Recapping BB16 Weeks 1-8

With the tragic eviction of my favorite
Houseguest, Nicole, I just had to make
some time for this blog.

First of all, I apologize for my continued absence from the blog this summer. I've been on multiple trips and all around just busy, and with the school year approaching, things won't get less busy. However, I want to keep talking about BB as we head into the late game stage, and I do plan (as of now) to have full coverage of Survivor in the fall. I have still been watching BB16, though, and with the tragic eviction of my favorite Houseguest, Nicole, I just had to make some time for the blog.

Since I haven't talked about Big Brother since the first week, let's go through the big events and players we encountered throughout the season. (Image credit CBS)

She tried. RIP.

Week 1: Joey tries to get the girls together and fails 

I've already covered this in great detail, so I'll just refer back to my pre-season prediction for Joey: 

Gameplay Prediction: Decent. She'll ingratiate herself with the women to survive.

Well, she tried. RIP Joey.

Week 2: The Reign of Devin

For the record, I think Devin was awesome and he went home far too soon. Of course, he was a terrible player, but wonderfully entertaining. As Paola says, he "has three different personalities and they all suck" (but in a good way). Honestly, he never really accomplished much--getting a floater*** like Paola out wasn't a big achievement, and the Bomb Squad blew up pretty quickly (although Caleb still thinks it exists!). Still, bring Devin back for All Stars!

Paola was terrible
and only a
little funny.

Here's what I thought of Paola pre-game:

Gameplay Prediction: Decent. She'll appeal to some people in the House and be really funny, but her huge personality could turn others off.

Ok, I was totally wrong on this one. She was terrible, only a little funny, and...what huge personality?

***I'm not sure if I've ever talked about the negative connotation Rachel and other players have given to floaters in Big Brother. An actual floater is someone who doesn't really play the game, like Victoria or Paola. People like Andy from BB15 are NOT floaters, they're just excellent at switching between alliances and are playing the game very well.

Never use the words
gameplay, fantastic,
and Devin anywhere
near each other.

Week 3: The Fall of Devin

Alas, all good things must come to an end. At this stage of the game, I would have much rather seen Beastmode Cowboy go home over Devin, but it was not to be. It was also around this time that we saw the formation of the two main alliances--which would later come into conflict. The Detonators and Trinity (or whatever Haycole and Chrstine called themselves) were created.

Preseason on Devin:

Gameplay Prediction: Fantastic. Devin's going to need to be making deals and alliances right away, and I think he's up to the challenge.

HAHAHAHAHA never use the words "gameplay," "fantastic," and "Devin" anywhere near each other. He was certainly up to the challenge of making alliances, though.

Brittany was
just bad.

Week 4: Brittany kicks 2400 goals as a punishment and is subsequently evicted

For some reason, the Detonators now decided that Brittany was a huge threat to them. I guess there was some merit in this, since she wasn't throwing in the towel like some of the other girls *cough* Paola and Victoria *cough*. I liked Brittany a fair amount--she was feisty and wanted to stick around, but she just wasn't a good player and her recruitment status got the better of her.

Preseason on Brittany: 

Gameplay Prediction: Poor. She'll be a little worse than Sarah, and a little more emotional. Who knows how strong she could be once she's inside, but the separation from her kids could make her crack just a week or two in. That seems harsh, doesn't it? Well, don't blame me--it's a guess!

Well, she certainly wasn't very good, but it didn't have to do with her kids--she was just bad.

Amber was a
decent player.

Week 5: Amber is America's biggest physical threat...right????

Team America...what a failure of a twist. Derrick molds the Team America tasks into his own plans and he, Frankie, and Donny are all paid for playing the game. This week we also saw the BB Love Triangle of Amber, Cody, and Caleb. I don't need to delve into Caleb's crazy, stalkerish obsession with Amber too much, but suffice it to say it was better for both of them that she was evicted when she was. Caleb is much more entertaining and bearable without her in the house. 

Preseason on Amber: 

Gameplay Prediction: Poor. She'll be a nice girl that people like and will stick around for a while, but will eventually be evicted before the jury as a pawn.

Not too far off, but I actually think I didn't give Amber enough credit...she was a decent player.

Week 6: Frankie almost gets backdoored

Poor, hapless
Jocasta.

I was really excited at this point...by now the house was controlled by the admittedly successful Detonators alliance, and Nicole/Hayden represented the biggest opposition. I had no huge problem with Zach (although at that point I was getting tired of his shtick), but taking him or Frankie out was a huge move that Nicole was willing to make, which was definitely great. Unfortunately, stupid Christine had to interfere, winning the Veto and keeping the nominations the same in her personal vendetta against Zach. And then even that failed, when Caleb of all people convinced Derrick to safe Zach. Poor, hapless Jocasta (who was pretty funny in the diary room) was evicted. As soon as Hayden didn't win HOH, I was convinced that Nicole was going to get the ultimate Double Eviction backdoor. It was close, but they chose to send home the physical threat half of Haycole...still very sad.

Preseason on Jocasta:

Gameplay Predictions: Decent. I think that she can get along relatively well with the other Houseguests but will probably get taken out somewhere in the middle.

Hayden was playing
a great game.

Well, that one was spot on!

Preseason on Hayden:

Gameplay Prediction: Fantastic. I'll probably be totally wrong, but Hayden is going to be my pre-season winner's pick!

Well, there goes another winner pick. I've had a lot of luck with TAR winner picks, but no so much in Survivor or Big Brother. Still, he was playing a great game until that night, and he could still come back (although I hope it's Nicole).

