BBB: Episode 9

It's a tight race in the pool this season, and for once that race doesn't include Moon or Doug! It's too early to be counting chickens, but I'm optimistic that someone new will be adding to the trophy this season. Also, we're thinking we should start calling it an idol instead of a trophy from now on.

Another fabulous episode of intrigue, backstabbing, idol plays, and ever-shifting alliances. Ultimately I think Jefra made the right move sticking with her original alliance - switching to an alliance with few but likable players would have been a terrible idea, but she doesn't seem inclined to think things like that through on her own. I'm glad Trish & Kass talked some sense into her.

The idol finds, feints & plays were really exciting! It seems like Tony was destined to find the TP idol and I'm glad he found it when he did. Now he has a MASSIVE advantage. Showing it at tribal didn't make any sense, but Logic and Tony have never really had much to do with each before, so I don't see why that would change now.

Gnight to useless Jeremiah - even when he essentially found out from Jefra that he was going home he was extremely boring & non-proactive. You won't be missed since you contributed nothing to the game. 

Current Standings:

Sinkers and Floaters: 67 points

1. Sarah (19 points)

2. Morgan (13 points)

3. Tasha (18 points)

4. Spencer (17 points)

J'Tude: 48 points

1. Tony (18 points)

2. Kass (4 points)

3. Jeremiah (23 points)

4. J'Tia (3 points)

__: 42 points

1. LJ (23 points)

2. Trish (13 points)

3. Cliff (10 points)

4. Lindsey (-4 points)

WooBrr: 34 points

1. Woo (19 points)

2. Brice (0 points)

3. Alexis (2 points)

4. Jefra (13 points)

Power Rankings:

1. J'Tude - Huge episode for J'Tude. If we were going to lose someone, Jeremiah was our best case scenario. Add to that Tony's idol find & Spencer's idol misplay & things really couldn't have gone better for this team. 

2. Sinkers & Floaters - Spencer & Tasha both would probably win if they made it to final tribal, and Spencer is a huge strategic & mental threat. Tony only needs the tiniest of nudges to opt for backstabbing over stable plays & Spencer seems prepared to push him in that direction. Tony would be a fool to ally himself with such a threat, and take someone who has stated that he'd vote for him if he made final tribal, but again, Tony is easily influenced. Spencer is clever to target him. 

3. WooBrr - Jefra sticking with the majority alliance keeps a sliver of hope alive for WooBrr. Now there's a chance that she and/or Woo could make final tribal & earn them some points. Woo is going to need to start producing in challenges big-time though to make up the point gap.  

4. __ - Could Trish make final tribal? I kind of doubt it. She's done enough strategizing & overall game-play to be a bad choice to take in the "coattail rider" capacity, and she isn't in control of the game enough to take herself there. Losing LJ was a huge hit to her power & influence & I don't think she'll be able to bounce back from that. 

DoW:

Tony for his useless idol feint at tribal. That can only have negative consequences & clearly was his childish response to Spencer saying he had nothing in his bag of tricks.  

BBB: Episode 8

Another exciting episode. I love that Tony can't help but create drama & intrigue at every turn. Hopefully he'll stick around for a long time, not just to help out J'Tude but to keep the blindsides coming! Right now we're standing at: 3 Brains left, 2 Beauties, and 2 Brawn. Who would've thunk it, considering how this season started!? 

Current Standings:

Sinkers and Floaters: 62 points

1. Sarah (19 points)

2. Morgan (13 points)

3. Tasha (10 points)

4. Spencer (20 points)

__: 42 points

1. LJ (23 points)

2. Trish (13 points)

3. Cliff (10 points)

4. Lindsey (-4 points)

WooBrr: 32 points

1. Woo (19 points)

2. Brice (0 points)

3. Alexis (2 points)

4. Jefra (11 points)

J'Tude: 26 points

1. Tony (8 points)

2. Kass (4 points)

3. Jeremiah (11 points)

4. J'Tia (3 points)

Power Rankings:

1. J'Tude - Right now it seems like Tony & Spencer are the front-runners for winning the show. Clearly a lot can change at any moment, but for now we have 2 people in the majority alliance and one of them is an idol hound. Hopefully Tony can find the magical Tyler Perry Idol soon & get an even more secure foothold in this game.  

