Big Brother 15 – Week 2 Cast Assessment (and the Season Thus Far)

Spoilers for people who do not watch the live feeds or who are not caught up on the episodes. This was written before nominations today, so I’m only talking about fights that have happened since yesterday’s eviction

I know a lot of people have been expecting this post for a while, so here it…my first official Big Brother post on this blog. Just a bit of a background of my Big Brother watching experience: I have watched this show since it first premiered back in July 2000 (yes, that first season that CBS pretends never existed unless there’s a mention of Chicken George), and I have not missed an episode ever since. Around season 10, I started watching the live feeds, and that is when I realized that the real show was happening there, not on CBS. I still watch the feeds every summer, and a lot of what I’m going to talk about with this season is going to mention both the CBS show and what’s happening live in the house. So, if you’re not a fan of what happens on the feeds and choose to believe CBS’s slanted view of what’s happening in the house, then my Big Brother blog posts are probably not going to be for you.

That being said, this season is only two weeks old, and it’s already been a doozy. Yes, there are some players that are making headlines outside the house and have made this season more explosive than I can ever remember, but there’s a lot of interesting characters in there that are just fun to watch outside of the hate mongering. The MVP twist this season is influencing the gameplay unlike anything I’ve seen since the Power of Veto was introduced back in season 3, so I’m all for it. Do I think production is playing a hand in who’s getting the MVP? Probably. Producers are allowed to vote too. But it’s making things interesting at the very least, so I don’t necessarily mind. Even though we were promised the most houseguests ever (this season is tied with 9 and 14 for that record) as well as a 100 day game (Julie very clearly stated in the premiere this would be 90 days), the MVP twist has lived up to its potential so far. What’s interesting about the twist is that the HOH power has been taken away a bit, and whoever the HOH is can’t necessarily pretend like they run the house or try to bully people into voting a certain way (I’m looking at you, Willie Hantz). Instead, the HOH has to play nice the entire week, or they take the risk that neither of their nominees will go home. We’ve seen two different takes on this within the first two weeks (which I’ll talk about in the cast assessment, as well as which one worked better). The competitions have been ok, mostly retreads of games from seasons past, but does anyone actually watch Big Brother for the competitions other than the endurance ones that play out on the live feeds? Overall, it’s been a stellar season so far, if not a fairly uncomfortable one to watch at times.

So, let’s start talking about the players. I’m going to go through each of the players of this season, including the two that have been evicted just to be fair. I’ll discuss how they’re being portrayed on the show, what they’re really up to on the feeds, and how I think they stand in the game at this early stage. I’ll try to keep it short for most of the players since there’s so many this year, but some need to be discussed more than others. Let’s go through the houseguests starting with the first in alphabetical order, shall we? Ok, who’s first…?

Maybe I should have gone alphabetical by last name…

Aaryn: Let’s just get her out of the way first. Yes, she is a racist. There’s no question about it. CBS is actually editing her to be much kinder than she actually is. I’m sure when they first cast her, they were hoping for a nice blonde haired, blue eyed sweetheart from Texas who would be this season’s Jordan and get into a fun showmance with one of the many eligible men in the house (and if the first two episodes of the season were any indication, the plan was to edit her in this fashion). Boy, were they wrong with her. The girl is delusional on all counts, and she clearly has no idea what is happening in the outside world, even though more than one person in the house has called her out on her racist remarks. She just has no chance of winning. She has made so many mistakes thus far, from proving she was strong in the first HOH competition, to getting into a showmance with perhaps the worst player in Big Brother history (Congratulations Lawon! Your reign has ended!), and this past week she showed how she clearly didn’t understand how the MVP twist should be played, not even acknowledging that one of her supposed allies was nominated and thinking she could ride her one HOH to victory. It obviously didn’t pay off for her, and she’s going to have to pay for her actions soon. Last night was tough to watch on the feeds, with Amanda trying hard to make her understand how she is coming off, but she wouldn’t hear any of it. The only way she wins is if the rest of the house gets amnesia between now and September.

“I’m not sure what to do with my hands.”

