'The Bachelorette': Muay Thai fighting, Bentley still haunts Ashley

Apologies for the lack of recap last week, "Bachelorette" fans. I was really, really sick and stayed bed ridden for several days. I did eventually watch the episode and I have a few thoughts:

• Ryan was kind of bossy during the group date, but I'm not as down on him as the other guys are. I think positive people are great.
• Ames seems like a wonderful guy, but I see absolutely no spark between him and Ashley.
• I was really surprised only West went home - Lucas also has zero chemistry with Ashley.

Let's move on to the latest episode. The guys head off to Chiang Mai, Thailand and meet Chris Harrison at a giant, gorgeous Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The guys' private villa is crazy awesome. Harrison informs them this week is the first two-on-one date - two men enter, one man leaves. Exxxxcellent.

Ben F.'s Date

Ben the Winemaker gets the solo date. They go to a marketplace, then visit a temple and Ashley tells Ben they can't kiss there because it's a sacred temple. He acts like it's hard not to kiss her, but honestly? I get the sense he wouldn't have done it anyway. He's kinda shy.

Ashley says the sexual tension made her want to jump on him. Hmm. Guess that was not properly conveyed to us viewers. That night, they get an incredibly gorgeous dinner out in an amazing garden with a ton of candles. Super romantic.

Ben tells Ashley about getting started as a winemaker. I may have to order a bottle or two from Ben's winery, just to check it out. As they eat, Ben tells Ashley about not being emotionally ready for all of this previously because his dad passed away and he really wallowed in the grief for awhile. As some fire dancers perform, Ben and Ashley finally share their kiss. Ashley says there's so much passion and she's very hopeful with Ben.


Group Date

The Group Date includes Constantine, Ames, Nick, Blake, Lucas, Ryan, J.P. and Mickey. So the two-on-one is William and Ben. C. Oh noes! I like them both. That is a bummer.

The Group Date is Muay Thai fight training and then actual fights in a ring. All the guys are really into it (helloooo Mickey doing sit-ups) except for Ames, who just doesn't really have the disposition for this sort of thing and is kind of awkward and uncoordinated. Poor Ames, he seems so sweet.

Blake/Lucas is the first match-up and Blake pretty much kicks Lucas' butt. So the dentist has teeth [be dump ching!]. Mickey/J.P. is up next and my money's on Mickey. He's been in a bar fight a time or two. Lo and behold, Mickey whoops up. At first. But then J.P. unleashes the beast and just starts wailing on Mickey. This is awesome.

Ashley is starting to be a bit uneasy about this date and now it's Ames vs. Ryan. C'mon, Ames! But no, Ryan sends shot after shot to Ames' head. When Nick vs. Constantine fight, with Constantine the winner, Ashley and the production staff take Ames to the hospital because he's woozy and glassy-eyed. Probably a mild concussion.

It's a real downer on the date. Ashley feels bad, the other guys are worried. Ames does turn up for the cocktail party, though, and everybody is all smiles to see him. You know, I love the camaraderie between the guys on these seasons. You don't see that as much with the "Bachelor" women.

He tells Ashley the prognosis was that he's "totally in love," which is cute, but that he really just has a mild concussion. Yeah, he'll feel kinda yucky for a day or so, but he's alright.

Lots of guys take their alone time during the night portion of the date and nothing really notable happens. Blake does bring up the fact that relationships that are hot 'n heavy out of the gate don't last and Ashley OF COURSE links that to Bentley. Because his cancer has infested her brain.

Ashley gives the rose to Blake, which surprises me a bit. Thought Ames had it in the bag - ya know, for getting a concussion for her. Instead, he gets a toast from her and the guys. I'm sure that feels just as good as a rose.

Two-on-One Date

There is a beautiful dog following them around. I wish to know more about that cutie, please. Anyway, the three of them go rafting a la "Tom Sawyer Goes to Thailand." William is lamenting getting stuck in the front of the raft, leaving Ben and Ashley in the back to talk. William already has an uphill climb after that roast, so he really needs all the help he can get.

