S17.E18: Episode 18

[Tara Ariano]

Nominations for eviction are revealed.

[Ananayel]

Shelli's trembling voice of indignation gives me LIFE!

[Callaphera]

Clay and Shelli are nauseating. 

 

Finally, an HoH who isn't afraid of "blood on their hands". 

[Ceeg]

Shelli and Clay's inability to take any responsibility for being behind the Backdoor Jason Plan and also voting him out is mind boggling. And then, to take offense when James lies to them, after lying to everyone in the house for weeks. I don't even dislike Clay and Shelli (or, I didn't prior to this week), I just always hate when people in the house have such a sense of entitlement, and then get pissed when others do to them exactly what they've been doing to everyone else.

[iEatPrayLoveLife]

First time posting to say...Hands down, the best outcome of HOH and Nominations that could have ever happened this season!  I love how Shelli and Clay were shocked, i mean SHOCKED that anyone would ever go after them...i love how Shelli tried to call out James in front of the house and refute his logic for putting them up.  Maybe it was not the best idea to CHOOSE to drop out of the HOH comp for her at this point to not "get more blood on my hands," whereas James has no problem doing so and putting them up.  But Becky was so dumb in telling them about it all...I really want her to get a clue and notice how they did not say her name when Shelli made the deal.   Come on, JMac was mentioned before Becky and Vanessa! So great!
Also, Clay's mumbling montage was pure gold!  
Best scenario would be JMac winning the veto and and then NOT using it and say, "Well, you DID ask me not to use the last time i won it." 

Edited August 3, 2015 by iEatPrayLoveLife

[Snaporaz]

Becky tried to "steer steer steer" James towards another target? I just saw her sitting there saying nothing.

[mojoween]

I, too, am a furless bat.

I don't really hate anyone, but I did get the giggles at the last shot of Shelli and Clay, deposed from their throne, despondent in bed. Waah, someone else is playing the game! How DARE they.

I sort of get Shelli's logic, in that she was trying for prolonged safety, but seriously. The way to ensure your and Clay's safety right now is to win HOH, idjit. Nothing is guaranteed unless you're making the decisions.

If we had anything to do with the early retirement of BOTB I would like to take this moment to implore TPTB to please please please bring back the wheel of keys.

And I do think it was unplanned that BOTB ended because my newspaper today said in the episode synopsis that there would be two HOH's crowned and BOTB would happen.

[PaperTree]

Vanessa can be such a whiner.  You're the one who put Jason up.  Live with it.

 

Austin is so gross.  Yes, kiss that kiss goodbye.  lol

 

James was in the military??  I didn't think he was tall enough.  Good psych-out on Clay. 

 

No, don't deal with Shelli!  She's "evil personified"  as Jason would say.

 

HaHa.   "You can bounce checks up in this house!"  Too funny.  No intention of him keeping that deal.

 

Good competition,  I'm so happy BotB and it's shenanigans are gone.

 

This is fun watching the 6th Sense squirm.

 

Becky, don't be a rat.  That will bite you in the butt!  I don't understand why she is jumping on a sinking ship.

 

Nice edit job showcasing Clay's intellectual awesomeness.

 

Excellent episode.  The backstabbbing is why I watch this show. I was afraid we were on our way to another Pagonging season.

 

I loved the "Mack Truck" sound effect with James' statement.

 

Cry me a river Shelli.  You brought this on yourself.  I think James would have outlasted her even without the deal.  He seemed very determined and focused.

Edited August 3, 2015 by PaperTree

[Wandering Snark]

Classic. I would have simply said once Shelly started going off "Oh yeah I forgot we made a deal! Oh well what's done is done." Heh.

 

Best use of subtitles since Wierd Al's Nirvana parody. Clay really is the kind of the mumblers.

 

Did everyone else catch that Liz said she'd give Austin a kiss and he had already turned it into her saying she'd give him "A passionate kiss"? Dude's brain is not right when it comes to Liz. I also loved how Julia wouldn't let him off the hook for selling her out.

[QuePasa]

I love how Shelli thought calling James out would hurt him. Half the house (or more) is totally cool with what he did. So she just further made herself look bad.

I really hate players who can dish it out but act all indignant when others dare to play the game too.

I also didn't get why Shelli seemed to imply to James that Austin should be the target because he dared try to save himself when he realized he was a target. I can't stand Austin but come on.

Edited August 3, 2015 by QuePasa

[Katesus7]

I'll try to make this post coherent, but I played the "blood on my hands" drinking game and am pretty drunk right now.

