#BB15: What In the World is Going On?

First off, I have to apologize for neglecting the very blog I started, for a very busy first three weeks of BB. Life happens.

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.

Aaryn and her chosen chess pieces. Don't tell me you're surprised.

There are moments already making this season memorable outside of the horrible comments controversy. GinaMarie's endless mourning for Nick was feeds gold, especially with the recent revelation that the hat she's been wearing in tribute to him actually belongs to McRae, but no one can bring themselves to tell her that. Gold!

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.

Kleenax, Nick's shorts - hard to tell the difference. 

And let's not ignore the fact that, for all the horribly unlikable players, there is some good game play happening this year. 

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.

Team Helen

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. 

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! 

Udder Certainty

Nice work tonight (well, earlier this week - it's all discombobulated without feeds) by the milkman. He's got his endgame bases mostly covered, but he's definitely sealing the deal with his actions as edited on the penultimate episode.

Nice save, milkman

Hard to say if the Jemmett tension is legitimate or being played up for editing purposes, since we can't see the feeds. But I did predict that the relationship is not long for the real world. We'll see.

Hard truths

Emmett's panicked scramble at realizing it was nearly time to evict Talla? Hilarious. Would have been even funnier on the live feeds. Alas.

The fuck, Emmett?

Jillian is finally starting to realize she should be playing her own game without Emmett. Naw, really? A little too late for that, Jillbot. The jury is locked and loaded.

The fuck, Emmett?

Emmett made a last-ditch effort to secure Talla's jury vote by gifting her one of Dan's bracelets. Talla was touched by the bracelet, but it wasn't enough to get her vote. Emmett's really going to regret giving that bracelet up.

He's still destined to win, unless Gary somehow squeaks out a final HOH win and cuts him. And he should win. Emmett's game has been nearly flawless. Early in the season, he remarked that his last ex-girlfriend called him "cold-blooded", and at the time, it was difficult to see why. Now, it's not. Emmett can be friendly and funny, which disarmed his fellow players to their detriment, but he has a ruthless, emotion-free side that served him well in this game.

In other news, guess what else is happening?

So nice to see Tom partying with all those losers he didn't want in his jury house. 

Big Brother Around the Web: #BBCAN Dance Remix

If you're still lingering around waiting for something to happen before the finale, here's a couple minutes to keep you entertained, courtesy of the Slice.ca editing team:


BBCan Remix by f100003092719386

Quattro's Ghost

It was an eventful night up north in the Big Brother Canada house last night.

Why not, bro?

The houseguests realized that Tom's picture was back in color and spent much of the evening spotting signs around the house that pointed to his imminent return.

Did you hear that?

As they talled up the clues (cards, extra chairs, and for some reason, shoe polish), they heard footsteps from the direction of the Diary Room and began to freak out.

By this point, Talla was so spooked that she took a broom to protect Jillian, who thought she heard a dog barking in the backyard and went to investigate.

Safe from Tom

Andrew should never have taken Talla to see Evil Dead.

So is Tom returning to the game? Of course not, the whole thing seems to be the work of Peter, who was spotted earlier in the day hiding many of the objects that were later found, including Tom's monkey.

Marsha's favorite

Late in the discussion, Peter started dropping hints for them to check the HOH room for more clues, and verbally tallying up all the clues that were found, loudly, for Big Brother to analyze. Emmett and Jillian insisted they already had checked HOH, which was true, but they're not revealing the many clues that they discovered in her room, thinking that they might be keys to a power. Yes, because Tom's stuffed monkey is going to be the key to the Diamond Power of Veto.

Looking for a higher power

There might be something to it, though - the Diary Room apparently told her to "look to a higher power", and she and Emmett took the search very seriously. The house may actually fail Peter's task because of Emmett and Jillian's paranoia.

Quattro's dying breath

Speaking of Emmett and Jillian's paranoia, the nu-Quattro members finally had the confrontation they've been building towards for days. Oddly, they did it out in the open by the kitchen, in angry whispers. 

Topaz was spotted on another feed silently picking her nails in the bathroom for most of the duration of the argument. Listening in? If so, she probably didn't hear anything that would have contradicted the truths Alec laid out for her earlier in the day. The conversation seemed to be his legitimate attempt to salvage Quattro and his showmance and get Talla on the block. He didn't argue against putting Topaz on the block, but he didn't endorse it enthusiastically the way he would have a week or two ago. 

