Power Rankings for Cagayan E11

We're coming into the home stretch!

We're coming into the home stretch of Cagayan...two episodes to go before the finale, if I am counting correctly. Let's find out who's going to be voted out this week, shall we? I'll also update my winner predictions (there's not much change!). (Image credit CBS)

Power Rankings

Last Week: I finally called it right, for once, with Jefra in spot 7! Ciera had her at 5 and Gordon Holmes at 6.
Total Score: 75 points

This Week:

You can't win the game
by possessing a trove
of immunity idols.

1: Tony
He still has the OPHII, so there's absolutely no way Tony's going home. That being said, it is possible--and highly likely--that everyone will turn against him. That's really all there is to say about Tony; no matter what mistakes he makes, he's safe. However, you can't win the game by possessing a treasure trove of immunity idols; if people don't like you, they won't want to vote for you at the end.
Chance to win: 3rd best

2: Spencer
After convincing Tony to flip the game on its head last week, Spencer is in an infinitely better position than last week. He still has four pseudo-enemies, but I think he can count on Kass's anger to cause a rift between them at this point. The smart move is still to target Spencer...but I have a feeling that Tony will be too preoccupied with Kass and Trish to want to deal with him. If Spencer can wriggle his way through the rest of the game, he's got the game in the back.
Chance to win: 1st best

Trish has got to start
getting rid of the better
players right now.

3: Trish
Trish has been playing a great under-the-radar game, but I think that she's ready to finally cut ties with Tony (and for good reason!). If she does that, though, she'll lose two allies in this game. Like Tony or not, it's best for her game to stick with him until he can't use his idols anymore, and then vote him out. I think that Trish does still have a shot at winning, but she's got to start getting rid of the better players right now. If either Kass or Woo goes home this week, she loses the game at FTC (unless it's a Final 2).
Chance to win: 4th best

4: Kass
Kass may be mad, she may be aggressive, and she may not have friends in Spencer or Tony (the two biggest players at the moment), but she also doesn't have any friends on the jury, and that's a great incentive to keep someone around. Unless she completely floors the jury with a Todd-liked argument (and although we remember Jean-Robert's anger being turned around, most of the jury was already relatively pro-Todd), I think Kass has no chance to win the game. However, we're dealing with Tony here. He cannot always be trusted to make the right decision, and I assume he's going to be mad at Kass for being mad herself.
Chance to win: 6th best

I would be legitimately
concerned that Tasha might
make an immunity run.

5: Tasha
The target is shifting from Spencer to Tasha, and if I were the other players, I would be legitimately concerned that Tasha might make an immunity run to the end. She's also a huge social threat, and very likable. Plus, she's got several votes counted and waiting for on the jury; what better incentive do you need to vote someone out? If the alliance of four somehow sticks together, I think Tasha could go home. And if she makes it to the end, I think she could have a decent chance against Spencer.
Chance to win: 2nd best

6: Woo
I think Kass goes home if Tony sides with Spencer and Tasha, and I think Tasha goes home if he sides with Kass and Trish. But what if everyone bands up against Tony? If the majority alliance is over, Spencer and Tasha would be only too glad to join forces with Trish and target someone besides themselves for once. And with Tony holding onto those idols, I feel like it could be Woo's turn to be going home tomorrow night. This is just a guess, of course; he could be considered a non-threat, or Tony could hand him an idol at Tribal! And if Woo does make it to the end, I don't see him winning the game.
Chance to win: 5th best

Auction Results
It was officially a bad idea to draft any members of the Beauty tribe. With Jefra gone, Ethan is down to just 4 players to my 2, although Tasha has proved to be a wellspring of points by winning all those immunities, and he gets way more points than I do for all those jurors...we'll see how things end up.

The Solarrion Tribe prepares for reward on E11.

Marcus:
Spencer Bledsoe
Trish Hegardy
LJ McKanas
Morgan McLeod
Sarah Lacina
Total Score: 8

Ethan:
Tasha Fox (+2)
Kass McQuillen
Tony Vlachos
Woo HwangJefra Bland (+5)
Jeremiah Wood 
Total Score: 17

Be sure to check back tomorrow night for my recap, and stay tuned!