First off, dear Grodner: watching a competition where one person wins it all is a thousand times more interesting than watching a competition where no one really knows who is supposed to win and who is supposed to throw it. Watching nominations which actually matter is a thousand times more interesting than watching two people come up with four other people who will be happy to throw BOB or will be pawns. I mean, it's not even close. Tonight was all the good things.

Shelli and Clay could not have handled that nomination ceremony worse. Bringing up that James made a deal in front of the whole house (which, by the way, was stupid, because of COURSE Vanessa was going to be pissed) that would have been fine, but they just had to go full out "we had nothing to do with Jason going home". That's just stupid on two fronts. First, they had the votes to keep him! That is all on those two! And second, if they had nothing to do with Jason being put up, that means they were fine with Austin being backdoored. So good job, folks, you have Austin, Liz and Julia (obviously relunctantly) knowing you don't have their back.

I mean, I'm trying to think of a way they could have handled that worse, but I'm coming up empty. But to be fair, I AM drunk. Stupid blood on my hands.

[Artsda]

Shelli and Clay have some nerve behaving like that at the nomination ceremony, they're going to act like they're moral high ground players who never lie or go against their word? Yeah right. 

[Eolivet]

After a year of Derrick's Zombies, I'm thrilled to actually see factions in the house. Actual people on opposite sides who realize this isn't all one big happy family when there's money at stake.

 

Though I also enjoyed Julia saying she wouldn't trust Austin with a 10-foot pole.

[Jesse]

YES. I feel like it' s been years since there was someone actively, publicly, going against the main faction of the house. 

 

I basically respect Shelli for running the house and pretending she isn't, but saying she ("they") had nothing do with Jason's eviction? Such bullshit. I wonder if Vanessa and the twins could get anything going? 

[North of Eden]

Well, it took the entire month of July for a much welcome power shift but it was worth the wait.

 

James is my favorite player this season and I was happy to see him dispense with the usual pawns BS and go in for the kill. With that said though I think he's doomed his game. Whoever survives these noms are going to be gunning for him next week when he can't be HOH...but the good news at least he will make the jury house and not have the ignomy of having to watch the game from home for the rest of the summer.

 

Austin truly is  creep isn't he...the way he was taking advantage of Liz being cold to rub her down. He's just kind of vile really. I 'm glad that Julia has his number.

 

Meanwhile when I saw Becky up with the Three Amigos I had a gut instinct not to trust her...to me she looked like she didn't belong there and sure enough.

 

Becky is a no good rat AND the snake...who reeks of being the ultimate floater of the season.

Edited August 3, 2015 by North of Eden

[Turtle]

Do you guys remember how ridiculous we thought James was way back in week 1 when he said that he doesn't mind getting blood on his hands, and instead will just rub it on his face? Well, aren't we the ridiculous ones now! He was not kidding around. Out of all the HGs, James has grown on me the most and has surprised me the most with his gameplay.

The Mumbling Clay montage nearly killed me. Absolutely hilarious fake captions. Well played, BB, well played.

I don't mind Shelli or Clay, or even them as a couple, but it is fun to watch power swaps and betrayals and whatnot. I was worried we were about to see another season of a big alliance running the house with no "surprises" until F7 or whatever.

[Cherry Cola]

Good show!! Loving James having the balls to put up the 2 that annoy me most. Shelli drives me crazy. Waaah, someone put me up for eviction, on a game show, how DARE they!

We laughed pretty hard at Clay's mumble montage and Julia not trusting Austin with a 10 foot pole.

Not enough J Mac today though!

[Donny Ketchum]

Becky tried to "steer steer steer" James towards another target? I just saw her sitting there saying nothing.

She did.  You'd have to have been a feed watcher to have seen it.  She tried to lead them toward Austin, Liz, Julia, or Steve, but James refused.

[Primetimer]

People who have gotten used to running the house do not take kindly to being deposed.

Read the story

[aurora296]

I guess it's true about women being attracted to men with confidence. Picturing a short, Asian country boy dipping his hands in blood and smearing war stripes on the sides of his face made my cold dead heart all aflutter.

 

Shut up Austin...and Becky too.

Loving Julia making Austin squirm.  

Edited August 3, 2015 by aurora296

[Ivana Tinkle]

I don't think I have ever laughed so hard at BB as I did during Clay's mumbling segment.  I wish I could remember the nonsensical things they were having him say, but it just reminded me of the Bad Lip Reading videos, specifically the NFL one.  And in case you didn't know, Clay played football for Texas A&M.

