I have to give Dan and Memphis credit. Their plan to split up and pair off with Keesha and Jerry worked perfectly. After Dan put Memphis on the block, Jerry assumed that meant Memphis wasn’t allied with Dan and was therefore, still open to their final two agreement. Forgetting all about the retribution he promised Memphis for having saved Dan with the Veto last week, he quickly got over it and made Memphis his baby. At least that’s what he called him when he told the “mixologist” he was his only hope.
Meanwhile, Keesha felt safer, believing Dan’s choice to keep her off the block meant he was closer to her than he was to Memphis. Neither Jerry nor Keesha considered that Dan might be trying to create the illusion of distance between himself and Memphis by throwing his friend up on the block. After all, this week’s Veto was what would really determine who was safe.
Before we get to the Veto competition, let’s talk about Dan’s luxury prize. After getting to choose between taking a current houseguest on his excursion via helicopter to a private beach, or taking someone to the jury, Dan opted to try to charm a jury member. He only had a couple of minutes to decide and he chose to take Michelle. Since he burned Michelle badly when he backdoored her the week of the infamous “deal,” taking her on the trip might be a way to win her over.
Michelle said she wanted to do physical harm to Dan but she seemed a lot less angry when she saw him come around the helicopter and greet her. The two hugged and Dan made a joke about the island not being Rhode Island (her state of origin). He also smartly reminded her of having lost a trip to Hawaii, hinting that this might be a substitution. That was a stretch but again, it seemed like Michelle was somewhat charmed by Dan. She did seem skeptical though as the two talked game over their meal. Dan explained to her that Keesha, Renny and Memphis knew of his plan to backdoor her and Michelle pondered over that a bit. He went on to ask her whether or not she thought he had a chance of winning against Memphis and while Michelle didn’t seem to know for sure, she did seem to think it was a possibility.
It was hard to get any solid impression of whether or not Dan’s choice to take Michelle to the island will benefit him if he gets to the final two because the producers obviously had to edit down the trip into a few-minute package. All the same, Michelle did say that Dan was smart to pick her so I’m thinking she was definitely flattered that he chose her and Dan might have been successful at (at the very least) giving her a reason to consider voting for him.
The Veto competition involved different things that happened in the Big Brother house throughout the season. Each of the four houseguests were mostly blocked from each other’s view as they faced a tall staircase. On each step there were two things that could apply to one of the houseguests. The contestants had to put the name of the houseguest that both phrases applied to on the step and ring a bell. If they were correct, they’d move on to the next step. Once all of their steps were complete and lit up the houseguest had to climb the steps and ring the top bell.
While Jerry, Memphis and Keesha each expressed anxiety over the importance of this Veto, Dan confessed to the diary room that he thought it was probably best that he throw the competition. The ideal situation for him would be for Memphis to win the Veto and take himself off the block. Then Memphis would be the lone vote to evict someone and hopefully get his hands bloody. Since Dan has enough enemies in the Jury house, it’s better for him if he doesn’t create any more.
Dan was flying through the competition while Jerry, Keesha and Memphis were moving at a slower pace. Memphis appeared to be guessing on some of his. Dan caught a glimpse of Memphis and saw that he was a couple of steps behind him. He slowed his pace and when he reached the last step, made every effort to not get the right answer. Finally, Memphis caught up, got the last step right, climbed the stairs and claimed the Veto.
At first Keesha thought she was safe, believing Memphis would choose to evict Jerry over her. Feedwatchers knew that wasn’t the case as Memphis had begun speculating pretty early on after winning the Veto, over whether it might be better to boot Keesha this week. He even said “At least you didn’t unpack.” to her after the competition, referring to her having been on the block the previous week. I don’t know if it was the acetone fumes that were wafting into her face as she gave herself a pedicure or what but out of nowhere (I believe this took place last night) it dawned on Keesha. Memphis was going to evict her.
Keesha approached Memphis and Dan in the HoH room and asked them directly. Neither would answer. From what I read in the feed recaps, Memphis said the diary room told him he couldn’t tell Keesha that he was going to evict her. This seemed odd to me because in the past, houseguests have at the very least, hinted at who they were going to vote, giving the soon-to-be-evictee time to let it sink in and prepare themselves for the live show. Perhaps the BB producers wanted to see the drama that would ensue when Memphis blindsided Keesha. If that’s the case, they didn’t anticipate her figuring it out for herself.
