BBB 2: Episode 6

Did Aubry make the right move in switching her vote at the last second? I'm not sure, and I suppose we'll never really know since the merge changes things up so much. Let's look forward though to consider it for a moment. Here's the break-down of who made it based on original tribes:

Brains = 4 (Joe, Debbie, Neal, Aubry)
Brawn = 3 (Jason, Scot, Cydney)
Beauty = 4 (Tai, Nick, Julia, Michele)

If Aubry had stuck with Julia & then Julia ended up going home in the tiebreak (not sure how this really would have gone down, but let's just assume this in my hypothetical), then Brains would have entered the merge 5 strong with the other tribes only having 3 each. This probably would have been problematic as Brawn & Beauty could have paired up (with that great Tai/Scot bond bringing them all together) and taken out Brains one-by-one. Plus, Peter very well could betray them at any moment.

So it probably is good that Aubry changed her mind at the last moment. Not sure what her chances are now, but I'm guessing they'll be better than if she'd gone the other way.

How will things play out in the merge? I have no idea! I'm always surprised, though, at how much the new alliances formed during the tribe switch-up often take precedence over the much longer-standing original tribal alliances. The only thing I'm feeling pretty certain about is that Scot, Jason, Tai & Cydney will probably be a force to be reckoned with.


The Teams:

Bagdrea "Beautiful Mind" - 52 points

1. Caleb (6 pts)
2. Tai (19 pts)
3. Nick (19 pts)
4. Joe (8 pts)

Michal & Ben "Cock of the Walk" - 45 points

1. Anna (9 pts)
2. Jason (14 pts)
3. Peter (9 pts)
4. Debbie (13 pts)

MoonBee "Dairy Kings" - 45 points

1. Neal (18 pts)
2. Julia (13 pts)
3. Scot (5 pts)
4. Aubry (9 pts)

Doug & Bri "She-Ra" - 19 points

1. Liz (-2 pts)
2. Jenny (-6 pts)
3. Michele (18 pts)
4. Cydney (9 pts)

Dreg: Alecia - 0 points


Power Rankings:

1. Dairy Kings: All of MoonBee's players made the merge which is huge. With the merge taking place next week & Peter being gone from the game, I have no idea who might be on the chopping block next week. Based on where things stand at this moment, though, these players all seem like they'll be safe though. I think Scot is capable of going all the way to final tribal, but I'm not really seeing this for any of the others (except maybe Julia as a coattail rider). Still, it's a strong supporting cast that will likely bring in points in challenges.

2. Beautiful Mind: I think Tai is the favorite to win at this point, but I don't much care for the rest of this team. How much longer can Crusty Joe make it? I expect he'll have a lot of trouble adapting to the new dynamics that the merge brings. Nick is a jackass, and that's pretty much all I'll say about him. He might be able to bring in some big points in challenges though before getting voted out. Not sure it'll be enough though, even if Tai wins.

3. Cock of the Walk: Turns out Peter was most useful to our team for his DOW run, but now it looks like he didn't get even get that right! Dr. Douche needed to stick around for another 1-2 episodes in order to lock that up. I think Debbie & Jason are both canny players, but they are also both very capable of rubbing people the wrong way. They could go far or get voted out next episode - both are very realistic options. This team is on thin ice.

4. She-Ra: I hope Michele gets back at Nick's chauvinist douchery with a good ole fashioned backstabbing. As Doug noted in comments, Cydney is doing pretty well for herself. Still, this team is down a lot of points & Cydney on her own won't be enough to get this team the win. She might be enough to keep them from making the trophy next season though!


Player Rankings:

1. Tai
2. Scot
3. Debbie
4. Aubry
5. Jason
6. Neal
7. Cydney
8. Julia
9. Joe
10. Nick
11. Michele

Douche of the Week:
Peter, sadly for the last time! Voting him DOW each week is the only thing I'll miss about Peter. Looks like Nick may pick up this fallen DOW crown moving forward...

BBB 2: Episode 5

After the drama of last week this episode felt mundane. The tribal switch-up was fairly balanced between the tribes & no one bothered to think any further than "I'm sticking with my initial group, who else can we bring on board?" How about some back-stabbing people!?! Especially against Peter, can't believe that both he & Aubry/Joe are okay staying aligned. If I was Aubry/Joe I wouldn't trust Peter one bit & would have targeted him first. And if I was Peter I would have been so thrilled to be able to jump ship & join up with some other castaways.


