‘No Drama Llama’ Steals Premiere, Best & Worst Entrances

Fresh off of getting dumped by Jenn Tran in the last season of The Bachelorette, Grant Ellis takes the reins of his own journey to find live and immediately finds himself overwhelmed by all the earnest and awkward this wide variety of women can offer.

On either franchise, the highlight of any premiere is the wild entrances, and these ladies did not disappoint. From a wedding cake to a genie’s lamp to a pizza and a literal “no drama llama,” the women were definitely doing all they could to be remembered.

As the night progressed, they didn’t prove shy in the kissing department, either, and Grant wasn’t shy about going in himself. He was clearly in awe of their collective beauty, as it was the first trait he mentioned about each of them.

But it also quickly became clear that he’s just as drawn to someone with humor and with a strong connection to family — bonus points if they work with or are drawn to kids. This guy is definitely ready to settle down and start a family!

We were a little wary of the choice of Grant for Bachelor, but after this premiere, we can see the draw. He was always incredible good-looking and smooth and charming, but we just didn’t see a whole lot of personality on his way to a fifth place (tied) finish.

What we did get as glimpses were fleshed out in this premiere as we again revisited his family, including his father, a recently recovering addict. The collapse of his parents’ long marriage has clearly shaped who Grant is, and what he wants for his own future.

It was very sweet seeing their rekindled relationship, and his father as a face of recovery on national television. There’s such a stigma to addiction, with many people thinking these people are disposable, but Robert proves there can be life after addiction, a life that deserves a chance to blossom.

Without his father’s healthy guidance through his tumultuous upbringing, Grant appears to have been driven by his own “lone wolf” sense of having to drive himself, while also being daily inspired by the strength of his mother, fighting to keep the family solvent, and his older sister.

They were not a traditional family at all, but Grant has made conscious decisions in his life to be better than the life he came through into adulthood. The bond evident between him and his grandmother, his mother, and his sister was heartwarming.

And it was all the green flags for whichever woman will be lucky enough to end this journey by his side.

This part of any premiere has always seemed to be about making good television as much as it’s about trying to stand out in the memory of the guy who’s going to cut half a dozen or so of you within the next several hours.

As always, there are sweet and genuine entrances, there are annoyingly performative entrances, and then there are just those that are absolutely bonkers. For a while, we weren’t sure where to put the “no drama llama,” but she stole our hearts.

We’re absolutely thrilled that Alexe brought Linda along with her to meet Grant, and then to hang out for the rest of the night. Not gonna lie, Linda stole the whole show for us. If host Jesse Palmer’s not careful, Linda might come for his job!

TOP ENTRANCES

• Allyshia: “We’re gonna rub this lamp and make a wish for our journey here. And if we’re really lucky, our wish might be Grant.” We gotta love the pun energy. Cleverness shows a lot about one’s personality, and the simple prop definitely helped the bit.
• Alexe: “I grew up in a small town on a farm,” said Alexe. “Why not introduce you to my no drama llama. So, her name is Linda. Wait, hold on a second. What’s that, Linda? Yeah, he is cute.” It wasn’t just that she brought a llama, but the interplay with Linda showed a playful confidence … and who can forget a llama?!
• Juliana: “I brought you something Italian and I just have one question, Mr. Ellis. Would you do the honor and share this cannoli with me?” said Juliana, bringing out the actual treat. “We’ll Lady and the Tramp it.” It’s not just that Juliana got intimately close with the lead, we have to point out his reaction on just seeing her. It was the most visceral of the night, with Grant clearly liking what he saw in that dress.
• Savannah: “I’m a wedding planner, so I thought we’d get a jumpstart on ours,” said Savannah, carrying a wedding cake. “Look at us on here!” It was a great prop, but it seemed uncomfortably heavy. But we loved that it both represented her job as a wedding planner, and her hopes for a future with Grant (with the cake topper couple).
• Zoe: “Every power couple needs some merch, and I actually think that we can throw some to some of our fans,” said Zoe, actually launching t-shirts with her and Grant’s faces on them into the Bachelor mansion, where the other ladies found them. Bonus props to Chloie for the confidence to just put one on and have fun with it.

BOTTOM ENTRANCES

• J’Nae: “Just like you, my first love was basketball. So I’m hoping by the end of this, we can be each other’s last love.” The sentiment was fine, but the chalk dust shower was just impractical, messy, and ridiculous. What did that signify? What was the meaning? At least throw rice or something to signify a wedding.
• Alli Jo: “Grant, will you accept this piece of my heart?” The heart-shaped pizza and jeep entrance just seemed lazy, as it didn’t really connect in any way to who Alli Jo is (she’s a boxing trainer) and it wasn’t really unique enough or special enough to be meaningful.
• Radhika: “I want you to know that every moment together will be as fun as, like, a Bollywood dance.” Honestly, we felt bad for Radhika, who looked so nervous and awkward as she danced in, as she talked to Grant … and pretty much the rest of the night. She did not look ready for any of this.
• Bailey: “Do you mind if we take some photos? Well, I actually mean of me. I feel like my lifelong partner will know all of my angles, so give it your best shot.” Bailey did finally have Grant take a selfie with her, but the fact she was “on” like this was a social media video — and that went on through the night — left us feeling disconnected from her as a person, like we were always getting Bailey the performer.
• Sarafiena: “I promise to be your biggest cheerleader, to tell you how handsome, how tall, and how funny you are,” said Sarafiena, hiding behind a giant cut-out of Grant’s head. But I’m never gonna let all that get to you and let that give you a big head.” It was funny to see her coming with that big ol’ head, but it also physically hid her through most of her entrance, making the bit more memorable than the woman behind it.