Deflecting a target

Alec tried to convince them he would still be loyal, including an offer to literally sit out the next HOH competition, but Emmett wasn't having it. Both of them grew more and more angry, with Peter and Jillian trying to calm them down.

Emmett's favorite ally

Emmett was trying to create some indignation over Alec's moves in the house, but Alec was able to blow off most of his arguments. 

The real truth here is that Emmett found a better deal in a final four with Andrew and Talla, where he's at a competitive advantage, and he wanted to take his chances. Oddly, this may mean he goes home if he loses the final contests, but he seems willing to take that risk. 

He and Jillian pow-wowed afterwards and decided that Alec and Peter were condescending pricks, and it looks like their original plan is still on. Emmett did point out that keeping Alec could neutralize Talla, and leave them with no enemies in the house, so it's not out of the question, but it's looking slim.

Alec, or "Toast"

In other news, an update overnight on Jokers reported a hidden veto in a camera tree in the backyard, which would tie in with both Arisa's hints of a "mondo power" and the Diary Room's hints to Jillian to "look up". No one else seems to have spotted it, though, so it could be a misinterpretation or hoax.

Either way, the oddness hasn't stopped, and this should be an interesting week. Alec's only hope at this point is the magical camera tree veto, so that's about where his game stands. 

The Emperor of (His Own) Doom

With fellow nominee Peter winning this week's Power of Veto (seriously? Now you win a competition?) Alec's chances of surviving the week are not looking good at this point.

I cannot get enough of this cap series.

Alec started the game as a player with a lot of promise, which is why I've been paying attention to him - a self-professed student of the game, a Big Brother international superfan, a social psychology doctoral student, and a decent athlete to boot - so yeah, I had high expectations. 

Unfortunately, Alec has failed to realize them. He wanted to be Dr. Will, but Alec is more of a Dr. Won't.

The Shield Moms - can anyone spot which Mom is doing the sign wrong? (Hint: her son did not win the POV.)

He and Peter have been stars of the broadcast show and seem to be favorites of Production (I mean, their moms got a segment together?), but at this point, nothing short of a miracle is going to get him through to next weekend.

Trio

Alec has played an interesting game, but not a winning one. If I had to sum up Alec's game flaws, I would say that he's overconfident, he plays way too personally, and he doesn't understand how to campaign or secure alliances for the long haul.

Let's run through some of the specific mistakes he made along the way:

Why Alec Lost Big Brother Canada

1. He Turned on Quattro!

Yes, it was delicious to watch villains Tom and Liza go out back-to-back in a double eviction, especially after Tom douched it up about Showergate. But Alec was targeting Tom before that, simply because he didn't like him.

Now, I didn't particularly care for Tom either, so I get why Alec was eager to boot him with Liza. But Liza's manipulations were easily neutralized once people realized she was lying, and she and Tom were allies and huge shields for, well, the Shield.

Sending Tom out of the game too early raised Alec's target and cost him a chunk of his own side of the house.

It's hard to say if Tom would have left if Alec hadn't turned on him - he was Gary's target for the week long before the Shield got in his ear (but shhh, let them think they were running the show.) Still, if Alec had managed to save Tom for a few more weeks, he would have had a loyal ally to hide behind as he slipped deeper into the game.

2. He Annoyed Andrew!

Sealing his fate 

I've said before that this was one of his biggest mistakes. Up until this night, Alec and Andrew were forging some sort of cautious trust, but after Alec forced Head of Household on Andrew in the Double Eviction and went on to score $10,000 for it by winning the next Head of Household, Andrew has been counting the days until he could send Alec packing, while Alec remained oblivious.

Alec only realized this in the last few days, and missed his chance to solve this problem quite easily during Topaz's brief Head of Household reign.

Speaking of which...

3. He Sold Out Topaz and Gary!

On paper, running a Brigade strategy sounds great. In practice, it's not as easy as the original BG made it look.

This group really sucked at it. Tom and Emmett both fell prey to the classic Brigade pitfall of "actually caring about your side alliance more than the main alliance", and Alec's attempts to prevent the same just made him look shady and untrustworthy to the rest of the house.

And then there was the disastrous Fast Forward. For some reason, Alec decided that his weak alliance with Andrew meant more to him than his solid alliance with Topaz, and kept the dangerous Andrew over loose cannon AJ. Why? Well, apparently because he liked Andrew better than Topaz. That's the best I got.

