Kirk Dewindt

In the season premiere, the drama begins as the contestants move into the Bachelor mansion to meet their fellow competitors. The night is even tenser because it's the first time Bachelor Jake Pavelka and his now ex-fiancée Vienna Girardi will come face to face since their unforgettable primetime showdown. In the first challenge, the "Hook Up," the men and women will pair off into couples clinging to each other 10 feet in the air. The couple who can hang on to each other the longest will win the challenge and be saved from elimination. Plus, one man and one woman will be voted off.

After the shocking events of the season premiere, Kasey and Vienna continue to take aim at Jake Pavelka. In the second challenge, "Target on My Back," each woman will be asked a series of questions, such as "Who's least deserving of the $250,000?" Each will answer by throwing paint-soaked balls at a target on one of the guy' backs, with points allotted for each target hit. Then, the men will turn the tables on the women, and the man and woman accumulating the most points will be declared winners of the challenge. Awaiting the winners are 3-on-1 dates to a haunted hospital or a night on a private yacht, while the other contestants plot, manipulate and connive their way to avoid being voted off.

The remaining four couples - Vienna and Kasey, Michelle and Graham, Ella and Kirk and Holly and Michael - are summoned to Las Vegas to compete in the most daring competition in Bachelor Pad history. They will have 24 hours to master a terrifying Cirque du Soleil routine that takes professionals six months to learn. Bachelor alumni Trista Sutter, Jason Mesnick and Ali Fedotowsky will judge the couples' acrobatic expertise, eliminating one pair. The winning couple will choose who will join them to compete in the finale. Then, the two remaining couples will be joined by all of their past housemates, who will return to vote on which couple deserves the $250,000. Viewers also will be introduced to the new Bachelor, as Chris Harrison interviews the next man to look for love when the hit romance reality series continues next January.

The balance of power shifts as Vienna and Kasey's control of the Pad begins to unravel and Jake gains some allies. Meanwhile, Melissa grows furious with Blake, and Michael and Holly - who were once engaged - share what could be a defining moment in their relationship. In this week's challenge, the contestants will showcase their rock-hard abs and sexy curves as they take to the pool in a must-see synchronized swimming event. Alas, when all the fun and games are over, someone must leave the Pad in what will be the closest rose ceremony yet.

As the housemates strategize how to take down the power couple in the house, a new guy has easily emerged as the most unpopular guy in the pad, and one woman shows her true colors. Meanwhile, this week's challenge is the "Kissing Challenge." Each guy will kiss the women - and vice versa - then vote for who has the "best lips" in the pad. The winners will be treated to the first one-on-one dates of the season.

In this week's episode, the contestants must couple up and compete as couples for the remainder of the season - beginning with this week's challenge, the "Nearly-wed Game," which tests how well the pairs know each other.