'The Golden Bachelorette' Premiere: Tears, Surprises and Joan's Unprecedented Dilemma

The time has finally come, Bachelor Nation (and no I'm not talking about Jenn Tran tearing it up on the dance floor on Dancing with the Stars). I'm, of course, referring to the premiere of The Golden Bachelorette on ABC, featuring none other than the incredible Joan Vassos.

As with The Golden Bachelor (where Vassos self-eliminated to deal with a family matter back at home), I went into the premiere episode excited but not quite knowing what to expect. After all, by having a 61-year-old grandmother of three as our lead (along with more mature men vying for her heart), certainly there would be a lot less drama and a lot more substance than with our normal Bachelorette franchise. Did that prove to be true? Check out my review of The Golden Bachelorette premiere below.

*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

This wouldn't be a Bachelorette spinoff without a few surprises. The first of the season? When Kelsey Anderson (better known as the winner of Joey Graziadei's Bachelor season) steps out of the final limo to offer a little advice...and to introduce her dad, Mark. Immediately, Joan and Mark hit it off before he heads into the house for the cocktail party. Well done, Golden Bachelorette producers.

Surprise number two? The men at the cocktail party are zero drama and 100 percent genuine (with each other and with Joan). Each of Joan's one-on-one conversations is sweeter than the last. My favorite has to be when Jack cooks a meal for Joan during the party and then eats it with her.

A not-so-surprising surprise? Some of the men *cough, Pascal, cough* seem as if they've never seen The Bachelor or Bachelorette before. Case in point? When they need the concept behind the first impression rose explained to them.

But the best surprise has to be the series of video messages from the contestants' kids. Cue the tears again, damnit.

Keith gets the first impression rose—and, more importantly, the first kiss. The other men may be disappointed but they're all super supportive of Keith (how un-Bachelor-like...).

Then, the rose ceremony arrives and Joan's true dilemma comes into focus. Usually, there's some jackass we're all rooting for to get the boot, but not tonight. This is going to be a tough one.

And sure enough, emotion overtakes Joan and she has to leave the room before all the roses are handed out. After a seconds-long pep talk from Jesse, she's back and ready to proceed.

In the end, a guilt-ridden Joan says goodbye to several of the guys who received zero screen time, with Jack getting her final season premiere rose (phew!).

I can already tell, this is going to be a great season.