Topaz knew right away just how badly he'd screwed up, but Alec, far too cocky about his game as usual, just couldn't see it:

No, Alec, you're not.

No, Alec, you don't.

Thank you, Topaz.

(If only.)

The short-lived Fourgy Alliance, when Peter and Alec faked a secret alliance with Gary and Topaz, was probably the one thing that could have positioned the Shield solidly in the game for a few weeks.

If they'd been sincere about it and tried to target others with more connections in the house, instead of house outsiders Gary and Topaz who could have been pulled into a firmer alliance with them, the Shield might not be looking at getting split this week.

4. He Quit POV!

"Would you get mad if I killed you?" (The Canadians keep quoting this wrong, by the way.)

We won't know until Wednesday's episode exactly what happened, but for some reason Alec decided to give up in yesterday's Power of Veto competition, allowing Peter to land his first competitive win.

(I still can't get over that.)

To The Victor

His one shot was either winning POV or having Topaz pull him off the block - Peter's victory seals Alec's fate once and for all.

So why would he do it? Did he think that Peter needed the save more than he did? Did he do one of his quick calculations and realize that he couldn't win? Did he think he could get Talla or Andrew on the block and get them out instead?

Whatever the reason, I have a feeling Alec will look back on that moment as the one that finally sealed his fate.

***

Ready for the taking

The kicker to all of this is that Alec did have the tools to get to the end of the game, if he'd realized that Topaz was his best potential ally after Peter. I genuinely want to smack the guy for not realizing this earlier. 

One of the most valuable things you can have in the Big Brother house is a loyal ally, yet he's been tossing his left and right for people he would rather get along with. 

Unfortunately for Alec, he'll be spending most of the jury phase in the Jury House, with the people he already tossed.

***

Too late

One of two weird things is happening in the last few days with Alec and Topaz, by the way. 

He's looking at her longer, he's not recoiling from her kisses anymore, and he seems just as affectionate in private as in public. Either he's gotten much better at faking it with her - which is a distinct possibility - or she's finally broken through to him with her sweetly protective "turning the other cheek" act, and he's starting to fall for her a bit. 

My inner romantic would be satisfied if it's the latter - if Alec finally realizes how much he's screwed up with her, right as he loses the game. 

Unfortunately, because this is Alec, he's probably just getting better at faking it. 

Intermission: State of the Union #BBCANT

And so the #BBCANT feed outage rolls into its fourth day, Easter Sunday, a day when many celebrate resurrection. Somewhere up in a suburb near Toronto, the drama continues quietly, without live cameras, without the ever-watchful eye of the internet.

Let's take a few minutes to go through where things stand at the intermission of Big Brother Canada: Season One.

From the beginning of the season it's been a numbers game, which the dominant boys' alliance recognized when they named themselves numerically as "Quattro" and spoke openly of "The Nine", the cool, fun people they wanted in the Jury House and endgame.

The Nine, however, was largely the fantasy of Tom, who saw himself controlling it. As we all saw, he didn't, and he and Liza didn't even make the final Nine - both Gary and AJ slipped in over them.

So who are the actual Nine of Big Brother Canada Season One? Let's review where they stand and how they're shaping up for the endgame.

1. AJ

Yes, we all know from the feed leak that Topaz's reign was used to get AJ out of the house, so his game seems to be over. That's probably for the best. AJ hasn't brought much to the house, other than the running gag over his talking in third person. He never seemed at home in the game and doesn't seem to strategize at a very complex level, which puts him at a disadvantage in this house. 

But is it really over for AJ? We still don't know what "Double Head of Household" means. Most viewers assumed that the twist is similar to Big Brother US's Fast Forward or Double Eviction twist, but we don't know that for a fact.

One theory floating around the internet has it that Topaz's evictee, AJ, may still face off against Andrew's evictee, perhaps in a public vote next Thursday where Canada would keep one and send the other out.

If that's the case, AJ is still toast, but I wouldn't count him out just yet. He might return to his spot in the firing line, but if the house is shaken up, he might be able to sneak himself into a better position.

2. Talla

Talla is an odd duck in more ways than one. I know very little about her despite hours of feed viewing, except that she's highly animated, farts a lot, and has very soft hair.

