Another predictable week of Big Brother has run its course. And I'm still not sure if I like the shift that put America in the MVP spot each week. Would it be better for the show to simply scrap the MVP twist altogether? Or is it better that America has a say in who's on the block this week? After all, seeing Amanda in an uncomfortable spot this week did make things a bit more interesting than they would have been if it were simply a Spencer/Howard week with Candice as the replacement nominee.
Tonight's episode offered up a random segment focused on Judd's family and some more attention on his increasingly popular bear shirt. We also got to see some snippets of the spat Amanda had with Spencer, which had him coming out looking like the bad guy, particularly in the way he told her to "shut up" during their conversation. On one hand, I can't blame Spencer for not appreciating the way Amanda seems to have the upper hand in the house. On the other hand, there was a tinge of chauvinism in his tone - or maybe that's just my interpretation of how he said it. Seems like Amanda heard it too. Spencer attempted to talk his way out of the situation when Amanda called him out for campaigning against her by saying he wanted Candice to go home. But that only backfired worse on him as Candice staged a big house meeting to call out Spencer for plotting against her while claiming to be trying to get Amanda out, which was Spencer's true intention to begin with. In the end, Spencer lost twice as Amanda and Candice both survived tonight's eviction, while Howard was sent packing by a nearly unanimous vote. Spencer voted to evict Candice, and I'm not sure if that was pre-planned or if he'll be in trouble for that with the rest of the house. Howard's eviction marks the exit of another guy, with only one female being sent home so far this season.
Howard left the house with class, stopping to hug everyone before heading out to talk to Julie and receive what might've been the loudest applause we've heard so far this season. Julie covered all of the major points in her brief interview, pointing out that he lost Helen when he lied to her about the Moving Company alliance, and then asking him why he didn't stand up for himself and Candice when Aaryn and GinaMarie were making racially insensitive comments. Howard explained that he had a temper and it wasn't something he wanted people to see, so he took the higher road. Like I said, he went out with class.
On a personal side, I liked Howard a lot. But when I watch Big Brother, I tend to favor strategy over everything else, and in that department, Howard's game was disappointing. He made the mistake of picking an alliance on Day 1, then stuck with that sinking ship five minutes too long. He lied when he should've told the truth, he cast a hinky vote during a week when he had an opportunity to prove himself trustworthy, and he never managed to secure any kind of lasting trust with anyone in the house that could have helped him stay: Amanda or Helen. Those two are making this happen in this game. If either of them had wanted Howard to stay, I don't think it would've taken more than a strong breeze to send Candice out the door. But Amanda in particular has distrusted Howard and tonight, he went home.
Speaking of Amanda, her goodbye message seemed ill-timed. Of course, she wouldn't know that and her explanation about wanting him out because she didn't trust him wasn't off base. But given how well Howard left the house and how positive his interview with Julie went, I don't think Amanda's parting words were score her any points with viewers. If she doesn't win Head of Household tonight, she might find herself back on the block this week, as America's voting for the third nominee once again. We also have a double-eviction to look forward to next week!
Speaking of Head of Household, it's an endurance competition that has the houseguests walking on a rolling log while holding bull heads:
Not long after the comp started, it was looking like Elissa was going to fall, but she managed to straighten herself out. Julie announced that there were boxes waiting for the first three eliminated contestants, one of which contains $5,000. That might be enough to lure or or two people down. As of this posting, everyone's still up. I'll post updates once people start to fall!
10:23 p.m. PST - Spencer, Candice, Amanda and Helen all came down (not in that order but within moments of one another). Elissa also came down.
10:28 - Andy came down. Judd is also down. It looks like it's down to GinaMarie and McCrae. Correction, Jesse's still up there.
10:48 - Jesse just came down. It's down to GinaMarie and McCrae. GM's trying to make a deal with McCrae, but so far it doesn't sound like he's interested in dropping.
11:00 p.m. - McCrae fell and GinaMarie is the new Head of Household.
