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Rachel Swindler: the Long Con?

Halting Hex

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

(edited)

Coming up on her 30th birthday (on Sunday), Rachel seems poised to go deep into this game, being well-liked and well-protected in a majority alliance.  Her showing in the Veto was perhaps as good as it could be; creditable enough to earn respect without her being feared as a "threat". 

And, when you look at episode 20.06 again, you can tell that she knew she wasn't the Top-Trending Houseguest, her Sally Field "You like me!" parody-DRs aside.   First of all, if she thought she was going to get significant camera time, she wouldn't have dragged that granny blanket with her into the App Store.  And secondly, when the voice goes "Sorry…", she perks up, perhaps expecting that BB is about to tell her that "Access Granted" was a glitch and they're going to have to do a re-take; it's only when the voice continues with "you are the LEAST-trending Houseguest" that Rachel goes into actual shock.

Still, the punishment wasn't too bad (better this than enough ham to choke a horse) and the major damage seems to be that Rachel feels rejected by "America", not understanding that it's mostly a case of the invisibles that was responsible for her plight.  But, as noted under the spoiler cut in that episode thread, Rachel is apparently feeling anxious about her public perception because 

Spoiler

she and Angela got a talking-to from the DR because of the conversation they had about how their tans compared to Bayleigh's natural "ethnicity".

At the time, I doubted that was malicious, and I still don't think so, but my eyebrows were raised after viewing the Saturday night Big Brother After Dark, where Bayleigh told Rockstar that 

Spoiler

Rachel is bisexual, but is uncomfortable with her family knowing about it.  (Perhaps you shouldn't be discussing this on national TV, then, Bayleigh?  Just a thought.)  Apparently, Rachel's from South Carolina and her family is very conservative.  Additionally, Rachel appears to be attracted to Kaycee, but Kaycee has only ever had relationships with black women and thus is more into Bayleigh.  (Bayleigh describes her sexuality as "somewhere in the middle", but seems far more interested in Chris.)

Allegedly, Rachel told Bayleigh (wrt to Kaycee) "stay away from my wife" and was almost semi-serious about that.  She was even jealous when people were discussing how delightful Jess's hugs were.

Apparently, pre-feeds Kaycee/Bayleigh/Haleigh all did some light-hearted girl/girl kissing, but Rachel abstained.  Whether this was because of her fear of her family somehow finding out or her being unable to be casual where Actual Feelings are involved, this I don't know.  Meantime, Rachel periodically hovers around Brett, trying to keep her "straight" face up, but nothing is happening.  This is partially because Brett is convinced that any showmance would kill his ability to help his game by flirting with all the girls in the house, but also because Rachel seems reluctant to take any substantial steps, herself.  Some commenters on other boards are actually convinced that Rachel's 100% lesbian, and just in denial about it, even to herself.

So I don't know if Rachel actually has a streak of enmity towards Bayleigh, but I suppose that's a possibility I have to at least consider.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, it turns out that 

Spoiler

Sam also has a lesbian past, as she admitted in a conversation with JC.  (Adorably, she tried to keep it from going on the aired shows by holding up her middle fingers in front of her face, but there are live feeds, Sam.  Plus, if need be, they'd just blur your fingers.)  She doesn't consider it a "relationship" (and she has had "boyfriends"…although she did also talk about "this love" from her past, avoiding gendered pronouns), but she did say her reaction was along the lines of "this feels really good.  We should do this again.  A lot."  And apparently, they did.

Well, she is a welder named "Sam", after all.  And it's not as if Rosie the Riveter was a heterosexual icon, you know.

All of that aside, I've enjoyed seeing Rachel and Sam being friendly, going back to her providing Sam-Bot with assistance in the house.  I'd say she was almost being maternal, but she's only 29 to Sam's 27.  And, as noted, her neuroses make her seem even younger than that.

I'm there for her, though.  Wherever her journey takes her.

In non-spoilery factoids, Rachel is the other Houseguest (besides Faisal) who was a finalist for BB19, and she knows BB17's Jackie Ibarra.  No news on whether she also punched Jeff in the face, though.

Edited by Halting Hex
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Rough Draft

Rough Draft

Rumors and gossip aside, I find Rachel to be one of the more endearing players this season, much to my surprise (I am not at all fond of the last Rachel from Las Vegas on Big Brother).