Talla knows she's playing a game and strategizes appopriately with her allies, Andrew and AJ, but she's out of her league against gamers like Alec and Gary. She's not disliked within the house, but she also doesn't have alliances with stronger players who can drag her to the end. Most people in the house think they control her, but no one is exactly sure what she would do on her own. Talla is a free bird and a loose cannon.

Talla is also the smallest person in the house and a dangerous threat for the next endurance competition, which the boys recognize. That's both an advantage and a disadvantage for her.

Talla's game will go one of two ways at this point, and much of it is out of her control. If the core alliance in the house stays strong, Talla is on the outside and will soon be sent packing. If there's a schism, however, Talla will become a key vote and could easily vanish from the radar and sneak her way to the end.

3. Emmett

Milk boy Emmett is widely acknowledged across the internet to be playing the best game of classic Big Brother at this point. He's well-liked by everyone, and is a physical threat who somehow is still off the radar as a target, because he's been able to subtly forge alliances with almost everyone in the house. He's in all three major groups at this point: The remains of Quattro, headed by himself and Alec, the "Team Nova Scotia" alliance with Andrew and Jillian (tying him in to the Three Stooges of Andrew, AJ and Talla), and also has an enigmatic understanding with Gary that hasn't yet been tested in the game but which ties him to the house underdogs.

That doesn't mean it's going to be smooth sailing for him, but even if physical threats start to be targeted, Alec will probably be on the radar long before Emmett.

Emmett has a decent understanding of how to play the game, but he may not be able to manipulate at the level of an Alec or a Gary, and could have a hard time digging himself out if his muscles and charm finally start to threaten the other players.

4. Alec 

If I had to pick anyone for an Easter Sunday resurrection, it would be Alec. This guy is playing one of the more interesting games in the house, for better or for worse, and his game is surprisingly risky for someone who considers himself a student of the game. At the same time, he's a creative player with a deep knowledge of the game who might just have the skill set to pull himself out of a tight spot.

Who in the world cuts strings with a loyal (if skeptical) showmance at the final nine, especially when they still have allies like Gary in the game? A desperate man, that's who. I've said before that Alec wants to be the Spock of the house, emotionless and entertaining, but he's actually a highly personal and emotional player. He wanted Tom out because he disliked him, and that instinct only amplified after Showergate. He soured on his showmance with Topaz and decided to cut her early rather than trying to play it out for a solid ally and jury vote. Logically, Alec knows how to play the game and strategize, but he just doesn't know how to keep his emotions from getting in his way.

I still wouldn't count Alec out. His uncanny ability to play the victim should come in handy in the wake of his breakup with Topaz, and he was better-liked than her in the house to start with. If he's able to martyr himself and stay in the house's good graces, he can paint Gary and Topaz as the villains and stick himself safely with the house majority.

I also have to give Alec some credit for recognizing, as a fan, that Big Brother is supposed to be an entertaining show. His bizarre live show costumes and slip-ups, his characters like "Ricardo", his recent Diary Room montage with Peter, his continued insistence on walking around shirtless - all of it spices up the feeds and the broadcast shows. 

Love him or hate him, Alec has been one of the breakout stars of Big Brother Canada. He will probably be in danger sooner rather than later, and how he plays in the hot seat will determine whether that stardom ends soon, or Alec continues to dominate the chatter around the show.

5. Jillian

There's not much to say about Jillian.

She's not a bad gamer - she's well-liked and well-aligned within the house. Most of her allies don't talk much game with her, but trust her nevertheless. She's now unofficially the fourth member of Quattro, having replaced Tom, and is building a solid friendship with Peter to strengthen the foursome.

The one thing that puts her at risk is her open partnership with Emmett. If anyone decides the pair needs to be split up, Emmett is the obvious choice to go home, but Jillian would probably leave before him due to the alliance dynamics of the house.

Still, it's unlikely that she will leave before the end of the game, which is unfortunate, since she doesn't bring much to the house other than as Emmett's appendage. I'm concerned that Jillian's bland, solid gameplay could be shaping us up for a very boring live feed endgame at the tail of an otherwise entertaining season.

6. Peter

Peter's taken a great deal of heat from game critics, and rightfully so. As the show's default narrator, he's been allowed to paint himself in the Diary Room as a mastermind. But as we feed viewers all know, he's spending all his time lounging around the couch, nibbling at chicken nuggets and watching the game evolve.