The Teams:

Bagdrea "Beautiful Mind" - 45 points

1. Caleb (6 pts)
2. Tai (17 pts)
3. Nick (16 pts)
4. Joe (6 pts)

Michal & Ben "Cock of the Walk" - 38 points

1. Anna (9 pts)
2. Jason (11 pts)
3. Peter (8 pts)
4. Debbie (10 pts)

MoonBee "Dairy Kings" - 36 points

1. Neal (15 pts)
2. Julia (11 pts)
3. Scot (3 pts)
4. Aubry (7 pts)

Doug & Bri "She-Ra" - 13 points

1. Liz (-2 pts)
2. Jenny (-6 pts)
3. Michele (15 pts)
4. Cydney (6 pts)

Dreg: Alecia - 0 points


Power Rankings:

1. Dairy Kings: MoonBee is the only team left with their first pick still in the game AND he just found an idol. The bad news is that Julia is probably next on the chopping block. The good news is that Scot is looking like he's in it for the long haul & Aubry is safe for now.

2. Cock of the Walk: Peter continues to anti-impress, but Jason & Debbie both seem like players. Losing Anna rather than Peter was a big hit.  And while I get that Tai decided to hold on to the idol in order save it to save himself, I'm not sure it was the right move. He & Scot are now playing in survival mode instead of being in a dominating position in their new tribe.

3. Beautiful Mind: I don't think that either Joe or Nick are strong players, but Tai is doing great! His heartbreak over losing Caleb is quickly fading as he rebounds with his new bromance partner, Scot. He was obviously the bigger threat over Anna because he works harder around camp & is so damn likable - the fact that the other players can't see that only proves how much of a threat he is. I'm cheering for him for sure!

4. She-Ra: Cydney's position in this game seems to have improved with the tribal switch-up, but Michele is in trouble. Her primary alliance is now with The Robot, which doesn't bode well for her. Hopefully Cyd & Debbie stay strong together though, that could be a powerful odd couple.


Douche of the Week:
As Gordon Ramsey would say, "Peter all day!"

BBB 2: Episode 4

Wow, what an intense episode! Potentially it was the postpartum hormones or maybe the extremely dramatic background music, but I was tearing up a bit during the huge medical emergency. It was so endearing to watch Jason of the Kyle being supportive & caring with Cydney - definitely made me like him more. Also heartbreaking to watch the Beauty tribe (with the conspicuous absence of Nick the Robot) huddled up together crying while their beloved Caleb being attended to.

More than anything, it was watching Caleb go down that made this episode so emotional. He seemed like a really great person, great teammate, and a true contender in the game. He was so strong that seeing him lying helpless in the sand made it all the scarier. That and seeing EVERY support staff on the show out helping with the medical situation really made it hit home how serious & dangerous things were out there.

I'm glad they pretty much skimmed over Alecia's departure. After the medevac, any drama afterwards would have just been out of place. Also, we've already seen the Alecia v. Scot & Jason drama so much that it would have been painful to watch a full tribal council of them dragging her through the mud again.


The Teams:

Bagdrea "Beautiful Mind" - 42 points

1. Caleb (6 pts)
2. Tai (17 pts)
3. Nick (13 pts)
4. Joe (6 pts)

Michal & Ben "Cock of the Walk" - 34 points

1. Anna (11 pts)
2. Jason (8 pts)
3. Peter (8 pts)
4. Debbie (7 pts)

MoonBee "Dairy Kings" - 28 points

1. Neal (7 pts)
2. Julia (11 pts)
3. Scot (3 pts)
4. Aubry (7 pts)

Doug & Bri "She-Ra" - 7 points

1. Liz (-2 pts)
2. Jenny (-6 pts)
3. Michele (12 pts)
4. Cydney (3 pts)

Dreg: Alecia - 0 points


Power Rankings:

1. Cock of the Walk: While again I am declaring this pool wide open (with one obvious exception) I'm giving our team a slight edge. This is based on the amount of airtime our players - in particular Jason & Debbie - are getting. At first I wrote Debbie's generous airtime off to the producers wanting to get the crazy lady as much time as possible before her early departure, but now I'm thinking she may be in this for the long haul.

