Entertainment

Ed Herrera/ABC

'The Bachelorette' Changes Up Its Schedule For Week 5

by Megan Walsh

The Bachelorette is a reliable presence every Monday night on ABC. You know if you tune in at 8 p.m. ET, you'll find yourself back in that mansion full of suitors, all pettily squabbling for five minutes alone with Hannah Brown. But when you head on over to ABC on Jun. 10, instead you'll be faced with the 2019 NBA Finals. Sports?! On Bachelorette night?! A true horror. So when does The Bachelorette return?

Don't start rage-shredding your red roses just yet. The show will be back in just one day. The fifth episode of Season 15 will air in its typical time slot on ABC on Tuesday, Jun. 11 instead. The Bachelorette hasn't been entirely erased from your TV-watching schedule, just rearranged. Think of it as being 24 hours late. A longer wait builds anticipation, right?

The episode description makes it sound like this one is going to be worth the holdup. Though there's no spoilers to be found, the summary reveals that a "front-runner" finally gets to go on a one-on-one date with Hannah with the Scottish scenery acting as the perfect backdrop. Hey, it worked on Outlander, so it could definitely enhance the romance here. Let's just hope no villainous redcoats are lurking around the next rolling hill.

But a single one-on-one date isn't enough to fill an entire two-hour episode. The episode will also be devoting some of its runtime to the first-ever "Bachelorette Highland Games," where ten suitors in Scottish kilts will be competing for Hannah's affection. I can only imagine the shenanigans they will be getting themselves into. Sheep shearing? Bagpipe playing? Stereotypical Scottish endeavors will likely ensue.

And the drama is sure to get dragged along no matter what the setting is. The Bachelorette may have exchanged one mansion for another covered in plaid, but the same concerns affect the contestants. As the Luke vs. Luke battle continues, the rest of the guys may find themselves trying to get a word in edgewise with Hannah before they're kicked off during the next rose ceremony. Not everyone will move on to the next leg of the journey, because not everyone can. At least getting your heart broken in Scotland guarantees a gorgeous landscape in which to cry.

ABC may be moving things around this week, but hopefully the one day delay will feel like a mere hiccup to viewers. Hannah's journey on The Bachelorette is nowhere near over, so there's still so much to look forward to. She has quite a few contestants still in the running, though that number is bound to be pared down once Week 5 is over. She's still getting to know all of the guys as she figures out which one is the one for her. In a few more weeks, the shuffling of air dates will be but a distant memory as new events unfold for Hannah and the rest of the guys.

In fact, if the disagreements in the house continue to boil over, getting a respite might even be welcome. Especially since it's only for one night.