 

And it's nice to finally have someone who's not afraid to make big moves.  When the hell did "blood on my hands" become a thing?  What season did this shit start?  I remember when Big Brother was all about getting out the big players and jury members actually respecting people who truly played the game.  

[jumper sage]

I love how Shelli and Clay were shocked, i mean SHOCKED that anyone would ever go after them...i love how Shelli tried to call out James in front of the house and refute his logic for putting them up.

So she plans on going out like a dick then?

 

Do you guys remember how ridiculous we thought James was way back in week 1 when he said that he doesn't mind getting blood on his hands, and instead will just rub it on his face? Well, aren't we the ridiculous ones now! He was not kidding around. Out of all the HGs, James has grown on me the most and has surprised me the most with his gameplay.

 

I know, right?

 

Best episode yet.

[ByaNose]

James scaring Steve was hysterical. I amuse easily. I wasn't aware of the Clay mumble. Had the other house guest mention it before?

[AndreaK1041]

My favorite part of the Clay mumble was the DR where he was trying to form coherent words into a sentence. He's so incredibly dumb.

[ByaNose]

And, here I thought the DR wrote the script for them. Apparently, Clay has dispelled that theory for me. LOL!!! He's pretty & apprently pretty dumb.

[DAngelus]

Well, I'm ecstatic for several reasons, one of which I'm keeping secret for a moment, but I was so damn annoyed by the result of the HoH.  That "Over the Ledge" wall competition never shakes out right for me, not even when the numbers are all in my favor.  I'm still upset by the thought of poor Michelle Costa cringing in her bed after the original one of these, back in S10 (the comp where Dan gave the "inspirational speeches"), her hands so bruised and cramped she couldn't even move them, and April then going out and screwing up the deal she'd given, and unintentionally getting Jessie evicted.  (Yes, we got the joy that was Keisha's birthday party before that, but that whole week between "I promise you're safe" and "Dis is fuh YEW, Jessie!" still irritates me.)

 

And here we had a competition that usually favors athletic women, and I'm feeling good about my twins (yes, Austin, they're my twins! Get used to it, bro!) or Shelli or even Becky as HoH…and the little redneck goes and wins.  Ugh.

 

But then…

 

I sort of get Shelli's logic, in that she was trying for prolonged safety, but seriously. The way to ensure your and Clay's safety right now is to win HOH, idjit. Nothing is guaranteed unless you're making the decisions.

If we had anything to do with the early retirement of BOTB I would like to take this moment to implore TPTB to please please please bring back the wheel of keys.

 

Yeah, there's a time for floating, and there's a time for action.  (The classic example is Adam stepping up and winning the F8 and F6 HoHs in BB9.)  The other side is pissed off, they're down in numbers, finish them off and worry about being "a target" later.  (And all she'd be doing, anyway, would be tying Vanessa and John for comp wins, one up on Steve and Liz.  Don't give yourself airs, Shell.)

 

ETA:  I forgot that Becky also has two comp wins.  Poor Becky.  Sorry!

 

Also, this is probably the final week before Jury.  Getting rid of people not in your alliance is even more important now.  Instead she tanks it, and she absolutely should have known that "save me and Clay, screw the rest of my alliance!" is terrible going forward, especially since Austin and (probably) the twins know that Shelli had already acquiesced to their elimination last week.  This was really the time to not be selfish and stand up for your side, and Shelli…didn't.  Very bad move, the immediate consequences aside.

 

And, yes, please, please, please, give us back the Wheel of Keys.  This week would have been perfect for it, given that there were at least six people (really seven, counting Steve) who had to worry about getting nominated; the mounting tension as the keys came out would have been excellent. (Vanessa, pulling the final key, with a bit of surprise in her voice: "Austin, you are safe.")  I know the Bluetooth is pretty (and pretty pricey, I'm sure) but you can always flash the pictures after the nominee reveal, just as you do now.

 

Did everyone else catch that Liz said she'd give Austin a kiss and he had already turned it into her saying she'd give him "A passionate kiss"? 

 

Yep.  Give him another day and he'd have convinced himself she'd offered her hand in matrimony and he'd be in the HoH suite, planning the wedding.

 

I also didn't get why Shelli seemed to imply to James that Austin should be the target because he dared try to save himself when he realized he was a target. I can't stand Austin but come on.

 

Yeah, is "Austin tried to save himself from being backdoored!" really your go-to argument here?  Sheesh.

