Big thanks to Getting Lost, who has been an enormous help in keeping everyone up to date (including me - I had no idea why Daley had been expelled on BBUK until I read it on my own blog. That's a first...) I do intend to cover BB15 as much as I can find the time, and now that the game is in gear, it's a good time to start weighing back in.
Second, on that note - my God, what a season so far. The elephant in the room, of course, is the racism issue, which anyone who has the internet is aware of by now.
And wow. It's tough to watch at times. My own ethnicity has yet to be insulted (this season, anyway), so I can't even imagine what viewers who do fall into those groups must feel. I know I've spoken to folks who are having a very tough time watching this season. Is it any wonder that Production stepped in to keep Howard off the block this week? Their sole chance of a watchable edit would have been ruined. It's happened in the past, so it's nice to see some recognition from Production that we want the story we're watching to be satisfying. Aaryn's ride from queen bee to bottom feeder has certainly been a fun one to watch, for all her loathsome villainy.
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| Aaryn and her chosen chess pieces. Don't tell me you're surprised. |
The fights have also been off the hook, with this Sunday's "Bedgate" sequence being particularly well-edited. Candice squealing "NICK'S NOT HEEEEERE AND I AM!" may go down as almost as memorable a moment as "Anyone want some cake?", at least in my book.
And let's not ignore the fact that, for all the horribly unlikable players, there is some good game play happening this year.
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| Kleenax, Nick's shorts - hard to tell the difference. |
Unlike other recent seasons, houseguests are showing independence in their votes, throwing hinky votes and switching at the last minute. The Nick vs. Elissa vs. Helen vote quite literally came down to the wire, and was actually unpredictable on TV. Feeds viewers expected an 8-3 vote and were shocked when Howard decided to stay loyal to Nick in the Diary Room.
Can anyone remember the last time we were actually surprised by a houseguest's vote in the Diary Room? It may not have changed the outcome, but the suspense is nice. For once, I don't feel like I know what's going to happen.
Strategy-wise, the Moving Company has now joined the ranks of BB Canada's Quattro in proving why the Brigade has been under-appreciated for their strategic success. The MC showed early promise, with members starting to build side alliances and pledging loyalty to the main alliance, but the gig was up the second Jeremy took his cue from BB Canada's Tom Plant and let his ego get in the way.
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| Team Helen |
The ultimate downfall of the Moving Company came down to one moment: Jeremy's decision to threaten anyone who wanted to evict Kaitlin while simultaneously pushing for McRae's side ally Amanda to be evicted soon. The second that started, the Moving Company was done.
Let's talk about specific games for a moment, McRae's to start. Wednesday and Thursday, the internet lit up with speculation as McRae started to shift without making his intentions entirely clear to the feed viewers. Ultimately McRae's decision to fully buck the MC in favor of Amanda changed the game - and yet, in the house, the blame is falling on everyone from Jessie to Spencer/Howard, with McRae's key role virtually ignored. I'm liking McRae and his game. He's a strong comp threat with a decent social game who is under the radar. The pizza boy is looking to go deep.
I like Amanda too, though she's a much more visible threat than McRae and topping several target lists right now. They're an odd couple, with Amanda's forceful personality and McRae's quiet beta male presence, but somehow it works, and their strategy together has been good so far. Ultimately, he's doing well to play with her, because she's very likely to go before him. Some of the internet shippers have been all about his "You're my queen" comment, not realizing that in context, that wasn't some sappy declaration of love - it was basic, solid game analysis. McRae is well-hidden behind Amanda and well-positioned to go deep into the game right now, with Amanda as the more visible "queen" in his game of chess. Until she goes, they're an unusual but interesting pair to watch, as long as they're not going to Sea World. (If you don't get that reference, feel lucky.)
What about the others? Jeremy, Aaryn, Kaitlin and GinaMarie, of course, are abysmally awful. They've alienated the house with bullying and general high school snottiness, causing even follower Jessie to revolt in disgust. Of all of them, GinaMarie looks likely to go far in the game, more as a goat than because of any solid gameplay.
Howard was playing a good game until his hinky vote this week, which led to much suspicion and upped him on many target lists. I have to give him credit for his obvious efforts to suppress his (understandable) anger and focus on game play. That didn't look easy, but props to Howard for strategy on that. If he can manage to slide through the hinky vote guilt and survive another couple of weeks, he might go deep in the game. Wouldn't it be ironic if the "racism" season of Big Brother resulted in the first-ever African-American winner? I think it's entirely possible if Howard can get his game under control in the next few days. (Candice isn't out of the question either, though she seems to be high on the target list of the snotty girls, for non-strategic reasons I have yet to fully grasp.) Spencer is similarly playing an okay game, but is a little too shady to go much deeper than early jury as of right now.
Judd is also playing well and quickly becoming a fan favorite with his drawling quips. He's a little too under-the-radar right now for me to judge his strategy, but I do find him and Jessie together to be a cute and inoffensive combination and very watchable on the feeds, which is more than I can say for most of the cast right now. Neither one looks likely to go anytime soon, so hopefully as the crowd thins, we'll see more of them and get a better sense.
Then there's Andy. Oh, Andy. It's always something when you can invent an entirely new strategy never before seen on the show, and Andy's "feed bombing" is becoming legendary on nearly every Big Brother website. Besides being hilarious and something he will probably never live down, it's not bad strategy. Andy does have a solid, if hyperactive, social game, and is liked and trusted by many in the house. His over-the-top bouncing around the house also lands him in many key conversations (and prevents others that could harm him). Will the houseguests grow sick of him and evict him? I see Andy going deep in the game right now. By the way, you know how everyone always argues over the definition of "floater"? Andy is playing a classic, BB4 Jun Song-style floating game right now, and is doing that well. We'll see if he can keep it up as the power continues to shift.
As for Elissa and Helen... sigh. It's really time for someone else to be voted MVP, and I endorse anyone but Elissa at this point. Elissa is also likely to be voted out once the power shifts away from her, which should happen in the next week or two. Helen is a strong political strategist, but has been a little overbearing on her HOH. It's possible that houseguests will start to grow weary of her soon, especially once Elissa is gone and the rest of them have to spend time with her.
All in all, while it's been an uncomfortable season at times, there is some promise for a good game to play out over the coming weeks, and I promise that I will try to be around to weigh in on it as much as I can. And in the meantime - thanks again to new PBP correspondent Getting Lost!
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