Sandcastles - A BB Beach Club Blog

[Fuskie]

I'm going to start this season's blog with a point of perspective. Hell, the whole season I will be delivering my personal perspective. Fair warning. I start out every season of Big Brother disliking all the HG and then wait to see if any grow on me. For some reason, Brent has the largest hill to climb. He's just a little too full of himself. All of them are pretty egotistic, but he just rubs me the wrong way.

 

But that isn't who I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about Christie and Garret.  Who are they, you ask? They are two original BB23 HG who were replaced after the HG went into pre-game sequester after they tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus). Now I don't know what CBS's application rules were - whether HG were required to be vaccinated. It is possible both almost-HG were fully vaccinated and somehow still contracted the virus. The vaccines are not foolproof, but if the two were vaccinated, they were incredibly unlucky, because the vaccines gave them only around a 5% chance of getting the virus or getting sick from it.

 

If they were not vaccinated, then they were not just unlucky, they were stupid.

 

Yes, I said it. People who can get vaccinated and choose not to get vaccinated are dumb.

 

Sure, i get the reasons. The vaccine was developed quickly. That's biotech for you. The technology behind the mRNA vaccines were the result of a a decade of R&D. The side effects could be fatal. Not a single person out of hundreds of millions who have been given the shot has died from it. We don't know what could happen in the years to come. You got me there - we don't know the future. Never have, never will. But science can make reasonable assumptions based on research data that risk of a genetic mutation that turns us all into flesh eating zombies is so inconceivable that it is more likely Julie Chen Moonves suddenly drops her husbands' name.

 

In other words, get the damn vaccine so you can get outdoors and get on with your life. Get your kids vaccinated. And when a vaccine is approved for the under 12 set, get them vaccinated too. That is the only way to achieve herd immunity, quash future mutations of stronger, more virulent versions of the virus, and to make sure that all your efforts to apply for and be selected to appear on Big Brother doesn't fall apart in the last two weeks because of a positive test for the virus.

I don't know what kind of HG Garret or Christie might have been. Garrett didn't even get far enough to have a publicly posted profile like Christie did. I can only imagine that coming so close and falling short has to have been a greater gut punch than either of his two Pfizer shots. Kind of like America's fastest runner who won't be going to the Olympics because she tested positive for pot. Yes, the rule is unfair. But she also knew the rules and took the risk. And now she loses the reward.

Frenchie chose to not take the risk, and his team lost out on the reward. Turns out he might have won 2 weeks of safety had he been willing to roll the dice. You are going to see a lot of that this summer, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the choices the HG make over the next couple of months impact the Grand Prize money. My theory is it could go up to $1,000,000 or drop back to $500,000 depending on what HG are willing to wager.

 

What do you think? 

 

Fuskie

Who encourages everyone to select their HG Token for the Morty's TV Big Brother Season 23 Monopoly game and then come here and tell him why you selected the HG Token you selected...

[Zzzing904]

I took Frenchie, which is crazy because we all know that the first HOH rarely makes it to the end. 

[Fuskie]

For Frenchie, his HoH accomplished a big move - evicting a "meathead" with a business degree who was never coming after him. He only had to go back on his word to the 3 guys he entered with, 8 women and his super-alliance to do it. Even at the end, he was manufacturing rogue votes to muddy up the game despite already tracking dirt through the BB23 House.

 

The HoH comp was hit or miss and Kyland stroked the right note to collect a shark's tooth and the HoH key, and delivering safety to remaining Queens teammates Claire and Tiffany. The winner of the Wildcard comp, with team champions coming from the Jokers, Kings and Aces, will have the opportunity to claim safety - but only if they agree to switch teams.  

By my math, the only HG Kyland is not aligned with are Britini and Hannah, and Hannah is an unofficial member of The Cookout. Between The Cookout, The Slaughterhouse and informal alliances with Derek X and Sarah Beth, it's likely that betrayal will be a theme of Week 2 as well.

 

Fuskie

Who notes while the teams can earn you protection if a teammate wins HoH, there seems to be little other loyalty as both Kyland and Claire voted to evict fellow Queen Travis, with Tiffany and Derek F both throwing rogue votes against Alyssa...

[Fuskie]

Compared to Frenchie's frenetic HoH, Kyland's reign has been a sea of calm. At least, until Frenchie was nominated. Britini was apoplectic that Kyland would nominate her just because she might be loyal to Frenchie, and Frenchie bounced between just wanting to go home and see his kids (he promised to save Britini if he won Veto) and threatening to blow up the game.

He never got the chance to honor his word with the Veto, but he has been a non-stop wrecking ball for the Slaughterhouse alliance and trying to turn every HG against every other HG. Big D, Britini and Azah are still trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but everyone is tired of his act.

 

Derek X won the Veto (again) and I would be blown away if he used it on Monday. It is neither in his interest nor Kyland's to stir the pot further, and barring a miracle, I fully expect Frenchie will be unanimously evicted on Thursday. He has just burned too many bridges for even a rogue vote. 

 

With the Slaughterhouse blown up, the dominant alliance in the game is now the 6-person Cookout, with a lot of 2 and 3-person informal alliances. This has the potential to make the rest of the game wild and open, with no simple nominations, no simple votes, and no predictable results. 

 

If that is to be Frenchie's legacy, I think I can be happy.

