Well, Frank is on the block yet again. There’s no way he can survive another week, can he? It seems the majority of the house wants Frank out, Danielle is firm in her convictions and as Danielle tearily assures Wil, he is far too beloved to be at risk for going home. But if we know anything about “Big Brother,” it’s that the Chenbot has to tell us each week there’s a shocking twist or a shocking surprise or something shocking so that we’ll tune in — and this week was actually, well, a little shocking. Color me shocked.
Anyway, WIl and Danielle tearily hug and cry and bond. Wil worries people don’t like him! Danielle tells him EVERYONE loves him! Wil thinks she’s a backstabbing liar who lies, but he’s very good at faking the friend thing. This gives me some hope that he may actually emerge as a player instead of a floater, at least if he sticks around.
Boogie, who is still deeply insulted that he isn’t on the block, thinks he’s going to be back doored. I don’t think anyone’s really interested in Boogie at the moment, which he should see as a good thing, but whatever. He hates everyone anyway.
Later, Dan and Janelle bond. Janelle thinks Boogie is stupid, as he doesn’t like to play with women. She also doesn’t understand why he’s so attached to Frank. She thinks the coaches should talk and play together. Dan tells her she’ll have to make this happen, as Boogie is angry at him for having kept a secret.
But, oddly enough, Dan doesn’t wait for Janelle to make peace with Boogie. He rushes over to talk to Boogie, hoping desperately that his former pal was just faking his hatred of him. Oh, no, Boogie was just as angry at him as he appeared to be. Boogie has no interest in working with people who lied to him about putting Frank on the block. He could never betray Frank! He loves Frank! Frank is loyal and good looking, so he allows Boogie to pretend he’s friends with the cool kid in high school even though he’s no longer in high school and seems, instead, to be a middle-aged guy who’s trying too hard.
Boogie isn’t the only one trying too hard, of course. Ian reaches out to Britney and Danielle. He doesn’t want to be in no man’s land anymore! He wants to play! But making an alliance with Britney and Danielle means turning on his former teammate and coach. He’s tight with Boogie, but (gulp) he’d vote against him if he needed to. This isn’t exactly a wholehearted, enthusiastic attempt to form an alliance, Ian. Still, Ian wishes he could rope Frank into an alliance and then they could all play together! Pretty soon Ian will be trying to get the entire household into an alliance, which will making sending someone home very difficult. Britney gently tells him he has to let go of Frank and Boogie. Dan joins into the attempt to reset Ian. Ian hates to send Frank packing, but maybe, just maybe he would.
Time to pick players for the veto competition! Shane, Jenn and Ian are joining Danielle, Wil and Frank in the game. Boogie is pissed! He wanted to play, win, and save Frank! Because he knows he could! Boogie is wildly overconfident.
Frank talks to Janelle. She’d like to work with a strong player, but she doesn’t have one, hint hint, nudge nudge. And this is the very moment at which Janelle starts digging her own grave without even realizing it.
Britney notices Janelle talking to Frank, and she is NOT pleased. Janelle and Frank could be talking about their favorite flavor of slop, but no, Britney is sure Janelle is backstabbing and spinning. She tells Dan and Danielle that Janelle is trying to tamper with their plan to off Frank! But Dan wants to unite all the coaches, and Danielle and Britney’s growing anti-Janelle sentiment is not helping.
Finally, it’s time for the POV game. Danielle thinks Shane looks so cute in his baseball pants! This is like so many POV games before it, all about tossing a ball onto a disc and scoring points. If you’re watching right now, just fast forward to the end.
Frank tosses the ball and gets 20 points. Ian has decided he is going to throw the competition and gets three points. Shane gets two points. Jenn wants to win, but gets nine. Danielle wants to win, and gets a four. Wil gets six, and Shane is on the bench. Waah-waah.
As the first one out, Shane claims his prize and discovers the POV necklace. Yeah, he won’t have that for long.
Round two. Ian gets 20 points without trying. Jenn gets six. Danielle gets six. Wil gets five. Frank gets nine. Wil is out. His prize? He gets a veto ticket so he can play in next week’s game, which isn’t very useful if he gets voted out this week. He trades Shane for the power of veto.
Round three. Jenn gets a two. Danielle gets a ten. Frank gets a four. Ian gets a five. Jenn’s out. She gets a Maui vacation and is really, really excited. Britney is so glad a hard worker like Jenn got a vacation. Britney is being very sarcastic.
