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. 

The Sixteenth Houseguest

"The sixteenth houseguest? Production." -Alec, 3/31/13.

The sixteenth houseguest at work

As Big Brother superfans, Alec and Peter understood this concept from day one. In the game of Big Brother, theoretically you're playing against the fifteen people cast to battle head to head in the game of Big Brother, but in reality, you're also competing for the heart of the unseen gods controlling the game. Ask Jessie Godderz in Big Brother US Season 11 about that, or Shelly Moore on Big Brother US Season 13, or Aaron Allard-Morgan from Big Brother UK Season 12. (Okay, Aaron won his series, but more in spite of Production than because of them.) 

Topaz, while topping out the fan favorite rankings at Jokers' Updates, has never been a favorite of Production. Her continued insistence on napping against their direct orders, her ignoring of alarms, her open mouthing off against their interference - all of it served to draw the battle lines, and Production struck this week in the worst way possible.

Poster Doctor Skeuss at Survivor Sucks was at last Thursday's taping and noted an extended production conference before Topaz's eventual victory in the contest. Moments later, as we know, Topaz skated to victory to cheers from her fans, only to have her game destroyed once the feeds went down.

Jokers Reacts

Production enjoyed the chaos of it all, with producer and Marsha the Moose voice Trevor Boris gleefully tweeting as the episode aired, "im guessing a lot of you have never seen a Big Brother from any of the other 46 countries except the US".

And yes, as Peter noted, Topaz didn't have to talk out loud. Or did she?

Topaz isn't a particularly vocal strategist, we saw Arisa encouraging her to talk out loud, and we don't know what else was said. I will be very interested to hear after the show if Topaz claims she was encouraged to openly voice her strategy for the fans. Certainly she had no reason to expect that this Big Brother US-style game would suddenly become a Big Brother UK-style one, and why would she?

It's one thing when BBUK messes with the houseguests by revealing secrets, because ultimately, the power rests in the hands of the audience. On this show, however, there's no way that exposing a player like that won't wreck their game, and Production certainly had to know that going in.

Would they have done the same to Peter if, god forbid, he'd managed to win an actual competition? I can't help but feel like they wouldn't. (Trevor's Marsha the Moose alter ego is a noted Peter fan, of course.) We'll never know, but after years of watching Big Brother in multiple countries, I've just come to expect that Production is manipulating the story they want to tell.

That said, the Chevrolet "Powershift" twists have been uniformly horrible so far in terms of moving the story: Sending Aneal home over the gameless Suzette was a travesty, and this twist has managed to sink the games of lead characters like Gary, Topaz, Alec and Peter, while bolstering bores like Andrew and Jillian.

At this point, I chalk it up to the fact that the Sixteenth Houseguest is a newbie, and still figuring out how to wield the monster that is Big Brother. Given the fact that the ratings aren't going anywhere, they'll have plenty of time to figure out how to manipulate in the future, but for now, we have to wait and see if they can manage to salvage the game and propel the interesting characters and gamers into the finals or not.

Gary: What I Like About You

While we've got some time on our hands, I wanted to devote a few minutes to Gary "Glitter" Levy, one of the more interesting products so far from Big Brother Canada.

I admit, I didn't expect much from Gary in the beginning. Maybe the fact that he was neither the only minority nor the only gay cast member should have tipped me off - Big Brother Canada has been more diverse from the jump, and many of its star characters have proven to be much more complex than they seemed at the first impression, for better or for worse.

Gary defies the stereotypes - he knows his role on the show and plays into it with glee, but there's far more to him than meets the eye.

Gary and Luxury (RIP)

Gary is a complex character - one moment he's immature and selfish, the next he's surprisingly thoughtful and insightful. Part of this may be due to his age. At twenty-one, Gary is still on the cusp of childhood, and it shows. One minute he's creating a fake party task and pissing everyone off, the next he's astutely calling Alec out for his machinations with Topaz, the next he doesn't understand why the Have Nots are upset to be giving him a pedicure, the next he's standing up to the house's herd mentality to support Suzette on her way out the door.

Those glimmers of strategy and guts are what make Gary so interesting as a player. The first hours of his Head of Household reign were incredible to watch, as he subtly manipulated information out of the entire house and used it to push for what he wanted (Tom's eviction) while making everyone else think it was their idea (no, Alec and Peter, it wasn't).

