Wednesday August 9th, Day 8
A humiliating and frustrating VETO competition forces competitors to stack 3-D cutouts of various flower and greenery shapes on a pillar while strapped to a harness that periodically gives them “atomic wedgies (in goofy outfits). Meanwhile, sprinklers spray them with water…why? It’s a big pain in the butt (and stressful for no reason). Honestly the staff of the show can rig the game to favor anyone they want; I see no automatic action set to a schedule or timer. So, whoever the show wants to lose can just be given a wedgie or cold shower to ruin everything. [Riiiigged!]
As I feared, Reilly is going too far with making multiple alliances. One is bad enough. But, more than one is deadly. She’s turning into that surfer guy from a previous season (who’s gone on to appear on other sad CBS reality-TV competitions).
[I should mention his name (because the show probably had more than one surfer dude over the many seasons)…but I won’t.] This particular surfer dude failed to win–he thought–because he made too many alliances. But, his loss came from more than that; it came with being partially responsible for getting a majority of the losers out of the house, who then typically turn on the best player to favor the weaker player and screw that “master plan.” So, whenever a player boasts about being smart enough to get the prize, early in the competition, I want to strangle them and scream. [Take your mind off the prize and focus on each day along the journey, making friendships where and when you can. The prize is the icing on a cake you don’t control. If you don’t get it, come away with something just as good or better.]
The winner of the VETO competition is the “token gay male” (to put it bluntly), Hisam, who will likely find himself at the crossroads between the “old folks” (calling themselves the Bye-Bye B@tches) and the young crowd, currently headed by Reilly. [Who’d have thunk she’d be the alpha/pack leader. I guess it’s finally time for a blonde “Cali girl” to lead the parade.] At that crossroads, he risks being cut somewhere in the middle of the season…either right before jury or as one of the first to join. He’s so laid-back in a way that he would be a floater if he wasn’t so buff. [Buff guys rarely “float” for long; they either step up or get cut by anyone who feels threatened/agitated.]
Checking on my other players-to-watch, America and Blue are floating into alignment with the other “youngsters, and poor Bowie Jane–who lied about her age when sharing with the group–has fallen in with the “Bye-Bye B#tches,” which likely means she will be the last of that group to survive and then forced to align with people who have already been aligned and not talking to her. Bowie Jane, with that one lazy decision, has put herself in hot water…and not the hot tub.
There’s another little plotting branch that I should mention, though I have zero interest in them. There is a former Survivor “all-star” and her son in the house, and they are quite the Oedipus couple. But, the aura they exude is toxic. I don’t like them. I suspect they will be a thorn in everyone’s plans, causing upsets they think will result in their favor until the tables turn. In previous seasons, the show has tried to insert special competitors (from previous seasons, at least once). Cousins of former players, twin siblings, spouses of former players…whatever. This only worked for whiney Nicole (the petite blonde “Oktober Fist” gal). [She was very cute when I first saw her. But, by the time she came back and won, I no longer cared for or supported her. Her whining and fussing had become excessive.] So, though they may tell me to expect the unexpected, I expect this “little twist” to fall into the cracks. If not, if the mom and/or son somehow make it to jury or–egad–the final five, the show is definitely rigged and paying off the mom for some reason.
[I would not be surprised if some participants in these shows are given the chance just to square some lawsuit/deal on the side, not televised. That or these contestants really have no “lives” and are making their own celebrity status off these reality shows, sort of a reverse rise to fame from what most celebrities face (those who start out television/movie stars before drooping into small-paycheck game-show and humiliating advertising gigs.]
At this rate, just when you think women run the house, I think the situation will get rather catty, explode and leave the currently quiet men to pick up the pieces. I predict players like Cory and Cameron will crawl out of the cat-fight debris, down the road, and suddenly find themselves among the jury lot, primed to make final plans for claiming the big prize. They will boast smarts they did not use, ignoring the veil that hangs over them among the women. I can also see Jag being among the final five just because the show likes to spotlight “firsts.” And, if he and Reilly make it to the final five, as they aspire to do in tonight’s episode, they will likely be together in the final three…which means Reilly would have a fair chance of winning if she is the bigger jerk and worse player (if that makes sense). If she remains top dog and best player until the end, she will likely be robbed of the big prize by an angry, jealous jury. If she “falls under the radar,” into Jag’s shadow, leaving him in the spotlight of intelligence, she has a chance to win.
Sure. The Survivor mom gives the women a slight edge. But, the women are not united and will not be. Nor will this be a second season in a row for the African-American community to take charge. Survivor mom and her son are in this for themselves. They have had zero compassion for their “sisters.” [There are no “brothers,” this season.] Reilly has a fair head start to being top dog. But, all it takes to de-throne her is turning either the boys (er, men) or enough of the women against her over some trifle of gossip, like digging up dirt on a politician. Call someone out as a racist, sexist or whatever-phobic…provided you have genuine evidence and a witness…and you can push them out the door. [Which is another reason Reilly, my beloved Reilly, needs to watch her mouth.]
Prediction for final five: Reilly, Jag, Cory, Cameron and Matt.
I’d like to see Bowie Jane in the final seven (and five), but she’s off to a rough start and hasn’t shown much social ability, which suits me just fine because I’d likely be an outsider, too, unless I jumped out of my comfort zone and took a few risks. [Another reason I’d pair up with her as a fierce twosome and defy the odds by winning crucial/most competitions.]
I cannot yet/quite predict final three, but I have my suspicions. Oh-Oh-Oh Reilly, Total Jag and Bobby Cameronhan seem a likely trio.
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