Preparing for the Finale of Big Brother Canada

There's going to be a lot of excitement on
Wednesday and Thursday.

With the finale coming up this Thursday, there will be two more people leaving the House this week, and one winner will be crowned. There's going to be a lot of excitement on Wednesday and Thursday, and between Survivor and a busy schedule, I don't anticipate having a chance to recap (or even watch) the Wednesday night eviction that night.

There probably won't be a BBCAN recap until Thursday or Friday, so I'm going to take a moment now to talk about Sunday night's episode and look ahead to the finale.

Sunday kicked off with a suspenseful HOH challenge that Sabrina of all people eventually won. If Neda had just not erased that 1000...alas, Sabrina has a guaranteed spot in the Final 3. And I have to say, I am a much bigger fan of Sabrina than I was just a few weeks ago. Sure, her game might not be much to look at, but I genuinely like her, which is good if she's a potential winner.

The other three Houseguests are understandably aggrieved...except Neda's not. She tells us that she's exaggerating her reactions; she's not really that upset. This is why I love Neda: she acts so convincingly on TV and then gives the audience a great secret in the diary room. Well, one of the reason's I love Neda (she has great gameplay as well, of course).

It's really enjoyable watching Neda's adroit
maneuvers to garner jury votes.

But being nice to Sabrina is really good for Neda's game as well. She did an excellent job of connecting with Sabrina over her letter, tabloid, and pictures from the HOH room, as she's done throughout the endgame. If Sabrina's a bitter juror, that extra kindness now could mean the difference between $100,000 and $20,000.

Neda made a similarly smart move by telling Adel that he was going home as well. Jon was not happy, of course, but she smoothed things over with him, and Adel appreciated that she had the decency to forewarn him. It's really enjoyable watching Neda's adroit maneuvers to garner jury votes in these last crucial weeks.

The rest of this episode didn't really matter that much; the awards were certainly very fun to watch, and we got to reflect on some memorable moments of the season, but as Jon pointed out, the nominations don't matter at all; only the Veto. Certainly it's a nice gesture that Neda wasn't nominated, but if either Heather or Jon wins POV, she's going up.

I see no way that Jon doesn't go home.

I do think that if Sabrina wins the POV, she'll simply choose to keep the nominations the same instead of annoying Neda by putting her up, only to send Jon home, so I guess it's good to not be nominated at Final 4. I actually see no way that Jon doesn't go home unless he wins the Veto; Sabrina's obviously gunning for him, Neda would backstab him, and I think Heather would choose to keep Neda over Jon.

Although...is it actually a good idea for Neda to take Jon out herself? If she wins POV, she absolutely should, but what if Heather wins and takes Jon out instead? That might actually be better for Neda's game. Jon would still be happy with her, and the other jurors already respect her game enough as it is; she doesn't need to add another big move to the tally.

I'm going to assume that Jon goes out this week at the hands of Neda, because the probability of Sabrina or Neda winning POV is better than the chance for Heather to take him out. And the Final 4 Veto is usually a difficult memory puzzle, so I don't think Jon has the huge advantage he thinks he does, or that Sabrina has a disadvantage.

Under those conditions, I'll go over the likely jury votes in the three possible Final 2 scenarios.

Neda and Sabrina
Arlie- Arlie did work with Sabrina before, but he betrayed her and has stated that he doesn't respect her irrational gameplay. He also complimented Neda in the brief jury segment we saw. Neda 1, Sab 0
Allison- Allison and Neda had a mini-feud in the House, which culminated in Neda blindsiding her in the Instant Eviction. Plus, she was allied with Sabrina. Neda 1, Sab 1
Rachelle- No question here; Rachelle and Neda may have gotten along decently, but Rachelle and Sabrina were BFFs. Neda 1, Sab 2
Adel- Adel and Sabrina had a huge rivalry throughout the game, and Neda did him the favor of telling him that he was being voted out. Neda 2, Sab 2
Jon- Jon is probably floored that Neda would evict him, but I think he'll be able to get over it and decide he'd rather reward his friend Neda than Sabrina. Neda 3, Sab 2
Heather- This depends on the circumstances of the eviction, but barring any unnecessary cruelness on Neda's part, I see no reason why she shouldn't vote for Neda. Neda 4, Sab 2
Canada- We know Canada prefers Jon best of all, but I'm sure they'll settle for Neda over Sabrina. Neda 5, Sab 2
Congratulations, Neda! Sabrina seems to have two guaranteed votes, but they may also be the maximum number of votes she can receive.