In many ways, he reminds me of Daniele Donato, who I found to be extremely immature and whiny on Big Brother US Season 8, but transformed into a gutsy, self-assured rebel by Big Brother 13. Britney Haynes also showed a great deal of growth as a player between her young appearance on Big Brother 12 and her slightly older one on Big Brother 14.

Pwned

I don't think Gary is going to win this season - he can't, from the outside of the herd mindset in this house - but I could easily see him owning a future All-Stars season once he gets some more life experience under his belt and figures out how to wield his skill set to his advantage. And this guy is a shoo-in for All-Stars.

Gary is extremely confident in his own skin. That goes without saying, of course, but there's another layer to it. We've seen so many openly flamboyant men on these shows who harbor insecurity based on years of being bullied and ridiculed for their fabulousness. That kind of thing leaves bitter scars into adulthood, but if Gary wears those scars, he doesn't let them show. He loves who he is, and expects everyone else to love him until they say otherwise. He's not bitter or resentful as a result of his uniqueness, which is probably a credit to his family, who seem to be supportive of him.

Gary does possess one of the fatal flaws of big characters on reality television - he wants to be famous, and discusses it frequently on the feeds. (Seriously, we hate that shit.) When he discusses the fame he wants, though, he often frames it in terms of wanting a platform and a message, instead of wanting to just soak in attention. Obviously he wants the attention, too, but he wants to be a role model.

And he should be.

Seeing beyond the obvious

Gary has seen his closest friends go out the door, back to back - Danielle, Suzette, and now possibly Topaz, depending on the outcome of the veto(*)

(*)If you're Alec, who do you get the house to go after, between Topaz and Gary? Both probably hate you to an equal enough extent now, but Gary is the bigger competitor. At the same time, Gary isn't going to freeze you out for the next week, but that may make him more dangerous, so yeah, Gary is probably the target right now.

Despite pressure from the house last week, Gary refused to join the group that was isolating Suzette. As depressing as he found her in the last week, and as much as he knew it was risking his own game to spend time with her, he was unable to adopt Alec's strategy of forgetting that people are human, and did his best to keep her from being entirely isolated during her last days in the house. He knew better than to try and flip the game to save her, but he couldn't bring himself to mix the personal and the game and cut her out like the others, as hard as it was for him.

I've got a golden ticket

So where is Gary now? As we saw last night, he now seems to realize that the "Fourgy" alliance he thought he had with Topaz, Peter and Alec is worthless. Either Gary or Topaz will probably go home this week, and Gary has his veto replacement power to play on this week. During last night's feed leak he seemed to be trying to strategize with it, but he and Alec disagreed on its nature, so look for the interpretation of the power to be something Gary plays to his advantage. 

If Gary does succeed in rolling through this week, he's got to get over his annoyance with the other houseguests and use his house knowledge to assess the power dynamics and try to forge an alliance from what's left. Peter and Alec aren't going to do it for him, Gary and Talla don't seem to get along, and Emmett and Jillian are untrustworthy. Andrew and Gary have a very weird relationship and Andrew seems to be targeting Gary at the moment, but Andrew's flipped all over the place with Alec and might be willing to work something out. Who knows?

In the meantime, as much as I like both Gary and Topaz, I'm not sure that Topaz has much more to offer to the game once she's unleashed her fury on Alec. Her bridges will be burnt, and her options will be limited. Gary, on the other hand, has the ability to try to slip his way a little closer to the end if he thinks it over and draws on his skills.

Should Gary walk out the door on Thursday, I don't think it will be his last time on reality television. And I'm just fine with that. This world could use few more Garys in it. 

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?"

The Last Supper

While feeds are down for a house dinner task, I thought now would be a good time to say:

Au revoir, Suzette.

Chopped by the great ChitownBB. 

Let's Get Physical

The houseguests got a little frisky tonight in the Big Brother Canada house and decided to burn off some post-POV ceremony steam. 

(If you're wondering, Emmett did not use the Veto and had some choice words for Suzette about her pity party, so she spent most of the evening sulking.)

First, Peter and Jillbot engaged in a little wrestle, refereed by AJ.

Eyes up here, AJ...

3... 2...

Beaten by a girl!

Alec and Topaz continued pretending like they were in to each other.