Round four. Danielle gets nine. Frank gets nine. Ian gets a four. Ian’s out. His prize is that he gets to live a dog’s life for 24 hours and must sleep in a pen, unless someone wants to take him for a walk on a leash. Amazingly, he does not trade his dog’s life ticket for the Maui vacation. Boogie thinks he’s an idiot. And I see why he’s being an idiot, in that taking the vacation would make him more of a target in the house, but really? Go ahead, piss off Jenn. Who cares if she’s irritated? She’s been a non-entity in this game. I’m with Boogie on this count.
Round five. Frank gets eight points. Danielle gets… ten points. FRANK LOSES. Whoa. Danielle actually beat Frank? He gets his second place prize, which is $5,000. Still, he trades for the power of veto. Frank hopes he can keep it! Frank is insane. He could have just held on to the five grand. Danielle claims her prize, which is wearing a spiritard. She trades it for the POV, of course.
Boogie isn’t worried that Danielle will keep her original choices for the veto. He thinks he can save Frank. This is the point at which I toss my head back and laugh. Boogie couldn’t possibly do THAT! He is overconfident. Danielle, Britney and their alliance could never be so easily manipulated! No one is really listening to Boogie and his claptrap, are they?
Wait, it’s time to vote for your hamster food! Your choices are rice cakes and rutabagas, candy canes and cod, or onions and oat bran. I think all of these are probably equally gross.
Boogie and Frank talk about what they’re going to have to do to save Frank. Frank wants to target Janelle, and Boogie nods. I expect him to lean forward and in a Yoda voice say, “Done, consider it,” but he doesn’t.
Frank puts on his spiritard and dances around the house. He does not look half bad in a spirited, to be honest. Ian puts on his puppy outfit and looks like a bedraggled stuffed animal. Ian has to be taken to the bathroom on the leash. He thinks this will be good for him, as everyone in the house will like him more. I’m a little disturbed that Ian’s version of game play seems to be self-punishment.
Ian thinks he needs to solidify his alliance with Britney, Shane, Danielle and Dan, so he pledges to be faithful to them. They’re going to be the quack pack! This is Ian’s suggestion, and Britney goes along with it because it seems the fastest way to get Ian out of the room. Dan thinks Ian is like a younger version of himself, by which he means Ian is honest and loyal, not that they’re equally dorky.
Time for spin patrol! Boogie suggests Janelle to Danielle as a replacement for Frank on the block. It’s like the Avengers! He tells Danielle she’ll have five warriors on her team if she does what he wants! Janelle is a competition queen! She’ll win the whole thing! Danielle thinks Boogie is so right! Why not take out Janelle?
What? Did Danielle really flip THAT quickly? Does it not occur to her that Boogie will say anything to keep his beloved Frank safe?
Next, it’s time for Boogie to convince Dan of the “let’s get Janelle” plan as well. But Janelle is interested in talking to Boogie, too. She decides to insert herself, along with Britney, into Boogie and Dan’s conversation. Bad idea. Boogie says he’s happy to play with the other coaches, but that means they’ll all have to sacrifice their former teammates. Janelle reasonably suggests that Frank can go this week, and maybe Wil can go next week. Boogie blinks, then tells Janelle he doesn’t trust her. If she wants to prove she’s trustworthy, why not off Wil? Or Joe this week? Janelle is silent. Dan decides this means Boogie is trustworthy.
Why Janelle doesn’t point out SHE can’t trust BOOGIE and that maybe he needs to put some skin in the game NOW, I don’t know. Maybe she was tired.
Dan decides Boogie is playing the honest card, she he’s joining forces with him, not Britney and Janelle. That sound you hear? It’s me smacking my head against a table.
The Quack Pack convenes. Ian says he trusts Boogie AND Frank, so let’s get Janelle out! Shane is fifty-fifty. Britney is fifty-fifty. Dan wants her gone, though, so majority wins. And just like that, Janelle is going to be put on the block.
Oh, but first, Danielle wants Boogie to look her in the face so she can tell he’s not lying. Danielle is just fine with Boogie squinting at her like Evil Burgess Meredith. Oh, come ON!
Time for the veto meeting! As planned, Danielle saves Wil and nominates Janelle. Janelle is the only one shocked by this. If she’d had any idea she was going to be back doored this way, she would have worn some make-up and a cute outfit. Alas, I don’t think that would have helped against Boogie’s manipulations. Still, Janelle isn’t dead yet. There’s always time for her to make a play for survival — and really, this season, anything could happen.
Were you surprised that Boogie got his way? What do you think of the nominations? Who do you think is going home?