The week starts with the HOH competition in full swing. Jackie, vying for a chance to get back into the house, says: “It’s really funny seeing Vanessa hold on for dear life-her ass is on the block.” But, in the end, Shelli, Becky and Jackie all fall and lose their shot. It’s down to Vanessa and Johnny Mac and depending on who falls, this could be a game-changer in the Big Brother house. Everyone knows if Johnny Mac gets back in the house he’s gunning for Vanessa, or maybe the twins. The smart move would be: Make no deals and trust no bitch.
SUNDAY: HOH and Nominations
Vanessa tells Johnny Mac: “You’re safe, you’re safe. I really want to talk to Mel.” Vanessa has been stressed over the status of her relationship with her girlfriend, Mel. Johnny Mac says he hears that, but that he has “business” and he has to do what he has to do. Austin’s ears perk up and he later determines Johnny Mac is after Austwins, because, duh-they almost got him perma-kicked out of the BB house. Johnny Mac and Vanessa secretly agreed to work together on the side before the HOH competition, so now that it’s do or die, is Johnny Mac simply acting and making everyone think he’d never take a deal from Vanessa? “I can go for a long time,” Vanessa assures Johnny Mac.
Johnny Mac falls to the mat and Vanessa wins HOH. She has a private celebration over this, explaining out loud that now she can redraw the lines and start from scratch with pretty much everyone. “You’re still good,” Vanessa tells Johnny Mac when he says he fell on accident, not on purpose in order to take her deal. In the diary room, Johnny Mac expands on this secret alliance and the decision to finally wave the white flag: “Let’s do this! Let’s get people out!” Vanessa also wants Steve’s strategic input. We know they’ve worked out their dramas, and in the end Vanessa is still loyal to him. “Just so you know, your opinion matters to me more than anyone’s,” Vanessa tells Steve. He says he doesn’t want to seem pushy, and will totally respect whatever is right for her game. There’s a thought: Steve, Johnny Mac and Vanessa in the final three.
“Who wants to see Vanessa’s HOH room????” Everyone goes upstairs to hear Vanessa read her letter from her girlfriend. I was able to catch this on Big Brother: After Dark in full, which happened late in the night after Sunday’s HOH competition. It’s fun to watch the group rushing about the house high on adrenaline late into the night. It’s like summer camp for adults-but with a social/physical competition at stake that makes this summer camp feel more like Lord of the Flies at times. In her letter to Vanessa, Mel writes: “You’re mine and only mine.” Vanessa laughs-she’s relieved. Liz coos in the background: “Forever and for always, Vanessa! Gawd! Duh!”
Now that she has Austin’s Angels to herself, Vanessa tells Austin and the twins that she’s thinking about putting up James and Meg. She knows they might disagree and would prefer Johnny Mac go right out the door, but she has to keep her secret alliance with him under wraps for now and try to convince them that it’s time to remove Meg. And you guys, it really is time to remove Meg. She’s “Grandma” and she’s a total sweetie, but she’s also what we call a floater. You heard Zingbot, even he said it: her game sucks. When Vanessa has a chat with James and Meg to feel out where they’re at, she notices that they don’t give her any kind of information against Austin and the twins-you know, in case they wanted to save their asses and let her know why she should be targeting Austwins and not them. James and Meg could easily throw someone under the bus, but then they’d implicate themselves and they’d rather nod and say they didn’t know about a plan hatched to get Vanessa out than admit to anything.
Seeing through this, and recognizing how much James and Meg need to be separated by the display of Meg’s torrential tears, Vanessa says that Meg’s emotional reaction is trouble. Sure, you might think this is a great opportunity to flip the house. Austwins are dangerous-they’re a trio. Split up the twins and you have some more leverage, but that requires James and Meg to give Vanessa way more ammo than just: “If you keep us safe, we’ll put up Austin and Liz next week, if James wins HOH.” Risky, big moves are what James, and even at times Vanessa are all about. That’s why they probably should’ve worked together in this game, but here we are now. Is it the week to flip?
WEDNESDAY: Power of Veto
Meg is still very upset about the prospect of James and her getting split up like this. She hides out in the Have-Nots room for a long time until Vanessa offers to have a chat with them. “It’s nothing personal,” she begins. James says, “No, you’re good,” in an effort to keep the peace, but Meg can’t help react. Her face says it all: She’s annoyed and backed into a corner she feels unjustly backed into, but she’s also embarrassed she’s crying so much. “Vanessa, I’ve never targeted you or wanted to put you up,” Meg says, rolling her eyes. Vanessa knows that’s possible, but she also knows that she’s solo in this game-even if Steve or Johnny Mac or Austwins say they’re cool with her. Vanessa knows how easy that can crumble and disappear. James and Meg have power in their numbers. “I have a full body sweat going,” Vanessa says as she walks out of the room.