Week 7: Nicole's in trouble...no she's safe! No, she's in trouble...she's saved! Dang, she got evicted.
Going into this week, I thought that the Detonators would sweep both HOHs, Nicole would be backdoored, and that would be that. You can imagine my elation when she won HOH, made a deal with Christine, and then sold Frankie out to his alliance, making him the target. It seemed her safety was secured when Caleb planned on throwing the Battle of the Block to keep Frankie up, which would ensure that Nicole remained HOH. But I saw Nicole's spot in the game evaporate before my eyes when Frankie single-handedly won the BoB (a task that should be impossible). I don't normally agree with any of the conspiracy theories about production influence, but this wouuuuld be the perfect time for them to intervene. That's all I'll say on that subject. Even then, it looked like Nicole could still be safe, as Christine was intent on once again evicting Zach...but then he won Veto. RIP, Nicole! You were my favorite! And hopefully you'll come back!

Nicole could
come back and be
a force to be
reckoned with.

Preseason on Nicole:

Gameplay Prediction: Fantastic. This is a hard cast to predict, but I think Nicole is going to be one of the standout players of this season.

There's no doubt that Nicole was certainly a very good player--definitely the best female player this season. She was just too trustworthy and was outmaneuvered by Derrick at every turn. I see Nicole as someone like Andrea or Parvati--she showed some promise the first time she played, and with one game under her belt, could come back and be a force to be reckoned with.

I guess it's time to start rooting for Donny, right?

But honestly, Derrick is playing a fantastic game, and if he wins, I think we're talking about one of the best BB players ever. We'll have to see how this all shakes out. I'm looking forward to the endgame, and I will try to keep blogging about it. I've been staying away from the spoiler forums on Survivor, because I have reason to believe game spoilers are available this season, but I have learned a few things that I will post soon. Stay tuned!

Recap of the Week 1 Eviction

As soon as the other girls decided to sell out Joey and her dreams of an all-girl alliance, her eviction was all but guaranteed. Still, this year's batch of Houseguests is doing a great job keeping excitement high and making this week a success. (Image credit CBS)

        

         This year's batch of Houseguests is doing a great job keeping excitement high.

Devin and Caleb continued their paranoia of Donny on Wednesday's show. Instead of believing he's an actor or professional comedian, Donny is now ex-military! That's right, super-soldier Donny doesn't have hair on his legs, so Caleb is now completely convinced that Donny used to be a soldier.

When Devin asks Donny about his profession that night, Donny replies honestly that he's just a groundskeeper, but the trust holding the Double D alliance together (which is just a sham by this point anyway) has been eroded.

Before we talk about Joey, I wanted to touch on the most important topic of conversation in the Big Brother house...Nicole has found her ghost! Honestly, watching her and Christine freak out over the Big Brother Ghost was kind of adorable and it makes them even easier to root for.

The arrow may be pointing up for them, but it plummeted for Joey on Wednesday night. She tried to reconvene the girls' alliance for a meeting...but suddenly, no one was on board anymore. Jocasta of all people was the voice of reason, telling her (in the Diary Room) that you can't start an all-girl alliance with 7 people.

And then Amber, who's total loyalty apparently now lies with the Bomb Squad (who're certain to kick her out at Final 8 or 7 anyway) ratted Joey out to Caleb and Devin, who each then had one-on-one conversations (read: interrogations) with Joey. After becoming House Target #1,  Joey decided to come clean, which I actually think was the best course of action. Obviously it didn't work out for her, but I think it would have gone even worse had she lied. Although I guess it's hard to get a worse deal than a 13-0 vote, huh?

And when super-soldier Donny uses his military skills and comedic powers to win the Veto (not that he had much competition...I mean, "competive"? "Caltoru?" Come on!), Joey caltorus herself onto the block. I think I'm going to use that word in this blog now. It's a good substitute for anything.

        

       Super-soldier Donny uses his military skills and comedic powers to win the Veto.

Even though Joey pulled out all the stops by introducing her alter-ego Alex, Christine, Brittany, and Nicole expressed discontent with the dictatorship in the house, and Devin drove everyone crazy by trying to get a unanimous vote (which he did), Joey was still shown the backdoor last night. RIP Joey. You were fun while you lasted.

We then were treated to two HOH competitions; one for women and one for men, ostensibly to ensure that we got a female HOH this week, which I'm all for. Although I really wish it wasn't someone so loyal to the Bomb Squad like Amber. I certainly wanted Nicole and Christine to throw it, so that they'd stay low, but Brittany and Victoria have a bone to pick with the guys and I'd have liked to see them win.

For the guys, my thoughts were the same. I was really rooting for Hayden to win (even though it would have made him a target, but he'll be a likely nominee this week anyway), or possibly Donny, so he could put up some Bomb Squad members. 

But Hayden and apparently Cody choked right at the end of the comp, leaving Devin as the winner...which, as some have pointed out, makes him a prime target for backdooring. If Devin's nominees win the Battle of the Block, he'll be dethroned as HOH. If Amber is on board and someone who's part of the plan wins the Veto, Devin could be going home this week, which would be hilarious.

Alright...time to update my thoughts about the Houseguests.

Amber Borzotra
What I said: "She could be the challenge goddess of this season."
What I saw: She's definitely the strongest of the girls..we shall see how she stacks up against the guys. I hope Amber is in on the backdooring plan to send Devin packing.

Donny Thompson
What I said: "Everyone does love him and his cricket noises, but he's also intelligent and held his own in the comp."