Grant was not shy with his lips as the night progressed, and neither were the ladies. As they continued to try and stand out, some were perhaps somewhat more successful than others.

We’re not sold on Bailey putting Grant in an itchy bob wig to match her hair style, as it all still seems so performative with her. It also, again, had nothing at all to do with Grant, which seems like the wrong way to try and connect with him.

Parisa’s goofy PowerPoint presentation about their future together, complete with what looked like AI renditions of their wedding and her later pregnant with their babies. It was just as silly, but at least it connected to Grant and was about him and Parisa together.

Allyshia got the first kiss of the night while talking about her love of rom-coms. But she must have hit the right note(book) as she and Grant traded quotes from the Nicholas Sparks movie before their lips locked.

After serenading grant on the piano, it was Juliana who went in for her first kiss with Grant, and we have to say that the energy and chemistry between these two is palpable. The editors must like it, too, because Juliana got a lot of confessional moments and even some fun camera moments, like her wariness of Linda when she first walked in.

“I will be delusional until otherwise, but he is literally my husband.” Juliana said at one point. “He’s my husband.” Is he? A lot of women expressed similar sentiments, but we’re feeling this Juliana energy and have a feeling she’ll be around for a while.

Grant also shared a palpable connection with Carolina, respecting her body language and space enough to not go in for the kiss, despite his obvious interest in her. Others who did get that kiss were Litia, Rose, Natalie, and Alexe.

We also spent some time with Alex, who adorably taught Grant some French and bonded over her working with kids as a pediatric speech therapist. Kids seems to be the fastest way to Grant’s heart … and lips!

Poor Savannah brought her cake to try and cement her mission, but unfortunately walked in on Grant with another woman — and the editors thought we didn’t need any follow-up to that supremely awkward moment?

But Savannah’s dramatic entrance wasn’t the biggest of the night, as the women showed a bit of their competitive side when a brand new woman waltzed into the mansion like she owned it, stole Grant from Dina and immediately started laughing with him.

The dramatic post-commercial reveal would have been more effective if they’d skipped that blurry shot of Grant with this mystery woman (or at least blurred it a little more) because we’d just reconnected with his sister Taylor earlier in the night and it was so obviously her.

If only Grant could clock the banter between the other ladies, though, when Taylor walked in. The cattiness and insecurity quickly took over as they wondered if this was an ex-girlfriend or just some latecomer who was going to walk in and try to take over.

The b-word was dropped, along with some other not-so-nice things said. The ladies even quipped that Taylor would never find out what they’d just been saying about her minutes before Grant introduced his older sister. Um, did they forget about the camera crews everywhere?

Do we need to put a camera on Linda? Okay, now we want a LindaCam.

Taylor just kept it real with the ladies, talking about how special Grant is and how he’s really here looking for the real deal. Unfortunately, after spending some time with the ladies, Taylor was seeing all green flags and could offer no other advice than “follow your heart” to her brother.

Clearly, the ladies were on their best behavior, as the green flags turn into green-eyed monsters, based on a sneak peek at the rest of the season. There’s stolen time — isn’t there always — betrayals and just general jealousy run rampant.

Her inability to quickly offer any advice or decisions was also a prelude to Grant’s own inability to decide that’s been previewed for the end of the season. As much of a happy ending as he may have gotten with whomever he chooses, we’re curious how they’ll take his indecision in the seconds before he proposes.

You got down on one knee in front of me now but two minutes ago you were still considering getting down on one knee in front of her? Maybe the ladies will be cool with it and get it, but talk about a tough conversation!

Where’s our emotional therapy llama when we need it?

With all this drama to come, no wonder we didn’t see hide nor hair of the “no drama llama” in upcoming episodes. Let’s just say we’re outraged! She better show up at The Women Tell All or the finale or something!

In the end, Linda may have helped Alexe score the coveted First Impression Rose, which this season comes with the added bonus of also scoring the first One-on-One Date. Alexe was joined by 17 more women who got Roses and continue their journeys.

It was the end of the road for J’Nae and her sparkly basketball, Kelsey and her basketball jersey, Savanah and her wedding cake, Kyleigh and her salsa, and Radhika’s awkward dancing.

Also saying goodbye were Christina, who was going to lead with her grandpa’s message that if you take care of things, they last, and pediatrician Neicey, who awkwardly said that profession proves she “can commit to something for a very, very long time.”

Grant’s journey to find love continues on The Bachelorette every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.