Commercials, dammit. This show really needs to be only a half-hour long.

When we return, the CGI rendition of Chris Harrison is explaining the change in plan. Each woman will be escorted into the deliberation room for a talk with Aaron. Helene is first. The CGI rendition of Chris Harrison escorts her in, and she asks Aaron what's going on. Aaron insists that it's no big deal. He's giving all the women a final chance to throw themselves at him, and the least emphatic one is getting the boot. He asks Helene whether her opinion about him has changed at all or anything like that. She reiterates that she had a great time in Aspen and felt comfortable with Aaron. He asks if she could see him as her husband someday. She says she can. He asks how Helene would handle it if she didn't get a rose. He insists that he's going to ask all the women this question. Why? Because he doesn't want to look bad is why. That's exactly what it is. He wants to dump the woman who is least likely to call him out on all the kissing and the insistence that he's not leading any of the women on. Helene says she'd be upset, because "[she] really likes him and everything else." She says that she pictured things going further. Except she says "farther" instead of "further," which is one of my pet peeves. "Farther" is a comparative term for physical distance. Don't mind me. I'll just sit over here with my red pencil. Well, that's good enough for Aaron. He gives her a hug and sends her back out.

Next up is Gwen. She marvels at the deliberation room, having never been in there before. She should have seen that creepy shrine when it had all twenty-five women on it. He asks Gwen the same questions he asked Helene. Can Gwen envision Aaron as her husband? Gwen says she's thought about that, and that the answer is yes. She wouldn't be here otherwise. Oh man, he has to elaborate even more on his rejection question, trying to justify it by claiming that finding out how somebody will respond to a "worst-case scenario" is a true "measure of character." What. An. Ass. I hate him so much. So how would Gwen react if she didn't get a rose? She says she'd be sad and upset. She says that when she talks to Aaron, everything seems positive and like they're "on the same page." The same blank page. Gwen calls him smart and says she respects his opinion. She concludes, "Whatever decision, you make, I'm sure you have a good reason for making it." Oh, she just gave him the opening he needs right there. He tells her he's afraid of making a mistake.