What I saw: Donny SHOULD have been safe, but for some reason, Devin decided to target him and Donny was forced to win the Veto to save himself. Apparently Devin has now decided not to go after Donny until jury, so hopefully he'll be safe now.

Zach Rance
What I said: "I want to like Zach, because he's one of the nerds/gamers of the season, but he's too abrasive. He'll go soon."

What I saw: Zach has toned it down a lot, and apparently sleeps all day, which is a great strategy this early in the season. He also has a close relationship with Frankie which could help him out.

        

                  Zach sleeps all day, which is a great strategy this early in the season.

Victoria Rafaeli
What I said: "She'll be Frankie's pawn, which I'm fine with, but I don't foresee Victoria making moves on her own."

What I saw: Well, she's not Frankie's pawn...maybe she'll be Brittany's. I don't like Victoria but I hope she helps the house minority take back control.

Cody Calafiore:
What I said: "He's not as dumb as he looks."

What I saw: Very little from Cody over the past few days, except for fouling in the HOH comp. He seems like he's in a good spot if he can stay unnoticed. 

Derrick Levasseur
What I said: "I thought Derrick got off to an admirable start, and his parental connections will help him."

What I saw: Not much from Derrick, but he seems like a smart cookie. I think he'll stay off to the side and observe.

Brittany Martinez
What I said: "...she was engaging the other Houseguests at the HOH challenge and has given no indication of extreme emotions...yet."

What I saw: I was rooting for Brittany to win the HOH comp, not because I like her, but because I think she'll put Bomb Squad members up. She's not Head of Household, but hopefully she can find other ways to fight.

Nicole Franzel
What I said: "I'm still looking forward to great things from Nicole; she seems very smart."

What I saw: Nicole is great! She has a strong bond with Christine and apparently with Hayden as well...that would be a final 3 I'd be interested in seeing! She needs to stay low and not make any moves.

       

                          Nicole needs to stay low and not make any moves.

Frankie Grande
What I said: "Frankie is here to play, and my only worry with him is that he will be too big of a target, especially because he won that first HOH."

What I saw: Frankie is actually in a great spot, at least for now; he's got a strong alliance behind him, and even if that alliance gets targeted, Devin and Caleb will go first.

Devin Shepherd
What I said: "Devin is going to have a tough time of things, but he's a likable guy and I think alliances (like the Double Ds) will carry him through."

What I saw: Devin is a trainwreck! He's hilarious and ridiculous and it would be great if he gets backdoored this week, but also great if he stays to cause trouble.

Joey Van Pelt
What I said: "I think she's fully invested in her girls' alliance. Whether that succeeds remains to be seen..."

What I saw: Spoiler alert. It didn't succeed. During the pre-game assessment, I said Joey's gameplay would be "Decent. She'll ingratiate herself with the women to survive." Well, she tried at least. I was entertained by Joey and I'm disappointed she's gone so soon.

Paola Shea
What I said: "Paola seems to want to take over this house, and I'm rooting for her."

What I saw: Instead of ruling the roost, Paola is the default pawn...but I'm still rooting for her! 

Hayden Voss
What I said: "I can see him working hard at every competition and then becoming a huge target during his HOH week."

What I saw: Hayden's going to be a target for the Bomb Squad whether he's HOH or not, so he might as well try to win. If Devin is overthrown this week and the majority alliance starts to fracture, he might have a chance...if not, it's only a matter of time before he's targeted.

Caleb Reynolds
What I said: "It's strange because Caleb is extremely aggressive and willingly shows off his strength, but it's just making people like Devin want to ally with him."

What I saw: As soon as the Bomb Squad crumbles (which will be soon), Caleb will be a huge target and I do not predict he will make it another month.

        

               As soon as the Bomb Squad crumbles, Caleb will be a huge target.

Jocasta Odom
What I said: "She was invisible in the episode and all I found out about her is that she's super religious...which we already knew. Stay tuned."

What I saw: Still pretty invisible. But at least she's funny!

Christine Brecht
What I said: "We haven't seen too much of Christine, but similar to Nicole, I think she could control the endgame if she can get that far."

What I saw: She's a little less under the radar than Nicole, and needs to keep her challenge prowess under wraps, but things are still looking good for Christine!

I'll be back for the Sunday night episode recap, as well as a preview of the TARCAN cast, so stay tuned!

BB16 Week 1: Sunday Night

We had wild scheming and late night strategy sessions, but he thing that surprised me the most about Sunday's BB episode was...the new theme music/intro!! And it was great! Although I suppose I'm here to talk about the other stuff, huh? Let's get to it then (Image credit CBS).

                                            

                                                            Frankie's reign is now over :(

Starting off the episode, two two-person deals were made; Frankie and Caleb made an HOH pact and Christine and Nicole formed the Nerd Glasses Alliance, which I am VERY excited about! I would absolutely love for Christine and Nicole to be the final two. Can they go the distance? I think so.

But a much bigger alliance dominated this episode. The Bomb Squad began when Frankie and Caleb decided to recruit some numbers in the form of Derrick and Devin, which is not a bad move, I suppose.  Although I have to give props to Derrick for balking (in the Diary Room) at jumping straight into an alliance.

And THEN the Bomb Squad needs a fifth and sixth, right? So naturally we'll recruit Cody and Zach. This was the point I stopped taking this alliance seriously and started laughing. Cody voiced my thoughts perfectly when he said he wasn't sure if he'd just joined the next Brigade or the next Moving Company.

Devin really proves to be the brains behind the operation...the overthinking, hyperactive, paranoid brains that constantly gets in trouble. He scrambles so much that he makes Andrea Boehlke in her vote-off episode on Caramoan look like she's having a relaxing afternoon on the beach.

