'The Bachelorette' episode 2 recap: 8 men go home, but 1 just won't leave

LOS ANGELES -- "The Bachelorette" episode 2 starts with Gabby and Rachel lounging at one of the 28 rooms in their mansion on a gloomy L.A. day. They reflect on how crazy night one was and are excited about the week to come. But there is one major snag that could throw everything they've planned out the window; it's RAINING.

I've got to say this had to be the most L.A. conversation ever as Rachel says, "How do we get them to show us their six-pack abs when it's raining?" Luckily, the women figure out a plan to do just that.

Beauty Pageant - Bachelor Style

The 29 men living in "The Bachelor" mansion are informed that they will be participating in a pageant so that Gabby and Rachel can interview them, see their talents and, most importantly, see what they look like in skimpy leopard speedos. Subtle, ladies. Very subtle. The winners of the pageant will get to go to a very exclusive after-party to spend some coveted one-on-one time with the ladies, so they really bring their A-game.

With clipboards and pens in hand, the ladies watch as the parade of the muscled men begins. Rachel tells us that Logan has been on her radar since night one and that definitely hasn't changed. He performs "the worm" as his talent and the ladies are delighted. Keep your eye on Logan!

Then we get a montage of a bunch of guys who "never skip leg day" as they show off their bodies and many talents. Aven shows off his basketball skills, while others do yoga and juggle. The most impressive talent though is definitely from Jacob who says he can help them save $60,000 a year on a 30-year fixed mortgage. In this housing market, I think every single person's ears perked up, and I might have even spotted Jesse Palmer taking notes in the corner.

Chris sings as his talent, though unfortunately he turns out to be a bit tone deaf. Might this be foreshadowing for his behavior later?

Once the pageant concludes, the winners are announced and Aven, Logan, Brandan, Jason, Johnny and Colin are the lucky six men heading to the exclusive after-party/group date.

The Group Date

This is probably one of the smaller group dates they've had this early in a show's season, which was nice so that Gabby and Rachel could really spend some time with the men and get to know them.

Unfortunately for Rachel, the night seems to get off on the wrong foot with Jason saying that he really feels a strong connection with Gabby...oof. Awkward. It's OK girl, you'll bounce back.

Meanwhile, Gabby and Johnny sit down and seem to have good banter when she delivers one of my favorite lines of the episode when referring to the "beauty pageant" from earlier: "Welcome to the life of minimal clothing." She really tells it how she sees it! Johnny says that he only got to give her a kiss on the cheek that day, so he goes in for the full kiss and Gabby happily obliges.

Enter Rachel. The poor girl sees Gabby and Johnny kissing, and that's exactly what she doesn't need at that moment. Things seem to be getting worse as Rachel has several conversations with each of the men where she felt like all they were doing was making small talk with her instead of flirting or making a connection. Colin goes on and on about how he's a big Harry Potter fan. I mean, I am too, Colin, but maybe don't lead with that when you're trying to find your future wife.

Luckily things turn around when Rachel talks to Logan. He tells her that he thinks she's very brave for jumping back into the process after having her heart broken. Their conversation goes well, and the two of them share a nice kiss. Rachel says she really likes Logan. Yay Rachel! This might work out for you!

But alas, this is the problem that lies with having two bachelorettes. Gabby talks to Logan next, and they also hit it off and share a kiss. After, the ladies have a little debrief, and Gabby looks a bit disappointed when Rachel says she's super into Logan. Gabby keeps their kiss to herself...for now. See how this is going to just get trickier as the weeks go on?

The night concludes with a happy ending though, and Rachel gives her rose to Logan while Gabby gives her rose to Johnny. The other men do their best to hide their disappointment. Better luck next time guys.

Jordan V.'s first....and last date with Rachel

From the first night, it really seemed like Jordan V. and Rachel were going to hit it off. She's a pilot, he's a race car driver - it just makes sense. They both can operate major modes of transportation!

The two of them head over to the airport, and I immediately got excited thinking that we were going to see Rachel fly, but instead the couple is going to do one of those zero gravity experiences in a plane. I believe that ended in vomiting back when Nick Viall and Vanessa had the same date during season 21 of "The Bachelor," but that pair ended up getting engaged...so maybe the same will go for Jordan V. and Rachel!

Not so fast. It looked like the two of them had a great time during the day portion of their date as they kissed and laughed, but things took quite a turn once we got to the evening portion. Rachel and Jordan sit down for a nice dinner, and he begins to open up to Rachel about his childhood and why he is the way he is. He seemed so sweet, and Rachel even says that he's so perfect...but something's missing. It's like they always say, "nothing matters before the 'but.'"

Rachel returns to the table to deliver the bad news. She picks up the rose (I hate that they always do this, it's so mean), tells him that she cannot give it to him and sends him packing. My heart really broke for Jordan! He seemed like such a nice guy.

