Big Brother 9/7/11
Big Brother, And Then There Were Four
I actually missed Sunday's episode because I decided to have game-night with my fantastic family instead. So, I had to watch it on my itty-bitty net-book screen the next day… thanks CBS.com! Hence the no-post, but I'm back and the BB season is coming to a close.
Quick Recap of Sunday's episode – Rachel won HOH and decided to nominate Kalia & Porshe for eviction with the target being Kalia.
Last night's episode we got the POV Competition & Ceremony, a trip to the Jury House, a Fortune Teller and the HOH Competition…
Before the POV competition, both lady-duos were working Adam. The Alums were hoping that he'd stay true to his deal with them since they saved him over Shelly last week. But the Newbies (and when I say that I mean Kalia) were making their best compelling argument to sway him: (a) they said "Newbies to the end, no matter what!" (b) Jordan & Rachel will take either other, plus he doesn't have a chance to win against either of them (c) it's time for him to make a big move, because fans loves big moves.
POV COMPETITION – OTEV RETURNS (as a shark)
They do this competition every year on BB… Otev will spit out a trivia fact and the players have to find the name of the houseguest it's associated with. They have to climb up something slimy… And if they're the last one up that round, or have the incorrect name, they're eliminated until there's only 1 player left. Jordan was out first, then Rachel. The Alums had to rely on Adam to pull off the win. Kalia dropped next and burst into tears. It was Porshe vs. Adam and when Porshe realized she grabbed the wrong name and had to go back down to retrieve the right one, Adam climbed to victory.
ADAM WINS POV!
He now had all the control and could easily make the big move the Newbies wanted him to make or not… More on what I thought of his decision in a minute…
But first, let's take a trip to the…
JURY HOUSE
As Jeff, Dani & Brendan drank margaritas near the pool discussing who they hoped would show up next (basically everyone's name but Jordan's came up)… we got the sound bite we'd be hoping for: Jeff wants to see Shelly next.
Shelly struts into the house and admits that she's been nervous to confront Jeff. Jeff let her have it too. But, I personally, as a fan of the game, applaud her for her backstabbing of Jeff. Now let me explain…
I understand that Jeff feels betrayed. He was completely backstabbed at his most vulnerable point in the game and he has every right to be upset about it. Plus I think what hurt him the most (why he's so upset) is more the fact that he truly believed that Shelly was his friend and on his side. And to find out she was playing for the money just as hard as he was (in her own way) really blindsided him.
However, I think Shelly's argument was almost completely sound. As a competitor and a fan of the BB game, Shelly was completely right in voting off Jeff when she did. She was right that in that alliance (Jeff, Jordan, Adam & Shelly) she'd most likely come in 3rd place. There's no way that Jeff or Jordan would have taken her to the final 2 over the other, and she doesn't have the track record to convince anyone she could have won that final HOH. She had the opportunity to get Jeff out after Dani's eviction and it was honestly the only foreseeable time she would have to do it (with enough votes to back it) and she pulled the trigger. Like I said before, I didn't agree with her trying to save Dani (I don't think she would have gotten past the final 3 spot with her either), but I was completely on board with her eviction of Jeff at the time she did it.
The only part of the argument she made with Jeff last night that I didn't totally agree with was when she told him that she kept him and Jordan safe for the weeks Dani & Kalia were in power. I don't think she had much to do with it. Dani & Kalia were so focused on eliminating Brenchel that Jeff & Jordan weren't much of a thought. But I do agree that although her competition-based game this season sucked, she played a very passive, yet oddly aggressive social game that almost worked out for her. She made this season interesting.
Okay, back to the BB House with the…
POV CEREMONY
Adam kept it quick. He said "I'm a man of my word" and decided NOT to use the veto.
My Thoughts… Adam could have changed the game. He could have saved one of the girls and made Rachel replace her with Jordan. Then he and whoever he saved would have the 2 votes necessary to evict Jordan. Although I would have loved to see Adam make a big move, I think this should have been a really hard decision and I'm struggling with if he made the right call or not. Let me explain…
I think he took the easier route. I'm not sure if it was the best route… All season he's been the biggest HOH-butt kisser. The ultimate floater; he voted whichever way the HOH wanted him to vote (and for those times he was on the block, he was on there as a mere pawn and he knew it.) So this time around was not really a surprise, he stuck with Rachel & Jordan, because they were in power this week. That's why it was the easy route. Now for the pros & cons of taking this route:
Pro 1: The jury house is made up of mostly Alums at the moment, so staying true to the remaining Alums in the house could be a valid argument for Jury votes.
Con 1: Only problem with that is if you make it to the final 2 you're most likely sitting next to an Alum and therefore lose all those votes anyway.
Con 2: Now you have to compete against 2 physically strong females (Porshe & Rachel) and Jordan (who is known to be the most liked person to ever play BB) in the final rounds.
Now the harder route: Although I've been rooting for the Alums all season (I'm just not a fan of this Newbie crop), I would have loved to see Adam make a big move, plus I actually think it might have benefited him…
Pro 1: You get rid of the most liked person to ever play BB (Jordan). Her sweet personality helped her win her first season, and can easily be a repeat if she makes it to a final 2 seat.
Con 1: You possibly lose 2 votes in one swoop by evicting Jordan.