2. Sinkers & Floaters - AndBag's dregs are coming up huge in the mid- to late game. Winning critical immunity challenges and finding idols is an everyday occurrence for them. They have a lot riding on some unpredictable folks, though. They need to stay sharp and be the move-makers to last for the long haul.

3. WooBrr - Woo and Jefra are pawns in this game at best. Jefra might be even less useful than that. Woo acting based on his emotions this episode, but looking at it now, was it the right move? Does he have a better chance of beating Spencer, Tasha, Tony &/or Jeremiah at finals, or would he have done better with Kass, Jefra, Trish &/or LJ? I think his former alliance would have served him better - there are more coattail riders in this alliance that he could have beaten. Oh well, he made his choice, now let's see how the doltish ninja does against a scheming powerhouse alliance. 

4. __ - Gnight __. LJ at tribal totally reminded me of the king in Aladdin: "Nonsense! I'm an excellent judge of character." Next thing you know you're getting tossed out on your butt. How many players have we seen doing talking head interviews along the lines of LJ's where he said "I've never felt more comfortable in this game" before getting voted out. I think it must happen every single season. Have you learned nothing people!?!? You annoy me with your n00b opinions & mistakes. 

DoW:

LJ.   

BBB: Episode 7

This season is certainly keeping the show exciting & the game close! One good or bad episode could sink a team or keep it afloat. 

Current Standings:

Sinkers and Floaters: 54 points

1. Sarah (19 points)

2. Morgan (13 points)

3. Tasha (4 points)

4. Spencer (18 points)

__: 32 points

1. LJ (13 points)

2. Trish (13 points)

3. Cliff (10 points)

4. Lindsey (-4 points)

WooBrr: 32 points

1. Woo (19 points)

2. Brice (0 points)

3. Alexis (2 points)

4. Jefra (11 points)

J'Tude: 22 points

1. Tony (6 points)

2. Kass (4 points)

3. Jeremiah (9 points)

4. J'Tia (3 points)

Power Rankings:

1. J'Tude - Thank goodness Tony didn't go home! Looking back now, it was seriously unlikely that he'd get voted out since Kass switching would have just made things even at the vote and no one want to draw rocks. At the time, though, i was really worried. Now, however, the alliances are divided 6-3 and the majority alliance will likely start talking about splitting their votes. This is when a Kass flip can be most effective and take out a huge threat. Long-term, would it be a good move? Only if she can sell the "I'm a free agent" line really well. 

2. __ - Ben noted that LJ isn't getting as much air time as one would expect from such a dominant player. Perhaps he's trying to lay low, but his level of TV time might be an indication that he lays too low to be able to save himself or make big moves when the time comes. Still, lots of potential on this team with Trish & LJ both proving to be influential when it comes to strategy. 

3. Sinkers & Floaters -  Leo jumped on my computer last night so that he could leave his opinion about this team: ΩΩΩ. Well said, Leo. AndBag got some much-needed point boosting from Spencer this last episode. They lost Morgan who was no point earner, but potentially could have been taken to the finals because of her uselessness, stupidity and terrible personality. More worrying is that Tasha is starting to be mentioned as a potential threat. Still, if Spencer plays it right, he could use his newfound idol to win AndBag some points & hold this team together. Sinkers have lost players, but gained potential this week.

4. WooBrr - Woo started this episode by seeming to be smart when he figured out that someone probably got a hidden idol clue at the reward challenge. Sadly he handled the discovery of the hidden idol clue with as much grace as Richey playing volleyball. Spencer's oversight of FORGETTING HIS PANTS somehow turned into "Woo stole my clue and threw my pants in the water." Woo should have been able to manage his PR much more effectively. 