Neda and Heather
Arlie- Arlie certainly likes Heather better than Neda, but he didn't have any significant relationship with her, and again, complimented Neda. Neda 1, Heather 0
Allison- Allison didn't really like Neda or Heather, but I really think she had it out for Neda. Neda 1, Heather 1
Rachelle- This could be where Neda profits. Rachelle and Heather were assuredly not friends, and Ro-Ro's relationship with Neda was less rocky. Neda 2, Heather 1
Adel- I actually think that this might be the vote most up for grabs. Adel and Heather were good friends, and partners during the phase of the game where there were three couples. Neda did Adel some favors as well, but I think Heather could clinch this one with a good jury speech. Neda 2, Heather 2
Jon- If Jon is bitter, he'll vote for Heather, but I'm counting on his deep loyalty to Neda to prevail. Neda 3, Heather 2
Sabrina- Sabrina and Heather dislike each other, whereas Sabrina and Neda tolerate each other. Neda 4, Heather 2
Canada- Canada's seen very little of Heather, so they know Neda a lot better. Neda 5, Sab 2
Congratulations, Neda! You win again!

Heather wins in this scenario.

Sabrina and Heather (please no)
Arlie- Arlie's no fan of Sabrina and he will probably credit Heather with some smart plays. Heather 1, Sab 0
Allison- Definitely going to be in the Sabrina camp; they were allies. Heather 1, Sab 0
Rachelle- The Gremlins are sticking together! Heather 1, Sab 2
Adel- There's no way that Adel would ever vote for Sabrina over Heather, even though Heather voted him out. Heather 2, Sab 2
Jon- The disappointment Jon expressed when Sabrina won HOH makes it clear that he's pro-Sloppy Seconds all the way. Heather 3, Sab 2
Neda- I think Neda would be relatively impartial (more so than Jon, anyway), but either way, Heather gets the vote. Heather 4, Sab 2
Canada- This is a toss up. Sabrina's edit has really softened over the last few weeks, and if it were me, I would rather see Sabrina win just to witness the shock and the aftermath. But I think probably Canada wants the "good guys" to win. Heather 5, Sab 2
Congratulations, Heather! You win!

No matter how this shakes out, it's going to be a great finale, and I'll be back later this week to recap it. Cagayan power rankings will be up tomorrow, so stay tuned!

TAR Episode 10: Bull Down

This episode delivered in so many ways.

Finally! This is what I expect from a season of the Amazing Race titled "All Stars." This episode delivered in so many ways; it was memorable, funny, and featured great tasks. Let's dive in. (Image credit CBS)

We started off the leg with teams having to actually find their own flights from Switzerland to Seville, Spain.

Dave and Connor and the Afghanimals quickly nabbed the best flight, and arrived hours before the Cowboys, Country Singers, and Brenchels. Fortunately, the time equalizer forced them to wait until 8:30 a.m. to get their clue.

I know I sound like such a hypocrite after complaining about the equalizer last week...wait, I am a hypocrite. Yes, I have teams that I'm rooting for as well, so I was happy to see them have a chance to catch up. In terms of the equalizer in general, though, I think it needs to be revamped.

There are certainly times when it's useful--it gave this leg a more heightened sense of tension--but I think it could be employed in a better manner. For instance, the teams should somehow be equalized before arriving in Spain, or at least make there be some way that they don't have to rush around and then stop and wait for a couple of hours.

But back to the race. The next morning, the clue led teams to a Roadblock at a Barber's Shop (Malado Peluqueros) that featured an opera-singing barber. Or something like that; I missed the explanation for it. At this point, I was really hoping we'd see the infamous shaving-your-head Switchback that's plagued racers season after season.

It was a race against the clock.

Instead, it was a new and still relatively cool task. The teams had to shave shaving cream off of a balloon decorated to look like a customer with a razor in less than a minute. If they took too long, the barber popped their balloon. This was really a great challenge; I thought the difficulty would be ensuring that the balloon didn't pop, but it was actually a race against the clock. Nothing too tricky, but fun.

