“All the boys, sans the house gay, are working together.” – Ragan

Ragan is a fighter, and he’s more in tune with what’s going on around him than anyone else on Big Brother. Had Brendon made an alliance with him weeks ago, both might be in a different spot right now. But Brendon’s gone and Ragan is the target of everyone not named Ragan.

Last night, Lane (smartly) didn’t want to win Head of Household because he didn’t want the responsibility of having to put up Britney or one of the Brigade alongside Ragan.

In the HoH competition, Ragan gave Enzo a golden opportunity to knock him out, but Enzo again performed woefully at “blackjack,” leaving it to Lane to get it done. He did.

Lane was even going to throw it and give it to Enzo, and still, Meow Meow proves dead weight. We love him, but the tough guy Jersey talk gets more laughable by the week.

For the third time in as many weeks, Pandora’s Box is offered to Lane, and he takes it in hopes of picking big bucks off the money tree. P-box punks him for a lousy $91.17.

The house, in turn, has to eat without utensils. Bummer.

Back to more important matters, Ragan knows he’s going up on the block and is prepared to fight for the Power of Veto to save himself just like he did live last Thursday.

On Thursday Matt used the Diamond Power of Veto on Big Brother 12 to keep himself and the entire Brigade in the house. However, Matt’s act of charity in not making Enzo or Hayden one of the replacement nominees may be the last kind thing the Brigade does, because it’s essentially dead.

A few hours before the eviction Hayden and Enzo told Matt they were evicting him, which is a huge red flag that, given the chance, they would choose Lane over Matt. After the Diamond PoV is used they all try to convince Matt that they’re happy for him and that the Brigade is still a force, but no one fully believes it anymore.

We also get to see all four members break down under the stress of the week.

Lane: He embodies the Beast and decides to lift all the weight in the backyard, going completely insane in the diary room recreating the scene.

Matt: Aside from his gay showmance with Ragan, he also confesses to dreaming about a shirtless Hayden. At least all of this might take away from his wife’s anger over giving her s fake disease.

Enzo and Hayden: Not only are they both Have-Nots for the week, along with Brendon, but they also don’t trust Matt at all and try to get Britney to name him as the pawn, planning to evict Matt if they got the chance. This is officially the end of the Brigade, and I think it’s clear that Enzo and Hayden are the ones ending it.

While they claim that Matt has turned to the other side and isn’t staying loyal to the Brigade, they have absolutely no evidence to back that theory up. In fact, they have evidence to the contrary, namely the fact that Matt put up Kathy with his Diamond PoV even when he knew for certain that Hayden and Enzo were voting to evict him.

That shows Matt’s true loyalty to the Brigade, but now Hayden and Enzo are going to try and act like the heroes, taking out Matt because he’s turned on them. Matt did NOT turn on them, so even if they get their way, history and objective proof will be on Matt’s side.

Big Brother Season 12 Episode 11 : Finally, we’re getting some excitement in the ‘Big Brother 12‘ house. You see, without controversy, this show can be much more boring than watching paint dry. At least with watching paint dry, you can throw stuff at it to see if it sticks. With the hamsters inside the house, what can you do? Shout at the television? Write letters to CBS demanding they have a brouhaha or cat fight or you’ll never watch the show again?

It was evident the way Andrew went out on Thursday that we’d be seeing drama tonight. Thank you, Captain Kosher, for a job well done in exposing the Hayden/Kristen showmance, thus setting off the fireworks. They should put something extra in your stipend for that!

What we didn’t see on Thursday’s show (also blocked on the live feeds) was that there was a big brouhaha directly in the middle of the live voting. Andrew sat almost like a robot — good posture, calm demeanor and all — as Hayden accused him of lying about the showmance. Kristen got all excited, Rachel jumped in … why, it would have been better television to show the action in the living room rather than the voting. Heck, we knew how the voting would go!

But the real blow-up occurred after the live show ended. I just don’t understand either Rachel or Kristen. I can get more behind Ragan in exalting that there’s finally a big cat fight, or even Enzo wanting them to bring out the gloves, mud or Jell-o for a smackdown. Kristen, knowing that Rachel holds the key to not only the HoH room, but her fate as well, wouldn’t let up. Rachel obviously has issues, but she’s got the power. Why egg her on? At least Hayden didn’t keep at it. Like Andrew digging his own grave last week, so goes Kristen.

While I still haven’t found anyone to actively cheer on this season, Britney is growing on me more and more each week. Without Monet, she’s still catty. But now she’s not as mean catty: She’s funnier catty. She’s playing a pretty shrewd game and has gone from a target to being liked by all. Kristen is one of the few in the house with whom she isn’t all that friendly. Kristen is in big trouble if HoH Rachel puts her on the eviction block. It’s all win-win for Britney.

