Episode 14 – July 28, 2013
You know, as time goes on, it’s probably like your alarm clock and you stop hearing that clanging noise after a while. That’s like Aaryn’s racism and obnoxiousness for me at this point. I stop hearing it until something really new comes along to knock me upside the head. I actually find her fun to watch and some of her comments about the game are actually correct and coherent…then she drops an “axe” and tells Candice that she’s been saying “axe” more than “ask” because of Candice. OMfuckingG. Unreal. Not that I want to like Aaryn but sometimes her reactions really are entertaining. Just that fucking casual racism and bitchery and it’s like….damn.
I was busy this weekend with Jon & Alyssa visiting us so no chance to write up Episode 13, but here’s a quick recap:
Aaryn made a game-saving deal with Helen to put up whoever Helen wanted if Aaryn happened to win HoH; The Ants Alliance basically dissolved, especially after Judd sold it out and Kaitlin was evicted; Elissa became a bit unstable and started acting on her own and not with her alliance; Aaryn won HoH in a crazy victory on the roulette wheel.
So, this week’s HoH and the options available:
She’s BAAAAACKK! It’s Elissa’s worst nightmare. For everyone else though, it’s a mixed bag of emotions. Smartest-player-in-the-house Helen already had shored up her deals with Aaryn and surprisingly in this episode, we saw that Aaryn was willing to honor her deal. She complained about it to EVERYONE in the house when all sorts of new deals were proposed, but in the end, she kept her word to Helen. I’m surprised. There were a few options she definitely could have gone with:
- Nominate Amanda & McCrae: I would have hated this if she had done it, but I could have respected it. Howard and Spencer are correct that Aaryn could turn the house around if she would do something like this (or nominate Elissa and Helen, or Amanda & Helen). If you take action to disrupt the status quo, that could benefit your game and make you really really memorable for the endgame.
- Nominate Candice & Howard: We get the edit on the show that Howard did not trick Candice into antagonizing Aaryn by trying to propose the house-shaking strategy. But it certainly COULD have been that way and I totally can see why Candice would think that it was what happened. Aaryn’s attitude during that entire scene….her “Candice switch” and the before-mentioned “axe”….ugh.
- Nominate Elissa and someone: I am very surprised that Aaryn didn’t take this option. Helen even was telling Aaryn to nominate the crazy. I’m not sure how legit those feelings were as the CBS edit is always very misleading, but you would think that Aaryn would have been happy to nominate her enemy. I had to quote Aaryn for my title of this recap as it was just so funny when Elissa was just being plain weird in the kitchen. Elissa IS being very unreliable at this point – I think Helen HAS to cut her loose if she intends to continue playing strategically. Elissa has shown time and again that she’s playing for herself only, and she’s playing stupidly on top of that.
Despite all these options though, in the end, and to Elissa’s visible surprise, Aaryn honored the deal and nominated Helen’s two main targets, Howard and Spencer. More guys on the way out? We’ll see. I think people will wise up to the fact that Elissa can’t compete for Veto due to her penalty in the last Veto comp. It’s possible she’ll be nominated by the MVP again so she could be potentially screwed. If Helen and Amanda (still likely on the outs with Elissa) decide enough is enough, Elissa could go.
The Have Nots and the Floaters
It was a cool competition despite the traditional product placement of Unforgettable. Sucks to be Candice though, as she’s a Have Not AGAIN.
I’m not sure what to think about Candice, to be honest. I remember her early conversations with Helen which seemed to be a main catalyst for flipping the tables on the Mean Girls alliance. But now it seems Candice & Helen don’t even talk about strategy anymore. In the creation of the Ants Alliance, Howard never even mentioned her. I’m not sure I’d call Candice a floater, but she certainly seems to be a pawn in many peoples’ machinations.
What do you even call people like GinaMarie, Andy and Jessie? I guess they’re floaters? Under-the-radarers? GinaMarie is loud but she’s been absolutely useless when it comes to anything involving gameplay. Andy and Jessie are just there for votes and smiles, I guess. I’m hoping they end up playing a part in this show but I have a feeling they won’t know what hit them when they get voted out. Oh well.
All bow down to Queen Helen.