TeamBlue

I'm surprised that anyone, even Frankie, would say something that vile about/towards Nicole. The remaining HGs generally don't seem to like her very much but this comment was just over the top, even from Frankie. I had seen some of his earlier comments that drew criticism, especially the Jocasta comment (that I didn't actually find to be all that bad given that he just used a more intense phrase than "then she can get over it") but this seems to be markedly worse.

This has been the only real egregious failure of CBS/editing this season: failing to show how Frankie has wanted Zach out multiple times this season. Many people gripe about how Derrick/Frankie have targeted Donny, but they've done so within the framework of the massive alliance that they're in and they've kept him off the block just many times as they've targeted him. I'm enjoying the historically-good gameplay that we're seeing from Derrick. Others may complain that the show is "boring," but boring in simplest terms means that someone is thoroughly dominating the proceedings and that's been Derrick since the first week. That, to me, is really enjoyable to watch. I prefer it a lot more to disjointed drama and faux-drama where the players are reduced to chickens without heads that run around each week with no coherent strategy other than "I don't want to go home this single week."

He has a point, and to some extent he is exactly right. Not about Donny being the most manipulative player but about him constantly lurching from player to player. Derrick and the other members at the top of the hierarchy have stuck to one another and stuck to manipulating the same players (Caleb, Victoria) with a consistent methodology and they've been able to keep doing it because it's been working. Donny on the other hand, because he's constantly been on the bottom because he doesn't know how to penetrate the alliances or set up his own, has constantly lurched from one person to the next; from Brittany to Jocasta to Hayden to Nicole to Zach and now apparently Cody. They're probably annoyed that he's had to play so differently because they themselves have never been in his position of not being able to build any strong alliances.

There's not a single part of that that's sexist, not even a little. They were in an all-males alliance, he manipulated Caleb so that he could use him to benefit his game (and he did), and Victoria DOES vote how Derrick tells her to vote because they have a bond. Were Nicole and Christine sexist when they played Caleb the exact same way with respect to Amber?

But that in itself completely smashes the fantasy that Derrick is somehow targeting Nicole because of her gender. Nicole is very clearly not a number to Derrick because their faux-F2 agreement is murky at best. Derrick does have some true commitments outside of his ever-present strategy to stay in the majority every week. His F2 deal with Cody is named (Hitmen) and appears to take precedence based on Derrick's strategizing. His F3 deal with Cody and Zach (LTA) is essentially over now that Zach has blown up all of their games multiple times. Derrick's told us countless times that the original 5-person alliance (Detonators) and the new 4-person alliance (Quad Squad/The Rationale) were essentially competing and that whichever one won out that week (the former) was the one he was going to stay with while he struck at the other. What's left is a new 5-person alliance with Caleb in place of Christine, which seems to be Derrick's only remaining alliance. He has other allies: a faux-F2 deal with Nicole, a "relationship" with Victoria that isn't an alliance and that doesn't have a name, and Team America with Frankie/Donny that has a name but that isn't a real alliance, but none of them really come close to the new 5-person deal and to his true F2 alliance with Cody.

It's just incredibly difficult to lob those tired criticisms that he's "bullying" or "intimidating" or "threatening" people. There's been no shortage of them, there never is, but when the best examples you can invoke are entirely subjective (and insufficient, when taken in proper context) it reeks of exaggeration. Case in point: Yawn. Remarking that someone is getting child support is not sexist. 2:36am HouseGuest Time really encapsulates how these charges are exaggerated. Victoria becomes visibly upset, wants to interject, Derrick tries to rebut her and when she speaks up and asks for him and Nicole to let her finish they do so.

The problem, though, is that he's not making the statement because other people are playing Big Brother just like he is. He's leveling the specific charge when people who he has been loyal to have needlessly turned on him by doing something stupid. The argument obviously doesn't gel when people take it completely out of context. He's making the argument in an attempt to rein them back in. It has proven to be incredibly effective especially with Zach, who he has had to use it on multiple times due to Zach's instability

Yawn. Derrick wants Nicole to go because he's in a committed 5-person alliance (with Cody, Zach, Frankie, and now Caleb) and Nicole is clearly the strongest remaining player who is not included in their deal. There's also the massive incentive that if she's sent to jury with 8 people remaining Derrick has a strong case for her vote because they're on good terms and her eviction wouldn't solely be on his hands like it would be if he burned her at F4. There's also the obvious incentive for EVERYONE in their alliance to send Nicole out if there's even the possibility that a jury member (read: Hayden) will return in a week. Christine is also nominally allied with Derrick's group as Derrick/Cody/Frank/Zack do just enough to keep her thinking there is residual "Detonators" loyalty while Caleb still considers her loyal to them because of residual "Bomb Squad" loyalty. Victoria remains totally loyal to Derrick. The only people remaining who Derrick (and the house) should seriously target over these next couple of weeks are Nicole and Donny because they're alone. The salient problem though is that you don't have those things. Derrick's game decisions clearly point to the fact that he's working to get his committed alliance to the end of the game, and there's little (to no) evidence that his "words or attitudes" point to the type of character flaws you're accusing him of. He's not calling any of the women bitches (or worse) and he's not couching his criticism of their gameplay in personal terms. There hasn't been a single indication that misogynistic tendencies are effecting his behavior.