Next came the feature of the leg: bull fighting. Sure, there was some flamenco dancing thrown in there somewhere, but I know what you really want to hear about. The bull fighting challenge really was a stroke of genius; locking the racers in gigantic bubbles, forcing them to squeeze through narrow streets and be bounced and knocked over by other "bulls" in gigantic bubbles can only lead to disaster and hilarity, right?

Right. I never grew tired of Rachel crying "Brendon, come save me!" and Brendon rushing to her defense...only to be bounced along the ground by the bulls. The ambushes in the squares and alleyways were hilarious, and having the added difficulty of finding signs to put together a phrase was a nice touch.

"This was too dangerous for The Amazing Race!" you might cry. And yet I would argue that we just saw the best episode of the season. Honestly, who cares if it's dangerous? I doubt that the Race would purposefully put racers in harm's way (or at least, too much harm). And while injuries like Jamal received are certainly painful (and I did feel bad for him), they add an extra layer of interest to the Race.

Wait. There's more to this leg than a bunch of guys beating up the racers in plastic bubbles? Why, yes. We have another U-Turn! Shockingly, Leo and Jamal U-Turned the Cowboys instead of Brendon and Rachel, which left me very happy and the Afghanimals very smart. Even after all of the Brenchel-bashing and bravado from the Accidental Alliance these past two weeks, Leo and Jamal made the right decision and got rid of the bigger threat.

As soon as Caroline and Jen mastered the flamenco,
they were basically assured of staying in the race.

After that, it was simply a race to the U-Turn between Caroline and Jennifer and Jet and Cord. As soon as Caroline and Jennifer mastered the flamenco (which seemed to be astonishingly quick), they were basically assured of staying in the race. For me, this was pretty much the best case scenario.

Yes, I have grown to like the Cowboys over the last week or two, but I'm much more happy to see them go rather than Caroline and Jen or Brenchel. Just imagine the reaction we're going to get from Dave when he learns that the Afghanimals U-Turned the Cowboys and Brenchel's still here!

Next week, we'll narrow the Race down to three teams...leading us into the finale? I've heard it's a one-hour finale this year, so that would make sense. Rooting for anyone but Dave and Connor now.

Tomorrow I will try to post a BBCAN mid-week recap, and on Tuesday there'll be Survivor power rankings, so stay tuned!

Top 3 Survivor Auctions

Nobag

With this past episode of Survivor: Cagayan featuring an auction, I decided that now would be a perfect opportunity to go over some of the greatest auctions in Survivor history. The top 3 (in my opinion) Survivor auctions really put Cagayan's to shame. I'll go over each of them and mention some of the highlights. (Image credit CBS and Survivor Wikia)




#3: Survivor: Gabon
At Final 7, the Nobag Tribe (Gabon spelled backwards) held its Survivor Auction. Gabon's auction is mostly memorable for the great Cookie Feud, but there's some other great moments here as well.

Here's the video of this auction if you want to watch it first (not visible on mobile devices; just look on YouTube).

• Beer and Peanuts: Randy and Sugar have hated each other since the moment they met, and they bid back and forth for the beer, which Randy finally wins with $180. Sugar then says "I don't like beer that much...I just wanted to up the ante for him."
• Covered Item (Note): Kenny spends $340 for a note that allows him to send Bob to Exile Island and take all his money.
• Covered Item (Chocolate and Peanut Butter): Sugar eggs on Kenny to outbid Randy for the item, and once he gives up, ensures that Randy can't have it by paying $340 herself.
• Hot Bath and New Clothes: Susie pays $340 for the bath and then inexplicably, gets out and dries off pretty fast. Randy says he'll bid $100 for the chance to bathe Susie...and of course, she turns it down. Sugar tells Kenny, "You should have gone for that...I would have cuddled with you if you had new clothes on," to which Kenny responds, "Would you cuddle with a rich man?"
• Immunity Challenge Advantage: Corinne pays all $500 for the advantage, and if my memory serves me, does not end up winning the challenge but still doesn't go home...more on that later.
• Covered Item (Chocolate Chip Cookies): Randy offers the first $20 and buys chocolate chip cookies for the Tribe. He offers Sugar a cookie but she declines, telling him to give hers to Matty. Randy responds that it's not hers to give away. At the very end, he offers her his own cookie, which she takes and gives to Matty just to thwart him.