Because Devin is so confident in his new 6-person alliance, he informs us that the Danielle DiLorenzo alliance with Donny is now over, and fake cries in the storeroom with Donny for some unfathomable reason.

That's it, right? Wrong. This is Devin we're talking about! He's always playing the game...even at 4:30 in the morning, when he recruits Amber and Christine to join the all-guys alliance. Hang on...I'm pretty sure the key word there is ALL-GUYS. 

The funniest part is when Devin then wakes Caleb up and says something like "Bro, we gotta talk. I think we need to add Amber and Christine to the Bomb Squad." Caleb responds with "What?" which is a reasonable answer. Devin continues to explain and says he told them everything because "They know, bro. They already knew." 

Ummm...no they didn't! Not until you told them! Christine sums it up nicely, wondering why Devin would trust her.

So the Bomb Squad now has an 8-person alliance...half of the house! Have we EVER seen an alliance this big before? I predict there's no way it lasts through week 2.

But Devin is still not done. Instead of targeting the women like the Bomb Squad originally intended, he starts to grow worried that Donny is secretly a comedian because he's so funny and told a "pastatute" joke. Apparently Devin thought it was hilarious and dangerous, because he implores the Bomb Squad to shift their target to Donny, which they balk at. Another prediction: Devin is backdoored by the end of week 3.

                                         

                                                               Secretly a comedian.

Enough of Devin...time for nominations and the Battle of the Block, which seems like it will spice up the Sunday episodes for a time. Frankie and Caleb nominate non-Bomb Squad members, but realize there's no one left in the house that isn't part of the alliance. Just kidding. Caleb's nominees are Pow-pow and Donny, while Frankie nominates Brittany and Victoria...which is a bad idea, because Victoria thought she and Frankie were tight and now doesn't trust him. The ire of Victoria...what a scary thought.

At the very end of the episode comes the Battle of the Block, and I found myself very much rooting for Pow-pow and Donny, of course. Sadly, Paola couldn't seem to figure out how to swing in the very cool pouring-with-a-twist-on-it challenge with a 1920s theme. Eventually she got the hang of it and nearly caught up, but Victoria and Brittany pulled out the win.

Tonight's episode will hopefully see Paola or Donny (preferably the latter) pull themselves off the block and get someone boring or annoying evicted. And hopefully my winner pick of Hayden, who has so far stayed out of the spotlight and the crumbling alliance, remains safe. 

                                          

                                                       Hopefully Hayden remains safe.

I'll be back after the eviction show to recap Wednesday's and Thursday's episodes, so stay tuned! In addition, the Amazing Race Australia premieres on July 8th, and I believe Ethan and I will be covering that this season as well.

Recapping the Big Brother 16 Premiere

I was very impressed with this year's crop of Houseguests. Sure, there are some dummies and people who are just here to lie around in bikinis all summer, but there are some Houseguests here to play. Let's recap everything that happened throughout the first two days, and then I'll talk about how wrong I was about predicting the Houseguests' personas (Image credit CBS).

Night One

After enduring the forced surprise and shock of the Houseguests receiving their keys and posing in front of a camera crew, we were reunited with the Chenbot, who sent only eight Houseguests into the house, leaving the other half for the next night.

Sorry Pow-pow...El Cuatro
is doomed to failure.

Alliances immediately started forming; after the eight players agreed to stay tight against other intruders, they splintered off into several different sub-alliances. I particularly liked Devin's pact with Donny--the Double Ds is one of the few alliances I think we might be talking about for several weeks to come. Both guys realy impressed me, and I think they can stay under cover about their partnership.
El Cuatro, on the other hand, is doomed to failure even sooner than the ill-fated Big Brother Canada One alliance of the same name. Don't get me wrong--I'm all for a female Brigade-type alliance ruling the roost, but it just seems so unlikely. And if an all-woman alliance is ever going to happen, I don't see Joey, Paola, Nicole, and Amber as the ones to pull it off.

Paola and Cody also made a connection on the first night, with Paola fawning over the former soccer player throughout the evening and the HOH challenge. I have a feeling this relationship will be remarkably one-sided, and I'm already starting to see shades of Ginamarie and Nick from last year...which is even weirder considering that Paola is friends with Ginamarie, and is so far acting very similar.

I think Amber made the right call in throwing the HOH challenge to Frankie; the first HOH is always dangerous, and with the added twist it simply wasn't worth the risk. I really like Frankie and I think he could be a fantastic player. He's athletic and obviously very social, and I hope his first week as HOH works out alright.

Night Two

It became clear very quickly that there's love in the air this season--everyone's fawning over each other. I can't remember exactly who likes whom, but I predict that we'll have our first showmance within a week. 

Frankie and Victoria immediately hit it off, sharing a love of pink and vowing to be co-HOHs (yeah, no). Honestly, this will probably just drag Frankie's game down, because Victoria seems exceptionally vain and naive; if she sticks around long, she will not be playing the game, I'm sure.

Paola and Caleb, meanwhile, were scoping each other out after each identified the other as a threat. I'm looking forward to seeing their interactions over the coming week(s), and I really hope Paola gets the upper hand over Caleb.

Brittany and Derrick had the chance to bond over their kids, which is a connection they could also share with Devin, Jocasta, and maybe even with Christine, as I think she's planning on adopting. 

Not as dumb as he looks.

Zach immediately proved me right by coming across as too intense and abrasive, annoying Frankie about his high school and earning a diary room rebuke from Hayden, who I have been very impressed with so far.

