Los Angeles, California - Bachelor in Paradise continued the action with the long-awaited second rose ceremony of Season 9, with the women holding the power of the flower.

Thursday's episode welcomed a new Sam to the beach with the addition of Sam Picco, an alum of the Canadian iteration of BIP, to replace Sam Jeffries after her medical exit.

New Sam kicked off her late entry with one-on-ones with the remaining men, who were desperate to solidify a connection ahead of the rose ceremony.

After Sean McLaughlin, Aaron Schwartzman, John Buresh, and Peter Cappio chatted with Sam, the ceremony began with Kylee Russell, who unsurprisingly gave her rose to her paradise connection, Aven Jones.

Rachel Recchia then selected Brayden Bowers, Eliza Isichei gave a rose to Aaron Bryant, Kat Izzo picked Tanner Courtad, and Jess Girod chose Blake Moynes.

Olivia Lewis put her love triangle to an end by picking John Henry Spurlock, while Mercedes Northup finalized her situation by giving her rose to Tyler Norris.

Despite Sean's valiant efforts, Sam ultimately settled on Peter for her rose selection, stamping the return tickets for Will Urena, John B., Aaron S., and Sean.

The next day marked Kat's birthday, and despite her high hopes, she was not chosen for the date card. Instead, that honor went to Rachel, who again picked Brayden.

As Rachel and Brayden enjoyed a paint and piñata-filled day, Davia Bunch from Zach Shallcross's season of The Bachelor made her debut on the beach.

Utterly ruining Kat's special day, Davia asked Tanner on a date, which he accepted, leaving Kat fuming at the apparent betrayal (despite her having just done the same to Brayden).

When the gang brought out a cake and sang to Kat, the birthday girl couldn't stop the tears and ultimately threw the cake into the ocean (with the kitchen staff looking on!).

But the chaos didn't end there, as the beachgoers then began a game of truth or dare. What could go wrong?

Amid the many messy moments of the game, Jess and Blake's connection was put to the test after she was asked whether he was really her top connection right now. She ultimately said yes, but with a bit too much hesitation to seem convincing.

When Blake confronted her about it, Jess began to cry and admitted she might want to explore other potential connections.

But it went right back to Hurricane Kat after the contestants looked to learn the tea about Davia and Tanner's date.

Kat confirmed to Davia that she and Tanner weren't technically exclusive, but she revealed that she wasn't looking to continue things if he wasn't confident about it.

With Davia interested, Tanner will likely make the final call on this triangle in the next rose ceremony.

Bachelor in Paradise returns on November 2 at 8 PM ET on ABC.