Pro 2: You make a "big move". I don't know if they've been saying it to his face or not, but he must know that everyone in the house thinks he's the DEFINITION of "floater". His wins thus far in competitions have been minimal (and really had no effect on the game what-so-ever) and his social game play has swayed more times than I want to count. This could have been his key move.
Con 2: You make a "big move". All the "big moves" this season have been crushed down with revenge and bitterness, therefore making a big move might actually hurt his end game.
Pro 3: You set yourself up to be with the Newbies at the end; giving you a more equal shot at winning in the final 2 over sitting next to an Alum. Kalia, Porshe & Adam have all played a similar style game (with Adam & Porshe being ultimate floaters with a few wins under their belt and Kalia being more of a Dani-follower with again, just a few wins under her belt).
Con 3: By setting yourself up to be with the Newbies it gives the Alums more of a reason not to vote for you to win at the end because of the betrayal…
So did he make the right decision? It was a double edged sword, and I have a feeling it's gonna cut him either way.
FORTUNE TELLER
So, I'm not sure if the BB producers had this planned all along, or if they got the idea from Shelly's loony 3 hour staring contest with the Fortune Teller in the Purple Room, but the Fortune Teller started rattling off fortunes. All the houseguests had to gather each time she went off…
EVICTION CEREMONY
Porshe made her speech and Kalia tried to make one last ditch effort (keep competitors, keep me!)
It almost worked. It apparently swayed Jordan. Jordan voted to evict Porshe. Adam voted to evict Kalia. So it was a 1-1 tie and Rachel had to cast the tie-breaking vote.
KALIA IS EVICTED!
I'm not sure why Jordan decided to change her vote (what seems like last minute), but it was ultimately Rachel's target that went home.
HOH COMPETITION
It was a TRUE or FALSE game based on the Fortune Teller's fortunes. They were extremely specific, in one of the hardest memory games I think BB has had to date. One missing word would make the statement false and that definitely came into play for all but 1.
ADAM WINS HOH!
For the first time this season, Adam wins HOH and by getting every question correct. Jordan came in a close second, and Porshe came in a far third.
But, you know how I said that all of Adam's wins have had minimal to no-effect on the game. This HOH is kind of like that. Yes, it guarantees him final 3, because there's no way he can be up for elimination this week.
SCENARIOS
The target will most likely be Porshe.
Adam vowed his allegiance to Rachel & Jordan this week, but he'll also have to put one of them up on the block as well. Yet, if the nominations remain the same, the one off the block will have all the power to save the fellow Alum and send Porshe packing.
The only wrench in this plan is if Porshe wins the POV. Then both Alum girls will be up on the block and Porshe can chose who to get rid of (my guess would be Rachel, because she'd be harder to beat in the Final 3 HOH competition compared to Jordan). But this scenario really only affects Rachel & Jordan; if this happens Adam's hands are free from blood because he has no choice and no say.
The only other thing that could deter this plan is if Adam decides to grow some balls… and really?! How likely is that?! He'd have to either name both Alums as nominations (just not going to happen) or win the Veto himself, take Porshe down and decide to backdoor an Alum (most likely Rachel). This could happen, but I don't think it's very likely at all. I say this because he'd have to come up with it himself… Porshe has shown her strategic games skills are basically nil…
Another thing that could possibly deter this plan is if Rachel comes to the conclusion that a Rachel-Jordan final 2 wouldn't go in her favor. If she's the deciding vote between Porshe & Jordan, she could evict Jordan. But, I don't think she'll risk this. Sure, there's a risk that Jordan may win over her if they're sitting together in the final 2, but to backstab this late in the game may lose more Jury votes than it's worth.
So out of the Final 4, who do you want to see win!?
My vote would be for Rachel at the moment. I think she came into this season as one of the most hated BB houseguests ever, but has shown that she can actually play all aspects fairly well this time around. She's been able to make a solid alliance (and stayed true to it), win some impactful competitions, and has battled socially/strategically to keep herself in the game. Although she's faltered (getting too emotional when Brendan was evicted the first time that effected her competition/game-play), she's been able to ride it out this season to the Final 4. Out of everyone left I think she's played the best overall game.
My 2nd Choice would be for Jordan. Like I said, I've been rooting for the Alums all season. If she's in the final 2 seat and Rachel's not, I'd give her my vote over Adam or Porshe (at this point). Again, I think she made a solid alliance (and stayed true to it), plus she picked up her social/strategic game this season, especially after Jeff was evicted. The only reason I wouldn't give her the 1st place vote over Rachel is because her competition-based game is gosh-awful.
My 3rd choice would be for Porshe. If it's Adam vs. Porshe in the end, my vote would go to Porshe. Although she was a big floater for most of the season this year, she picked a side way earlier than the likes of Adam and ever since she's picked a side she's up'd her competition-based game play, being able to win a few. But she's seriously lacked in the strategic-based game play this season; she hasn't been persuasive enough to sway anyone.
My 4th choice would be to not have a winner this season. I really, really, REALLY do NOT want to see Adam win this season of BB. I honestly, don't even want to see him in a Final 2 chair. I don't think he deserves it. He's been carried all season and I think he's perfectly content with how he's non-played and it makes me sick as a fellow fan. If everyone played the way Adam played the show would be canceled in a heartbeat and to reward that lame-style of play would be the ultimate shame. This season would go down as the WORST season of BB if Adam were to win and I will boycott the next season just to prove my point (So there CBS! … lol)