Biggest Winner: Randy (beer, peanuts, cookies (although he doesn't get one), and spaghetti)

Biggest Loser: Bob (sent to Exile)

Impact: The Cookie Feud succeeded in fueling the flames of hatred between Sugar and Randy, and when Bob won immunity later in the episode (despite Corinne's advantage), Randy acts like even more of a jerk than he is already (if that's possible) in an attempt to get everyone to vote for him instead of Corinne. This is because Bob gave him a hidden immunity idol that he planned on playing that night a Tribal.

But Sugar had the upper hand on Randy once again; she convinced Bob to give Randy his fake immunity idol, and Randy is voted out that night.

#2: Survivor: Micronesia

We're at Final 8 as the Dabu Tribe prepares for its auction. I think the most memorable moment here has to be the chocolate cake...it's finger-licking good. Although my personal favorite might be the fruit bat soup.

Here's this auction's video.

• Covered Item (Hot Dog and French Fries): Cirie buys this for $120 but forgets to give Jeff $20 (or maybe it was on purpose; who knows?). She then wins a hot dog, french fries, and "all the fixins'"
• Covered Item (Nachos): Erik purchases a covered item for $80, but when Jeff offers him a switch to another covered item, he takes it. Which is lucky, because he trades a jar of octopus for a huge tray of nachos.
• Covered Item (Fruit Bat Soup): For $240, Natalie buys fruit bat soup and refuses to touch it, but James will eat it! In front of an incredulous Probst, he starts peeling the bats, because "you gotta take the skin off first."
• Covered Item (Note): Natalie buys a note in a bottle for $240. Like Kenny, it allows her to send someone to Exile and take all of their money. She smartly asks Jeff whether the idol has been replanted, and he says yes, so she uses that as an excuse to send Jason (who nobody really wants at the auction anyway). With a completely straight face, Jeff says, "Maybe this time you'll get a real [idol]."
• Covered Item (Chocolate Cake): Natalie is on a roll here and spends $380 for an enormous chocolate cake which she must share with three others for 60 seconds. Quickly picking Alexis, Parvati, and Cirie, she warns them, "Ok, seriously. Don't hog the cake. I'm a little aggro right now." As they start devouring it, Erik offers them each $20 to lick their fingers, and Cirie takes $40 and actually allows him to do it! James comments, "Something's wrong with that boy...he really has problems, poor thing."

Biggest Winner: Erik (nachos and he gets to lick Cirie's fingers)

Biggest Loser: Jason (sent to Exile)

Impact: Jason does end up finding the hidden immunity idol at Exile Island that day, which only adds further hilarity to the fact that he's blindsided at the end of the episode in the exact same way as Ozzy. Thank you, Survivor Auction, for helping to add to the legacy of the Black Widow Brigade.

#1: Survivor: Caramoan

Enil Edam

The best Survivor Auction is the most recent one (besides Cagayan, of course). At Final 9, the Enil Edam Tribe goes to its auction. This auction is unique in that it helps in telling a mini-story: Brenda is emotional and having a difficult time in the game right now. So keep that in mind as we move along.

Here's the Caramoan auction.

