Big Brother 11 — Nominations and Veto, Week 3
Later, Natalie tries to talk Ronnie into coming out and socializing and assures him that he’s safe.What’s funny is the way Ronnie totally jumps when Natalie opens the door to his room.He’s so weaselly and easily spooked.
Hey, want to see Jessie’s HoH room?Again?There are a lot of pictures of Jessie, because Jessie totally has a crush on himself.There’s also a picture of his motorcycle, which sets Lydia’s heart fluttering because she is exactly that stereotype.There’s weird tension between Natalie and Lydia, which is setting up a plotline for later.
Jeff, Jordan, and Casey try to predict what Jessie’s going to do.Somebody says “he’s not that stupid” in regards to Jessie, which is funny.Natalie comes out, and Casey boneheadedly includes her in the conversation even though he knows that anything said to Natalie will go straight into Jessie’s ear.I think he might actually be able to see through Natalie’s eyes, like some sort of warlock.Sure enough, Natalie disappears into the shadows to report back to her dark master.For some reason, the fact that Casey hates Ronnie upsets Jessie.Clearly, he has been too busy making out with his photo on the memory wall to pay any kind of attention.
Oh Lord.Jessie and Lydia snuggle up in the hammock and it’s weird and flirty because they both think Jessie is totally hot.In the Diary Room, Jessie compares her to a caterpillar in her cocoon, which almost immediately morphs into Jessie proclaiming how great he himself is.We’ll follow up on this later.
Ronnie heads out to start making insincere amends.First, he goes to Michele, and she’s not impressed.I seriously don’t know what he thinks people are going to do.
It’s back to Jessie and Lydia on the outside couch, with Lydia trying to get Jessie to kiss her.Natalie and some others head out there and Natalie starts monopolizing Jessie’s attention and crowds Lydia off the couch.Well, technically, Lydia gets up and leaves, and then gets mad when she comes back and her seat is occupied.Natalie demands a backrub from Jessie, and Lydia begins to fume.Wow, am I glad there’s a love triangle brewing with the three least appealing people in America…Everybody else heads inside, so Natalie starts trash-talking Lydia to Jessie.Jessie talks more about how great he is, and Lydia cries.So, you know, everybody is remaining firmly inside their comfort zones.
Michele heads up to the HoH room to talk to Jessie.Well, why wouldn’t Jessie and a neuroscientist have lots to talk about?Basically, she pledges loyalty to Jessie, and Jessie is irritated that she hasn’t tried to talk to him before.Natalie butts in to demand that Michele promise not to put them up.Michele doesn’t actually promise anything but her gratitude.Well, that’ll help.
Jordan talks about how much it sucks to be a Have-Not.She hates the slop and the cold water.There’s a scene of her using the outside hose to shave her legs, and she complains that the punishment bedroom is cold.Spend a winter in Michigan, lady.Anyway, this leads into the competition for this week.Jessie announces it in a terrible Southern accent.Voice work is not his strong suit.Also, Jessie’s wearing a shirt that says “Beer”.It cracks me up that somebody would see that shirt in a store and be like “Hey, finally a way for me to outwardly express my love of beer!”Since the cliques are drastically uneven, each of the three non-athlete cliques will send only one person to participate in the competition.
Obviously, Jordan’s up for the Populars, Chima steps up for the Brains, and Kevin represents the offbeats.So, they have a racetrack set up in the backyard.Basically, you drive your stupid little car around, grab a big foam ice cube, and toss it into one of the opposing team’s giant cans.The clique with the most cubes in their cup are the Have-Nots for the week.Also, they’re wearing “beer goggles” to distort their vision, and because making it seem more like drunk driving should be funny.The competitors are now wearing “Beer” shirts, so maybe Jessie’s didn’t come from his own wardrobe.But it seems like it would have, and that’s the important thing.
This challenge doesn’t really lend itself to recapping, except that Casey and Ronnie are total dicks about how Jordan kept getting ice cubes in her own can.She understands the rules just fine, you buttholes!She’s just bad at throwing things!Kevin and Jordan both target the Brains, because they hate Ronnie.Anyway, the Offbeats have 12 cubes, Jordan has 11, and the Brains have at least 13, so they’re on slop and cold water for the week.Also, they get the cabbages and cocktail weenies that America chose for them.Ronnie is excited about the cocktail weenies, because it takes one to know one.Chima tells America that we suck.Nice, lady.
Jessie and Natalie bring Jordan into the HoH room for her input.She’s very much in favor of putting Ronnie out.Jessie acts like a sympathetic ear, but Jordan’s afraid she’ll be a pawn again.Jeff feels good about the “eliminate Ronnie” plan.