Sorry, but this is an absolute joke. Derrick is in no way sexist or misogynistic. He was predictably derided for completely manipulating Nicole and Victoria in a brilliant fashion last night and we (in the Live Feed Chat) were treated to ridiculous charges that he was "bullying" or "intimidating" them. It's a fantasy. Someone who doesn't raise their voice, who allows them to interject whenever they choose even in the middle of his sentence, who doesn't put his hands on them, or who doesn't stand above them while talking is doing no such thing. Derrick gave them every opportunity that they wanted to interject and he sat in his chair as they did and talked back and forth with them about it. People can't spin Derrick's desire to control the conversation for the benefit of his game as him persecuting or degrading the other people involved just because they're female. It's just utterly laughable. It's also a little insulting, and not only to Derrick, that people would raise any charges in that line when there have been people who were above and beyond in their misogyny, in this season no less.

But they change their mind because Derrick changes their mind. I've already picked up on an undercurrent of a "stupid cast" vibe everywhere I discuss Big Brother whether it be forums or on the Live Feed Chat in the event that Derrick goes deep in this game and continues to run it. It's not the cast. Frankie, Nicole, Christine, Hayden, Donny, and occasionally Zach can all manipulate others and routinely pick up on when they themselves are being manipulated. There's a reason that Derrick is running most of them while isolating the remainder. He found out about Zach blabbing to Victoria because he has a lot of allies and the trust of even more people, and he talked through his plan with Caleb and Cody an hour before he put it into action. He smartly went to Nicole first and played up their alleged connection, and then brilliantly pulled Victoria into the room after setting up the focus of the conversation so that he could clear Nicole in front of Nicole. That was crucial because it made her trust him even more, and she thanked both Derrick and Cody profusely for how Derrick handled Zach because Nicole believes that by Derrick doing so he was actually helping HER game by not letting her get sent out of the house due to "a lie." Derrick also scored brownie points with Christine by playing into her well-known annoyance with Zach's needless lying and shit-stirring. Derrick then called up the necessary people but shifted the conversation so that Cody could stay downstairs with the stragglers and not let them have any alone time while he stayed upstairs and refocused Zach after talking him into taking the fall for the blowup and for Victoria "getting the wrong idea" because "Zach told her a lie." So to summarize: Zach did something stupid, Derrick caught wind of it, and not only did he fully repair his relationship with Victoria but he strengthened his bond with Nicole, Christine, AND Zach, and he even found time to get tighter with Caleb and Frankie. This is case in point why Derrick is so good and why he's in the position that he's in. There has been no short of 8-10 occasions like this where Derrick has turned an emotional blowup into something that benefits his game. This is the first time that he himself has been involved in the controversy, but it's little different then when Derrick used Caleb to make Devin blow up in Week 2. Derrick has been doing this ALL season.

I believe it's still Victoria. There was a chance that she'd put up Derrick/Cody last night when things were at their most dramatic but now I think it is going to be Victoria by default. Christine seems to have mended things with Nicole at least temporarily. Derrick somehow brought Nicole, Christine, Zach, AND Victoria all closer to him last night by the way he handled Zach. It probably keeps him off the block this week. It's an open question on whether Donny or Victoria goes. Frankie wanted to save Donny earlier in the day but Caleb was fervently against it. Nicole probably wants to keep Donny too but I'd like to think she votes with the house if Donny's opponent is Victoria and his eviction is predetermined. Donny's only hope is if Derrick decides he can no longer trust Victoria but I don't think that's going to happen after he wrapped everything up with a bow last night.

I completely agree, but Derrick is also catching a lot of nonsensical flack for being "a bad cop" and that's a joke. Not only should his body of work in the game not be viewed through that lens, but even if we did permit that view it is an absolutely ridiculous argument on the merits of what is actually happening in the house.

Victoria is in tears because she cries at the slightest sign of conflict. Derrick couldn't find a less-intimidating pose other than laying down on the bed if he tried. He sat in a chair, faced them directly, and cleared the air. He didn't raise his voice, the only noticeable change to his demeanor was that he talked faster so that he could control the flow of the conversation to benefit him in the game.

This meeting just saved Derrick's game. He is truly a master. Edit: Saying Derrick didn't handle this professionally would be a load of crap, both against him and against police at large. He didn't even raise his voice. Zach, on the other hand, showed exactly what it is to be verbally hostile towards both men and women.

Because he is only 1 of 4 remaining options to go on the block, and this little Zach/Victoria episode happened after Christine approached Nicole to resurrect their alliance (for this week, anyway). Christine wouldn't put Cody up anyway so now it's essentially between Victoria or Derrick on who would be the replacement. Vic went to Nicole, who had already been told by Donny about some of Derrick's deals earlier in the day, and then it could conceivably be at least 3 people going to HOH and telling Christine about all of Derrick's additional allies. Christine could then build even MORE trust with Victoria by keeping her off the block for the second time in the same week and instead put up Derrick, who is by far and away the biggest threat in the game, and then Derrick would be one vote away from going home. At one point he was in serious risk of going home. However Zach did some damage control with Victoria and told him if nothing else she needs to pretend that nothing's wrong between her and Derrick, and that will likely keep Derrick from even being considered and Christine will just stick with Victoria as originally planned.