She was very kind to Sam during the robot phase, she didn't flinch about shaving JC's back (yikes!), and she just seems to be pretty affable and self-effacing in general. I really felt sorry for her getting the crap app last week.

She's not the most dynamic player around, but the season is still young. 

Also, it doesn't hurt that she's extremely attractive.

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Wings

Wings

3 hours ago, Nashville said:

Much to my surprise, I find myself liking Rachel - all the more so because I really really did NOT like her pregame press and game intro.

Same here.  After watching her and now reading this thread, I am a fan. 

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

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A micro-spoiler from BBAD that pertains (obliquely) to what's being discussed under the cut upthread:

Spoiler

Rachel was raised Baptist, and still attends church regularly, albeit in non-denominational Contemporary Christian church.  So that may indeed influence whatever sexuality issues she might be having.

In episode news, Rachel's been wearing a lovely collection of gowns, and looking good in the competitions; three second-place finishes in a row.  Which, of course, is only putting a bigger target on her back, unfortunately.

Given that next week is likely to be the semi-traditional Week 4 endurance comp (although some seasons it's Week 5, or even Week 6), Rachel stands a good chance of winning that one.  And, given that the Foutté scum would probably send her home over either Winston or Angela, she'd better.  Since even if Level 6 5 or an ally like JC or Sam were to win HoH, fucking Bayleigh will just steal it and throw her on the block, most likely.  So Rachel has to win HoH to be safe.

And then, hopefully, the Veto gets played and Bayleigh can get backdoored out of the House right after she's been bragging in the DR about her "big move".  But that's most likely me dreaming, I know.

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

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(edited)

Ah, well.  So it goes.

(Rachel Reilly was also 5th-out in her first season.  The difference being that she made Jury.  And met Brendon, which didn't hurt, either.)

Anyway, here's how I hope My Girl (BB20 edition) is now able to cope with her "friend", Lampgela. 

As somebody on the board where I found this "jif" pointed out, way for Ang to burn the surest Jury vote she had.  Maybe Fessy's been giving her tips on strategy?

ETA:  Rachel's ET interview.

Not a big fan of Angela right now, to nobody's surprise.

ETAA:

TV Guide exit interview (No, Rachel, you can't trust Tyler and Angela just because they're from South Carolina!)

Parade magazine interview, with Rachel talking about the assurances Bayleigh gave her and why she felt Scottie was dangerous to her game.

Edited by Halting Hex
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Nashville

Nashville

4 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

As somebody on the board where I found this "jif" pointed out, way for Ang to burn the surest Jury vote she had.  

Errr, Rachel didn’t make Jury - she was the last pre-Jury evictee.

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

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2 hours ago, Nashville said:

Errr, Rachel didn’t make Jury - she was the last pre-Jury evictee.

Yes, because Angela voted to evict her.  Had she made the decision to keep Rachel (and cut her later), Rachel would have been a sure vote for Angela in the end, and probably an advocate for her with the rest of the Jury.  Now Angela can only hope that Brett would do the same, and his loyalty is more likely to be to Tyler than to her.

Jury management is about more than just the good-bye messages; it's also about deciding whom you want in Jury in the first place.  Indeed, had Level 6, er 5, er 4 (3?) listened to Rachel in Week 4 and kept Kaitlyn, Bayleigh might well have gone after Chakra Con this past week and the whole issue would have been as irrelevant as Angela seemed to be for the first 40 days or so.

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green

green

8 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

Yes, because Angela voted to evict her.  Had she made the decision to keep Rachel (and cut her later), Rachel would have been a sure vote for Angela in the end, and probably an advocate for her with the rest of the Jury.  Now Angela can only hope that Brett would do the same, and his loyalty is more likely to be to Tyler than to her.

Jury management is about more than just the good-bye messages; it's also about deciding whom you want in Jury in the first place.  Indeed, had Level 6, er 5, er 4 (3?) listened to Rachel in Week 4 and kept Kaitlyn, Bayleigh might well have gone after Chakra Con this past week and the whole issue would have been as irrelevant as Angela seemed to be for the first 40 days or so.

No need to manage jury votes if you can't get to the final two.  Brett gives Angela a far better chance to survive in the game and maybe get to a final two as both a competitor (he sucks less than Rachel in most competitions though they are both bad) and especially as a meatshield.  He can also keep his damn mouth shut. 