• Beer and Peanuts: Jeff says "First $20 gets beer and peanuts," and before he can stop himself, Malcolm buys it. This is pretty great when juxtaposed with the confessional he gave just a moment earlier, where he planned on buying nothing but an advantage in the game. Malcolm worries that he might have shot himself in the foot, but hey; he gets 2 more beers and pretzels as well.
• Covered Item (Pizza): Reynold spends $180 for a covered item, and then Jeff offers him two other covered items as trades. Cochran counsels him to switch, saying it's the "Monty Hall Problem...you're always supposed to switch." This isn't exactly true, because Jeff didn't reveal one of the other two items. Reynold's logic is, "I don't trust you, Cochran." He sticks with his first item and gets a slice of pizza, avoiding a rotten coconut and a full pizza.
• Whole Pizza: Immediately afterwards, Sherri declares "$500 for the full pizza!" I definitely like the audacity that she has; when players come up with their own bids (like Erik wanting to lick fingers), it's more fun. And Jeff, surprised, lets her have it.
• Information in the Game: Malcolm offers up $480, and shockingly, nobody outbids him. Now, it's possible that people have already bid on other items we didn't get to see, but this is still a huge break for him...although it ends up not being as great as he thinks...it's the clue to a HII, which he gets to read for 60 seconds.
• Covered Item (Spaghetti): Brenda doesn't want to risk buying something bad, so she stops bidding and Andrea takes it for $280. But it's the classic dilemma; take the spaghetti or give it up for rice and beans for your tribe. Andrea smartly makes the sacrifice.
• Immunity Challenge Advantage: Again, Brenda stops bidding, and Cochran takes the advantage for $340. This is what Malcolm really needed.
• Covered Item (Pig Brain): Finally, Brenda goes all in with $300...and gets a pig brain. You have to feel bad for Brenda, who starts scooping up brain with a spoon before remembering that she doesn't eat pork. "It's good for you, right?" she asks Jeff, who responds with, "I have no idea."
• Letters From Home: $20 for anyone who wants one...except Malcolm, Sherri, and Dawn (who bought roasted chicken) have already spent all of their money.
• Covered Item (Peanut Butter): Eddie buys peanut butter for $200 for the entire tribe to enjoy for 60 seconds. Everyone covers themselves with peanut butter, and Cochran licks it from Sherri's hand. Jeff asks him, "How often does that happen?" and Cochran responds, "More often than you think."

Biggest Winner: Malcolm (beer, peanuts, pretzels, and he still gets an advantage)

Biggest Loser: Brenda (pig brain)

Impact: Even though Brenda's had a rough time, she still ends up with a letter from home and some peanut butter. Reading her letter, she realizes that there are more important things than food, and her mini-story is resolved.

Cagayan didn't live up to some
of these great auctions.

Cochran uses his advantage to win the immunity challenge, but Malcolm (due to Andrea's dogging) cannot locate the idol, and is voted out. This is the reason that Tasha withheld her money in the Cagayan auction...she thought that there would be two different advanatages.

I think that does it for our trip down Survivor Memory Lane; hopefully you enjoyed it. It's too bad that Cagayan didn't live up to some of these great auctions; I think the key is to offer things besides food, like the bath or letters, and vary up the advantage rules (which they did). 

Tonight there'll be an Amazing Race recap, so stay tuned!

And finally, YouTube has a compilation of many of the Survivor auctions, so you can check that out below.

Recapping Week 9 and the Final 4 on BBCAN

Neda's victory is all but assured.

After another great week of Big Brother Canada 2, we are down to just four players! Can you believe it? A week from now, it'll all be over. But before that happens, let's recap week number nine. (Image credit Slice)

After getting past the final 5, I want to say (knock on wood) Neda's victory is all but assured. She's been playing hard and very, very well these past few weeks, and her use of reverse psychology on Jon is a great example.

Jon was the one who proposed the idea of nominating Heather and trying to take her out this week, although Neda secretly had this idea as well. Smartly, she played down the plan and expressed her distrust of Adel and Sabrina instead, which only served to make Jon even more sure of his plan and placed all of the blame and commitment for the move squarely on his shoulders.

I actually got worried that she was arguing for Heather to stay too well and that he would actually give in and agree with it, but Neda knows what she's doing. Heather went up on the block this week and it seemed certain that she was going home.

Sadly, Heather won the POV...and this was the point where I thought Neda was in the most danger she's been this whole game. Jon had to nominate either Adel or Neda as the replacement, and Adel's arguments made a lot of sense.

By all rights, Jon should have put up (and gotten out) Neda this week, but Adel's pitch just didn't get through. Neda deserves a lot of credit here as well; she has Jon so reliant and wrapped around her finger that there was no way he was sending her home. This is a huge mistake for him; I think this was the turning point and that Jon can no longer win this game, unless he wins both of the final HOHs.

Let's talk about the Loved Ones twist. There have been a lot of twists this season, from the War Room and the Secret Veto to Canada's HOH and the Letters From Home. And let's not forget about the Instant Eviction that sent Allison packing.

It's always good when a show is able
to evoke emotion from its contestants.