Next up, Russell and Kevin share a hammock, in a scene I didn’t think I’d ever see.They talk about Russell’s difficulty in keeping relationships going, while Kevin’s been with the same guy for nine years.They actually seem authentically interested in what the other has to say, which is kind of cool and it makes me like them both a little more.
Lydia complains that Natalie hasn’t switched or shared beds since the show started.This upsets Lydia greatly, and she announces that she’s going to stay up all night to protest this injustice.Yeah, she’s not a giant cliché or anything.Kevin tells her she’s being stupid, and she needs to stop putting herself in the line of fire.
In the HoH room, Natalie complains to Jessie and demands that he tell Lydia that she can’t speak to her anymore.Jessie is so bored with this whole thing, which makes exactly one thing that he and I have in common.Jessie seeks out Lydia and asks if she wants to talk about it with him and Natalie.Lydia will not talk to him if Natalie’s around, and it’s sort of hilarious to see Jessie be so put-upon.
Time for nominations!The athletes are, of course, safe.Jessie pulls Chima’s key.Next, Kevin is safe.Casey is safe.Lydia is safe, and, dammit, Ronnie is safe.That leaves Michele and Jordan on the block.Jessie offers no explanation for his choices at all, and I’m not sure what’s going on in his head.Sure, pick two people who aren’t great at challenges and are well-liked, or at least tolerated.Jessie tells us that his plan is to backdoor somebody.Hey, maybe at some point this season, somebody will nominate the actual person they want out. Just putting it out there.
The episode ends with Ronnie being smug and saying “What what!”, so that’s about enough of that.
TUESDAY
Hey, how often do you think that the “Previously on Big Brother” segments start with the voiceover guy saying “The house was divided”.I bet it’s more than half of the time.
Michele seems to think the plan is still to backdoor Ronnie.I’m less convinced than she is, though.Granted, she’s a neuroscientist and I can’t find my keys half the time, but I still think I’m right.So does Jessie, who tells us that he sees Ronnie as “an asset”.Jeff reassure Jordan that nobody would vote her out, but she’s nervous.Well, sure.This is her second week as a pawn.That’s gotta suck.Jeff then tells Michele that Ronnie’s going home.I’m not sure if he’s trying to help her feel better or if he thinks Jessie can be trusted.
Ronnie and Michele talk a little, and Ronnie gives her great advice “Make sure you win the veto”.Because it’s just that easy.He assures her that he’d use the veto on her, and she’s like “and also so that you can’t get put up”.Ronnie is shocked, because he’d never thought of that aspect.What a sleaze.
Michele heads out to tell everybody what a dope Ronnie is, and they have a good laugh.Notably, Jessie and Natalie are not in the room, because they would probably be less amused.Ronnie goes up to the HoH room for a chat with those two.Jessie tells him that Casey is the biggest threat, and that he’s sticking his neck out by not nominating him.Ronnie tries to sound cool, but he just comes off as a toady.
Jessie tries to convince Chima that she doesn’t really want Ronnie out.Chima buys it, because that part about “brains” isn’t really accurate.Who knew Jessie could do the Jedi mind trick?Hey, those really aren’t the droids I’m looking for.My mistake.Next, Jessie works over Kevin, convincing him that he wouldn’t be Ronnie’s target.Then, he goes to work on Lydia, who isn’t such a hard sell because it’s Jessie talking.Jessie is clearly planning on going after Casey.
Later, some of the hamsters play “Truth or Dare”, and they dare Kevin to cuddle with Jessie for ten seconds.They sneak into the HoH room, where Jessie is snoring so loud that I assume he has extra lungs hidden away somewhere. Kevin cuddles up just as Natalie pokes Jessie to wake him.Jessie is less amused than I am.
Next, they dare Ronnie to hug Casey hug for 20 seconds.Ronnie basically just walks up to the guy and forces a hug on him.That’s a serious violation of personal space.Casey is mostly just interested that Russell seems amused by the whole thing.He’s disturbed by the way the house is swaying in favor of Ronnie again.Casey makes it clear to everybody that he would prefer Ronnie not hug him anymore, and then there’s an argument over who dared Ronnie in the first place.So this is officially the stupidest argument ever.