Amanda: On the opposite side, here’s a girl who’s figuring the game out, and rather quickly. I was a little skeptical of her at first. I’m not a fan of her showmance with McCrae, because she’s stealing the game from one of my favorites this season, but we’ve seen the female half of a showmance win many times in the past (Lisa, Jordan, and Rachel). She understands that Big Brother is a social game, and she has done a great job of making the majority of the house think she’s on their side. Her diary room sessions are clearly the best so far this year, and her commentary on the feeds is even more clever. She’s fun to watch, and she stands a good chance to make it far, but at this point I think she’ll fall just short of the crown, because some are beginning to realize she’s a player.

The token bow-tie wearer of the season.

Andy: He’s put himself in a solid position after last night’s vote, but the house is figuring out that he’s sneaky. The running gag is that he can somehow show up on all four of the live feed cameras at the same time, and that’s about right with the speed that he moves from conversation to conversation. He’s probably going to make it to the jury stage, but not long after.

After her Saved By the Bell audition

Candice: This girl has been put through the ringer in the house, and last night was about as bad as I’ve ever seen someone get attacked on this show. Aaryn, Kaitlin, and GinaMarie came at her from all sides, and she’s been taking it in stride up until now. Last night she came out fighting, and it almost broke her. She’s smart and observant, and she was the first to figure out the all-boy alliance was happening. I like her and wish she would do well, but for some reason I think she’s destined for a 7th or 8th place finish.

Jeff Spicoli 2.0

David (Evicted Week 1): The dumbest Big Brother player ever. He came into the house to find a showmance, and he found Aaryn somehow. He couldn’t spell “competition” when his life in the game depended on it, even though the word was displayed clearly for him. Ultimately, he was evicted for teaming up with Aaryn and for refusing to actually play the game. I’m sure he’s harmless in real life, but he was hard to watch when there are so many people who would have loved to have been in his place.

Why should I bother putting her picture up? This is all America cares about apparently.

Rachel Reilly’s Sister: I’m sure she has a name. But no one really cares what it is. How else would you explain that the most boring houseguest this season has been named MVP twice? Week 1, McCrae told her who to put up, last week Candice told her to put up Nick. She hasn’t made a single decision for herself, and she’s just as dull as can be. The other houseguests have figured out how to use her for their benefit, and once she’s fulfilled her purpose, she’s gone. Unless production has something to do with it, in which case she’ll win in the same contrived manner as her sister before her. I’m sure she’s a wonderful person, but I would like to see her actually make a move for herself.  Seriously America, stop voting for her!!!

Using Nick’s shorts as a tissue after last night’s eviction. Seriously.

GinaMarie: I’m torn on her. She’s said some absolutely vile things on the feeds, and is now paying for her comments in the outside world. She’s incredibly annoying on most occasions. But she is sooo entertaining to watch, and most of the people in the house seem to like her. Last night was hysterical watching her have a funeral for Nick (the likes of which haven’t been seen since Jessie’s eviction in BB11). Half of me wants her to stay and rile up the houseguests like she has been, the other half is terrified of what she’ll say the longer she’s in there. I hope she finds some kind of redemption within the next few weeks, and I truly think she’s going to regret what she has said in there, unlike Aaryn.  She’s either out in the next four weeks, or she’s sticking around until the final 4 as a goat like Talla from Big Brother Canada.

The last time she was seen not crying on the show.

Helen: Helen’s smart, and possibly the most intelligent person on this season. Unfortunately for her, she’s playing with a group of people who don’t exactly play logically. I like her a lot, and I hope she does well in this game. I actually think she’ll do well as long as she plays her cards right as HOH this week. Yes, she cries way too much, but she misses her kids, so I’ll give her some credit. No one even considered voting for her this week, which means she’s playing well. Again, her game depends on this week. Hope she does the right thing.

Howard smash.

Howard: Howard is a great person, and played the game really well the first two weeks. He messed up last night. There is a bit of a temper in him that came out after he tried to calm Candice, and it was a little scary to watch. He’s been biting his tongue for the last two weeks listening to Aaryn and GinaMarie’s racial slurs, and I don’t think he’s going to last much longer, and I hope he takes Aaryn and the Mean Girl brigade down with him. Allowing the vote to evict Nick was also a huge mistake, voting for Nick to stay after allowing that was worse, and I think he’s going to pay for it within the next few weeks. A lot of the house doesn’t trust him now, and he has a lot of back peddling to do.

