Season 19 of ABC’s famous reality show The Bachelor premiered last Monday, January 5. This season’s Bachelor is Chris Soules, a wealthy farmer with big heart from Arlington, Iowa. Soules, who left Iowa during harvest season to be on the show, is both attractive and likable. He was chosen to be Season 19’s Bachelor after being sent home third to last by Season 18’s Bachelorette Andi Dorfman last summer.

With a great Bachelor in the lead, Season 19 is set to be a good one. The show usually has 25 women to compete for love, but this season there are 30, which means there are five more crazily entertaining women to watch. ABC is known to cast a wide variety of men and women for the show, but this season is unlike any other.

The girls took their first opportunities to impress Chris very seriously. There was Britt from Hollywood, who gave Soules a note that said “free hugs,” prompting Soules to find her later to receive the hug. Tara from Florida ditched the traditional evening dress and donned cutoff jeans and cowboy boots to make her first impression, but later changed into a black cocktail dress and got back in the limo to meet Soules for the second time. Arlington, Texas’s own Carly, a cruise ship singer, brought a portable karaoke machine and sang her hello to Soules.

These three girls were only a few that left unforgettable impressions throughout the episode. Things only got better once the limos stopped arriving and the cocktail party really picked up. Our cowgirl Tara almost passed out and fell over during the Rose Ceremony. Spoiler alert: she got a rose amidst Soules’s hesitation and obvious distaste. Tara may have to thank the producers for her rose. Amanda from Illinois tried her best to make sure her googley eyes didn’t come on too strong, but she couldn’t quite help looking like a deer in headlights during her conversation with Soules. My personal favorite was Ashley S. from New York. In her one-on-one interview, the hairstylist told viewers that, “Every person is like an onion and when you cut them you peel them back and what you do is you peel them back layer by layer.” She then went on to look off-screen at a bush that she thought had an onion on it, but it ended up being a pomegranate. I’m still not sure what Ashley S. meant, but she got a rose, so maybe we’ll find out tonight.

Britt, the first girl out of the limo and also the free hug giver, made enough of an impression on Soules to receive the First Impression Rose, the first rose of the night that is given to the girl that makes the greatest first impression on the Bachelor. Not only did she get the rose, but Britt also got the first kiss of the season. It’s almost unheard of for kissing to go on on the first night, but it looks like Britt was worthy of breaking that unspoken rule. My guesses are we might be seeing her in the Final Three…

Lastly, host Chris Harrison left us with a cliffhanger. Soules eliminated yoga instructor Kimberly from New York. However, the elimination shocked Kimberly enough that she went back into the mansion to talk to Chris about why he eliminated her. We don’t know what went down between the two, but we’re sure to find out tonight.

At the end of the night, eight women went home, but there are still plenty of women to keep the entertainment factor up. The promos for the rest of the season are filled with kisses, adventurous dates, and lots of dramatic meltdowns. One girl even has to get a medic to help her with her breathing after a traumatic breakdown. However, Soules, who claimed he wished he was a polygamist during the first episode, was evidently captivated by his array of women from all over the country, so it looks like the farmer from Iowa will leave the show with a fiancé in tow. The season is set to be a good one, and I will be recapping it every episode of the way. Tune in next Monday at 7/8 Central on ABC to watch Chris Soules’s journey for love.