However, the more I watch Rachel, the more I think there should be stricter psychological testing on these hamsters before they go into the house. True, she obviously does well in competitions. But, as she proclaims to be a fan of the show, she should realize that gloating, power trips and blatant personal decisions in the game will eventually come back to bite her in the butt. Although way different styles, her social game is as bad as Evil Russell’s was on ‘Survivor.’ We know what happened to him. If she makes it to the end, no one will vote for her because she was so mean to them. Her behavior is way over the top.

Hayden likes to play the victim, but he’s been playing too many sides. He has his showmance with Kristen and his alliance with the Brigade Boys, and he’s also been trying to keep up a quasi-relationship with Brendon and Rachel. As he apologized to Rachel and tried to worm his way out of being nominated, he reminded me of a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Instead off denying the showmance, he should have manned up and confessed.

Since it’s certain that Kristen is Rachel’s definite target, with Hayden most likely being the secondary one, the rest of the house can breathe a sigh of relief. Kathy, the ultimate floater and nonentity space-waster in the house, is the only other one in danger of being nominated. But, if Rachel puts up Kathy and Kristen, it’s not guaranteed that Kristen will go home. Kristen’s exit is Rachel’s goal. I’m waiting to see how she’ll tie in a goodbye message about Kristen coming between her and her man. Perhaps she’ll say the whole showmance was just to undermine the true love she and Brendon share. Oh, gag me now.

Lightening the mood from the cat fights, there was a luxury competition tonight. Now, before they even said it, I predicted they would have a Will Ferrell movie as a prize this summer. Do they pay off Ferrell each year for this or what? I personally find Will Ferrell movies to be simplistic, sophomoric, not funny (except for 12-year-olds), and a waste of time. Yet the house guests get excited each time they screen one of his movies. That house must have weird effects on the mind.

That said, the comp itself was fun. Rachel, wearing cop clothes, hosted the event. The hamsters seemed a bit unevenly divided: Ragan, Kristen and Kathy vs. Enzo, Hayden and Brendon. They had to run ‘Flintstones’-type police cars through an obstacle course. The Ragan team was pitifully slow and careful. Ragan blamed it on Kathy being a teammate, but he was just as bad since he was the lead person tippy-toeing through the course. Naturally, the all-guy team won. I’m sure they’ll enjoy the movie.

When it came time for nominations, there were absolutely no surprises — not from key order to bad behavior on Rachel’s part. The key order was definitely according to who she likes and the level of liking: Brendon (her MAN!), Britney, Ragan, Lane, Enzo, Matt and Kathy. She topped off the nominations by daring people to “bring it on” and come after them. Mind you, she just told Hayden and Kristen that she nominated them because they were gunning for her. Rachel isn’t thinking ahead. Only Brendon can play for HoH next week. She might want to be careful what she wishes for.

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Thursday means a live eviction on Big Brother 12, but thanks to the live feeds, what happens tonight is already known. However, what happens next week is the real mystery.

Will Brendon and Rachel finally be broken up? Will the Brigade be exposed? Will Kathy float into the jury? Here are my predictions:

Andrew’s Eviction

Andrew is certainly going home, despite Brendon’s best and dumbest efforts. Last night on the live feeds Brendon campaigned hard to get Ragan and Britney to keep Andrew despite the fact that Andrew has been telling the whole house that he’s going after Brendon and Rachel now.

If you think that makes absolutely no sense, you’re not alone. The move was so idiotic that Ragan could hardly contain his disgust for Brendon’s shameless attempts at keeping his not-so-secret alliance with Andrew safe. It could also backfire because Brendon’s campaigning has made him even more suspicious to the few people left in the house who were on his side.

If Brenchel Wins HoH

If Brendon or Rachel wins HoH, the rest of the house is going to be furious and they will be insufferable. However, over the past week they’ve made it very clear that they want to be the only power couple in Big Brother 12, so Hayden and Kristen would almost certainly be the nominees. Luckily for Hayden he has the Brigade and Kristen is perceived as a much bigger threat.

In a way, this would be the best possible outcome for Lane, Enzo and Matt, because getting Hayden’s girlfriend out of the house would make him even more devoted to their alliance.

If Enzo, Lane, Hayden, Kristen or Kathy Win HoH

After the plan to backdoor Brendon blew up in everyone’s faces, any of these people would be idiots not to nominate Brendon and Rachel right away. It’s what the Brigade wants, it’s what Kristen wants because they’re coming after her and it’s what Kathy wants because this week Brendon and Rachel turned on her as fast as they could.

If Ragan or Britney Win HoH

I feel like this is unlikely because they’re both in strong enough positions that they should throw the HoH competition. They’re in the middle of the warring sides, so the best plan is to stay low. Britney has attached herself to Rachel despite mocking her constantly with Monet a week ago and Ragan is still super BFFs with Matt. Things got interesting last night when Brendon’s campaigning led Matt to consider striking back because he called Brendon, among other things, one of the stupidest players this season.

