Adam’s proud declaration of love for Beverly Hills, 90210’s Donna Martin inspired this recap’s title. The runner-up title was “I just want to say really quick that I do love my father and I have done nothing but worry about him every day since I’ve been in here since he left, just to throw that out there,” but Daniele’s rushed, pre-vote diary room declaration of love for her father was too many words, so “Donna Martin graduates!” it is…
Speaking of Declarations of Love...
Tonight’s live episode turned into a soap opera as we were subjected to footage of Brendon and Rachel arguing, pouting and making up after Rachel “demasculinated” Brendon by calling him Bookie, or sharing the pet-name with the other houseguests. Watching the couple fight is as awkward as watching them make-up and make-out, especially given how it seems like they’re playing it all up for the cameras to begin with.
Veterans vs. Newbies
We also got to see the veterans pretending to get along with the newbies, playing house games like “Big Booty” in an effort to win their favor. Dominic was on to their veiled attempts at friendliness, but the others seemed to think it was genuine. And while Adam seemed pleased to be offered the opportunity to name the veterans alliance, I want to believe that when he walked away, he realized how hollow and phony the whole thing was. If he did, we didn't see it, but given the fact that he didn't vote with them, perhaps he's aware of his place in their game.
I’m having trouble getting warmed up to these houseguests. I’m not watching the live feeds. I don’t love the veterans. And I’m not used to the newbies yet. So it’s hard to feel all that invested in the show right now. Factor in how staged the diary rooms seem this season (especially Keith and Porsche’s Veto competition diary room sessions, which were way too obviously set up to mirror each other) and Dick’s sudden and vaguely-explained departure, and “awkward” seems to be the best word to describe this season so far.
Dick's Departure
Speaking of awkward, Julie put Daniele on the spot tonight to get her reaction after Dick vaguely explained having to leave the Big Brother house for an emergency that he would not elaborate on. Daniele seemed annoyed during the announcement and then surprised that Julie would ask if she wanted to say she loved her father. Granted, it’s a weird thing ask someone to say if they haven’t offered it already, but Daniele made it more awkward by saying how awkward it was and showing off just how uncomfortable she was.
The Key To Staying In The Game...
The Golden Key incentive definitely played a role in Porsche and Keith’s eagerness to stay nominated and throw the Veto competition. The Key is sort of an incentive to be nominated, but in order to get it, you have to put yourself in one of the most dangerous seats in the house. There is another way to get to the Top Ten: Stay off the block! If you’re on the block, get off the block. Don’t throw Veto competitions when you’re on the block during Week 1 and you barely know people and are therefore not really the best judge of how everyone is going to vote. Keith learned that lesson the hard way but it really should be a lesson for everyone in the house.
Voting Time
As I said, I haven’t been watching the feeds this season, so I can’t comment on what really went down over the course of the week. With all the condensing and editing that goes on for the episodes, the only conclusion I can come to as far as the votes are concerned was that Kalia decided now was the best chance to get Keith out and Shelly agreed to go along with it. I also suspect the two of them, either separately or together, made some kind of agreement with the veterans.
The veterans, Kalia and Shelly evicted Keith, while Cassi, Adam, Dominic, and Lawon voted to evict Porsche. Keith seemed surprised that he was evicted and he barely hid his emotions as he discussed it. Hiding his emotions would’ve served him well in the house. He seemed likable enough, but he didn’t try hard to hold back or calculate his moves. He was the first to claim a partner, and quick to go along with plans. He played boldly and it didn’t work to his favor.
HoH
The Head of Household competition was a sort of mini-golf comp, with the houseguests attempting to hit an oversized golf ball into a low-numbered slot. It looked like Dominic had the best score for a while, but then Kalia tied him, then Jordan beat him. Jeff and Brendon were the last to go and didn’t even bother to attempt to beat Jordan’s score. Jeff throwing the competition wasn’t a surprise. As he’s Jordan’s partner, he doesn’t need HoH, but Brendon throwing it so obviously just shows the other houseguests how tight the veterans are. Maybe they already knew that, but he might have offered a little effort, if only for show. It could have given the newbies reason to think they have a chance at a solid alliance with him. He might need them (and their votes).