The one thing that didn't impress me about Hayden was his strong performance in the HOH competition; it became clear that Caleb was going to win, so he should have just thrown it. Nevertheless, I don't think anyone is going to be looking at Hayden when Caleb showed off his strength, which immediately put a huge target on his back and doomed him.


We then learned that the first member of Team America is not Frankie, but Joey. Huh. Ariana Grande really dropped the ball there. We also find out that there will be three members of Team America, and they will complete secret tasks in the house for $5000 per task. Sounds like America's Player, but we'll have to see how the twist unfolds...I don't like it. 

She could be the
challenge goddess.

Time to see how my first impressions compared to my pre-season assessment. I'll write what I said before about the Houseguests and then what I saw from them on the show.

Amber Borzotra

What I said: "Amber isn't necessarily a player in the House this year, but she at least has a head on her shoulders, and acknowledges that a showmance would most likely ruin her game.
What I saw: Not much from Amber so far, but her throwing of the HOH was encouraging, and the fact that she was good at the challenge itself bodes well for her chances. She could be the challenge goddess of this season.

Donny Thompson
What I said: "I don't expect him to be exceptionally cunning or strategic, but I really do think everyone in the House will love him and he could make it very far."
What I saw: Donny has the whole package! Everyone does love him and his cricket noises, but he's also intelligent and held his own in the comp. I think he could make it very far barring a misstep. 

Zach Rance
What I said: "Sooner or later, people will see that he's playing hard and being arrogant, and they just will not want to keep him around."What I saw: Spot on with this one. I want to like Zach, because he's one of the nerds/gamers of the season, but he's too abrasive. He'll go soon.

Victoria Rafaeli
What I said: "She seems a little vain and full of herself...Victoria doesn't have any idea what she's getting into and will only ever have control of the game if she's lucky enough to win a comp or two."
What I saw: I was right here, too. She'll be Frankie's pawn, which I'm fine with, but I don't foresee Victoria making moves on her own.

Cody Calafiore:
What I said: "...maybe he does have some brains. If he's well-liked and popular in the House, he has all the tools to go far."
What I saw: I was actually relatively impressed with Cody. He's not as dumb as he looks. And if he cultivates a relationship with someone (a la Nick, who had control of GMs vote if he wanted it), he could be in a good spot.

No indication of
extreme emotions.

Derrick Levasseur
What I said: "Overall, he seems like a nice guy who wants to play an honest game, which is not really suitable for Big Brother. Derrick also doesn't seem like someone who's going to make a lot of waves or big moves inside the House."
What I saw: The overall theme with this cast so far is that they're outperforming our expectations. I thought Derrick got off to an admirable start, and his parental connections will help him.

Brittany Martinez

What I said: "She'll be a little worse than Sarah, and a little more emotional. Who knows how strong she could be once she's inside, but the separation from her kids could make her crack just a week or two in. 
What I saw: We saw very little from Brittany aside from her connection with Derrick, but she was engaging the other Houseguests at the HOH challenge and has given no indication of extreme emotions...yet.

Nicole Franzel
What I said: "I think a strong social game from Nicole will serve her well...I think Nicole is going to be one of the standout players of this season.
What I saw: We didn't see much of Nicole, but hey--Neda was UTR the first few weeks of BBCAN2. I'm still looking forward to great things from Nicole; she seems very smart.

Frankie Grande

What I said: "Frankie seems very personable and I think he could get along well with most people in the House, although he may be a little bit naive as well."
What I saw: Very self-aware, very charismatic, and an athletic threat too. Frankie is here to play, and my only worry with him is that he will be too big of a target, especially because he won that first HOH.

He's a likable guy.

Devin Shepherd
What I said: "I think that if he can survive those first critical weeks, Devin will be able to get into a strong enough position to make a deep run in the game...Devin's going to need to be making deals and alliances right away, and I think he's up to the challenge.
What I saw: I hold to what I said; Devin is going to have a tough time of things, but he's a likable guy and I think alliances (like the Double Ds) will carry him through.

Joey Van Pelt
What I said: "She seems like a personable type, and that could serve her well in the House. Doesn't appear to be much of a threat either."
What I saw: I have a feeling that Joey is here to play the game, and I think she's fully invested in her girls' alliance. Whether that succeeds remains to be seen, but she's always got Team America as a backup plan.


Paola Shea
What I said: "She'll appeal to some people in the House and be really funny, but her huge personality could turn others off."
What I saw: Well, she definitely has a huge personality, and it seems like people like her rather than are annoyed by her, so I have my fingers crossed. After all, Ginamarie made her way into 2nd place. Paola seems to want to take over this house, and I'm rooting for her.

Hayden Voss
What I said: "I think he could do really well and get along nicely with people...I'll probably be totally wrong, but Hayden is going to be my pre-season winner's pick!"

Extremely aggressive...will
be a huge target.

What I saw: I'm feeling good about my pick so far; he's sociable and competitive. But I can see him working hard at every competition and then becoming a huge target during his HOH week. We shall see.

Caleb Reynolds
What I said: "He could be another of the Andrew/Tom-type guys that pisses everyone off and goes from the top to the bottom in one week...he's going to make everyone mad at him and push his way along through an HOH win or two before people finally come together to vote him out.

What I saw: Well he's already got that HOH win in the bag. It's strange because Caleb is extremely aggressive and willingly shows off his strength, but it's just making people like Devin want to ally with him. But don't start thinking that's a good thing. In the long term, Caleb will be a huge target and he'll get eliminated. After all, Andrew and Tom started off as friends with the others as well.