They picnic and William is kind of laying it on thick with trying to exclude Ben. He then takes his alone time and starts with,  "I'm not throwing the guy under the bus or anything," which means, "I'm about to throw this guy under the bus." He says Ben is ready to leave and has started thinking about how successful he's going to be on the dating websites after being on this show. I wonder if that's true? I would believe it of some of the guys, but maybe not Ben.

Ashley feels just sick about it and all her insecurities are flaring up again. So she says she's ending the two-on-one portion of the date right now and is sending Ben home ASAP. Whoa! She didn't even give him a chance to defend himself!

As they walk away, Ashley brings up what William said (she rats William out in a thinly veiled way) and Ben denies it, says it was a betrayal on the part of the person who told her and that he was "kidding around." Hmm. So did Ben joke in such a way that the guys could tell he was kinda being serious? Or did he really crack a joke and William seized the opportunity to submarine him? I'm honestly not sure.

Ashley practically pushes Ben C. in to the river as she says goodbye. He floats away into the jungle, which at least he wasn't left on a glacier or in the Canadian Rockies to get eaten by bears.

Back at the Bachelor Villa, the guys are stunned that Ben is gone. I guess it sounds like Ashley really wasn't all that into him, but still. That was kinda weird.

Anyway, Ashley and William go to dinner that night and he says he's glad she trusts him so much. He starts talking about how he's still a boy in a way and he's looking for someone to have fun with, which is nice - but tread lightly, fella. Nobody wants a 30-year-old boy. Ashley also is missing the spark she felt on the first date. Yeah, that roast is hard to get past, though I still maintain she kinda brought that on herself.

But for William, the time is up. Man, Ashley is not fooling around with these guys. She's taking them down left and right. As he drives away, William is pretty upset about how he blew this chance (though his pseudo-suicide talk is a bit much). The guys at the Villa are kinda pumped both guys left, as Ashley dramatically throws the rose in a fire. To symbolize her burning heart. Or loins. Or hope she'll ever find a man.

Cocktail Party

Ashley calls the guys together and tells them to just to honest and true to themselves. Ryan immediately gets his sunny-side-of-life all over her, but she likes that and so do I. He's adorable.

Constantine admits that he feels closer to the guys than he does her, but it's because they haven't gotten a lot of time together. He also talks to a bunch of the guys about how he's not sure yet if he could marry her, but he wants to be at that point before the hometown dates because taking someone home is a big deal. Word, Constantine.

J.P. confesses to being jealous of her taking Ben out on a one-on-one. He is so attractive, Team J.P. She also just keeps talking about freaking Bentley. OH MY GOD. Seriously, stop. What is wrong with you?

Therapy Time

Chris and Ashley dish about how hard it is to forget Bentley. She actually says, "It's Bentley. What could've been ... In the back of my head, it sits there and I try to repress it and my head tries to forget about it, but my heart always goes back to it. In times when I need comfort, I think about him." Oh, gag me. Ashley Hebert! I hope you watch this from under a blanket and are super duper embarrassed.

She says she needs to release herself from Bentley, get a clean break so she can start a real, honest relationship. Chris says he'll do whatever he can to make something happen for Ashley. Like they haven't had Bentley with them the whole time, stowed away in a suitcase or something.

Rose Ceremony

Ashley has to get rid of one guy. Blake and Ben F. already have roses. I predict Nick goes. The other six go to Constantine, Lucas, J.P., Ames, Mickey and Ryan. I finally got one right. Nick is leaving. See ya, surfer dude. Nick says he's "devastated" and he and Ashley were headed for love. Eh.

Next week: Bentley Returns
In the last minute, they tease us once again that Bentley is back, as Ashley and the guys kick it in Hong Kong. The guys are really angry and rightly so. Can't wait for all the drama, especially because Ashley needs to feel some wrath. She's acting like a damn fool and a lunatic.