ellis charging at the women, acting as a bull. The embarrassment took a turn for the worse as the women dressed up in what Quixano called “Spirit Halloween” matadora costumes and competed to hang on to a mechanical bull for the longest. 

McGrady copied Godin’s winning strategy, and ultimately won the competition and shared champagne with Ellis.

The drama heated up at the post-date cocktail party as Quixano questioned her place on the show.

“It’s almost like, how do you get engaged after one date, essentially,” Quixano said.

Questioning the foundation of the show, Quixano was criticized by her fellow contestants who have yet to have a one-on-one date with Ellis. Upset, Pasquarosa pulled Quixano aside for a heated conversation.

“Tonight, you expressed your unsureness about this whole process to this day,” Pasquarosa said. “If I felt unsure about who he was, I would be packing my bags and leaving.”

Quixano did not respond well and started crying as the other women added to complaints about Quixano. Ellis arrived to hand out the date rose and immediately paused after finding Quixano crying. Annoyed with the tension between the women, Ellis decided to not award any of the women the date rose.

One-on-one: Sarafiena Watkins

In the pouring rain, Ellis and Sarafeina Watkins bungee jumped off an abandoned-looking railroad bridge. Battling his nerves, Ellis was impressed by Watkins’ calm and cool attitude, and the duo leaped off the bridge entwined together, sharing an upside-down smooch while swinging off the bridge.

At their dinner date, Ellis told Watkins that when he kisses her she seems “hesitant,” and assumes there is a deeper issue.

“To be honest, it’s because my mom’s watching,” Watkins said.

Sharing a few laughs, the couple enjoyed the end of their date and bonded over being raised by strong women. Ellis awarded Watkins with a date rose.

Elimination:

At the final cocktail party of the episode, Pasquarosa and Ellis sat down to discuss the drama between Pasquarosa and Quixano at the group date. Sharing her side of the conflict, Pasquarosa said she was frustrated with Quixano’s attitude who “had nothing positive to say about the date.” Ellis was concerned about Quixano’s negativity and pulled her aside for a conversation where Quixano defended her concerns.

Returning to the rest of the women, Quixano cried, again, and Lupancu consoled her.

“I hear you, and I see you,” Lupancu said, holding Quixano’s hand.

For Sombke, seeing two women who have both had one-on-one dates crying was too much to handle, and Sombke told Quixano her actions the previous week were harmful.

“Your actions really set me back,” Sombke said. “And it really f—ed me over. I was the one whose character he was questioning.”

Sombke got progressively more and more upset, and after sitting down with Ellis for one last conversation, decided to go home.

The cocktail party ended as the women assembled for the rose ceremony, where Godin, Garr, Pasquarosa and McGrady all received roses, joining Watkins and Lupancu, who were already safe. 

This left Phillips and Shifteh without roses, sending the two women home.

Review

Week four started in Madrid, with Ellis choosing Lupancu for the one-on-one. Their time was spent exploring Madrid and ended with a romantic dinner, at which they discussed how much they liked one another. 

Lupancu has not been involved in any of the drama so far, which usually leads to contestants not getting near as much screen time as those who are involved in tension. Because of this, Ellis and Lupancu’s connection has not been abundantly clear throughout the season but they seemed to be very into one another during the date. 

Though she most likely has not been shown often because she is not involved in drama, their out-of-the-blue connection is still slightly surprising.

Watkins’ one-on-one was, unsurprisingly, jumping off something tall with Ellis. Bachelor Nation needs to find a new tradition. 

They also expressed their fondness for one another — yet another time in which their connection seemed to come out of nowhere. Watkins has also barely been involved in drama, most likely causing the producers to keep her in the background. 

This week’s date schedule was smoother than the last but still came with an abundance of drama, specifically involving Pasquarosa and Quixano during the group date. Quixano, even though she had a one-on-one last week, spent a lot of the episode complaining about not having enough time with Ellis and having doubts about the relationship.

She also mentioned feeling uncomfortable watching Ellis date other women in the house — a fair point in general, but ridiculous within the context of the show. There always seems to be one contestant who becomes jealous or uncomfortable, leading many viewers to wonder what the contestants expected from a reality dating show.

Pasquarosa pulling Quixano outside to discuss her feelings about Quixano’s behavior was a respectful and mature way to go about the conversation, as many women would have just hashed it out in front of everyone. 

However, Quixano overreacted, taking offense to everything Pasquarosa said and ultimately telling Ellis that she was “attacked” by Pasquarosa. This led to tension at the cocktail party and uncertainty in Ellis about his decision. 

Quixano and Sombke’s drama also came to a head during this week’s cocktail party, with Sombke expressing feelings of betrayal to Quixano, saying she felt like it negatively impacted her relationship with Ellis. Sombke ultimately chose to go home before the Rose Ceremony, deciding it was too much for her.

The eliminations this week were not very surprising — neither Shifteh nor Phillips had an extraordinarily strong connection with Ellis, especially compared to the other women. 

Based on the preview for next week’s episode, Quixano will continue her antics, and it looks like she will not have any of the other contestants on her side. After the amount of drama she has caused and time she has taken from other women, it seems past time for her actions to be called out.