Rachel was a total 100% liability by the time she was voted out.  She was spilling beans right and left and was actually believing Bay and starting to become loyal to her.  She really REALLY needed to go for Angela's side.

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Nashville

Nashville

41 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

Yes, because Angela voted to evict her.  Had she made the decision to keep Rachel (and cut her later), Rachel would have been a sure vote for Angela in the end, and probably an advocate for her with the rest of the Jury. 

I... doubt that.  Rachel considered Angela her ride-or-die - a regard not reciprocated by Angela - in which case I don’t see ANY scenario with Angela in F2 and Rachel on Jury which doesn’t involve Rachel being one extremely pissed-off-at-Angela Juror.

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

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14 minutes ago, Nashville said:

 I don’t see ANY scenario with Angela in F2 and Rachel on Jury which doesn’t involve Rachel being one extremely pissed-off-at-Angela Juror.

Well, the ones where it isn't Angela who's responsible for Rachel's eviction spring to mind, quite quickly.  There is an entire other side of the house to do Regina Bore-ge's dirty work for her, you know.

And even if Angela herself has to be the one to let Rachel go, there is such a thing as giving her a heads-up and a nice goodbye message.  That sort of thing can go a long way.  I mean, Paul got Alex's vote last year, ffs.

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Nashville

Nashville

19 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

Well, the ones where it isn't Angela who's responsible for Rachel's eviction spring to mind, quite quickly.  There is an entire other side of the house to do Regina Bore-ge's dirty work for her, you know.

Uh, yeah - and S6 S5 S4 has done such an absolutely stellar job of driving the Votes this season, it would be totally believable....  :)

My point being, Rachel knows - even if L6 L5 hasn’t controlled every set of noms this season, they have controlled every vote outcome this season.  So Rachel is going to feel betrayed by any vote which results in her eviction - by L5 L4 in general, and Rachel (Rachel’s perceived ride-or-die) in particular.

 

19 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

And even if Angela herself has to be the one to let Rachel go, there is such a thing as giving her a heads-up and a nice goodbye message.  That sort of thing can go a long way. 

No disagreement there.

 

19 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

I mean, Paul got Alex's vote last year, ffs.

Bad example - Alex was a total moron.  :>

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

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4 minutes ago, Nashville said:

So Rachel is going to feel betrayed by any vote which results in her eviction - by L5 L4 in general, and Rachel (Rachel’s perceived ride-or-die) in particular.

But the general isn't the specific.  Say that Brett the Meatshield had gone and Foutté's next swing at L4 was putting Rachel and Kaycee on the block, and they wanted Rachel out because she keeps coming close in comps but Kaycee is a bad joke.  And Tyler voted to save his puppy and Sam obeyed her Master and JC wasn't going to stick his neck out for Rachel.  Sucks to be Rachel, then, but Angela could easily avoid getting the dreaded "blood on her hands", even if she didn't throw Rachel a sympathy vote.

I can construct many a scenario where Angela has damaged her end game by not keeping her strongest advocate for just one more week.  But instead she saved Tyler's #1.  Those must be some back massages Brett's giving.  Showmances are over-rated, apparently.

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Nashville

Nashville

23 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

But the general isn't the specific.  Say that Brett the Meatshield had gone and Foutté's next swing at L4 was putting Rachel and Kaycee on the block, and they wanted Rachel out because she keeps coming close in comps but Kaycee is a bad joke.  And Tyler voted to save his puppy and Sam obeyed her Master and JC wasn't going to stick his neck out for Rachel.  Sucks to be Rachel, then, but Angela could easily avoid getting the dreaded "blood on her hands", even if she didn't throw Rachel a sympathy vote.

I can construct many a scenario where Angela has damaged her end game by not keeping her strongest advocate for just one more week.  But instead she saved Tyler's #1.  Those must be some back massages Brett's giving.  Showmances are over-rated, apparently.

Best argument I could make against that is Rachel’s own reaction at being evicted; she was livid at Lwtf - and (IIRC) Angela in particular, for not giving Rachel a heads-up prior to the Vote.  And while I would not expect Rachel to view this with any manner of objectivity, the plain truth is nobody in L? could realistically give Rachel advance notice, due to her chronic case of oral diarrhea.