2. Dairy Kings: This seems like a really well rounded team, and they ate still at full strength which is hugely important pre-merge. These castaways just aren't getting as much attention as I would expect, which makes me think MoonBee could lose someone soon with the tribe mix-up.

3. Beautiful Mind: I did NOT think that Caleb would be the one to get medevacked! What a huge loss for the show & more importantly for Bagdrea. With the impending tribe mix-up following on the heels of losing their top pick, I'm suddenly concerned for this team. Joe & Nick do not seem like the kind of guys who will adapt well to new tribes/needing to make new alliances.

4. She-Ra: when it looked like Cydney might get medevacked too I almost wasn't surprised considering how unlucky this team has been. I guess they dodged that bullet but this is another team that won't benefit from the tribe mix-up. In any case they don't really have a chance anyway, so it's not worth dwelling on too much. Right now I'm wondering how Brawn would have fared if Cydney had fought to keep Darnell around in the first episode. I suspect they would have been in much better shape & Doug & Bri's team would be too!


Douche of the Week:
Maybe the sun or the Cambodian heat? No one is really standing out, but I'll go with Alecia for bickering with Scot as soon as they returned to camp when what they really should have been doing was making sure Cydney got the rest & support she needed.

BBB 2: Episode 3

Episode 3 continues the utter devastation of Doug & Bri's team that started in episode 2. Getting dismantled this early is shocking considering how strong this team looked to be right after the draft. At this point they probably don't have a chance unless 5+ people not on their team end up getting medevacked.

It was nice to get a glimpse into the dynamics of tribes besides Brawn. Beauty really seems united & that all-female alliance seems rock solid... though who knows how it will hold up with a tribe switcheroo. Caleb & Tai are the cutest couple ever! And my favorite part of the episode was when Ben said "this Nick guy is a robot" literally moments before Nick said "some people say I'm like a robot." I would not be sad to see him go!

Brains tribe is a scheming snake pit as it turns out.  Liz & Peter were extremely disappointing in their self-congratulatory "masterminding" of the game. Really, anyone who wants to vote people out of their own tribe after being in the game for less than a week deserves to go home. Debbie is proving to be more of a player than we all thought. I dislike Joe, though that might not be merited. I'm cheering for Neal, Debbie, and Aubry though!


The Teams:
Some team names are still needed!

Bagdrea "Beautiful Mind" - 37 points

1. Caleb (10 pts)
2. Tai (15 pts)
3. Nick (10 pts)
4. Joe (2 pts)

Michal & Ben "Cocky Bastards" - 22 points

1. Anna (9 pts)
2. Jason (8 pts)
3. Peter (3 pts)
4. Debbie (2 pts)

MoonBee - 17 points

1. Neal (3 pts)
2. Julia (9 pts)
3. Scot (3 pts)
4. Aubry (2 pts)

Doug & Bri "She-Ra" - 4 points

1. Liz (-2 pts)
2. Jenny (-6 pts)
3. Michele (9 pts)
4. Cydney (3 pts)

Dreg: Alecia - 3 points


Power Rankings:

1. Beautiful Mind: Last week I said this pool was wide open. Now I'm thinking this might be a runaway from Bagdrea unless one of their key players gets medevacked. Tai had an idol,  Caleb is in a good spot, Joe is too. Even if they lose their robot next week they are going to be tough to beat!

2. MoonBee: Turns out that Neal/Aubry is definitely superior to Peter/Debbie! I still have my doubts about Scot, but otherwise I like this team.

3. Michal & Ben: Yikes, who could have predicted that Debbie would be the mastermind of the Brains tribe? That may say more about the rest of the tribe rather than Debbie though.... We got really lucky that Peter wasn't voted out last episode. I hope he's learned a lesson & reins in the arrogance, but that's probably just wishful thinking.

4. Doug & Bri: Liz really was the bigger threat over Peter, but considering how obnoxious he was during tribal I'm a little surprised they didn't change their minds. Doug & Bri's best bet at making a mark this season is to oust me from the "lowest score recorded" category.


Douche of the Week:
Peter!