 

Shelli and Clay could not have handled that nomination ceremony worse. Bringing up that James made a deal in front of the whole house (which, by the way, was stupid, because of COURSE Vanessa was going to be pissed) that would have been fine, but they just had to go full out "we had nothing to do with Jason going home". That's just stupid on two fronts. First, they had the votes to keep him! That is all on those two! And second, if they had nothing to do with Jason being put up, that means they were fine with Austin being backdoored. So good job, folks, you have Austin, Liz and Julia (obviously relunctantly) knowing you don't have their back.

 

Aside from that, Clelli's "why are you blaming us? It was Vanessa!" protest neatly kills the chance of Vanessa winning the Veto, taking one of them down, and using her puppetmaster skills to convince James to put up a replacement nominee that Sixth Sense would have the votes to evict.  Just foolish.  Before this, there was a chance that Sixth Sense might break 3-3 (Austin/Twins v. Vanessa and "your favorites", as the happy couple described themselves to V last week); now it seems clear to end up with Vanessa more closely aligned with Austin/Liz/Julia and Clay and Shelli out on their own.  Couldn't have happened to nicer sell-outs.

 

And I say "sell-outs" because not only did Shelli sell out the rest of her alliance for that "deal", but she and Clay didn't even try to deflect James onto any non-Sixth Sense targets.  I mean, what's wrong with Steve as a target?  (I like him, but he's not in an alliance with C/S.)  They could have been all "I know you're not afraid to get blood on your hands, but you're right that we were in an alliance, and it's a pretty big alliance.  Are you sure it's worth it to get, say, Austin out and have a lot of people coming after you, where you could get Steve out and have pretty much nobody coming after you?" and so on, and mentioned how Steve reminds them of Ian and perhaps it's better to get rid of him before we get to double evictions and the questions comps that are necessary for those to go quickly.  Hell, they could have said Steve wasn't going to be much fun in the Jury House.  Just try something.  (And I say this even though I like Steve more than Clay or Shelli; I'm just annoyed they wouldn't make the effort to at least try and protect their supposed allies.)

 

Heck, it's probably not a bad idea to plant seeds against Becky;  "she's athletic, you're not really that close to her (James was close with Jeff and now through Jeff, Jackie, and Jackie has been getting close with Becky, but that's still a number of degrees removed), and you did try to get her evicted last week…are you sure she's not holding a grudge?" And if he's wavering, tell him just exactly how you found out that he was thinking of breaking your deal, which rat came running downstairs and squeaked.  See how he likes that.

 

But no, Clay and Shelli were "we don't care, as long as it isn't us."  So now it is them.  And I like James even better for the poetic justice than for quoting Mike Boogie…and you can get pretty far with me if you quote Boogie.  (I'm not even lying about that; BBCan1's Alec used "Daddy's home!" on his entrance to that House and I ended up buying two of the custom tee-shirts he sells on Zazzle.)  So go, James, at least this week.

Edited August 3, 2015 by DAngelus

[Kromm]

Nice change to the credits. It made sense it would happen too--so honestly I was fully expecting it. The way I pictured it is actually almost exactly how they did it too.

[RedheadZombie]

I came across a youtube video of Steve's "One man choir".  I haven't seen it in the threads here, so I'll post the link.  I would put it in Steve's thread, but he doesn't seem to have one.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WAsFS647nQ

[Nashville]

I came across a youtube video of Steve's "One man choir".  I haven't seen it in the threads here, so I'll post the link.  I would put it in Steve's thread, but he doesn't seem to have one.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WAsFS647nQ

 

That was actually kind of awesome.  And not just because I love ELO.

[DAngelus]

James is going to trust the deal he has with Vanessa, because she gave him her word, yet his own word doesn't mean jack shit.  He just doesn't get it.

 

JAMES (in a DR):  Vanessa has never lied to me.

VANESSA (to James last week, as seen in the previouslies): Here, I'm gonna shake your hand, like, swear.   You have my word, [backdooring Austin] is 100% the plan.

 

Hmm, maybe it isn't Clay we should be running those concussion protocols on, after all.

 

(And I love that Autocorrect wants to change "previouslies" into "previous lies".  Yeah, with this show, that's pretty much the case.)

[ghoulina]

Thank you sweet 8 lb 6 oz baby Jesus, James is in charge this week! Finally, someone who's not going to piss and moan about "blood on my hands" and actually do some work.

 

To be fair, I will concede that Clellie weren't really the masterminds behind Jason going home. That was all Liz and her protestations and Vanessa and her weak capitulation. At least from what I've seen on the show. It seems Shellie and Clay were merely consulted on keeping Austin and agreed, but they weren't leading the vanguard. Were they even in the room when the short lived "Dark Moon" was formed?