But the game has mostly gone the way he wanted, while he's done very little. You can't underestimate how significant that is. He seemed shaken after he lost Liza in the Double Eviction, but he didn't let his housemates know how flustered he was, and went back into Hyena Mode, lurking and waiting for the scraps of the kill.

The true test will be when Pete lands himself in hot water, which could be sooner rather than later, more from Alec's doing than his own. Peter has stayed off the radar like any good Big Brother houseguest in the pre-jury weeks of the game, which is probably for the best, since as he's the first to admit, he hates everyone. But, he can't stay off the radar forever.

Peter doesn't manipulate as well as he tells Alec he does, and he's not forging any alliances on that couch. The question for Peter will be: Are his true alliances with people like Alec, Emmett and Jillian enough to propel him into the endgame strategies he fantasizes about, or will he be left on the outside of the social core of the house going into the final weeks?

7. Andrew

As we all know due to the feed leak, Andrew currently holds Head of Household power, and at a very critical time. Andrew's decisions this week could very well determine which alliances make it into the final weeks of the game. Last time Andrew held the power, he went with the house consensus and seemed to resent it, but will he make the same choice this time?

Andrew is a paranoid player, who just last week was openly and rightfully skeptical of Alec and his machinations in the house. On the other hand, Alec may have dug himself out of that hole by saving Andrew during Topaz's short reign. Or did he?

Andrew seems to shift his game from day to day and conversation to conversation, and while he seems to be shifting out of the Three Stooges and into Quattro, it's hard to say if that's intentional or just for strategic appearances. Andrew, like Alec, is an emotional player, but he's not quite the same level of strategist.

Right now, I'm not sure if I can see an endgame victory path for Andrew. He has two choices this week: stick with the house consensus and target Gary/Topaz, or shake things up by targeting some combination of Alec/Peter/Emmett. If he chooses the first path, he stays on the outside of the house's social core and is still high on the hitlist, but if he chooses the second, he makes himself an even bigger target with the remaining competitive threats from Quattro.

At this point, Andrew is still a wild card, and I'm curious to see what choices he will have made by the time the feeds come up tonight.

8. Topaz

Right now, Topaz's game is the one we know the least about.

We know that up until her Head of Household victory, she was in a vulnerable position, threatened by her declining relationship with Alec and his work against her. We also know that sometime after the feeds went down, the two of them broke up, and are now decidedly at odds.

At odds with Alec is not a good place to be. As I said earlier, he can play the victim like no one else's business, and with her constant bickering with Big Brother over alarms and rule-breaking, Topaz is not exactly positioned to gain sympathy from the rest of the house.

We also don't know what a vengeful Topaz looks like - will she take it lying down, or will she go to the mat and try to bring Alec down with her? She has an opening if she can play on Andrew's paranoia of Alec. The one thing protecting Alec so far has been that no one is talking about his game, but if Andrew and Topaz compare notes, they could easily figure out what he's doing and start working to take him down once and for all.

Topaz is perhaps the biggest wild card in the game right now - she could be anywhere between 0 and 60 right now, and we won't know where she stands until later tonight. Still, her chances of making it to the end are currently slim to none, unless she can manage to strengthen new alliances as a single girl in the house.

9. Gary

I said most of what I wanted to say about Gary yesterday. He's been a breath of fresh air on the show and the live feeds, and has astute perceptive skills to propel him in this game where social dynamics are everything. He's also a physical threat in ways that often go unnoticed by the other houseguests. At the same time, he's socially immature and annoys the house on a regular basis, and has never been part of the "in crowd", though many of its members individually do seem to like him quite a bit. He's also a personal player, though he's wise enough to try to separate his emotions from the game and try to at least fake an alliance with Alec even in the wake of his betrayal.

Unless things change drastically, Gary will remain where he is on the hit list and eventually be sent packing.

That said, underdogs with social skills have a way of continuing to slide through to the end in this game. Gary is a target that others can hide behind, and if he realizes that and plays it to his advantage, he could make it farther.

I don't think it will happen and don't expect that Gary will go much further in the game, but given that he wasn't even supposed to be in "The Nine", he's done okay for himself.

***

Reason Number One why Andrew should consider flipping the house this week?

That.

Tonight, we'll find out where the game stands, and we'll know more about who's positioning themselves for the run to the finals. 

When Feeds Get Boring I Blog: By Ash

I have a special treat for you all during tonight's feed outage. 

Video contributor Ash, who was also one of my fellow cohosts on the Big Brother Gossip Show last season, has stepped up to contribute her blogging skills to Play By Play!

