Recapping the Second Week of BBCAN2

Time to get into our tumultuous
second week of Big Brother Canada.

At last I'm getting to Big Brother for this week...I think we may have to skip the Survivor feature article for this week altogether, unfortunately. As I said, there are going to be some changes coming to the schedule soon that will help get content published in a more timely fashion and still have something out once a day.

I'm also pleased to announce that I have finally worked out a reliable method of uploading the podcasts to the blog, so that they should all now be playable anywhere, including mobile iOS. Tell me in the comments if you're still experiencing any problems; they should all be fixed! Alright, time to get into our tumultuous second week of Big Brother Canada. (Image credit Slice)

We left off earlier this week with Neda and Paul being nominated for eviction. But for the second week in a row, the POV was used, this time to take Neda off the block. This was really the best possible thing that could have happened for Neda after being nominated. As I wrote earlier, if Neda herself had one the Power of Veto, she might have been thought of as a physical threat after that, so it was better that someone else won it for her. I hope that my pick to win it all can slink quietly back into the background after this week.

Paul, now despised by most of the other
Houseguests, remained on the block.

Paul, now despised by most of the other Houseguests, remained on the block. His new nominee was one of his only friends in the house, Kyle. These two along with Adel were/are clearly on the outside of the majority alliance, which has the First Five at it's core.

And sadly, Thursday night, Kyle was sent home just when I was starting to like him. It became clear that Kyle was a much nicer guy than he appeared in his bio, and the impromptu speech he gave after being evicted was touching. Oh, well, Kyle, we've replaced you...

...with Allison, who was voted in as the final Houseguest over Nate and Scott, who I was backing. That's ok, though; Allison seems like she'll be an interesting player, and I hope she can fight the First Five. From what I've heard, Allison is going to have some sort of immunity for the first week or two, and the story she made up was that she had been in sequester until now and had no idea that the others had already entered the house. Pretty good, I would say. It's hard to come up with a better alibi when telling the others about the War Room and the secret feeds results in your instant eviction.

Ika took out all four eligible First Five
members in one round to become
the third HOH of the season.

We ended the Thursday night episode with the crowning of a new Head of Household. Ika took out all four eligible First Five members in one round to become the third HOH of the season. I would say this is one of the best outcomes I could hope for, because I don't believe she'll stand up to the inevitable bullying tactics that I think the First Five will use on her.

Ok, I've mentioned this alliance so much already that I might as well talk about it. The First Five, consisting of Andrew, Kenny, Arlie, Sabrina, and Sarah, was in power last week and has a better than 50% chance of controlling the house again next week unless anything changes. When Andrew was HOH, everyone tried to associate themselves with him, so we'll see how many of those connections last into this week. The First Five seems to have allies and associates throughout the house, so I hope these crumble, because I am not a fan. I don't like Andrew, I respect Kenny's excellent gameplay so far but don't like him, and from what I hear she's been up to on the live feeds, I don't like Sabrina either. I am a fan of Arlie, however, and am mostly indifferent towards Sarah.

Jon and Neda also have a strong
alliance, and I could see them
going extremely far in the game.

Still, in my opinion, the First Five are in power and are the bad guys, and I want them gone. Jon and Neda also have a strong alliance, and I could see them going extremely far in the game. As I mentioned earlier, Paul and Adel are in their own twosome apart from the rest of the house. The remaining girls (Ika, Rachelle, and Heather) appear to be floating somewhere in the middle, so we'll have to see how Ika's reign plays out before discovering where their allegiances lie. Allison could end up with any of these groups, and my hope would be that she aligns herself with Neda and Jon. We'll have to see how tonight's episode unfolds.

Let's wrap things up with the weekly update on my opinions of the Houseguests. I'll talk about what I said last week about each person as well as what I saw this week.

Adel

What I said: "He seems to be smart, funny, and charismatic, and won't be as loud or troublesome as some of the other players that we have. Adel could actually get pretty far."

What I saw: Well, I still do like Adel, but I think he's put himself on the wrong side of the numbers by working with Paul. He's smart but not game-smart and probably won't last too much longer.

Sabrina

What I said: "So far, she's a non-entity and as I said, she'll probably be manipulated by a smarter Houseguest."
What I saw: If anything, Sabrina's going to be the one doing the manipulating. She's still been a non-entity on the show but she's stirring up a lot of trouble in the house, apparently telling lies and trying to sway people to her side.

Jon 
What I said: "He makes everyone laugh and has a great shot as long as people don't think he's too likeable and vote him out."
What I saw: Still pretty much the same. Jon has a strong secret alliance with Neda that could take him far, and he has a Newfoundlander connection with Kenny. He's good with both the girls and the guys, and hopefully will not be a target.