 

That being said - it still doesn't bother me that James went back on his word. This is BB. Lying and scheming kind of goes with the territory. It's just no one likes it when it happens to them. Really, it only bothers me if you do it to someone you're really close to and have been working with the entire time. And even then I'm okay with it if said person is royally screwing up - like Vanessa's plan to oust Austin that never came to fruition. Them's the breaks, kids. 

 

And let's be real, Clellie are dangerous. Shellie, at least, is good at comps and they've basically been running this show since week 2. Why not take part of a power couple out? It would be stupid not to! James just gives zero fucks and I love it. 

 

 

Austin continues to be creepy. Did you see the way he kept leaning over and lecherously grinning at Liz during the HOH comp, imagining their kiss, no doubt. While she was turned away in pain and not even paying attention? Ick. The ick factor is so high with that one. 

 

And I just love Julia coming straight into the house and calling him out. Liz seems to be taking his back more than her sister. This could get interesting. 

 

The best moment of the show was Clay's montage of mumbles. "I'm a furless bat"! Classic. 

[ladyrott]

Clay's montage of mumbles has become my favorite thing this season.  LordRott and I has to keep rewinding because we were laughing so hard.  "I'm a hairless bat" is my new goto phrase.  The best part was the looks on everyone else's face when he was talking to them....especially Shelli's.  Yeah, I imagine there is some stimulating conversation going on between those two!

 

LordRott and I talked out who we would put on the block if we were James.  He went with my original idea of Clelli but, in the end, I think I would have put up Vanessa and Shelli.  Clay is a moron.  If he gets voted out, all that is going to do is piss Shelli off to no end.  I don't see him as a serious a contender for winning this thing.  Vanessa and Shelli are (annoying but) smart.  Knocking either of them out would be beneficial.  I am hoping if either Clay or Shelli wins the POV, Vanessa will end up sitting next to whoever is left.  I liked James in episode 1 and he is cementing a place in my heart with his hunter attitude.  If he goes home, he goes home knowing he got a little payback for Jason.  If you have to go, it's good to go knowing you got a little revenge. 

 

I appreciated Julia telling Austin off a bit.  I like a straight shooter.  She doesn't trust Austin and isn't going to pretend she does.  Liz/Austin and the kiss was hysterical.  Passionate kiss, Austin?  Boy, he really hears what he wants to, doesn't he?  I would have loved to see him win and then catch his reaction when Liz pecked his cheek.  I can just imagine his saying how she was "bashful kissing" in front of everyone.  LOL

 

Did we know James was in he military?  I kind of love that because I know that means he has a bit of an advantage in these challenges.  Standing in rain and getting hit with mud and knocked in the stomach with a stuffed eagle?  Yeah, let me tell you about boot camp....  I have some serious James love going on.

Edited August 3, 2015 by ladyrott

[Kromm]

This had to be the worst episode in terms of game play that I have seen since I started watching Big Brother several years ago.

 

James' move was absolutely stupid.  He should have put up Liz and Austin.  James lost any credibility he had when he broke the deal he had with Shelli and Clay.  

How so?

 

I won't say this applies to everyone in any season, but in THIS particular case James would have gained little to nothing in keeping his word, and frankly probably lost very little in breaking it.

 

Why? Because these other players of the opposite alliance were NEVER going to stop targeting him anyway. Ever. And while there are a few fence sitters around who might be swayed by how likely someone is to keep his word, frankly very little of what any of them is doing makes sense anyway (what Steve and John think they are accomplishing in the game is a huge mystery--not that John isn't playing HARD in a sense, but he's not really playing all that SMART).

 

The people James needs to keep by his side, Jackie and Meg, were happy he did what he did. Becky I suppose is another sort-of-fence-sitter, but really when it comes down to it she seems to me that she's in Shelli's pocket half the time anyway, but when she's not she's the type just to automatically support whatever the HoH is doing.  And nothing James says or does is likely to really change that.

Clay's montage of mumbles has become my favorite thing this season.  

I was suggesting in another thread (link to thread with possible spoilers) even before I saw that that they need a "blood on my hands" montage.  And seeing how well the mumbling one worked, I now believe that even more.