Time to pick players for the veto.Jessie draws Jeff’s name.Michele draws Casey’s name, which freaks out Jessie.He call it a “one in ten chance”.Actually, it’s a three in eight chance, which is considerably different.Jordan picks Chima.Jessie sullenly picks Natalie as the Veto Host, and Lydia looks daggers at him.Oh, this is going to get old in a hurry.In the HoH room, Natalie and Jessie gripe about their awful luck.They have really got it in for Casey, which is the thing that’s finally making me like him.
The competitors dress in pink unitards and pig noses.(When’s Jen’s famous red unitard coming back?)The backyard is full of mud and bales of hay.Jordan is excited, because she thinks there will be mud wrestling.Ah, Jordan.There’s so much that I love about you.There are “truffles” hidden in the mud, and each has a point value from 1 to 10.Each person swings into the mud to get a truffle.They can either lock it in or discard, depending on the point value – they can lock in four, and the highest total points wins.So this is heavily luck-based.There are also prize truffles – if you keep one of those, you get the prize but one less truffle slot.Let’s see how his goes!
Everybody talks about their plans, and Casey still thinks that Ronnie’s going up.Once again, a hard challenge to recap, except for Michele’s strange pronunciation of “manure” and Jordan’s assertion that “It smelled like poop.I’d be OK with it if it was poop.”Chima tries to stay clean, because she doesn’t really care anyway.Casey pulls a margarita party and locks it in, which is nice of him, but will probably turn out to be a bad move.
After the five minutes are up, they’re offered a final temptation.There are six envelopes which could add points, deduct points, or have something else entirely inside.Michele chooses to take an envelope.Casey also takes one because he “feels safe”. Chima rejects her envelope, Jeff takes one, and Jordan turns it down.Finally, Jessie takes an envelope.Jessie reveals his points first.He won $2500, and then scored a 26 with the remaining truffles.His envelope is a +5, for a total of 31.Jordan scores a 24, so she’s out.Jeff’s truffles add up to 27, but his envelope is a -5.He’s out at 22.Chima has a 25, with no envelope.Out!Casey has the margarita party and a 22.His envelope contains a “banana suit” that he can wear for one week.Hee.Too bad he won’t be around long enough to serve out that term.Finally, it’s Michele.She scores 28 – her envelope is a +7, so she gets 35, and she wins the veto!
After the break, Casey gets the banana suit, and it’s exactly what you think it is.There’s a hilarious shot of him smoking outside, in his banana suit.Hee.
Jessie asks Michele who she wants to see go up.She figures out that Ronnie is in Jessie’s pocket, because, you know, neuroscientist.She also gets that Casey is the real target, and Michele is not excited about this.
Kevin and Lydia complain about how Jessie keeps sharing Natalie’s bed.Hilariously, they’re talking in the HoH room when Jessie is off in Natalie’s bed.Kevin thinks it’s weird that he keeps going down there to Natalie, Lydia is mad that Jessie expects people to come to him.So, they are irritated by exactly opposite things, and yet they’re acting like they’re in agreement.I just don’t get those two.Kevin tells Lydia that she needs to tell Jessie to cut ties with Natalie.Further, they develop their “keeping Casey” strategy, which isn’t bad except that keeping Casey means evicting Jordan.Not cool!
Lydia and Michele discuss strategy, and Lydia is back on the anti-Ronnie bandwagon.Next, she tells Jordan that Jessie’s going to put up Casey, so Jordan goes off to tell Jeff, who is pretty upset about this.Finally, Jeff goes out to tell Banana-Suit Casey that there’s talk of him going up.Casey springs into action to go talk to Jessie.This can’t end well.
Jessie tells Casey “the right guy’s going out the door”, and Casey asks who that is.Jessie witlessly replies “the right guy”.Smooth, dude.Casey tries to appeal to reason, and makes the mistake of saying “I thought you were smarter than that”.No, Casey.No he isn’t.Still, Jessie says in the Diary Room that Casey gave him a lot to think about.Mostly bananas, I bet.
Michele stares at the memory wall and talks about the upcoming Veto Ceremony.Jeff and Jordan are increasingly uncertain of the outcome.Who would have thought I’d be rooting for Casey not to be nominated?Obviously, Michele takes herself off the block.Because, duh.Admirably, the music guy still tries to make this sound dramatic.Jessie talks about how great he is, and then puts Casey on the block.Ronnie shoots Jordan a look that I don’t quite get.
Cripes, Ronnie’s talking about how great he is now.Hate him.Jordan says she’s “not the smartest crayon in the box”, which is adorable.Who’s going home?And what’s this “huge announcement that will turn the game upside down”?(My guess is that they’re breaking up the cliques, though this seems awfully early.)Myndi’s back on Thursday, and she will break it all down for you.