This is what a showmance looks like when it's OVER.

A soccer game was hastily arranged in the backyard. Emmett removed his shoes, declaring that he was forever rolling his ankles in those shoes, and would rather play barefoot.

Sock it to me

Shirts vs. skins?

Breaking to fake it some more

Peter and Jillian... again.

Peter is spending an awful lot of time getting friendly with Jillian lately, which should be a giant clue to Gary and Topaz that their "Fourgy" alliance with Peter and Alec is history. Gary seems hyper aware of that fact, however, especially since Alec keeps coming to him to try and vent about the apologies he feels he needs from Topaz. Gary's not having it and keeps changing the subject.

Anyway, so, back to the game. Alec turned out to be an incredibly klutzy soccer player (like, seriously, he was that awkward kid trying to look athletic on the sidelines and barely connecting with the ball), and accidentally ran into Emmett's foot, and now Emmett's toe may be broken.

I got it I got it I got it wait where'd the ball go?

Breaking the bone of one of your closest allies during a friendly romp? Kind of a metaphor for Alec's entire HOH reign so far, I think.

(I still like the guy, in spite of what it may sound like, but his game this week has left much to be desired.)

Hot Tub Time Machine

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, insomniac feed viewers caught an interesting little chat out in the hot tub between Alec and Andrew. Emmett was also there, but said almost nothing, letting the other two do most of the talking.

Dr. Won't

Given that Alec thinks he has Andrew wrapped around his finger, which Andrew disagrees with, the dynamics of the conversation were interesting. So interesting, in fact, that in checking various feed discussion forums this morning, no one seems to agree on the true subtext of the discussion.

Alec openly talked about cutting Topaz in the next few weeks. Andrew listened to him also talk about getting rid of AJ and Talla and didn't disagree. Andrew basically called him out on being closely aligned with Peter, which Alec didn't disagree with, and Alec even sort of agreed when Andrew classified Peter as a floater. They discussed who they could and couldn't target, and who they could and couldn't stand to see targeted. The house divide was on full blast, but they were so polite about it, it's difficult to see if either one understood the full context of what they were getting at. 

They even talked about Alec's $10K win in this week's HOH comp, which Andrew is still bittercakes about. Alec tried to downplay it, pointing out that it doesn't matter in the house (oh, but it does), and that it will just go right into his massive educational debt.

Pretty boy, shhhhhh

Emmett showed the best game play in the hot tub last night, by keeping his trap shut and listening. Emmett and his pretty face are sitting pretty in this game right now. The house division for the next weeks is starting to show, and everyone wants him and Jillian on their side. He's a comp threat whether he cheats or not, but he's so likable and charismatic, everyone just assumes he's working with them. 

It worked for Hayden on BBUS Season 12, and Emmett is on the path to the finals if he can keep it up.

Frenemies?

If Andrew is still as upset with Alec as he claimed to be early in the week, he's playing a good game right now. He's stoking Alec's trust and collecting information from him, and is getting to the point where he could easily take the nuggets he has and use them to try to take Alec down. At the same time, he's safe for now with Alec apparently wanting to drag him even further than Gary and Topaz. If he can keep the target off his own back, laying low might not be a bad idea.

The easiest way to figure out what Alec and Andrew each made of their conversation will be to watch what Alec says to Peter today, and what Andrew says to AJ today. Keep in mind that what they don't say could be more revealing than what they do.

The players don't have much to strategize about at the moment, since Emmett holds the Power of Veto and has no interest in saving Suzette, but that makes this the perfect time to assess where they stand and start drawing up plays for the coming weeks.

Stir Crazy

The still-green Big Brother Canada production team up in Toronto got the fans' message tonight, and switched the feeds back on for a few fun-filled hours between the nomination ceremony and Power of Veto competition. That's more like it, BB!

Turns out a big part of the reason for the long blackouts may be long prep with the competition hosts. Peter, this week's POV host, was called to the Diary Room for two hour-long sessions. The first time he was called, a number of houseguests promptly went to start napping. They were soon placed on a long lockdown in the back bedroom area as well. When Peter finally emerged, he was not allowed to discuss the reason for the delay.

The houseguests still managed to entertain themselves throughout their boredom, much to the delight of feed-watchers. Big Brother may finally be getting it - just let us watch, it's not like there's that much to hide between comps.