Right before players are picked for the POV comp, Vanessa and Steve hash out more options. “Do you realize, I’ve had a hand in every eviction? I have so much blood on my hands, like, I’m fucked in this game,” Vanessa whispers to Steve as we see flashes of evicted houseguests. They both know that to fuck with Austwins is a dumb move, but it’s a game changing move if so. At the POV comp, Julia, Liz, Austin, Vanessa, Meg and James play “Hide & Go Veto.” It’s a classic BB game where players have to hide their veto in the house, somewhere no one will find it-and then one by one, they each have to try to locate the hidden vetoes. It’s the one competition that’s designed to basically tear the shit out of the entire house. They rip open cereal boxes, pillow cushions, couches, bed frames-and poor Liz is OCD so she finds herself in a bit of a panic. Vanessa says she’s not leaving this house until she brings out that veto, and she’s the last person to bring one out. As the vetoes are being tallied, we see that James got Meg out by discovering hers, Liz and Julia’s were found, and Vanessa found Austin’s. That means James is the winner-no one was able to find his Veto. It’s possibly the worse case scenario for Vanessa, who now has to put up a replacement nominee and decide once and for all if Meg is her target, or if she’s willing to take a deeper jab.
Vanessa and James end up in a blow out argument. James has been running his mouth all week to the house about how he is gunning for Vanessa and isn’t afraid to say it anymore, but he hasn’t said a word to her. He’s ready to tell her off, “from my mouth, to her face,” he says. But guess what? Vanessa’s green hat is back and she isn’t in the mood for James’s threats. “I’m gonna take a direct shot and take out your numero dos,” she says when James starts to criticize how she plays the game “too hard.” It certainly wouldn’t be the first time someone’s said so about Vanessa’s game, but is it the wrong way to play Big Brother? Vanessa reminds James that they could’ve worked together, but now with so few people left in the game, she has to go after the people who she never worked with. At the Veto meeting, James takes himself off the block. Vanessa tells him he did an amazing job on a classic BB comp (houseguests, no matter the beef, love to give props where credit is due when a player actually does a legit awesome job at something superfans know and love). Vanessa then puts up Julia next to Meg, who realizes this move indicates her time is up. The house won’t vote Julia out. Or will they?
THURSDAY: Live Eviction
Johnny Mac and Vanessa talk about a Final Two deal. They snicker over how devilish their little side alliance is and how cool it is that they were able to put aside their issues to work together. Considering Austwins are the most striking target left in the game aside from James and Meg, it’s important Vanessa stray away from them to ensure she gets into a Final Five deal that works for her. Steve tells her that he wants to ensure a Final Five that puts the two of them in Final Two. So check that out: Vanessa has it made in the shade with both Johnny Mac and Steve. But now this means Vanessa has to consider how to make that possible, for either her and Johnny Mac or her and Steve. She knows that getting Meg out is a solid move, but that getting Julia out would be epic. Steve is so stressed that he pukes in the bathroom over it.
At eviction, Julie Chen asks each houseguest to vote as per usual, and by votes from everyone except James, Meg is the next person evicted. But that’s not the end of this episode! There’s a surprise double eviction. So, that means that now the houseguests will play a week’s worth of Big Brother in the next half hour or so. First is the HOH competition. It’s this “True/False” process of elimination game and Liz kills it and wins. She nominates James and Johnny Mac, which shouldn’t come as a big shocker. Now it’s time for a quick POV competition in which players have to try to score big numbers by tossing a ball along a wooden boomerang, but it’s way harder than it looks. No one can really seem to get the hang of it, but then Julia, standing their like an alien princess just drops her balls and lands the highest number and wins POV. So now the twins are ruling this mini week and it’s a no-brainer that Julia will not change her own sister’s nominations. One of these dudes is about to go home, but will it be James or Johnny Mac? After the commercial (during which time houseguests are probably scurrying about and having a quick talk with Liz), everyone votes and James is the next evicted houseguest. He says he isn’t totally surprised, since Meg was just sent packing, but James was a way bigger threat to Vanessa than Johnny Mac is to Austwins. On the way out the door, Vanessa shouts to James: “You’re a great guy!” James looks back and says: “Thanks, Vanessa.” Did your heart melt a tiny bit? Mine did.
Tune in Sunday on CBS for a whole new episode of Big Brother at 8/7c to see who gets crowned HOH. Follow me on Twitter @the_hoff to discuss all things #TeamVanessa!
