Big Brother on CBS on DIRECTV - Tuesday August 11th recap

So just when we thought we’ve seen enough blow-ups for awhile, the Big Brother house never disappoints. Tuesday night’s episode on CBS on Satellite TV wasted no time in getting right to the drama. Here we go:

Russ tried to play nicey-nice with Chima, but now that he believes he’s leaving on Thursday (he has no idea Jeff will probably use the Coup D’ Etat) he figures he has nothing to lose. He gets right in Chima’s face again when she calls him a terrorist (her explanation: because he terrorizes everyone in the houses, not because of his Middle-Eastern descent.) Now personally, I wouldn’t think to use the word “terrorist” to describe someone who likes to terrorize people, so methinks it was just Chima backtracking and trying to cover her racist comment. The editors were not kind to Russell, complete with a montage of a few of his not-so-finer moments, and Chima of course came out smelling like a rose. Between you and me, I think they were equally at fault in the fight. I tend to side with Russell a little more because he seems to be taking the brunt from the house lately. Although he may be a bully, I think a lot of things are unfairly directed his way. Take his fight with Michele for example: Russ is still upset that Michele is denying telling him that Chima planned to backdoor him (she clearly did as they’ve reminded us with the clip of her saying it). Michele told Chima she NEVER said this, making Russ look like a liar and a pot-stirrer in Chima’s eyes. Over a friendly game of pool, Russ asked Michele to just admit she said it. She continued to deny it, and when he probed her more, she said she didn’t have a good memory. “You have P.H.D, Michele,” Russ reminded her, to which she said she wasn’t good at taking tests. Come on, Michele; just admit you said it, because you’re only making things worse. And Russ has a point – if someone told you that you said something only a few days ago, you wouldn’t have to raid the vault of your brain to recall if you said it or not. Michele is clearly just trying to cover her own butt here but she is only digging herself deeper and now her alliance with Russ is kaput. What she should have done is told Russ “Between you and me, yes I said it, but I’m trying to not start drama with Chima so let’s keep this on the down low from now on.” Denying something you clearly said only make you look devious and psychotic, for which Russ called her out on (he's noticeably frustrated with her denial and we the viewers can feel it also because we heard her say it.) Michele goes running to Chima, tells her Russ is being a bully, and that’s what kick starts Russ/Chima Showdown #2. So Russ looks like an antagonist for taunting Michele when he is only trying to get her to own up to something she said. I may not agree with everything Russ has done in this game, but I still feel for the guy and I’m on his side.

Meanwhile, Jessie is moping around the house. He’s worried about the mystery “Wizard Power” and thinks whoever has it is going to use it and send him home (you’re probably right about that, Jessie! Go Jeff!) That’s why it’s essential he competes in the Power of Veto competition – it’s the only way he can assure he can’t go on the block. He hopes he gets picked, and when Russell pulls “Houseguest’s Choice” out of the bag, Jessie is a little stunned when Russ chooses Jeff over him. As Russ said, his alliance with Jessie and crew is already dead – this just solidified it and showed the rest of the house where he stood.

The competition involved moving eggs up along a chicken wire fence until you’ve collected 12 of them (Most.Boring.Competition.Ever). Kevin won (despite Russ taunting him to fail.) Cue happy dance - Lydia is excited, you see, because Kevin is her BFF in the house and he is most definitely going to use the POV to take her off the block. Cut to Kevin telling Lydia that he doesn’t think he is going to use it, because he doesn’t want to make an enemy out of Chima and her side of the house. Lydia is sulking; she says she definitely would have used it on Kevin. Maybe she would have, who knows, but what the editors didn’t show you is all the trash talking Lydia has done to Jessie and Crew about her supposed BFF the last few weeks. So Kevin looks like a wussy as he continues to float along, but in a way he’s justified for not using the POV. After all, he did find out what Lydia was saying about him.

Jessie made an attempt to appeal to Jeff and Jordan when he told them both separately that Russ is coming after them next and they needed to be worried. Luckily, Jeff saw right through Jessie’s not-so-swift game. Both Jeff and Jordan have noticed that Jessie only talks to them when he’s panicked and thinks he’s in trouble. As if he would really care about their best interests. Kudos to Jeff and Jordan for not falling for it. And if what he said is any indication (when he said he’d just love to see Jessie and Natalie on the block together) Jeff is going to put the Coup D’ Etat to good use. If he were smart he would save both Lydia and Russell from the block, because neither one of them really has an alliance and will be grateful to Jeff for saving them. Jessie and Natalie (and to a lesser extent Chima and Michele) are all gunning for Jeff. He needs to cut the beast off at its head (Jessie) before it gets a chance to do any more damage.

Time for the POV ceremony. Kevin decides not to use the Veto on Lydia and solidifies himself as this season’s Most Useless Player Who Will Probably Float To the End. Let’s recap what Kevin has done in this game – he hasn’t won ANYTHING until now, he’s not funny, he’s not entertaining, nor is he a good strategist. Time to go now, Kevin.

Until Thursday…fingers crossed that Wizard Jeff waves his magic wand!