Jocasta Odom
What I said: "I think that she can get along relatively well with the other Houseguests but will probably get taken out somewhere in the middle."
What I saw: I have absolutely nothing to work with for Jocasta. She was invisible in the episode and all I found out about her is that she's super religious...which we already knew. Stay tuned.

Christine Brecht
What I said: "Christine also came across as a little socially awkward...if she can make it through the first two weeks, Christine will become an undercover ninja and play her way to the end of the game."
What I saw: I take it back--she's not socially awkward at all. We haven't seen too much of Christine, but similar to Nicole, I think she could control the endgame if she can get that far.

That's it for the premiere recap...the Sunday night episode is tonight, so check back soon for a recap as we finally get to see the Battle of the Block. I'm not sure how often I'll be posting during the BB season, but I'll figure it out soon. It's also time to start preparing for our international Amazing Race shows...more on that soon!

Cagayan Finale Recap: The Construction Worker Pulls It Off

Your new winner!

Ladies and gentlemen, here's your new winner of Survivor: Cagayan...Tonnnnny Vlachos!

"Ok, look. Look. Look. I had to do what I did, see, 'cause..."

Tony, it's ok. The show's over. You won.

"Come on, my friends. If this young lad over here had sworn on more things--"

Tony, you win! You can stop deceiving people!

"BLAFKALAKLFLFLFLFLLLLLAAAAA. That's right, Kass."

Tony...the season is OVER!

"Oh...oh ok. But, see, I was a construction worker the whole time, see. Lemme get out my bag of tricks..."

But really...what a great cap on a magnificent season, right? Cagayan culminated in an epic finale that I thoroughly enjoyed. And when all the dust settled, Woo made a million dollar mistake and Tony was crowned Sole Survivor number 27. Let's recap it from the top. (Image credit CBS)

I enjoyed Jeff's live show
changes to the finale.

The first big moment of the two hour finale is the family visit. I can't think of a time that they've ever brought family members in this late in the game, but I actually liked it. It was a nice change from an obligatory reward challenge; just to have them there observing was fine for me.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get any standout characters like Skupin's son or Cochran's mom and dad. The star of the four, though, was probably Spencer's sister Taren (?), who had complete faith in Spencer during the challenge.

We also saw a softer side of Tony. He broke into tears upon realizing that his wife was not there; instead, his best friend Arnold told Tony that she was at home with their baby. I thought for a moment that we were going to get a Johnny Fairplay-esque lie there, but no.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for an important message from...Jeff Probst!

"Hey, people on the street. It's Jeff, backstage in the green room with the Survivors. Ok, now back to the show. The Survivors are going to have to dig deep!"

In all honesty, though, I enjoyed Jeff's live show changes to the finale. He popped in and out just the right amount...about four times, I think. This was probably the least interesting of the four, simply because nothing happened.

It's immunity time. The Survivors have to repeat a challenge that I recall seeing from Micronesia; pour water in a bucket to raise a key to the top of their pole, jump off, and then solve a puzzle on the beach...except, Tony can't swim.

How has he made it this far without
needing to swim?

How has he made it this far without needing to swim? There were a lot of water challenges this season. Anyway, Tony, Spencer, and Woo are working on the puzzle while Kass is still struggling on the pole.

But somehow, Chaos Kass comes from behind, quick as a flash, to take the win! She whipped through that puzzle crazy-fast, and I must say I was rooting for her. She attributed her success to her husband; good for her. Although Spencer does call her a brain-dead weasel.

Back at camp, there's one obvious target, and it's clear who's going home tonight. The target in question approaches Tony, and tells him something that could change Tony's mind; it's going to be a Final 2. This is one of those times where being a superfan of the game really helps Spencer out; he noticed that Jeff didn't say anything about a chance to plead your case at the Final Tribal Council.

Spencer's making some really good points, and Tony says he'll think it over. Spencer's right, really; if Kass or Woo win immunity, they're taking the other person to the end. This whole time, I thought Spencer was safe for sure; his edit clearly ensured him a spot at the Final Tribal Council, and I fully expected Tony to be fully swayed by Spencer's reasoning and vote Woo out.

But no! The editors bamboozled us Malcolm-style once again!!! This was the point where I was really shocked and impressed. I thought that even though the season had been full of twists and turns, we were going to get a relatively predictable finale, with Spencer winning two immunities and dragging Kass to the end, garnering all the votes.

But when my post-Sarah-vote-out pick to win went home (along with my number one spot on my fantasy tribe and any hope of winning my auction competition against Ethan), the finale started to get really crazy.

Because now...it was anyone's game! And I started to get a little worried that what Spencer prophesied would soon come to pass; a Kass and Woo Final 2. While it may rhyme nicely, it's not the ideal scenario by any stretch of the imagination.

Woo even says he'd "be the stupidest Survivor player ever" if he took Tony to the end, so there's no way he'll take him. Right? Right?

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for an important message from...Jeff Probst!

Spencer's mom thought he'd be
one of the first ones out.

Right after Spencer is voted out, Jeff shows a Ponderosa-esque clip of Spencer's walk and weighing on the scale, and then interviews Spencer's mom, who gets a laugh when she says she thought he'd be one of the first ones out.

Not bad. Then, of course, he has to talk to two random guys that drove from Oklahoma to Los Angeles in 24 hours to get to the finale, and an Afghanistan veteran. Cool, I guess.

Back to the game. It's time for...a maze! Wooooooo! We haven't seen this challenge (or a similar variant) since the Heroes vs. Villains finale, if I remember correctly. Possibly Redemption Island, actually; I didn't watch it.