[Wootini]

It took a while, but finally things got interesting. I'm not saying it's because they dispensed with the dual Hoh's and the BotB, but… well, it's an interesting coincidence things picked up after they went back to the original format, don't you think? ;)

 

I also have no problem with James going against his word and putting up Clay and Shelli. Mostly because I don't think James has the smarts to actually win the game, so if he wants to do this and then make himself the target, fine. I'm just thrilled that someone had the balls to actually nominate the power couple. No scheme, no backdoor, just here. I want one of you out, so you're both going up on the block. I mean, it's not like he didn't have a wealth of potential nominees. I was expecting him to put up Austin and one of the twins (probably Liz) and then if one got vetoed, throw up Clay or Shelli. But honestly, you really really need to split those two up. Preferably get rid of Shelli, because she's clearly the brains of the operation and the more dangerous player. Without her, Clay can float along a few more weeks because he'll be neutered.

 

Every season there seems to be that power couple who alternate between being in control as HoH or else being in control because they're manipulating the HoH. And when they finally get taken down, it's always a delight. I'm surprised it happened this soon, though. Usually people let those couples float all the way to the end before they try to split them up. I mean, come ON, people. The only alliance in that house stronger than Clay and Shelli is Liz and Julia because they're family. And twins. And watching Clay and Shelli lose their shit finding themselves put up on the block was heaven. So much fun.

 

It's also nice to see this Sixth Sense alliance crumbling already. I feel like usually that kind of bully alliance of pretty popular kids picks off all the others and lasts all the way to the end, so they don't turn on themselves until they're the only ones left in the house. But watching Vanessa start acting in her own selfish best interest and Julia not having ANY of Austin's crap is starting to show some cracks in their alliance. And can I just say how nice it is that Julia doesn't approve of Liz's interest in Austin? Or Austin's interest in Liz? Thank you. Dude, Caleb called to say you're creepy and gross.

 

Now the only question is will production let one of their power couple go home? Or will they rig a veto to make sure one of them can get themselves off the block and Austin or Liz can go up and be voted out in their place? (I'd like to think that even in that instance, the rest of the house -- including the other Sixth Sense members -- would still take the opportunity to boot either Shelli or Clay, given the chance to split that pairing up.)

[Kromm]

[snip] Shelli has clearly seemed to be the leader. Not that the others always do as she says, and not that she hasn't made mistakes herself, but Liz, Austin, Clay and Vanessa all seem fairly brainless or inconsistent next to her (can't say about Julia yet).

Edited August 3, 2015 by Stinger97
Tone.

[backformore]

[snip] Shelli has clearly seemed to be the leader. Not that the others always do as she says, and not that she hasn't made mistakes herself, but Liz, Austin, Clay and Vanessa all seem fairly brainless or inconsistent next to her (can't say about Julia yet).

I agree.  Shelli is the leader, others keep going back to her to try to get on her good side.   They run ideas by her, and always end up doing her bidding.  Shelli has been making all the decisions.  She's the head cheerleader, mean girl, whom everybody caters to because they're afraid of becoming her next victim.

 

James is being smart-  the power couple HAS to be broken up.  

[Ananayel]

Even though Shelli is the leader and the brains of the outfit, if she stays, she's not going to have much to lead. People are onto her. She could comp-beast her way for a bit, but she'd need to do a 180 on her game and, to a certain extent, her personality for a while. If Clay stays, even though he's dumb as a post, he'll have an easier time (assuming he doesn't do something idiotic like go around raging at people.) He won't have to reel in Meg and Becky - they'll fling themselves into the boat, and he could get JMac. Add in Grodner's well-documented habit of "making things easier" for her "alpha" male faves, and he could still get far. Me no likey.

[coxtradamus]

"Leader" may not exactly be the right word for Shelli. But she and clay are definitely the "face(s)" of the sixth sense alliance so to speak.

[iMonrey]

It bugs me that Vanessa keeps saying the plan to backdoor Jason was "what the house wanted" and nobody calls her on it (that we can see). Clearly not the whole house because four of them didn't even know about it. She's basically outing the fact that there's a majority alliance and trying to deflect the blame.

 

I'm sort of on the fence about James going back on his deal to keep Shelli and Clay safe until we see how it works out for him. The fact that Vanessa was sweating the endurance competition and hoping for anyone but James to win strongly suggests he would have been the main target had he not won so good on him making such a ballsy move.

 

Honestly I'd rather see Clay go home even if Shelli is more of a comp monster. The male model type always seems to make it all the way to the end because the rest of the house carries him there. All the guys seem to have man-crushes on them and all the women want them for themselves. They never have to do anything. And this particular bozo seems even more entitled than some of the other model types of the past. (Last season's Cody, for example, at least seemed like a nicer person.)

