If there's a word to describe this week of Big Brother, "uncomfortable" comes to mind. Maybe awkward. Between the Liz/Austin jealousy narrative featured in tonight's episode, and Jeff's efforts to try to stay, not to mention the relatively pointless Gronk Party twists, something just felt off, both on the Feeds and in the episodes. Alas, tonight is the start of a new week, as another Houseguest was sent packing and two new Heads of Household were crowned.
I admit, at least some of the awkwardness I'm sensing could be due to missing large chunks of the feeds last week due to Comic-Con. It's an annual roadblock in my Big Brother obsession. But I've spent this week getting caught up on most of the happenings inside the house, and I'm more convinced than ever that this could be the most random season of Big Brother we've seen in a while, where alliances form and dissolve faster than they can be properly named. But the summer's still young. And there are still some promising players in the running, so onward with optimism!
Moving on, let's talk about tonight's episode, which focused, in part, on Austin's budding interest in Liz. I'm all for seeing sparks fly between two houseguests, but I thought he had a girlfriend? Uncomfortable. (Bustle actually has a pretty thorough breakdown of that situation.) Tonight's episode just offered a few highlights of the chemistry and tension going down, involving Austin and Liz. Austin likes Liz because she fills the emptiness in his heart. Austin gets irritated when Liz and Steve exchange friendly good-nights. Austin gets testosterone-rage when he sees Liz and Jeff under the covers. Based on the "highlights" we saw tonight, this situation could very well implode.
Meanwhile, Austin and Jeff have been attempting to pretend they're bros even though both wants the other out.
Austin won that battle, as there was virtually nothing Jeff could do to secure the votes to stay. Though I will say, it was interesting to see that he got four votes, including Liz/Julia's. Was that a mistake on their part? A sympathy vote? Or was Liz trying to cast a hinky vote to blame on someone? Wouldn't be the worst strategy in the world. The twins are two evictions away from being able to join the game together, by which point I don't think anyone will be surprised when that twist is revealed. Throwing shade away from themselves, however they can, could buy them the time they need to get into the game together.
Jeff left with seven votes to evict him, and I can't say I'm disappointed. He seemed to have the personality to go far in the game, but he never seemed to establish strong enough trust with enough people to anchor himself better. He just wasn't positioned well enough to survive a post-Veto nomination. As far as game-talk went, the feeds were somewhat dull this week as a result of it, as he tried to campaign for votes, but too many people saw this as a choice opportunity to get him out.
Jackie seemed disappointed that her Amazing Race partner Jeff was evicted, but I'm thinking it'll be a good thing for her that Jeff is gone. If she wants to, she could probably get away with fading into the wallpaper until jury, or else allow herself to be pawned all the way to Final 3, Victoria-style. This is assuming she can't win competitions. It's a little too early to say that with full confidence, but right now, her best bet is probably to lay low and let the stronger players pick off other stronger players.
Head of Household was a 90s dance competition, which once again brought a group of living human beings into the backyard for a competition. It's not as if that never happens, but it's a rare thing, normally. Or it'll happen twice in one week, apparently.
I wouldn't have minded seeing a wildcard (specifically, Becki, Johnny Mac or Jason) win HoH this week, but the closest thing we got to that was Liz, who won one spot, while Shelli won the other. That means their group -- Liz/Julia, Clay, Shelli, Austin and Vanessa -- will presumably hold court again up in the HoH suite. Assuming Shelli and Clay are planning to continue working closely with them.
The last time Shelli was Head of Household, she had a very clear plan: Get Da'Vonne out. She made that happen. She practically forced it to happen, despite most of the house seeming to want Audrey out. Who will Shelli target this week? Or is she going to try to be dethroned so that Liz can have the HoH? I guess it all depends on what she wants; control or a free week with no blood on her hands?
Who will Liz target? Will she and Julia agree on this? Will they let Austin and Vanessa influence their choice? Will the twin situation -- and the fact that pretty much everyone seems to at least strongly suspect the twist, if not know for sure -- factor into their choices?
We'll wrap this up with a random Big Brother thought...
Is it me, or does anyone else thing live show shout-outs should be reserved to pre-vote speeches? Screaming a bunch of names after voting seems like poor form. Clay.