Even though it's been a twist-heavy Big Brother, I'm finding that I'm thoroughly enjoying most--or even all--of what they through at the Houseguests. Everything has been very well executed, and the Loved Ones was no different.

It's always good when a show--whether it's Survivor or Big Brother (or rarely, TAR)--is able to evoke emotion from its contestants. Survivor uses letters from home infrequently to produce this result, and also often has a family visit that brings drama, emotion, and tears. Big Brother, while it does have HOH letters from family members, doesn't make good use of this...at least, the U.S. version doesn't.

Big Brother Canada, however, used the loved ones to its advantage and we were treated to a very interesting scene where each Houseguest got to spend two minutes communicating with their loved one through a glass wall. The whole way the twist was orchestrated, like having the 5 screens deliver a message and requiring a punishment, was really well done.

I must say, though, that some of the punishments seemed a lot more severe than others. Adel couldn't sleep for 36 hours, and Jon was in solitary confinement. Sabrina's punishment of not eating for a week seemed bad, but it turns out she's just on slop. Neda lost her stuff, but only or a week, and all Heather has to suffer is not being able to enter the HOH room.

Adel was evicted, which hurts Jon
immensely and really helps out Neda.

Back to the strategy. Adel was evicted, which hurts Jon immensely and really helps out Neda; Adel was the only player who definitely wouldn't have taken her to the end. Going into this next HOH, I don't think it really matters who wins it, because the Veto is much more important, but it does guarantee you safety. And as I said last week, throwing competitions is a thing of the past. Everyone should be trying their hardest to be safe from the vote until the very end.

I think Neda's next move has to be to get rid of Jon. Yes, he'll be pissed, but she will have taken down one of the game's biggest players (and ostensibly, Canada's favorite). If she can cut Jon at Final 4, it's a matter of choosing between Heather or Sabrina to sit next to in the Final 2 (if Neda wins the last HOH). And I think that even if Neda doesn't win the final HOH, Heather and Sabrina won't take each other, so Neda should be guaranteed a chance to plead her case if she make it to Final 3.

It's hard to say whether it's better to take Heather or Sabrina. Heather was a much better player, and people could respect that, but I think Sabrina has more automatic jury votes, like Rachelle and Allison. At this point, Heather could be Neda's best bet at winning this game, although I think (and hope) that she could beat anyone.

It's critical for Jon to win Veto.

But what are the other Houseguests' paths to victory?

Jon has the best shot, aside from Neda. He can't win HOH this week, so it's critical for him to win Veto (even though he doesn't know it). If he does win Veto and gets to vote, he should take out Neda and then take Heather with him to the Final 2. I think he would certainly get Canada's vote in that scenario, and probably almost everyone else's as well. I just don't think Jon is willing to cut ties with Neda, and that's really going to be his undoing in the game.

Sabrina has really lucked out here. Yes, she's employed some strategy, but it's mostly been a case of her being saved when a bigger target is voted out. If she wants to win this game, she needs to win HOH at this point in case someone like Heather or Jon isn't willing to take out Neda at Final 4. Then she should (like everyone else) be targeting Neda, although if she gets rid of Jon, she doesn't have to face him in the last HOH.

Everyone needs to win the Final 4 HOH.

And I highly doubt that Sabrina can win the Final HOH against him (or Neda or Heather for that matter), so she needs to count on her relationships to get her to the end. She needs to really hammer home that her gameplay has been lackluster and worse than the others, and get them to bring her along as a goat. If she makes it to the Final 2, though, I really do think she has a chance. With 2 votes already in her pocket (and 1 in the other person's, because she won't get Canada's vote), she just needs two more, and I can certainly see Arlie voting for her.

Heather is going to have a difficult time making it to the end. I think she has the worst chance of winning if she gets there as well. Her move is to take out Neda at Final 4 and then beat Jon for the Final HOH. Or, now that I think about it, get rid of Jon earlier so she has a better chance of winning that last competition. Then she can vote out Neda and plead her case against Sabrina.

This has been a really great season so far, and we're entering the final stretch. The endgame of Big Brother Canada is very strategic in nature--far more so than Survivor. Check back soon for more BBCAN coverage (there'll probably be at least 2 more posts this season) and tomorrow I'll have a Survivor article for you, so stay tuned!