The Twist

So with the odds stacked heavily in favor of Brendon and Rachel being nominated, the only question is what kind of twist awaits us. I’m guessing it will be the return of one of the first four evicted HGs, I just don’t know how they’ll decide. America’s vote? Houseguests’ vote? Maybe next Friday’s luxury competition will include an individual prize where one HG can win the ability to bring anyone they want back.

There’s very little predicting what will happen on Big Brother 12 because everything changes from week to week. If I told you a week ago that Britney and Matt, both nominated by Rachel, would become part of her inner circle, you wouldn’t have believed me.

However, one thing is certain: No one suspects the Brigade. You have to be impressed that no one is on to them yet.

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In the first week of Big Brother 12, Hayden, Matt, Enzo and Lane formed the Brigade, an alliance that Matt claimed was the best one in Big Brother history. That’s a strange comment, especially coming from a house where the HGs talk nonstop about past contestants and strategies.

While the Brigade may eventually rise to the level of greatness, Matt shouldn’t count his chickens before they’re hatched. Being a great alliance requires more than a cool name, you need a strategy, a little bit of luck, and a Big Brother victory.

Looking back, here are the five best alliances in Big Brother history.

#5 The Four Horsemen (Season 5)

As Peter Griffin said about the Greatest American Hero, the Four Horsemen’s greatest achievement could be that people still remember them despite a short run. The four men of season 5 identified by their bandanas (Drew, Cowboy, Scott and Jase) talked a big game, but Scott and Jase were eliminated fairly early, not even making the jury house. Things worked out much better for the other two, however, since Drew and Cowboy were in the finale. Hopefully the Brigade remembers this lesson, because they’re headed down a very similar path.

#4 The Friendship (Season 6)

The single most hated alliance ever, the Friendship (also called the Nerd Herd by the cool kids of season 6) helped lead to Maggie’s victory, making her the most undeserving winner in Big Brother history. From their cult-like nickname to their mass delusions that they were always right and that America loved them (America did NOT love them at all), thinking about the Friendship still makes me throw up a little in my mouth. But results are results, and the finale did feature two members of the Friendship.

#3 The Donatos (Season

I still have no idea what happened in season 8. From the beginning, everyone knew that Dick and Danielle were father and daughter, which is the ultimate alliance. Yet they were allowed to survive the entire game and become the final two. They must’ve done something right (or everyone else did something very wrong), because their unbreakable alliance was a clear and present danger for the whole game.

#2 Chilltown (Seasons 2 and 7)

The team of Mike Boogie and Dr. Will is impressive not just for their bromance that spanned two seasons, but because BOTH members of Chilltown have won Big Brother. When it was first started, Will was the winner of season 2, and when they both returned for the all-star season, they each made the final four and Mike was the eventual winner. You have to give them credit for style.

#1 The Six-Finger Plan Alliance (Season 5)

To this day, Nakomis and her alliance pulling off her “Six-Finger Plan” during week 5 of season 5 remains the single greatest bit of strategy in the history of Big Brother, This was the first season where the Power of Veto competition was limited to six players and before the random draw so the HoH and nominees got to pick who they wanted to play.

The strategy played out beautifully as Nakomis nominated two members of her alliance (Diane and Marvin), and they chose the other three members of their alliance (Drew, Adria and Will) to play the PoV. Whoever won would take one of the nominees off and they would then backdoor Jase. With only nine HGs remaining, all Nakomis needed was four votes to evict him, which she had in her alliance. It was a plan of pure mathematic simplicity that was guaranteed to work so that, from the moment Nakomis won the HoH, there was nothing Jase could do to save himself. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

So as you can see, the Brigade has a lot of work to do if it wants to go down as the greatest alliance in Big Brother history. To start, one of the four needs to win, since success is the one thing all of these alliances have in common.

The Houseguests Have Entered The Building
     Yes, that’s right, our 13 new houseguests have entered the Big Brother house at some point on Sunday and the game has begun for them.  This Thursday night, the 1st airing of the new season begins on CBS and I could not be more thrilled.  Summer is in full swing but it feels more complete when BB hits the air. 

     Originally, there was to be 14 houseguests but word is, that one of them left sequester and has been disqualified from the game.  Until there is an official announcement on that, it’s just the “word” going around but I imagine that BB might use that as an opportunity to introduce another twist or maybe a houseguest from seasons past will be able to play once again.  I would love that and despite Jesse being the guy who got a 2nd chance, I would love to see another former houseguest move in.

     This season of Big Brother will introduce a “Saboteur”, someone who is not playing the normal game but playing undercover and gets paid more and more each week they remain in the house.  If I were CBS, I would hope that person does not get the boot in Week 1 because that would ruin that plan right from the start.  A good plan introduced can and sometimes does, backfire.  Have you figured out who this person is yet?  Neither have I but after the 1st episode and my 1st official episode writing on Friday, I’ll give that Official guess.

     Here is a postcard that the new season of BB players have taken after they entered into the house.

See you Friday!!!