This certainly beats the Philippines "hold up a ball with a stick that gets longer" final immunity, the fire puzzle Caramoan final immunity, and even the impressive obstacle course immunity in Blood vs. Water. I especially liked all the turnstiles.

When all the dust has settled, Kass loses to Woo in the cog-assembling section of the challenge by half a second. This was really the moment that Tony won the game (or didn't lose it, I should say). If Kass had won the final immunity, there would be no way she'd keep Tony over Woo.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for an important message from...Jeff Probst!

Oh no, Jeff has an army of kids.

Oh my god, Jeff has an army of little kids. Oh no. What is he going to do?

He ends up asking them questions about their history of watching Survivor and the Survivor fandom...I actually enjoyed it. Wow, Jeff; you're impressing me.

This was the part of the finale where I really felt bad for Woo. You could see the cogs in his brain whirring at a speed many times slower than the cogs in the challenge, as the mastermind Tony worked on him all afternoon.

Tony's argument is that Woo can't argue that he has honesty and loyalty to the jury if he betrays Tony now, which is true, I guess, but Woo can't beat Tony anyway. Kass just warns him that she won't vote for Woo in the Final 2 if she's put on the jury, and compares him to Fabio (pretty accurate in my opinion).

Even Tony says he wouldn't buy his own argument, and would take his chances with Kass. Yeah, there's no way that Woo falls for this one, right? I think Tony's going home right about...

Aaaaaand there goes Kass. Woo, no! Woo just lost a million dollars by voting out Kass, the easiest finals goat in a long time. 

Woo just lost a million dollars.

Woo's rationale was that the jury will respect him for making a "big move" by voting out Kass and keeping around a worthy player. It's Colby all over again.

Around this point, I was thinking: Woo is the real Coach. And by that I mean he embodies all the ideals Coach was trying to exemplify, and had to go out of his way to point out. Coach pretended he was going to play with honesty and integrity, but was berated by the jury for failing to do that. If Coach really was going to back up all his talk of wanting to go to the end against the best, he would have taken Ozzy to the end and lost to him.

By contrast, Woo is effortlessly humble, kind, endearing, and loyal. He made the decision that Coach couldn't, that Colby did...which doomed both Colby and himself (although at least in Colby's case it was a close vote).

Anyway, at breakfast the next morning, Tony finds another clue. I cannot imagine what this might lead to...the million dollar cheque hidden in the woods? Four extra jury votes? A ticket to the next returning player season? 

Just a scale and a mirror. I actually laughed when I saw this; I loved that they hid it, just for fun, instead of telling them about it.

Let me just mention (because I just remembered) that there was no Fallen Comrades walk! I was extremely disappointed; I always love this segment, and Jeff sadly confirmed that unless they can somehow revamp it, the Fallen Comrades has fallen. The Rites of Passage has passed. Rest in peace.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for an important message from...Jeff Probst!

Queen Parv!

And Queen Parv! It's already good before they start talking. Jeff asks Parvati about the fatigue and rigors of the game, and she says that you need to make sure you're not defensive in front of the jury. A short tidbit, but a good touch.

Now it's time for the Final Tribal Council, at last. I'll just briefly go over each of these in my recap because it's getting long and Ethan and I will cover them more thoroughly in our podcast. I'll tell you who I thought they were going to vote for before the votes were read as well.

Sarah: Berates Tony for breaking his swear on his badge, and asks Woo who he would vote for if she had played his game. He says he would vote for Sarah. Huh. 

Vote: Tony

Jefra: Says she's not bitter, but wants Tony to own that he backstabbed her, had no loyalty, and blindsided people. No BS! Tony says he flipped around and betrayed his alliance, but won't own up to backstabbing her and claims he's "half villain and half good player."

Vote: Woo

Morgan: Takes the opportunity to talk about how young and attractive she is, and wonders how Tony got men to follow him without even having breasts! Tony says he was genuine and nice to people. Morgan also says she respects Woo for taking Tony to the end.

Vote: Tony

Jeremiah: Finds out that Tony does indeed have a wife and kids, and says that "where he comes from," that's not cool...it's pathetic. Then he asks Woo to prove himself, and Woo says he wants to win. Duhhhh.

Vote: Woo

Some of the Survivor jury.

Tasha: Asks a similar question to Morgan's, but without the boobs. Tony mentions that he regrets blindsiding Trish, which was a nice touch. Then she asks Woo about choosing to align with Tony, and Woo says he was forced to adapt.

Vote: Tony

LJ: Asks Tony "who are you?" Tony says that he was scared of LJ, but LJ says "you played me," and doesn't seem satisfied.

Vote: Woo

Kass: Wants to know why Woo didn't cut off the head of the dragon when he had the chance. Woo says it was a power move, and that Kass didn't deserve to sit next to him. Ouch.

Vote: Tony

Trish: First asks Woo if it was his idea to blindside her, to which he answers affirmatively, and then goes off on a great, emotional monologue against Tony. She asks whether it was worth it to sacrifice his own father's memory, and he says yes.

Vote: Woo

Spencer: Compares Woo's strategic game to a dog following its master and then addresses the jury, exhorting them to vote for Tony.

Vote: Tony

I had this at a close 5-4 vote for Tony, with Woo doing exceptionally well in nabbing a handful of them. But instead it was a blowout, with only Tasha voting for Tony, for some unknown reason.

Thanks for following our coverage
of this terrific season!

And Tony Vlachos officially becomes the winner of Survivor: Cagayan.