 

I honestly don't even see Shelli winning if she makes it to F2 but I could easily see Clay walking away with the whole thing.

[Kris117]

I came across a youtube video of Steve's "One man choir".  I haven't seen it in the threads here, so I'll post the link.  I would put it in Steve's thread, but he doesn't seem to have one.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WAsFS647nQ

That is amazing! Thanks for sharing it. It also inspired me to start a thread for him.

 

And can I just say how nice it is that Julia doesn't approve of Liz's interest in Austin? Or Austin's interest in Liz? Thank you. Dude, Caleb called to say you're creepy and gross.

Seriously. Those ooky touches under the guise of a "massage?" I shudder just remembering that. And Austin is such a terrible liar. He gets such a pronounced "deer in the headlights look" that I can't believe Liz didn't see it. Her only excuse is that she was sitting and Austin was standing, so his eyes were half a story above hers.

Dear Austin: "Kiss" is not the same as "passionate kiss."

Dear BB: please do not air any more of Austin's DR sessions unless you are doing so to expose his stupidity. See above for an example.

"Furless bat." Love it.

[ennui]

Did we know James was in he military?  I kind of love that because I know that means he has a bit of an advantage in these challenges.  Standing in rain and getting hit with mud and knocked in the stomach with a stuffed eagle?  Yeah, let me tell you about boot camp....  I have some serious James love going on.

His bio says he served for six years. He also grew up in a boys home until he was adopted. I have my fingers crossed that Shelli and Clay don't find a way to both stay in the house. I'd like to see Shelli evicted.

[Wootini]

I was also curious how they were going to add Julia to the credits, since they don't seem to be changing them every week after someone's evicted. Turns out they just added her to Liz's credit and had her pop out. Boo. 

 

Also, I feel like Julia has more of a personality than just "wiggle in a bikini" like Liz. In the beginning, I felt bad for Liz and Clay, who basically didn't pose with any kind of personality beyond "I'm pretty and showing a lot of skin because that's all I have to offer." But now that I've gotten to know them a little, I feel like everyone's opening credit pose is pretty accurate! :D

[DAngelus]

Dear Shelli,

 

If you're so concerned about being seen as the Queen of the House and a "target" that you (foolishly) threw the HoH, then perhaps when you go to check in with the new HoH, you might not want to get in his bed like you owned it:

 

 

 

I mean, it's not Amanda taking permanent residence in the HoH to embed McCrae's stench in the sheets, but it does come off as more than a bit entitled.  After all, of the two of you, it wasn't you whom James took on that Outback date.  (Hmmm, is James trying to evict Shelli so he could have Clay all to himself?  I say this mostly as a joke, but he wouldn't be the first closeted gay man to try and cover by talking about how much he looooves women all the time…)

 

On a different subject, Meg really annoyed me with her DRs this episode.  "I'm tired of losing my peeps"—"Peeps" is the name of a brand of candy, girl.  Stop saying it; it's not as cute as you think it is.  And "Every week, I either have to vote out my best friend…or my other best friend."  Wow, you have a lot of best friends!  Or rather, you have a poor understanding of what the comparative "best" means.  Like I said, annoying.

 

OTOH, though, she had the best (see, this is how you use that word) facial reactions in the "Marblemouth Clay" sequence, so overall I was entertained.  Just keep her out of the DR (it hasn't been so long since she was claiming NYC was a squirrel-free zone, after all) and I'm good.

[mostlylurking]

Once James said he had served in the military I too started thinking he has a good advantage in this game.  Standing on that wall must have been easy compared to boot camp and everything else the military entails.  Ditto for all the mental mind games that go on in the house.  I see nothing wrong with him going back on his word to Shelli.  This is BB!

 

Shelli and Clay reacted unsurprisingly to being nominated, but it was still funny.  I love when people manipulate others but then get all indignant when it happens to them.  I think their little speech hurt them more than nominating them hurt James.

 

I was cracking up at Clay's mumbling and also James scaring Steve.

 

Is Meg's red lipstick permanently tattooed on??  It looks good on her, but she's wearing it literally every time I've seen her on camera.

[PokerNerd]

You can tell Vanessa plays a lot of poker and Shelli does not by how differently they respond to other players' moves and strategies.

 

Shelli seems to think she should just cuddle up with her adorable boytoy all summer while one person per week leaves without complaint until they give her a big check when it's over. Anyone who has the audacity to advance his or her own interest is evil and personally attacking her. Very happy to see her squirm.