We then watch what was intended to be a romantic private concert for the two of them, but instead it just becomes a sad montage of Rachel and Jordan while Ashley Cooke and Brett Young sing to an empty room.

And we have a villain, ladies and gentlemen

Intercut with Rachel and Jordan's date, we get an interesting conversation back at the Bachelor mansion. Chris (the guy who "sang" as his talent during the beauty pageant) tells the rest of the men that he plans to be in the final four and, if he makes it to fantasy suites, it would be a deal breaker if the woman he's interested in has sex with multiple people.

The group of men there for the conversation seem pretty shocked that Chris is already talking about fantasy suites, and I think Hayden's face really says it all if you take a look at the video clip featured in the player above. Many of the other men express that they feel like Chris is acting very controlling.

I think Nate put it best when he says, "You cannot have pre-conditions to love. It's just a form of control that a lot of men don't realize that they do that damages good women." Mic drop. Well done, Nate.

Nate and Gabby's one-on-one date

Nate arrives at Gabby and Rachel's humble abode (complete with its own helicopter pad) and, in quintessential Bachelor style, Nate and Gabby take off in a helicopter for their first date. Of course, they just happen to fly over the Bachelor mansion where the rest of the men spot them flying overhead. They "ooh" and "ahh" in jealousy. Nate and Gabby wave at them from above.

They fly over some SoCal landmarks including the Santa Monica Pier and the Hollywood sign and eventually land on the tarmac: the perfect place for a hot tub and some champagne.

Nate says that he's never felt chemistry this early with another woman. Gabby remarks that she thinks that he seems very mature and jokes that she's "never met a mature man." He responds that Gabby also seems very mature and he feels good around her. They share a kiss as they enjoy champagne and strawberries. It's also at this moment I realize that Nate is wearing a pearl necklace, a bold choice with swimwear.

Fast forward to the evening portion of their date where Nate shares an important detail of his life: he has a 6-year-old daughter. Gabby asks what she's like, and he says that "she's like the human form of coffee," which is one of the best descriptions of a 6-year-old I've ever heard. But in all seriousness, he does say his daughter is like a "little me," which is just adorable. Gabby does confess to the cameras that knowing that Nate has a daughter has her wondering if she's ready to be a mother and if it's a life she wants, but she doesn't need to figure that all out just yet.

Gabby picks up the rose lying on the table and offers it to Nate. At least one of these one-on-one dates was a success!

Cocktail Party

The cocktail party starts out with a toast from our bachelorettes, and Mario is quick to whisk away Rachel for some alone time. As a reminder, Mario was Gabby's first impression rose, so yet again, things are getting a little tricky with both of them being interested in the same guys.

Mario tells Rachel that he's a personal trainer and takes her through a series of workouts (as much as you can in a gown and formal wear). He does full-on squats while holding Rachel, and she is giggling like a little school girl. Next, she has some time with Tyler, and they share a kiss. Sparks are flying tonight!

Gabby and Erich are lounging on a blanket outside the Bachelor mansion, and their funny banter from the episode prior continues. Gabby tells him that his mullet looks terrible. They also share a kiss.

Things seem to be going smoothly when, of course, the drama kicks in. Quincey takes it upon himself to bring up what Chris had said earlier about fantasy suites to Rachel. She is rightfully upset that this guy she hasn't even talked to is already looking ahead to something as intimate as fantasy suites.

Rachel finds Gabby and tells her all about the situation with Chris. Gabby is also shocked and disgusted that he would already be thinking that far down the line, so they decide to confront him.

Chris didn't really have a very good explanation for why he was talking about his own ultimatums when it related to fantasy suites, and frankly, Rachel and Gabby just seemed like they had had enough. Rachel felt like he was "dancing around the issue," and Gabby quickly just put the hammer down and told him that it was time for him to go.

But it didn't end there. Approximately 3 seconds later, Chris decides that it's a good idea to walk back and confront the men who brought this issue up to the women. Dude...just leave! Thankfully, he was quickly shut down again by the ladies and escorted out...again.

Rose Ceremony

We make it to the rose ceremony with 27 men still in the house so you know there's going to be a lot of men going home. Here's how it went:

ROSES

- Jason

- Aven

- Erich

- Zach

- Jordan

- Quincey

- Michael

- Tino

- Jacob

- Tyler

- Termayne

- Hayden

- Meatball (A.K.A. James)

- Kirk

- Spencer

- Alec

- Ethan

- Mario

- Nate (one on one date rose)

- Logan (group date rose)

- Johnny (group date rose)

NO ROSE

- Matt

- Ryan

- John

- Colin

- Brandan

- Justin B.

That was quite the jam-packed episode! Looking forward to more drama, love and, of course, tears next week on episode 3 of "The Bachelorette."