Big Brother 15 is two for two on using the Power of Veto to save one of the three nominees. Will this week make it a three-peat, or will the nominations stay the same?
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains Big Brother 15 spoilers.
Helen nominated Aaryn and Kaitlin. Elissa won the MVP for the third week in a row and nominated Spencer (though her alliance wanted it to be Howard). GinaMarie and Candice were also chosen to compete. Judd was the host (which probably means we’ll get hilarious subtitles on Wednesday’s episode because I can only understand about a third of what he says).
Kaitlin won the Power of Veto!
This could get a little interesting, The first rule of the PoV is that if you’re nominated and win, you ALWAYS save yourself. However, it’s very obvious that if Kaitlin uses it, her showmance Jeremy will be the replacement nominee and will be evicted.
So now she has a tough choice. Does she use it, knowing that her boyfriend and sexual plaything Jeremy will go home, or does she not use it and hope that she stays safe?
It could also lead to a bit of bullying. Amanda, McCrae, and Helen have already discussed this possibility and have decided that they are going to tell Kaitlin that if she doesn’t use it, they will evict her. Candice later told Helen that they need to “scare” Kaitlin into using it. I guess this is different from Jeremy telling people that she’ll come after them if they don’t evict Elissa last week..
I’m not sure if it’s a bluff or a serious threat. Right now they seem serious, but time could make them reconsider. Nobody really hates Kaitlin, nor do they see her as a threat. In fact, Andy has bonded with her and Helen has dreams of bringing her over to her side. Also, if the nominations stay the same and Aaryn is still on the block, I assume Candice and Howard would try very hard to get her evicted. People might initially be mad at Kaitlin, but they’ll have several days to calm down and realize that getting rid of Aaryn is more important.
None of this may matter, because Kaitlin’s “plan” is to ask Helen to backdoor Howard. That’s not gonna happen.
UPDATE: In fact, Kaitlin told Andy she is definitely using it to save herself and that she’s trying to rally people to throw Howard under the bus and get him nominated as the replacement. Andy agreed with this, lying his ass off and saying that he’d much rather have Jeremy here than Howard.
However, when Kaitlin brought this plan to Helen, Helen cried about how Jeremy was so mean to her, and keeping him would break her moral code. FYI, this is a load of B.S. and Helen has admitted to fake-crying a lot this week as a manipulation tool. Kaitlin then said she’s definitely using the Power of Veto on herself, and Helen’s mood immediately changed as she started talking about how Kaitlin is a strong woman who can win on her own. Helen then blames “the house” for making it so she has to nominate Jeremy.
Kaitlin cried a lot, accepted this, then went to tell Jeremy. And he was fine with being backdoored and said he’ll leave the game with his head held high. So he’s not exactly the raging, awful monster Helen claims he is.
Personally, I hope Kaitlin changes her mind before Monday and doesn’t use the Power of Veto to save herself. Since she was recruited for the show and never saw it before joining the cast, it’s the kind of thing that could actually happen. And she seems to really like Jeremy. Also, I don’t buy McCrae and his side’s rationalization that using it is about “respecting the game.” How does using Elissa to control the third nomination, then yelling at her when she doesn’t do exactly what you want, respect the game? Kaitlin should do what is in her best interest, regardless of whether it respects the game, and if that means she doesn’t use it, then fine.
Also, it’s just better TV, especially if Aaryn still goes home. I can already picture Candice casting her vote to evict Aaryn on Thursday and Julie Chen’s super awkward interview. I want that to happen this week.
If she doesn’t use it, the house will be divided trying to figure out if Kaitlin should go home or if they should get rid of Aaryn. If she does use it, Jeremy is going to be nominated and get evicted.
Kaitlin is in an impossible situation. Does Helen really think she can backdoor Kaitlin’s boyfriend AND get Kaitlin to join her side? I guess it worked with GinaMarie. But Kaitlin would be a low woman on the totem pole and all it would do is guarantee her a finish in sixth or seventh place, probably.
But if she doesn’t use it and Jeremy stays, and if Aaryn then gets evicted, Kaitlin will have someone to work with who will always have her back and who will continue to be a bigger target.
I feel like Kaitlin has no real shot at winning this game without Jeremy. So for Kaitlin, it’s a decision of risking her own life in this game for a slight shot at the finale or saving herself and being resigned to being one of the first members of the jury (without someone to have sex with).
Helen the Great
I’ll be curious to see how the weekend unfolds and how Helen plays it (she’s already rehearsing her pitch to Kaitlin about using the Power of Veto), because she’s proving to be very smart. The genius of Helen’s strategy is that she’s able to convince everyone of things that aren’t necessarily true. If Nick wasn’t evicted last week, would he really have won the entire game like Helen predicted? Maybe, but I doubt it.
Could Jeremy win the game if they don’t backdoor him this week because he’s a competitive beast? Well, Janelle won nine competitions in season 7 and finished third. Daniele Donato won seven competitions in season 8 and lost to her father, Evel Dick (who only won four). Last season, Shane and Frank won six competitions each, yet finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
The truth is dominant physical competitors don’t always win. In fact, they rarely do. But Helen, as a political consultant, understands that if you tell people something enough times, you can make them believe it.
So this week, Jeremy is going home. He’s a huge threat (despite the fact that Kaitlin is the only person on his side). He’s going to win every single competition (despite the fact that he lost on the very first question in this week’s HoH). And he’s the meanest person in the house (despite the fact that he apologized for the red wine fight and Helen accepted it while Aaryn makes no apologies ever).
The power of suggestion is a strong psychological tool, and Helen is certainly using it to control the house. For her sake, I just hope people don’t follow her lead of always evicting HGs who have the best chance of winning the game because then they could all turn on her as soon as they notice how great she is. If that happens, I’m worried about a scenario where we get something like a Kaitlin/Jessie finale.
But for now, the core of Helen, Andy, Judd, Amanda, and McCrae seem as solid as the Brigade or the Quack Pack. While Helen and Andy know that Amanda is going to be a problem down the road, they’re keeping it to themselves and waiting until their mutual targets (Jeremy, Aaryn, Spencer, Howard, and maybe Candice) are gone. Also, you’ll notice Elissa isn’t in the core group. I almost pity her because she is just being used as a tool for her MVP nomination and I don’t think anyone has any intention of bringing her very far. As soon as the twist ends (if it does), she has no real value to any of them.
(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.