 

Vanessa is much more able to detach and treat Big Brother as a game. She devises a strategy and tries to work it to her advantage. At the same time she recognizes that other people will try to do the same thing. Her convo with James in the HOH room basically admits that James has the right to make the plays that he thinks will benefit him and treats him as an equal. Part of what you learn at poker is analyzing other players' strategies and adjusting to exploit the weaknesses. When things don't go her way, Vanessa may whine a bit, but she doesn't seem to take it personally. She acknowledges that her moves are risks and aren't guaranteed to work. She may whine a bit about having to face the consequences of her decisions and try to share blame to give her opponents other targets, but I get the feeling if Vanessa loses she will learn from it and move on.

 

Shelli seems more more likely to hold a mean girl grudge for a while. Personally if I got to take a summer off and cuddle with Clay I wouldn't be that bitter. Sure he's no genius but he sure is pretty. I think he played football once.

 

 

[Nashville]

Shelli seems more more likely to hold a mean girl grudge for a while. Personally if I got to take a summer off and cuddle with Clay I wouldn't be that bitter. Sure he's no genius but he sure is pretty. I think he played football once.

But that's exactly why Shellikins is throwing such a pooh-pooh pouty fit.

Thursday's eviction is (or should be) the last pre-Jury; all subsequent evictions will be sequestered in the Jury House.

If the current noms stand, Shellipoo and ThunBuns are guaranteed to be separated for the duration.

Sigh. This week is always such a stone cold bitch for TWUUU WUUUUV....

Edited August 3, 2015 by Nashville

[DAngelus]

EDITED:  once Nashville fixed his post, above, he covered my points, but in far-wittier fashion. So, having been outwittied, I delete.

Edited August 3, 2015 by DAngelus

[backformore]

I'm new to this show -  could someone give a quick explanation of what this "jury"  thing is?  

[Kromm]

I'm new to this show -  could someone give a quick explanation of what this "jury"  thing is?  

It's people who judge other people!

 

Hee.  Okay, that's a serious answer and a joke all in one.  Particularly here it's the people who are in the game later, who get evicted, but stay in a sequestered second house to award the prize for the show to one of the final two people left in the game at the end. Pretty much just like how Survivor does it.

[DAngelus]

The winner is decided by the votes of a certain number of previously-evicted houseguests; it was traditionally seven, but with the expanded casts of the past two seasons, it's become nine.  So if that holds, the evictee this week will not be part of the Jury, but the next nine evictees would vote on the final two at the live finale.

 

It used to be the evictees simply went home and came back to vote at the season's end; however in Season 3, one of the final two had been rather vicious in his/her (sure, let's keep it a spoiler…why not?) Diary Room sessions, contrary to their persona in the house, and with the evictees having the ability to watch the episodes, this influenced the vote.  (More specifically, it influenced one of evictees to lead a campaign against that particular finalist, which seemed an unfair result.)  So from Season 4 on, the evictees have been sequestered in a house, where they get books and music and limited communication with their loved ones, but are still cut off from most media and the outside world and are still filmed.  Each evicted houseguest brings with him or her a DVD of the past week's events to help the Jury know what's going on in the BB House, but the DVD is limited to competitions, ceremonies, and any other events at which the whole house was present, so that no HG gets an advantage with the Jury due to the editing of the CBS episodes.  This does allow the Jurors to skew the narrative they tell the other Jurors, though.  (The most egregious example of this was in the most recent BBCanada, where an evictee twisted events and made a previous evictee break down and cry;  as someone posted about this, "does he think he's going to be the last person in Jury? [The other evictees] will tell [name] the truth."  Which fortunately did happen.)

 

It should be noted that while this show has stayed pretty formfull as far as the Jury House (seven or nine voting on a Final Two), Survivor has used, in most of its recent seasons, a Final Three, with juries of varying sizes.  This has been a horrible idea for Survivor (the Final Three almost always includes a useless goat dragged along who doesn't get any votes), but it would be even worse for this show, where having the winner of the final HoH competition stand and face the other two and decide who joins him and her in the Final Two is one of the key moments of the season.  At least three final HoH winners have made the wrong decision (out of misperceived loyalty) and thrown $450,000 (the difference between first and second place) away, and in another case, the HG evicted in 3rd place later asked the finalist who didn't do the evicting if they would have made the same decision, and the lunkhead who got the question somehow didn't say "of course I would have taken you!  I don't know what this jerk was thinking!"…and lost the half-million by one vote.  So I sincerely hope the show stays with the current format. JMO.