There’s nothing like a little paranoia to shake up the game on Big Brother 15. Everyone has been operating under the (correct) assumption that Elissa will win the MVP every single week, but with the twist that America is voting for the third nominee, that plan goes out the window.
Not that these HGs need any help in the paranoia department, because they’ve already formed so many fake alliances that it’s almost impossible to follow anything that goes on. Also, as exciting as it is that things are being shaken up, the end result of this episode of Big Brother 15 is that the people who’ve been on the losing end of the game all season are STILL on the losing side, while the people who’ve controlled every eviction vote are still in control. Basically, the twist is a bunch of sound and fury, signifying nothing. At least for now.
Nomination Fallout
Aaryn cries about being called a “Texas tornado,” so Judd says she’s just a pawn and his plan is to backdoor someone. Elsewhere, Amanda tells Kaitlin she’s not the target and doesn’t need to worry (which may have been true when she said it, but definitely isn’t true now). Amanda is still riding the “Backdoor Howard” train.
MVP Madness
Elissa starts to get worried because she doesn’t get told she’s the MVP like she has every other week. She goes up to the HoH room with Amanda and Judd and starts giggling and looking shifty. Everyone is confused by how oddly she’s behaving and it makes them suspicious.
Elissa is also worried that if she doesn’t get MVP, she might be discarded because others are just using her. She should be worried about that, because it’s completely true, and Amanda even says as much in the diary room.
The Grasshoppers, a New Fake Alliance
Howard and Spencer talk about how the power seems to be in the hands of McCrae, Amanda, Elissa and Helen, so they want to form an outsiders’ alliance. They meet up with Kaitlin, GinaMarie and Judd and form a five-person alliance called the Grasshoppers. The problem is that only four of them are outsiders, because Judd is already in two alliances called the Goof Troop (with Andy, McCrae and Amanda) and the Knockouts (with those three plus Helen and Elissa), and he has a Final 2 deal with Jessie.
I realize CBS is trying to edit the episode to make it look as though Judd is actually considering teaming up with the Grasshoppers to flip the house, but he’s not. He’s just not at all. And the fact that the episodes have shown the creation of this fake alliance, but not the creation of the Goof Troop last week, is just absurd. If you only watch the episodes and don’t follow the live feeds, then you’ve never heard the words “Goof Troop,” which is crazy since they’re the ones running the entire game.
The MVP Nominee
Before America’s MVP nomination is revealed, Helen explains it to everyone, because she’s figured out exactly what it is and how it works. This is the fundamental problem of the season: the HGs are smarter than the producers. They’ve figured out how the twists work and how to use them to their advantage.
Elissa is the third nominee and everyone is kind of flabbergasted. Elissa is hurt that someone betrayed her. Ironically, those people are probably the many Brenchel Army members who accidentally voted FOR her without realizing the rules of the MVP vote had changed.
Elissa assumes Aaryn, Kaitlin or GinaMarie won the MVP and put her up. When GM tries to give Elissa a comforting hug, Elissa is offended and furious at GM for even daring to touch her. GM swears she’s not the MVP and Elissa has a freak-out about how she wants to leave because everyone hates her. Ugh, I hated this kind of crap when Rachel did it, and I hate it even more now.
Elsewhere, Aaryn and Amanda think maybe Elissa put herself up, and Kaitlin comes to the same conclusion. Self-nominating as the MVP would be an amazing strategic move, on par with Dan Gheesling’s funeral, but come on, people. Elissa is NOT on that level. This isn’t an act because she’s not that good of an actress. I’m shocked they’re even willing to give her that much credit.
The Power of Veto Competition
There’s an election theme and the HGs must dig through a mud pit to find ballots with different numerical values. They have eight minutes to collect four ballots, and whoever’s total is the highest wins. Each time they get one they must decide to keep it or discard it. Some have punishments or rewards that the HGs must take whether they win or lose.
-McCrae takes a 0 vote ballot for $5,000 (which he thinks can buy 2,500 pizzas, which makes me really want to order from his restaurant that apparently serves $2 pizzas)
-Helen takes a 10 vote ballot for an 8pm curfew for two nights
-Judd takes an 18 vote ballot for 24 hours in solitary confinement
-Elissa takes a 20 vote ballot and must sit out the next PoV competition
Here are the totals:
Helen: 29 votes
Kaitlin: 25 votes
McCrae: 20 votes
Aaryn: 32 votes
Judd: 38 votes
Elissa: 40 votes
Elissa wins the Power of Veto!
I’d like to point out that Elissa and Judd were both on the far left side of the pit, and they both got the two biggest ballots. In fact, Aaryn was also on that half, and all three had the highest totals. On the live feeds, several people accused producers of cheating by stacking all the big numbers on Elissa’s side of the mud pit, making it easier for her to find them. I’m almost amused by the delicious irony that there are accusations of cheating and rigging in an election-themed competition.
Judd goes to his solitary confinement with slop, bread, a toilet and an alarm clock that buzzes every nine minutes. Helen complains like her kids do about having to go to sleep at 8pm.
McCrae’s Birthday Surprise
It’s McCrae’s 24th birthday, so everyone sets up a midnight celebration where Howard and Spencer tie him up as Amanda comes in dressed like a dominatrix to give him 24 spankings.
Elissa (who was quite tipsy this evening) proceeds to bash Amanda for wearing a one-piece bathing suit and says she looks like a stripper. Elissa finds the whole dominatrix thing mortifying and says she’d throw up if McCrae licks whipped cream off Amanda’s body.
Elissa says she’s not trying to be mean and it’s just a joke, but Amanda doesn’t think it is. She cries about how mean-spirited and vicious Elissa is. I tend to agree. Elissa’s style of meanness isn’t on par with Aaryn’s racism, but it’s like the cattiness of the Real Housewives.
The Power of Veto Ceremony
This part of the episode is a little different because there’s no actual talk or campaigning about the replacement since nobody knows who the MVP is. Instead, we cut right to Elissa saving herself with the Power of Veto.
The MVP’s replacement nominee is…GinaMarie.
Yawn. The twist successfully caused chaos and paranoia for a few days, but it doesn’t change the game at all for this week. The three people who were on the outside are all nominated. On the bright side, we get to see GinaMarie’s totally unwarranted cockiness. She doesn’t even realize she’s the Jenn City/Chef Joe/Adam Poch/Enzo of the season, a total joke of a player who gets kept around for a long time because they will never be a serious threat.
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(Image courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