Jeremy’s resting face.

Jeremy: How the mighty have fallen. I have to give him credit, he held his tongue yesterday and tried to calm the situation knowing that he’s the next target when many thought he was going to be in charge of fights. The man has no social game, and he’s pretty much the biggest meathead I’ve ever seen on the show.  Houseguests who think they can win their way to the $500,000 have never won, and that may still be his strategy, even after his bromance left last night. He’s gone within the next two to three weeks.  Grade A tool.

“Maybe Jeff will have a showmance with me!”

Jessie: Oh, you poor girl. I really feel bad, because she may be one of the most naive people to ever play Big Brother, even though she is super sweet. However, flipping sides last night was the right move, and she put herself in a really good position. She even stood her ground against the mean girls last night, so she might have some fight in her after all. I’d say she’s one of the few locks to make the final four, because she’ll be carried along.

Howie Gordon traveled back in time and grew a Tennessee accent.

Judd: Party Daughtery is just amazing. He sleeps all day, but he comes alive at night. Good for him for actually calling the mean girls trash to their face. It’s about time someone said it, and it’s great that it was the most likable person in the house. He has woven his way into the good graces of a lot of the power players this season, and he’s done a great job at just observing without getting himself involved. At this point in the game, I think Judd stands the best chance of winning, and I would be happy to see him win the prize.

Jeremy’s face has rubbed off on her.

Kaitlin: I used to think she was just ok and complicit in Aaryn and GinaMarie’s actions. After last night and goading Aaryn and GinaMarie to try and bring out Candice’s “black side”, I completely lost whatever respect I had for her. She chose the wrong side of the house, and her big protector Jeremy is now completely powerless. Aaryn and Jeremy may be the targets now, but her name will pop up not soon after.

Just your typical Big Brother superfan.

McCrae: Out of any of the houseguest this year, McCrae is the person I know I would be friends with in the house. He’s super relaxed, really quick witted, and by far this biggest fan of the show since Ian Terry last year. Unfortunately for him, he has teamed up with the most dangerous woman in the game. I’m happy for him that he got rid of the Moving Company (seriously, how horrible was that alliance name?), and he totally played his first HOH correctly by leaving it open that he would be ok if he MVP nomination left and, and he just let the house decide. Now the MC is out in the open in the house, I hope that McCrae can play the game he wanted to when he first came in, and if he finally figures out that Amanda is bad for his game, he might have a good shot of winning. McCrae is my official endorsement for the MVP vote for as long as he’s in the house (if that means anything).

No caption needed here, huh?

Nick (evicted Week 2): This is a classic case of too hard too fast. He should have sat back and let the game play out around him, but he inserted himself where he didn’t need to, and he chose the absolute wrong group of people to hang out with in Aaryn, Jeremy, and GinaMarie. In another season, he may have been a decent player, but in a season of 16 newbies, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Modern-day Yukon Cornelius.

Spencer: His game is falling really fast from him. He had a solid first week, but now that the Moving Company is out, nobody in the house trusts him. Fortunately for him, there are bigger fish to fry, but I don’t think anybody is going to forget how much they distrust him. Also, he’s pretty much a misogynist, particularly in a few choice words he uses, making him even more unlikable. The house may like him, but they don’t trust him. Early jury boot, in my opinion.

 

So there you have it. I know that was a lot, but I hope you enjoyed it. If you’re a BB fan, I do want to mention two sites that have some awesome Big Brother content I’ve been following this season. The first is hamsterwatch.com, which is a popular BB fan site with some solid analysis of the entertainment value of the houseguests on the feeds. Another (and one of my favorite sites period) is robhasawebsite.com. This site is run by Rob Cesternino, who is my absolute favorite Survivor player of all time. There are a few written critiques/analyses of a few different reality shows, including BB, and he has a podcast as well where he brings in some popular former BB players to talk about the game (including Ian Terry, Dan Gheesling, Matt Hoffman, and Eric Stein to name a few), and he’s been interviewing the pre-jury evictees so far this season. Definitely work a look for any hardcore BB fan.

Anyway, tell me what you think. Who is everyone endorsing for MVP? Why do people continue to vote for Elissa for MVP? And will Helen stop crying after winning HOH this week?