Chris Harrison blogs 'Bachelor Pad' episode 4

Before we start talking Bachelor Pad, I just want to say the Bachelor family is thinking about those affected by the hurricane this weekend. Our “Bachelor Gives Back” crew is already thinking of ways to help. Now let’s talk about this week’s dramatic Bachelor Pad episode. We started with the exit of Jake. He left the contestants with some very good advice: If you have any thoughts of winning this thing you have to vote out the power couples. Kasey survived the closest vote yet and as he put it, he feels he is the strongest “strategist” in the house. You would think with Jake gone the house would calm down but that was not the case at all.

I came in the house to introduce this week’s very benign contest, the kissing competition. But as was the case all along with this crew, it didn’t take long to set the kids off. For some reason after all they have all said and done on this show, the kissing contest was just too much to handle and the house was sent spiraling out of control. This is where they decided to draw the line of decency. Sadly enough I’m not even joking. Once they all realized this was not the end of civilization and that they would indeed all live, the contest began — minus one holdout, Michelle Money, who did not want to participate out of respect for her daughter.

The story of the love triangle between Jake, Vienna and Kasey has now become the story of the love triangle between Michael, Holly and Blake. This simple kissing contest might just be the beginning of the end for Michael and Holly. Michael kissed Holly and she said it was nice. Of course, as Holly put it, “Then comes number five” — Blake. The kiss they shared was very different. Despite Erica’s best effort to suck the guys’ faces off, Ella and her self-proclaimed magical lips won the contest in a landslide. As for the guys, much to the dismay of Michael, Blake was the pucker champ.

Ella chose Kirk to join her on the date. If you recognized the house they went to you should: that’s the house we use for the Bachelor or Bachelorette to live in. That was Ashley’s house, and that is exactly where Ashley and JP shared their first romantic date. Kirk’s story is very emotional, as we had learned on Ali’s season of the Bachelorette. I don’t think anybody wasn’t moved by Ella’s story about her childhood and what she wants to do with the money if she wins. The big story of the day, though, was which woman would Blake choose to take on his date. Melissa obviously assumed it would be her. With Jake now gone, Erica did her best to persuade Blake to be her new partner. I love Erica’s negotiating tactics. Last week she kissed Jake to seal the deal and this week she decided a massage and a not-so-veiled proposition would do it for Blake. I’d love to watch her argue a case in a courtroom some day.

When it came time for Blake to pull the trigger, he choose Holly. He might as well have been lighting a stick of dynamite. Whether the decision was right or wrong I’ll give the guy this, he’s got some big ones. I couldn’t believe he had the stones to go with what he wanted in Holly, instead of what he knew was the easiest and maybe the right thing to do and take Melissa. Melissa of course immediately disintegrated into an emotional mess. I loved her line right after he chose Holly: “He looked right in my eye and pinky swore.” I’m sorry did she just say he “pinky swore”? My seven-year-old daughter thought that one was rich. I do understand why Melissa feels like she was played and got screwed over — because she did. Blake was playing the game and she was not. She was playing with her heart and it got crushed. What I think was a little harsh was in the emotional tirade after the decision she said some pretty hurtful things to Michael that weren’t really her place to say. Michelle Money put it best when she said Melissa wears her heart on every article of clothing she has. The scene where Melissa came in to talk to Blake and he was brushing his teeth was priceless. When he told her he needed forty more seconds and she just stood there, I lost it. I had one female friend announce that if a guy ever did that to her she would take that tooth brush and… Well let’s just say he wouldn’t want to use it as a toothbrush anymore.

Blake and Holly took a private jet up to Mammoth Mountain here in California. On a quick side note, Mammoth is one of my favorite secret spots to visit in the world. Once they got out of the house and were alone, Blake and Holly immediately hit it off and their romance began. As much as you want them to find love with each other if that is what’s to be, it was incredibly tough to watch Michael have to go through this. It’s very clear that the more they’ve been spending time together, the more Michael has realized he’s not over Holly. Unfortunately it appears Holly is getting over Michael, and Blake is there to pick up the pieces. I’ll be very interested to hear all the opinions from the “Bachelor Nation” on this. When they returned to the house, the talk between Michael and Holly was intense. He knows he’s losing her again, and that’s tough to watch.

The vote this week was emotional but pretty easy. Melissa was just far too emotional and didn’t have her head in the game. Apparently there was a guy named “Waldo” or William on the show and he was voted off as well. As soon as I figure out who that guy was, I’ll miss him. It’s really too bad — I hear he’s a funny guy. In the previews you see that just because Jake’s gone, the drama is far from over. The game will continue to intensify and so will the battle for Holly’s heart. One final personal note before I leave you this week. The genius creator behind the Bachelor franchise, Mike Fleiss, has a taken his talents to the big screen. He produced the movie Shark Night 3D. If you get a chance, go check out the greatest shark movie since Jaws! We have much to discuss this week; you can always find me via twitter @chrisbharrison.

More Bachelor Pad from EW:
Bachelor Pad episode 4 recap: Kiss of death

Tenley and Kiptyn’s Bachelor Pad blog on people.com