There's a fair amount of stuff to cover from the reunion, but I think we'll address all of that in our podcast. There's going to be at least one more wrap-up post of the entire season, plus one or two Survivor scrutinies and an Amazing Race finale scrutiny coming your way before we end our spring coverage (and a BBCAN Neda vs. Dan post too) and start to transition to our summer podcasting/blogging.

There's some international Amazing Race, Big Brother US, and old Survivor seasons to cover, so rest assured that Ethan and I will stay busy and keep bringing you content; stay tuned, and thanks for following our coverage of this terrific season!

Talking Llama on Episode 12

FFLLLRRRRBBBPPRRGRLADLSFLKJWWKFLK. FLJHOPSDFHAAAAGRR?

You're not a llama, right?

Oh, sorry. I forgot I'm not talking to Kass. You're not a llama, right? I'll revert to English now.

What a great episode, right!?!? I think this may have been my favorite one since the merge...let's recap it from the top! (Image credit CBS).

So the main conflict of this episode gets started with a conversation between Tony and Woo out on the boat; Tony proposes a Final 3 to Woo, and Woo accepts. Then Woo confesses last week's plot to oust Tony, which makes Tony emotional, because Woo's so loyal to Tony...and Tony has to blindside him!??!! Whoaaaaa! This is definitely the first we've heard of this!

Tony later approaches Kass and tells her that he knows what she tried to do last week, but he'll take her to the Final 3 anyway. Smart, Tony, smart. Kass mentions sardonically that she's been forgiven by the mafia boss, but needs to cause more (you guessed it) chaos to make Tony look like a bully when she's sitting next to him at the end.

This is actually a great idea in theory. If Kass can make Tony into the bad guy, then she might be able to sway some jury votes her way. And in the end, it looks like she sort of succeeded because she created a rift between Woo and Tony.

Buuuuut...she also turns into a malevolent, evil-looking person while doing it, which is far less than optimal. She may have caused Tony to lose Woo's jury vote this week (probably not), but she also definitely lost Trish's.

At least it was an individual reward!

There's not much to mention in the reward challenge, although I had higher hopes coming into it; I thought they were going to be in a big vat of peanut butter or chocolate (don't you miss the Amazon?). Instead it was mud. We've seen this challenge before, and it's always going to stay at the same level of coolness and entertainment; moderate. Not much interaction or competition going on, but it's funny to see them cover themselves with mud and soak it up in their hair.

It was quickly made clear that Tony had won, however, and there was no need to weigh the buckets. He and "Anorexia" (or as she called herself, Malnutrisha) enjoyed helicopter-delivered pizza, and Tony revealed that he can't play his idols past the Final 5.

Doesn't this have to mean that it's a Final 3 this season? I could be wrong, but I don't think there has been a Final 2 season where the last chance to play idols was the Final 5. Either way, Tony makes a smart move, telling Trish (and eventually everyone, I guess) that he can play his special idol at the Final 4 as well.

At the immunity challenge, Tony solves fourteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty-nine puzzles, but Spencer successfully solves the fourteen thousandth, nine hundred and ninetieth puzzle to win immunity...which was a much needed victory, clearly.

I'm sure it was intentional on the part of the editors that the slide puzzle was a good metaphor for Tony's and Spencer's games; Spencer is thoughtful and methodical while Tony just barrels through frantically.

Vote for Trish for RHAP Fan Favorite
Player of the Season!

Back at camp, I'm reminded why I love Trish so much (I then proceeded to vote for her for the Rob Has a Podcast Fan Favorite Player of the Season, which you should also do). She snaps at Kass: "Do you think I'm stupid,  or do you think I'm deaf?" In confessional, Trish tells us she's not passive-aggressive, just aggressive, which is a nice change from Kass's annoying chaos.

Trish starts really unloading on Kass (which, according to her exit interview on RHAP, she's been waiting all season to do), saying "I'll rip you apart in 30 seconds...you'll be crying so hard...you are vicious and cruel." And honestly, the things she's saying are right. Kass does play the victim card, and as she and Tony said at Tribal Council, she does sit around with that huge grin on her face.

But important conversation Trish and Tony need to be having is with Woo. Woo isn't sure if he can trust Tony anymore, because Tony swore on his wife and child to Kass but not to Woo. How do you remedy that? Swear some more! Tony swears on his wife, child, and deceased father to Woo, which doesn't seem to be enough, because Woo then goes back and tells Kass he will vote out Trish.

A lot of great things take place at Tribal Council, so I'll just mention my favorites. Tony does the llama voice again, and Woo compares himself to a foreign exchange student visiting a very dysfunctional family, which got a laugh from the jury. Then, Tony pulls out both idols.

There's a new alliance of three...
and Spencer could win this game.

This was the point where I thought for sure Kass would be going home. All Tony needs to do is give one of his idols to Trish; there's no risk, cause he still has the OPHII in case the votes are for him.

But not only does Tony play the idol for himself, effectively wasting it, HE ALSO VOTES FOR TRISH!!!! WHAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?

There was a lot of talk last night and today about why Tony did what he did...apparently according to a secret scene, it was to get a guaranteed jury vote, but I think it was a terrible idea. Unless his ruse with the idol works next week, there's a new alliance of three that could be dead-set on sending him home.


This would normally be the point where I answer three burning questions I'm sure you had about the episode, but I just don't have the time...sorry! As I said, this week is very busy and I have to wrap up this recap quick. Expect an audio recap of the episode where we will go much more in-depth sometime on Saturday or possibly Sunday, as well as hopefully another audio scrutiny of the Amazing Race finale on Sunday, and stay tuned!