Ok, Kenny, you've
lost me again.

Kenny 
What I said: "Kenny seems to be playing a decent under-the-radar game from the little we've seen over two episodes, and he's not as arrogant as I thought. One or two more episodes like that, Kenny, and you'll win me over."

What I saw: Ok, Kenny, you've lost me again. Aligning with Andrew was probably smart because he's a bigger target than you, but it makes me like you less. And Kenny is not really playing an under-the-radar game any more. He might be trying to, but he's a big threat and if Ika is going after the First Five it could easily be Kenny and Andrew up on the block this week.

Ika 
What I said: "Ika is hilarious, snarky, and sassy, and really fun to have in the game...After surviving a week on the block, I think Ika is in a fair position at the moment."
What I saw: We didn't see as much as Ika this week, but I still like her. Being HOH can definitely make people mad at you, so if she's smart, she'll go after the First Five and make sure everyone else is on board so that they have her back.

Paul 
What I said: "The most manipulative and conniving player so far, Paul is in a terrible position after week one...Paul, your time in the Big Brother House is numbered."
What I saw: He's still in a bad position and everyone (including Ika) still hates him. According to Paul, this is what he wants, which seems crazy to me. It's way too early in the game to be presenting yourself as a goat to take to the end. The only thing Paul has going for him is that he's a non-threat and probably won't be targeted by anyone except Andrew.

His people skills are
just as bad as his
strategic skills.

Andrew 
What I said: "He's a smart guy, but he handled himself poorly on the first few nights...He'll have to use those people skills of his to turn things around quickly."
What I saw: I did not like Andrew's HOH reign and I also do not like Andrew. His "people skills" are just as bad as his strategic skills, and his HOH was mostly controlled by Arlie and Kenny, who are making all the real decisions. Andrew's just around to be the villain and provide the muscle.

Sarah 
What I said: "Sarah is indeed sassy and a big personality...I don't think she's a threat to anyone. I still don't think Sarah can last that long, though."
What I saw: For being in the First Five, Sarah's not too bad. She took time to get to know Kyle and seems to be a decent person. We haven't really see her play the game, but I still think she's in a good position because she has a strong alliance and more obvious nominees in front of her.

Heather 
What I said: "She seems to be fitting the hot girl stereotype well so far, although I can't tell whether she's a schemer or a dummy yet. Will the model curse hold true? We'll have to wait and see."
What I saw: The jury is still out on Heather, although my guess she's a dummy and not a schemer. The model curse did not hold true, however, unless Kyle was a model in the past. 

Neda 
What I said: "She's playing a great UTR (under-the-radar) game so far, and she just needs to keep it up."
What I saw: Well, that UTR game was blown up this week, but it could have been worse. Everyone seems to like Neda and no one was gunning for her, so I hope she can fade back into relative obscurity. Still pulling for you, Neda!

Arlie 
What I said: "I like Arlie. He's funny and fairly smart, so I think he can blend into the background for now and coast for a while."
What I saw: Arlie is the brains behind the brawn and should probably go become an actor after that expertly thrown HOH competition last week. If Arlie can stay hidden behind Andrew and Kenny he can go far.

I did a complete 180
on Kyle and just started
 liking him when
 he was evicted.

Kyle 

What I said: "He is pretty dumb, but amazingly, not the one making the terrible moves...He can be funny at times, and might last a while if he doesn't prove to be a physical threat."

What I saw: He wasn't dumb, didn't make terrible moves, was funny, and did prove to be a threat and was sadly evicted. I did a complete 180 on Kyle and just started liking him when he was evicted. 

Rachelle 

What I said: "Not much from Rachelle these past few days, although I don't think she's quite the smart cookie I pegged her to be...Rachelle is not there to play the game or strategize as much as Neda."
What I saw: A good candidate for a showmance, maybe, but not much else. We haven't seen Rachelle do anything remotely strategic, so I'm going to stay open-minded about her.

Allison

Hopefully she can work with 
Neda and not against her.

What I said: "I don't want anyone competing with my girl Neda. So, after careful consideration, I have decided to endorse the hilarious and entertaining Scott, the drag queen."
What I saw: I backed the wrong horse, but I like Allison as well. She's going to have to work quickly to make bonds that the others have already had two weeks to establish. Hopefully she can work with Neda and not against her.

That's it for this week's BBCAN recap! Tomorrow Ethan or I will recap TAR E4, and then it's back to Survivor, so stay tuned!