Double eviction! I love Big Brother double evictions. And I also hate them because they give me major anxiety. I can only imagine how it would be for the houseguests, knowing there's a chance they could be walking out the door if things don't go their way. Remember last season when Ian won the shark competition that kept him in the game? That was a real make-or-break moment for the houseguest who went on to win the season. Will tonight's double-eviction be just as crucial? I'd say so.
Going into tonight's episode, it was looking like Candice was going to go. There haven't been a lot of surprises this season. Maybe it's the MVP nominee offering too big a margin of error to leave room for anything unpredictable, but I'm more inclined to think that it's the way the houseguests are playing, clumping together in one loosely tied alliance each week. A third nominee offers the opportunity for a wider variety of voting scenarios, and yet each week there's been one nominee that's been virtually safe. I think a different season would've played out this twist a lot differently, but we're not seeing a whole lot of big moves this season.
Tonight's episode began with some footage of Jessie's attempt to get enough votes to back door Amanda. Helen was considering it, and Jessie campaigned the idea with Judd, offering a seriously awkward hug and kiss to sweeten the deal. Andy flat-out said it was too early to evict Amanda, and he's probably right. As Helen later pointed out in the diary room, if Amanda goes, she could be the next big power player to go. I don't think this season really has any big power players to be honest, but Helen's not wrong in lining herself up next to Amanda. Both houseguests have been making things happen this season. Of the two of them, Amanda's social game has virtually collapsed, but I don't think Helen's influence has gone unnoticed.
The live portion of the episode got off to a colorful start, thanks in large part to Candice's clown costume, and the fact that she and GinaMarie got into an intense shouting match with one another during Candice's pre-vote plea for votes. I don't think we've seen such an awkward plea speech since Andrew blew up everyone's spot during his speech in Big Brother 12. That was the one where he exposed Hayden and Kristen's showmance and there was that huge fight after the episode ended. In this case, the huge fight happened during the live episode. While Candice fell victim to the curse of the unitard, being evicted by a unanimous vote (including one very reluctant vote by Elissa), she held her chin up during her exit interview with Julie. She spoke about how hard it was to bite her tongue against some of the racism she experienced. While she was fine to verbally throw down with GinaMarie pre-eviction, she sort of spoke highly of Amanda, or at least her game play when Julie referenced the spat they had during the Veto ceremony. The interview wrapped up with Julie noting that there's still a lot of summer left, which may have been a hint that there's a chance Candice could be sent back into the house. More on that later.
The Head of Household competition was "More or Less," where the houseguests had to guess more or less to the questions Julie posed to them based on past competitions, things in the house, etc. Aaryn ended up winning and it looked like she was disappointed. After the commercial break, we saw a very stressed looking Aaryn deliberating with Andy, Spencer and a few others over who should go up. It was looking like Jessie was the primary target. And considering she doesn't have any solid allies in the house, her eviction probably would've made the least amount of waves.
The Veto competition was a puzzle that had to do with nails. Aaryn won that one as fast as she won the Head of Household competition. It seemed like Aaryn would leave the nominations the same, ensuring Jessie's eviction. But there must have been some fast strategizing, and we caught a glimpse of it before the Veto ceremony, including Helen ensuring Aaryn that if she does whatever they want her to do, she'll be safe. When Julie prompted the Veto ceremony to start, Aaryn took Jessie off the block and put Judd up, stating that most people wanted her to do this and that she wouldn't be safe if she didn't. She also said something about him playing her the whole time. I expect we'll get more details on what was actually said to Aaryn during Sunday's episode.
Judd's plea speech reminded everyone to vote how they want and that not everything they hear is true. Amanda had tears in her eyes while this was happening. Judd begged everyone to please change their vote, but it was no use. No one wanted to rock the boat, apparently. Like Candice, Judd was evicted unanimously. But the houseguests seemed pretty unhappy about it. Judd left the house bewildered about why he left. On one hand, I'm sad Judd left as he's one of the more likable houseguests, particularly on the feeds. On the other hand, I can't fault the houseguests for wanting him out over Jessie, as Judd would have a better chance of getting to the end and possibly winning the whole game. He was on most people's good side and he wasn't above telling the occasional fib to stir things up. The lie about Kaitlin coming after Helen was a big one that I think he actually admitted to.
I'd heard some anti-Judd chatter on the feeds, but much of it seemed more like paranoia than based on anything specific, the Kaitlin lie being the biggest issue. I think some people thought he lied about the Grasshopper alliance too. We'll have to wait and see what we missed tonight when Sunday's episode airs, but I actually believe Helen might be the one responsible for pushing for his eviction tonight. Not only did we see her talking to Aaryn right before the Veto ceremony, but she also seemed a bit too chipper when she cast her vote. Jessie also seemed happy, but I'm thinking she was probably seriously relieved to be casting a vote at all.
In other news, there was no reset button, but Julie did announce that the MVP twist (and third nominee) is over. There will only be two nominees going forward. She also hinted that there may be a way for an evicted houseguest to get back into the game somehow, saying, "Just because you're on the jury doesn't necessarily mean you're out of the game." So we'll have to wait and see what that means. If a houseguests does re-enter the house, I'm willing to bet it happens after there are at least three jurors.