But I think the meat is off the bones on this particular dead horse.  Suffice it to say our opinions differ on the subject.  :)

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green

green

(edited)
7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

And even if Angela herself has to be the one to let Rachel go, there is such a thing as giving her a heads-up and a nice goodbye message.  That sort of thing can go a long way.  I mean, Paul got Alex's vote last year, ffs.

OT:  Someone posted a link to a YouTube highlight in the live discussion thread the other day of Julie pulling the keys for the final vote in BB19.   Many of us watched it several times over to enjoy the look on Paul's face when he lost.   So while I wouldn't remember normally I can definitely say in this case that Alex voted for Josh.  As did Jason, Mark, Elena and Cody.

If you want to avoid the live feeds thread but still want to enjoy that moment again -- and a beautiful moment it is -- here is the link for your viewing pleasure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB75oR7DJ8k

Edited by green
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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

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Whoops! My bad!  Okay, substitute Matt and Kevin as the Happy Paulettes who stayed loyal to the boss.  (Raven was blindsided and didn't take it well, but ended up voting for him, anyhow, as did St. Patrick's Day, who was cut at the very end, without prep time.)  The point still holds, I'd argue.

(Which doesn't make my screw-up any less screwy, though.  Thanks for catching that.)

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GeorgiaRai

GeorgiaRai

Generally speaking, do evictees post spoilers on Twitter?  I'd like to hear what Rachel has to say throughout the season, but I'm a "show only" watcher & don't want to be spoiled.  I typically unfollow every BB-related account during the season as that's the only way to not see spoilers on social media.

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mikewho

mikewho

(edited)

I thought Rachel was the most attractive girl in the house. Ok, hot. I also thought she was the most 'real' girl there. Her feelings during her whole eviction  interview and 'What's WRONG with Angela?' were so genuine. I wish she'd made jury. But she was not made for this game.

Edited by mikewho
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Skyfall

Skyfall

5 hours ago, mikewho said:

I thought Rachel was the most attractive girl in the house. Ok, hot. I also thought she was the most 'real' girl there. Her feelings during her whole eviction  interview and 'What's WRONG with Angela?' were so genuine. I wish she'd made jury. But she was not made for this game.

Haleigh is more my speed looks wise, Angela if I’m feeling more submissive and need a cold hearted bitch ? Personailty wise, is none of them an option?

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Nashville

Nashville

IMHO All the ladies in the House were attractive in their own way - and yes, that includes Sam and even (god help me) Pinky on a good day - but personally, I found Rachel’s personality to be one of most appealing.  Hot girls are a dime a dozen, but hot girls who are unabashed dorks are, like, ULTRAhot.  ;)

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Halting Hex

Halting Hex

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Rachel supporting Winston on Love Island: 

I like how she knows the exact distance from LA to (I presume) his place in Kentucky.  I'm guessing this is a gentle reminder of how little she was interested in moving Bluegrass-wards to play dog-mama to Dixie, per a discussion they once had?  "Dude, I'm from South Carolina.  I'm not doing Kentucky, too."

(Disclaimer:  Remember, I moved to South Carolina last year.  I love it here.  But I am not Rachel, obviously.)

She's also apparently doing something show-related for AfterBuzz, but her Twitter is spoilerific (she's a Feedster), so I just went hunting the Winston tweet and zipped past.  I did catch where she said she'd been a fan of the show for 20 years, so all the way back to S1, in other words.  Aww.

Can we have her back, please?  If it's too late to insert her into this season, then she can keep Kat company in the January edition, okay? Aw, c'mon!

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Nashville

Nashville

3 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

I like how she knows the exact distance from LA to (I presume) his place in Kentucky.

An excellent demonstration of my total and unwavering uncoolness; when I first read this, my immediate reaction was “Wtf is @Halting Hex talking about - pretty much anywhere in Kentucky to anywhere in Louisiana is going to be under a thousand miles, easy....”

But a Southern boy will survive. 😉

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Nashville

Nashville

2 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

You should have been Boogie and Krista's match-maker, Nashville!

"Whah, ahve coahse Ah'd love to live in LA with you, Mike!  Y'all's gonna LOVE Opelousas!"

“Opelousas?  Aw HELL no; no one wants to put up with all that big-city hustle and bustle.  But tell you what - a nice place outside Cow Island...?  NOW you’re talking!” 😉 

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