Welcome, and take it away, Ash:

"When Feeds Get Boring I Blog:

So what exactly IS going on in the BBCan house? Well, not a whole lot this week.  Although I am really liking this season in general so far, this week has been an easy, we all love each other (except for Suzette of course) so let's have family dinners and play in the pool together kind of week.  Not the kind of week us live feeders usually thrive on.  There HAVE been some strange whisperings going on in corners from time to time though, and these are the things I'm excited to see play out.  We already know that barring any strange new twists, Suzette will walk out the door tonight, but I want to know what it is that's going to happen in the coming week.

For those of us who have already realized that Alec has to be some distant, or not so distant relative of Grumpy Cat,  it comes as no surprise that he is discontent with his current "showmance" situation.  Alec has been talking all week to almost anyone who will listen about how he is..well  "just not that into her".  It all started with the ipod debacle when apparently the often sleepy Topaz fell asleep wearing Alec's ipod and so the powers that be (in this case Big Brother) took the ipod away and left Alec with no HOH music to listen to for the week.  This began the rift and at first Alec just complained of Topaz's distance from him after said incident. But, slowly but surely more details started to leak out until he was pretty much out and out saying "she isn't my cup of tea, but if I tell her that, I'm afraid I will lose her as a card to play in the game.".  Topaz of course isn't a dumb girl and is somewhat on to the fact that Alec may not be on her side as much as he would like her to think.  She is also likely aware that he will have no trouble sending her off to jury house when it comes down to her or one of his alliance members.  Her true allegiance seems to lie with Gary for the most part. As a die hard feed watcher and commentator, I am of course dying for the shit to hit the fan between the two because it will make for interesting viewing.

Speaking of Gary...Someone has a new power in the house and as of yet we don't actually know what it is.  Earlier in the week there was a task given by BB in which AJ and Suzette had to go on a double date and were not allowed to pick people currently in showmances... they chose Peter and Talla (mostly by default).  The feeds were shut down for the actual dinner, but when they came back, we were given hints to the idea that there had been some kind of pinata for the HGs not currently on a date to bust and apparently candy and some sort of prize came out of it. Gary won the prize...but here is where it gets interesting.  Several people have called it a veto and several have called it a veto ticket.  Gary himself has told several people that it just allows him to play in the coming weeks veto comp even if he is not picked, but he told Suzette that it allows him to replace one of the nominees if he so chooses.  I don't know what the truth is, but obviously there is a huge difference between a veto ticket and a diamond power of veto. I suspect that the task will be broadcasted as some of the filler on tonight's eviction show and we will learn what it actually is, but it's fun to speculate in between.  If Gary actually holds a DPOV then he is completely safe this coming week..which is good for his game since more than a few people have been whispering about wanting him out.  But, if it's only a veto ticket, it just means he is assured that he won't be truly back doored as he will have a chance to play in the POV comp.

There is also supposedly another "big twist" to the game about to be revealed tonight.  I am hoping that some people's speculations are right and that maybe it will be that this week is a double HOH.  That would liven things up..especially given the way this house has broken off.  Provided the two HOHs were not already a unit like Emmett and Jillian or Alec and Peter, picking nominees could get very very hairy.  The double HOH is all pure speculation though, and we won't actually know the twist until we watch the show (or someone who was at the live show leaks it).  

I am torn about what I would like to see happen in the coming week.  Anyone who follows my twitter knows that I am not a fan of Talla, but I think she has a good chance at HOH if it's an endurance comp, and I think a Talla HOH would be highly entertaining.  She is the epitome of a wild card.  Not only do I not know where her head is, I can barely understand the sentences she makes..when she finishes them.  So, having her in power would be something to behold. The only person I am pretty sure would be safe in that instance would be AJ..and I'm not even 100% sure of that. 

I am a fan of The Shield alliance, and I would like to see them make it far in the game, but I must admit, because they are not playing an anywhere near perfect game, I would like to see a few things happen that they did not plan out or some things that might make them poop their pants just a little worrying if things will work out in their favor or not.  Nervous house guests make for interesting feeds.  

I am also pretty okay with Emmett, Jillian, Topaz, and Gary at this point, and I enjoy watching Andrew and AJ as well.  I wasn't sad to see Tom or Liza go at all.  I was excited that Tommy the tool and his lizard tongued succubeast were evicted, but the problem now is that I don't really strongly dislike anyone outside of a few people who mildly get on my nerves. So I honestly don't have many people I am rooting for harder than the others.  I am just hoping the HOH win will be whoever can shake up the house the most this week.  