DOW:

I just can't get over the fact that Spencer forgot both his pants & his idol clue. Especially coming from someone who should be one of the smartest guys left in the game, I am giving him my DOW vote this week. 

BBB: Episode 6

Thanks to Bag & Moon for guest-blogging while I was away! Apart from the necessity of needing guest bloggers I think it was a lot of fun to read other perspectives, get more graphics, etc etc, so if anyone else would like to guest blog, please let me know! I am happy to share.

Really great episode last night!! Lots of intrigue & plotting, lots of last-second vote switches, and plenty of attitude problems. This was actually a great example of why no one should EVER feel safe on this show. As soon as a group that was primarily in the minority becomes the majority they often think they can take a break from all the scheming & maneuvering. "We've got the numbers, nothing can stop us now!" is the death cry of many an alliance that seems incapable of remembering how they were able to have just taken out a majority alliance.

What made Boston Rob & his ilk so brilliant & impressive was their never-failing paranoia that someone on their tribe could be corrupted. They never for a moment took it easy, they always checked in with everyone constantly to make sure they felt that they were respected & an important part of the alliance as well as checking for any signs of cracking & changing sides.



Most impressive contestants so far:

• Trish - everyone underestimates her but she is the one making all the right moves & improving her situation. She's moved from bottom-dweller to one of the chief schemers in the game, with several of the remaining players owing her big-time.
• LJ - LJ is playing a brilliant game, which we all expected. He's humble & is doing a great job of appearing selfless while also crushing most challenges.
• Kass - gets props for staying alive & in power in this game despite her abrasive personality. Also demonstrates a great knack for flexibility in strategy that most people are incapable of.

Biggest disappointments:

• Sarah - seriously, woman you really should have known better. You might as well have fashioned a twig tiara for your head & a coconut bullseye for your back.
• Woo - it was noted last night that Woo and Hodor have a lot in common: they both seem to enjoy saying their own name more than anything else. His only win came with an asterisk since he got to wear those badass clingy shoes when everyone else went barefoot.

Current Standings:

__: 31 points
1. LJ (12 points)
2. Trish (13 points)
3. Cliff (10 points)
4. Lindsey (-4 points)

WooBrr: 31 points
1. Woo (19 points)
2. Brice (0 points)
3. Alexis (2 points)
4. Jefra (10 points)

Sinkers and Floaters: 31 points
1. Sarah (19 points)
2. Morgan (2 points)
3. Tasha (4 points)
4. Spencer (6 points)

J'Tude: 21 points
1. Tony (6 points)
2. Kass (4 points)
3. Jeremiah (8 points)
4. J'Tia (3 points)


Power Rankings:

1. J'Tude - My obvious bias towards this team makes me overrate myself a lot. Still, I think that this is the most dynamic team left -- 1 person getting voted out won't sink this ship. It helps that Tony will do whatever it takes to find immunity idols, Kass is such a dynamic player, and Jeremiah is so low on the power-rankings totem pole that no one's going to bother voting him out for a while.

2. __ - Moon & Melissa's team name was a bit too difficult to communicate, so I've changed it to an underscore, sorry Bag. __ has two very strong competitors left, but they are down to 2 players, both of whom have already been labeled as threats in this game. One wrong move & this team will be in dire straits.

3. Sinkers & Floaters - Wednesday's episode was devastating for Bag & Andrea. Their entire team got backstabbed in one fell swoop with the cherry on top being their best player getting voted out. It's still early, and anything can happen, but the Brain remnants need to get their act together quickly, shore up their defenses, and put together a plan of attack or they will all be in screwed.

4. WooBrr - But not as screwed as Doug & Bri! This team has nothing going for it unless they have a string of balance challenges in the queue for Woo to win using his parkour skills & cheater shoes. On the plus side they are now in the dominant alliance. On the downside that really means very little for your personal safety.


DoW:

Sarah.