‘The Bachelor’ Recap: Zach Wants To Find Love In Budapest, But Has To Make Tough Eliminations Ahead Of Hometowns

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Season 27, Episode 7 of ABC‘s The Bachelor.

It’s the week before hometowns, and the pressure is on.

Zach and the remaining seven women are in Budapest for this week’s episode of The Bachelor. In a turn of events from last week, all of the women are feeling very confident about their relationships with Zach this week. They’re eager to see him in this new city.

As always, Zach has a quick chat with host Jesse Palmer before meeting up with the women. He learns that Greer, who had been quarantined after presumably contracting COVID, is on her way to Budapest to join the group. But Zach says he’s worried about whether their connection will still be there, since he’s lost so much time with her and has continued to develop strong relationships with the others. 

Kaity gets the first one-on-one of the week, meaning she’s the first of the group to get a second one-on-one date with Zach. Her date card read’s “let’s fall in love in Budapest,” so it sounds like Zach is getting pretty serious about the women who remain.

Kaity meets Zach in town, and the pair take a cable car up the side of a mountain, which gives them a beautiful view of the city. While they’re enjoying the view, Zach tells Kaity that he’d like to get to know more about her as they move toward hometowns, asking her to share more little details about herself. He learns that her favorite color is purple, and in return he tells her that he recently learned he’s 80% British. They continue their exploration of the city, and eventually they come across a typewriter where they pen poems for each other. Kaity says in a confessional that she thinks she’s falling in love with Zach, but she’s scared to tell him that.

Back at the hotel, the other women are talking about feeling anxious with where they are in the process. With hometowns approaching, all of the women are trying to determine where they stand with Zach — and Greer coming back after her hiatus is throwing a wrench into things as well. Some of the women think it wouldn’t be fair for Greer to return and get a rose if she hasn’t been around to continue her relationship with Zach.

The next date card comes in, and Ariel, Charity, Gabi and Kat are chosen for the group date. That means Brooklyn will be getting the second one-on-one for the week, which is the last one before hometowns. Once again, Kat is pretty upset that Zach didn’t pick her, but considering her previous tiff with Brooklyn over taking someone’s moment away from them, she decides to simply wish Brooklyn well.

During the dinner portion of their date, Kaity says that she’s looking for stability from a man, which she’s never felt before. She tells Zach that she feels safe with him, and she thinks he’d make a great husband. She adds that, if she makes it to hometowns, Zach won’t meet her dad because he’s not in the picture. By the time that he expressed interest in having a relationship with her and her brother, she felt like it was too late. The man her mother remarried became like a father figure to her for many years until he also left. She tells Zach that losing two father figures has been tough on her, and Zach comforts her and tells her he admires the strength it took to share that with him. He offers her a rose. 

On the group date, the women are eager for a rose to ensure they’ll be making it to hometowns. They meet Zach at a theater, where they’re roped into some sort of magic trick. Apparently, there was a small red heart drawn on Zach’s hand. The magician “took” the heart and transferred it to the person who Zach has the strongest connection with, which ended up being Gabi. 

Now, the magician tells them he’s going to read their minds. They take turns sitting in front of Zach and answering questions about themselves and their connection to Zach. Things take a turn when Charity admits that her previous relationship failed because of infidelity and that she hasn’t fully healed from that. Then, Kat says she’s thought about walking away from the process, even though she thinks she’s the right person for Zach.

When they see Zach later for the group date cocktail party, emotions are running high. In just four weeks, one of them might be engaged to Zach, and the mentalist’s questions definitely put them all in a confusing headspace. Zach arrives and asks for honesty and vulnerability from each of them. 

Ariel goes first, telling him that she has a loving family but she’s searching for a love outside of them. She says she has a hard time being vulnerable, but Zach makes it feel easy. When Zach talks to Charity, she tells him that the group date was rough for her. She says she doesn’t always trust her own decisions and she hasn’t forgiven herself for staying in her previous relationship, but she assures Zach that she’s ready for a new relationship with him. 

Gabi admits that she’s feeling insecure after the mentalist told her that she “confuses people,” and she’s worried Zach might not want to accept her for who she is. He assures her that he enjoys being around her, and he does want to continue getting to know her. Kat gets a chance to explain herself after appearing uncertain during the earlier part of the day. She says that things have been hard, and she never wanted to leave him but wasn’t sure she could continue with the process. Zach tells her he doesn’t take an engagement lightly, and she needs to let him know if she has doubts. But she insists she isn’t doubting her relationship with him, which seems to smooth things over.

Gabi gets the group date rose, assuring her that he’s ready to meet her family.

The other women are clearly heartbroken to have not received the rose, but they try to put on a brave face for Gabi so as not to take away from her moment. 

It’s time for Brooklyn’s date, and Zach says he’s excited to figure out where their connection is going. But before he can leave for his one-on-one, Greer is looking to have a conversation with him. It’s been nearly three weeks since they’ve seen each other, which in The Bachelor world is basically a lifetime. Greer says she’s ready to pick up where they left off, but Zach tells her he isn’t sure that there’s anything there for him anymore, so he sends her home. 

Zach meets Brooklyn to ride bikes through town to a hot air balloon. As they “take their love to new heights,” as Brooklyn put it, the other women are spiraling back at the hotel. Charity says she’s confident Brooklyn will come back with a rose, meaning there’s only one more rose to hand out before hometowns. Kat says she’s jealous that Brooklyn is on a date with Zach, and she’s worried about whether she’ll get the rose.

After their hot air balloon, Zach and Brooklyn take a trip to a bathhouse, where they chat with a couple who has been together for 25 years. That gets them talking about their own future together, and Brooklyn says she’s excited for Zach to potentially meet her family. During dinner, they dive a little deeper into their conversation. Brooklyn had already told Zach about how her dad hadn’t raised her, so he wouldn’t be meeting her father at hometowns. He would, however, be meeting her grandpa, who she says is her hero. She admits she’s scared to introduce someone new to the family, but she truly sees a future with Zach.

Zach takes a step away from the table to think. He becomes emotional during a confessional, saying that after hearing about how important her family is to her, he isn’t sure he is worthy of meeting them if he isn’t feeling 100% confident about their relationship. He tells her that he can’t give her the rose, and he sends her home.

The women are obviously shocked to see Brooklyn’s bags removed from the hotel, and they all are nervous going into the rose ceremony. Zach knows someone is going to feel heartbroken at the end of the ceremony.

There’s no cocktail party this week. Zach hands out roses to Charity and Ariel. Kat is sent home. 
The Bachelor airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and is available next day on Hulu.