So that's it, that's where I'm at and that's pretty much what happened this week.  Now I just get to sit and wave bye bye to Suzette and all her tears and self pity and hope for a big week this week.  What do you all think?  Any speculations? Who are your favorites?"

Diary Room Bloopers

The biggest reason I'm enjoying the season so far? The comedy.

This cast provides great one-liners and great comic timing, both on the broadcast shows and the live feeds. I can't remember the last time a BBUS cast made me laugh this much.

Slice just put out this montage of Diary Room Bloopers, and I hope it's not the last.



Classic moment:

"Sorry for being a little baby yesterday, won't happen again." -Alec, to Big Brother

Revenge of Slop Brain

When feeds finally came back on at around 1:30 AM early Saturday morning, we found our Peter-evicting, HOH-throwing Alec holding court from the Head of Household bed and picking through his HOH crate. (In Canada, they are crates, not baskets.)

Freshly fed on a diet of trail mix and muffins (as shown on After Dark) Alec began contemplating his options, and promptly revealed himself to have a case of the famous HOH-itis. 

As the room cleared out, he and Peter reviewed their options, and things started off just fine. Using another classic Brigade gameplay strategy, they ran through the house, both allies and potential enemies, trying to ascertain who would target others on their behalf. Alec even happily speculated about Topaz's eviction, showing once again that the lack of trust in the cuddlemance is mutual. (Or was it for Peter's benefit? Probably not - Alec seems to be more honest with Peter than with Topaz, and honesty is always the best way to suss out true alliances.)

Unknown to Alec, however, a storm was growing downstairs. After Alec's blatant HOH throw during the Double Eviction, Andrew held Head of Household for one night, and didn't get a basket (crate). Alec then proceeded to win basically his second competition in a row, securing food and power for a full week, along with a bonus $10,000 prize. Despite his attempts to befriend Andrew and rope him in as a side ally, Andrew wasn't having any of that from Alec, and vented throughout the night to his own allies, AJ and Talla.

A la volonté du peuple

Later in the night, having settled on his nominations of Suzette as target and AJ as pawn, Alec decided to execute a strategy to make AJ feel comfortable with going up as a pawn. Despite the fact that no one should feel comfortable as a pawn in the wake of Danielle's eviction, he still thought he could pull it off with some social validation, and a dance ensued to get the right people in the room before assuring AJ that he had the votes.

Not use the veto? Yeah, right! 

Alec's strategy was risky to begin with, and riskier when he asked AJ for permission and got a flat no. But he went off the rails when he tried to persuade AJ to consider not using the veto on himself if he won. Too much, too soon, and Alec also had no idea that AJ's ear was already filled with anti-Alec whispers from Andrew. This went over like a lead balloon.

Alec's real strategy at this point is to nominate AJ and Suzette, and the replacement nominee will be Talla, who will go home if Suzette is off the block. However, Alec and Peter suspect (rightly so) that Talla would flip if she knew this, so they're telling AJ and the others that Gary would be the backdoor option. As of right now, this would not actually happen.

Private pawn

I wouldn't say it's a given that Suzette is out the door Thursday, but I'm okay if she is. The game is finally starting to shape up for the critical mid-stretch, and an easy week with fermenting tension is not a bad thing at this stage. There may not be much drama in the eviction, but the next weeks will depend heavily on the suspicions that are stoked from this week.

Alec and Peter have some elements of a good strategy, but their ability to read people is failing this week. Will they pick up on the dissension in the ranks and adjust their strategy accordingly, or will Alec's ego start to send him in the direction he sent Tom just this past week?

Alec and Peter are also playing a critical piece of Brigade strategy entirely wrong. Alec seems to be expecting the house to put him on the block with his public cuddlemance Topaz, and knows that he has the alliances to stay over her. But Topaz wasn't the one holding court all night with Alec last night, and everyone in the house is aware of Alec's close relationship with Peter, mentioning them in the same breath. If Alec goes up as a target, it will very likely be Pete on the block next to him, yet neither one of the superfans seems to have grasped this obvious concept in their scenarios.

The eviction may not contain much drama this week, but that doesn't mean it's going to be a quiet week.