BB17 Episode 13 – July 22, 2015

<– Previously, I got bored.

I’d say this episode had some interesting things happen, so there’s something good!  I wanted to make the title of this post be “Da’Vonne Was Right” but then Audrey actually got nominated and it was like, FINALLY!  I mean seriously, even being unsure of what the edit was that America was seeing, I don’t think there’s anything that could be edited to make Audrey look like a good competitor.  She’s the worst.  But everyone was clearly not wanting to put out a transgender contestant for fear of looking like a transphobe.  But you know what?   Audrey has earned this nomination, and it’s about fucking time.

WhackStreet Boys, Yo

I admit that this was way more charming than it had any right to be.  I loved that as the performances continued, the audience steadily declined, until finally it was just Jackie humoring them for one of the ridiculously early mandatory performances.  But they were doing their best, and I enjoyed it regardless!

Audrey Picks a Fight, Loses

Audrey doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone.  She throws Jason under the bus and then gets pissed at Shelli & Clay for getting mad at her because she did that.  So she starts telling people outside of the alliance how she feels, and of course everyone can’t wait to go and report it back to the King & Queen of the Prom.  It’s a dumb move by Audrey, and getting all emotional about it is stupid, even if it’s a strategy.  She tries to coerce some protection from Clay over it, hoping to get his promise that she won’t be put up as a replacement nominee.  She doesn’t say “to not get backdoored” but come ON, that is the the intent of that statement.  Clay naturally has that in mind when he & Audrey finally clash, and she starts getting pissed about semantics.  Audrey’s right:  she didn’t say “backdoor.”  But to fall on the sword for saying something that meant the exact same thing?  You’re dumb.

Hey, I look shirtless shots of Clay.  So shoot me!  Shelli gets emotional, privately, knowing that the right move is to put Audrey up as a nominee after the Veto Ceremony, but she feels terrible doing so.  She doesn’t come out and say it’s because she’s afraid she’ll look bad putting up the first transgender contestant, but she might as well.  She talks about supporting Audrey from the get-go and having her back, which I’m sure is true, but the fact is, no one cries about backdooring a competitor in this game.  Audrey has skated by because of her status and the other contestants being afraid of looking like transphobes.  Understandable, but not a fair way of thinking about it.  Audrey is a competitor first and foremost in this game, and should be treated the exact same as everybody else.  And Audrey’s behavior has been awful and completely clumsy – backdooring her has been a long time coming.

Veto Competition

This competition was a repeat from last season, except in this case it was a take-off of “Saved by the Bell” and it was about putting in the right chemical into the beaker rather than cutting the right wire.  Regardless, it’s still fun to watch as people only know their fate once the explosion has occurred.  It was also funny to see that this took place during one of our recent flukey rainy days in SoCal.  Anyway, Shelli threw the comp and in the end, it came down to Jason, John, and Vanessa.  Alas, as you can see above, Jason & John both got it wrong on the same round, earning Vanessa the Power of Veto, our first time this season with someone not on the block winning it.

The Veto Ceremony, Apparently Optional

I call bullshit on this. Audrey refuses to participate in the Veto Ceremony?  Are you kidding?  Isn’t this just as bad as refusing to wear your microphone or throwing it in the fucking pool?  Hi Chima!  But seriously, isn’t in the contract that you are required to participate in all challenges and episodic meetings?  Because if she can milk this for sympathy, which it sounded like was happening with Vanessa’s comments, then that is some bulllllshit.

I’m sorry that you’re unhappy in the Big Brother House, Audrey.  I know I’d be fucking miserable in it, that’s why I don’t play the game and just watch.  But I think it’s ridiculous that you are actually able to pull this kind of stunt and not get penalized for it.

In the end, Vanessa chose to use the Power of Veto, which I was frankly surprised about, and saved Jason.  I think it’s finally time that Audrey is going home.  I think it’s good she goes and can get back on with her life, as she’s clearly not playing this game well and it’s affecting her.  If she can get out before jury, she can just move on for good and not worry about it until the Finale.  If they do keep her though because of sympathy, a major UGH from me.  If they keep her because they consider John a threat, then fine, I can deal with that.  But you know that isn’t going to be the real reason.  Da’Vonne was right.

Status & Standings:

Head of Household: Shelli
Nominated for Eviction:  Jason & John
Power of Veto Winner:  Vanessa
Power of Veto Used?  Yes, on Jason
Replacement Nominee:  Audrey
WhackStreet Boys:  Liz, Jason, John

So we’ll see if Audrey’s eviction closes the chapter on this first phase of the game.  I really hope so.  While this episode provided some decent entertainment and activity, it’s been kind of a slog the past few weeks.  Let’s start the next phase and get some excitement!

Next, The End of the Line –>