Whatever happens next, tonight we were able to watch all of the following, in addition to the glory of Emmett doing Gary's makeup (which was already capped everywhere else):

Talla chasing AJ around the house for a pot of coffee

Talla is not a regular caffeine-drinker, and AJ thought it would be best if she didn't have the two cups she wanted. I don't think the screencaps could keep up with a caffeinated Talla, she's blurred out in most of the caps I get already.

Suzette in tears over her future in the game (look at Jillian being supportive)

Suzette is depressed and depressing most of the house, to the point that even Gary was complaining about it. Seems she did this last time she thought she was going home, too.

Talla apparently levitating via the bookshelf

Alec being inappropriate with a pool noodle

Alec rubbing Emmett's hair

Alec wouldn't touch Talla's hair, he was afraid once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop. Seems it's just as soft as it looks, which explains why Andrew is always trying to touch it.

Eagle-eared Emmett listening to POV comp prep

Emmett: "Lots of buckets of water, guys."

Big Brother: "Please stop talking about Production." (Canadian Big Brother is so polite.)

Alec and Topaz being horrified by AJ 

Alec and Topaz playing matchmaker with AJ and Talla

Alec and Topaz were pushing hard for a showmance between AJ and Talla. Trying to get the target off their backs? Neither was opposed to the idea, but it sounds like Talla isn't interested in long-distance relationships. She also accidentally offended AJ by suggesting her friends would think he was "nice".

Girl talk!

The girl talk was mostly about unfortunate boyfriend stories and violent incidents. It was a little traumatic for Topaz, who broke down in tears telling the story of a neighbor who was stabbed and died in front of her.

Emmett tickling Alec with Jillian's hair

Gary wrestling with Topaz

AJ and Talla debating how much of Alec and Topaz's makeout session they could stand to watch

Talla directing a porno with AJ and Topaz. "Why is this a KKK-directed porno?" -AJ, when Talla went for the sheet.

Finally, feeds went down, presumably for the Power of Veto competition, which will be a late one tonight.

Congrats to Production for starting to get it together. Now can we please get some more Marsha the Moose?

Real Talk: BBCAN Alliances

In the wake of the first (?) double eviction, with loyalties shifting and truths revealed, let's revisit where the house alliances stand.

Just passing by

Actual, Genuine Alliances: 
-Secret Wedding (Gary + Topaz)
-The Shield (Alec + Peter)
-The Three Stooges (AJ + Andrew + Talla)
-Jemmett (Jillian + Emmett)
-Suzette (??)

Looser, Less Genuine Alliances: 
-Alec, Peter, and Emmett are still loosely arranged via Quattro (Trio?) and seem to be staying loyal to each other so far.
-The Shield and Secret Wedding combined in Fourgy, but despite a second week in power, it doesn't look like that will stick.
-Emmett and Gary are fond of each other and interested in working together.
-Peter is building a friendship with Jillian with an eye towards bringing her in for a refreshed Quattro.
-Alec is totally sure he and Andrew are best buds. (He's wrong.)
-The Three Stooges think they can pull Jemmett over to help them take out The Shield. (They're wrong.)
-Peter has it in his head that he "controls" Talla, for reasons that aren't clear. (He doesn't.)

Who puppets the puppeteers?

Getting orphaned Suzette out of the way this week makes sense for almost everyone, but Alec is in trouble if he has to put a Stooge like AJ or Talla in the line of fire. Andrew is already starting to rev the engines in his direction and the ship is turning. The Stooges want to try and align with Emmett and Jillian for a strong five, but are seemingly unaware of Quattro and its remaining alliance structure.

The central house power seems to lie in Jemmett + Secret Wedding + The Shield (basically, a combination of Fourgy and Quattro, putting Alec and Peter in a power position), but the Stooges are starting to build alliances to chip away at that, and might be successful. The "power" six have a number of weaknesses - distrust between the Shield and Secret Wedding members, and a lack of connection between Jemmett and Secret Wedding. They're not a solid six, and the Stooges may get an opportunity to swoop in and scoop up some combination of the six into their own power alliance.

Free bird

Suzette remains a non-factor. Given the way the game is shaping up, it wouldn't hurt any of these groups to try to scoop her up and save her this week as an alliance partner going forward, but no one seems especially interested in that right now.

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.