Keesha read Memphis’ somber face and both of the guys’ silence to mean that she was in fact going out the door. She cried, yelled at Memphis and demanded an explanation. All he could tell her was that he was sorry. I guess that was all he was permitted to tell her. It’s my understanding (again, from reading the feed recaps) that Memphis told Dan it would be ok for him to talk to Keesha about it even if it means throwing him under the bus. I don’t totally understand why Memphis didn’t try to smooth things over with her and explain that it’s just the game and not personal. Dan did sit with Keesha and talk to her about it, explaining that he tried to change Memphis’ mind but there’s nothing he could do. During tonight’s live Veto ceremony, Memphis took himself off the block and Julie gave Jerry and Keesha a chance to speak on their own behalf as to why Memphis should save them. Jerry gave his usual speech (they should just roll a tape of his previous pre-vote speeches at this point) and then Keesha stood up. She said she had nothing to say to Memphis and then turned her back on him to address Dan. She thanked Dan for spending time with her over the last couple of days and that she was appreciative of him being there for her.
As Keesha was leaving, she gave Jerry a quick hug and continued to ignore Memphis. Right as she got to the door, Dan hugged her and put something in her hand, telling her there was a message on the bottom. He then whispered something in her ear. She didn’t hear him so he said it again. She made a surprised half-laugh exclamation and left.
Keesha told Julie that Dan whispered to her that he took Michelle to the beach. It seemed like she was in shock over this news and didn’t have much to say about it. The thing Dan handed her was a rubber ducky that said “hot” on the bottom. I’m guessing the ducky was one of those special ducks that tells you whether the water’s too hot. I only know of these things because I bought one for my cousin as part of her baby-shower gift. Keesha seemed charmed by the message, though a bit confused by it. I think it was Dan’s way of delivering the Michelle shocker with a bit of humor so that hopefully she won’t take that news too hard and hold it against him if he gets to the final two. Regardless, it was better for Dan to have broken the Michelle news to her than for her to learn about it when she gets to the Jury house.
Keesha was teary while she talked to Julie, explaining that she realized Memphis might be evicting her because Jerry was being too quiet and well behaved. We don’t get to see much of angry-Jerry in the episodes, aside from the week he was calling Dan “Judas” and saying he would burn in hell but the truth is, the man isn’t always easy to live with – especially when he’s angry. Jerry wasn’t angry this week and Keesha caught on to that, realizing he must know he’s safe and therefore, she wasn’t.
Memphis’ goodbye message to Keesha explained that he had to make the best decision for himself in the game. Keesha’s response to this was that she thought Memphis thought she would bring Dan to the end if she won the final HoH. She’s probably not far off from the truth. We didn’t get much of Memphis’ diary room footage this week so it’s hard to say for sure but between his rekindled alliance with Jerry and the solid thing he has going with Dan and their Renegade alliance, it wasn’t a bad idea for Memphis to give Keesha the boot. At this point, he’s almost guaranteed a spot in the final two no matter who wins the last HoH. The question is, now that he’s betrayed Keesha so blatantly, will he have a shot at winning. Who knows how much influence she’ll have on the jury (particularly Renny and Libra)?
After Keesha left we heard Dan yell at Memphis “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m taking you!” We know this was all an act to keep Jerry thinking that Memphis and Dan were now sworn enemies. It’s possible that Memphis is still considering taking Jerry to the end but he probably knows that Jerry would most likely have April, Ollie and Michelle’s votes. Now that Keesha’s not voting for him, he would probably have no shot at winning with Jerry next to him and I strongly doubt that Memphis would want to lose to Jerry. Regardless, creating the illusion that they’re now all-out enemies, Jerry might even consider throwing the final HoH to either of them, believing both would take him to the end rather than taking each other. It’s a longshot as I don’t think Jerry’s the type to intentionally lose a competition but he might not try as hard if he thinks he’s going to the end no matter what.
The first part of the final HoH started tonight. For the endurance competition, Jerry, Memphis and Dan each stood on top of airplanes and had to balance there, holding on to ropes attached to the wings. Whoever wins this part will advance to the third round. The two losers will go head to head in part two to determine which of them will go up against the winner of the first part. We’ll find out who won both parts on Thursday night and see the third part play out live. The winner will evict the last houseguest leaving the final two to sit and soak it all in before they get the chance to talk to the jury.
If you want to know who won the first part, read below. If you don’t want to be spoiled, read no further!
As expected, Jerry didn’t last very long in this endurance competition. That left Dan and Memphis standing there for about 45 minutes. Memphis didn’t say much (if anything at all) and Dan kept up the appearance that he was in it to win it and avenge Keesha’s eviction.
CORRECTION: It looks like Dan won the first part of the HoH competition. Memphis will go on to face off with Jerry in the second part.
