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Rachel Lindsay narrowed down her suitors to four on Monday's episode of The Bachelorette. (provided via The Bachelorette Instagram)

TV Review: How Rachel Lindsay is reinventing ‘The Bachelorette’

Rachel Lindsay is a total boss on The Bachelorette. Not many people have been able to handle the stress and drama the show can put on a person. Just look at Nick — he strung a lot of the women on his season along and ended up with a person who might not be the best fit. Rachel has had her fair share of emotional moments on the show, but she seems to pull through and come out on the other side with no visible damage. The woman is a goddess, and she's reinventing what it means to be the Bachelorette. Here is what makes her stand out as the leader of the show:

1. She doesn’t put up with drama

Rachel’s season has been chock-full of drama. It first started with Blake E. and Whaboom dude, then focused on Kenny and Lee. Rachel handled the situations better than previous Bachelors and Bachelorettes.

Rachel never fueled the fire when it came to the drama. She approached each instance in a logical manner and got to the heart of the problem, nevering making a rash decision. She really dealt with everything gracefully and with poise.

2. She makes her own rules

During Monday's episode, Rachel decided how she wanted to choose who would continue to hometown dates. Instead of having a rose ceremony, she thought it would be best to have three one-on-one dates, plus a group date, with the other three men. Her move away from the conventional dating patterns was commendable. She is a woman who is not afraid to go after what she wants.

Even her choices for the one-on-ones and group date were surprising. Instead of giving one-on-ones to the men she had not spent much time with — Adam, Matt and Eric — she gave them to Bryan, Dean and Peter, all of whom received roses. Again, Rachel is a woman who knows what she wants, so sending those guys on a one-on-one was a way of affirming her feelings for them.

3. She isn’t afraid to send people home

Throughout her journey, Rachel has sent people home right when she felt she had to. In the second week, she sent home DeMario when his girlfriend showed up to one of the group dates. But as the weeks went on, the goodbyes were more difficult, and this episode was no exception.

The person she had the hardest time saying goodbye to was to a person who had minimal screen time — Matt. She told Matt that she saw a lot of herself in him, and that, outside of their unusual date setting, it might have worked out.

“Unfortunately, in this process, other relationships have moved past it,” she said.

It was difficult to see Rachel say goodbye to Matt. It would have been great to see more of her and Matt’s relationship to understand why that decision was so hard for her.

4. She is upfront and will have the tough conversations

Going into the one-on-ones, Rachel had some looming questions, especially with Dean. Rachel loved how goofy and light-hearted Dean made her feel, but she said the relationship “lacks the depth and seriousness” that some of the other ones possess.

After a day of walking through Geneva, Switzerland, Rachel felt like she was getting nowhere with Dean. At dinner, she told him that something felt off. That’s when Dean opened up about his reservations of her meeting his family. He said his family is not conventional and hasn’t been since his mom died. When Dean opened up — and stopped giggling — Rachel felt comfortable enough to give him the rose.

5. She knows it’s OK to be selfish sometimes and she makes the journey about her

When she sat down with Adam and Eric, she told them that “in this setting, I have to be a little bit selfish” — and she is totally right. The journey is all about her finding the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with. It’s not about the drama, the TV ratings or the men — it’s about her. With that in mind, she chose to give the rose to Eric, sending Adam home.

“I’m just humbled in my core by this experience,” Rachel said at the close of the episode. “I feel like this entire journey is actually happening for me, and that’s exciting.”

The Bachelorette airs every Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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