[Fuskie]

 

Well, that didn't last long. In my last post, I mentioned that the Slaughterhouse had been blown up and the Cookout was the dominant alliance, and I questioned whether team bonds would extend beyond the Wildcard Competition.

 

Well, it appears I was wrong. Last night, the Queens leveraged Ky's HoH into an alliance with the Aces (which they are less serious about) and a separate alliance with the Kings (plus Derek X) as the Royal Family (Kings & Queens, get it?) and the Royal Spy. Will this new alliance have any staying power?

The plan, post-Frenchie, seems to be to try and get Sarah Beth to win HoH, and then use her to nominate and target Brent (which is one reason why the unnamed alliance between Queens & Aces is likely to be short-lived). This is despite the fact that everyone seems to be more afraid of what the remaining Jokers might do.

In any case, the live show is going to begin in just a few minutes.  Please join Morty and myself in Morty's TV Chat tonight for the live show (and anything that comes after)!

 

[Fuskie]

 

The Jokers are going to need a new Team Captain.

By an 11-1 vote (Derek F), Frenchie was sent back to the farm. For reasons that escape me, Big Brother went to Canada to have Tom Green interview people on the streets of Ottawa about BB USA. Not to be confused with BB Canada. To say the Canadians interviewed were less than interested in BB USA or Tom Green (except for one who apparently served him food once) would be an understatement.

 

Nevertheless, it was Xavier who could tell the difference between Nude Tuesdays and Naked Tuesdays, though he later admitted he misunderstood the question and thought it was about the day of week. 

 

In any case, this sets up some interesting possibilities. First, as members of the Kings, Christian, Alyssa and Sarah Beth can all relax. Second, as part of the newly formed Royal Family alliance, the Queens (Claire, Kyland and Tiffany) should be safe as well, as should Derek X (their Ace in the hole). And as a member of The Cookouts, Azah, Derek F and Hannah should also be safe. 

By my math, that leaves only Britini, Brent, Whitney as the pool of nominees. That is the problem with joining large alliances - it ties your HoH hands behind your back. X could expand his pool, but it would mean going back on one of his alliances. What X is lacking is 1-on-1 alliances to fall back on when you have to break one of your large alliances.

 

We're also going to see some dynamics with the WIldcard Competition as the number of candidates from each team is narrowing. Brent and Hannah are out for the Aces, Derek F wants to save himself for next week with the Jokers, and Tiffany has has told Claire she wants to compete for the Queens. 

Stick with Morty's TV as we watch to see how X marks his spot!

[Fuskie]

With the Wildcard Comp not a factor in X's nominations. X's target is Brent but after Brent named Britini and Whitney as two girls he wanted X to target, X also nominated Britini to keep him in the dark. Britini, Big D and Axah are less than pleased.

For Veto, the HG went bowling and after Brent couldn't hold his cookies, Christian striked Veto. Brit thinks he'll save her but X doesn't want him to force a change in nominations. If Christian does pull Britini off (there's little chance he'll save Brent), then Whitney is the next option. 

 

In truth, X has few choices. He's in the 8 person Royal Family alliance, which rules out Ky, Christian, Alyssa, Sarah Beth, Claire, Tiffany and Derek X (the Ace in the hole). 

 

X has repeatedly said his priority is protecting The Cookout, which means he cannot nominate Big D (with whom he has a F2), Ky, Tiffany, Azah or Hannah. 

 

As I noted above, that leaves Brent, Britini and Whitney as his only options. 

 

For Brent's part, He was counting on the protection of The Slaughterhouse, but it appears that Frenchie successfully imploded that alliance. And I don't think either The Radicals or the Mafia are really that tight of team alliances, though Royal Family has legs. That could just be because Queens are in charge this week.

 

Individually, Brent trusts Alyssa but she doesn't trust him. In fact, all the women seem to think he's got the wrong image of how he appears to them. Brent does not have any F2 deals or any strong 1-on-1 relationships in the house. It will be interesting to watch as he realizes how alone in the game he really is.

[Fuskie]

Much talk is given each season to HG who have a strong competition game vs. a strong social game. This week, Brent has indicated he believes he has plenty of support in the house through his two alliances, but in reality, he is much more alone than he thinks.

 

I was thinking about this, and looking at the Alliance Chart by BBJunkie, and while visually illustrative and interesting, I think it does not adequately demonstrate the power of having connections. So I decided to come up with my own way of measuring and displaying the power of connections. It may not be as clever as BBJunkie's diagrams, but I think it does a good job of representing just where a HG is socially in the game, and whether that measures up to where they think they are. 

 

So without further ado, here is the first version of the Morty's TV Big Brother Season 23 Power Connections chart, up to date as of this morning.

 

 

Now this requires a little (OK, a lot) of explanation. 

 

The purpose of the Power Connections chart is to rate the strength of the connection between any two HG. The intersection of any two HG identifies whether they are on the same Team, have a Final 2, or whether they are in an Alliance together (and how many). 

 

For example, Derek X and Alyssa are in 2 alliances (A2). Britini and Azah are on the the same team (T). And Xavier and Derek F have a Final 2 deal (F). 

 

The more connections any pair of HG have the stronger the power of those connections. So having a T, F and each A contributes to your Connection Power. The more alliances a HG is in, the higher their Connection Power.  Each number of connections is color coded, with the Color Key indicating how many connections are represented by each color. 

 

The idea is that the more connections between two HG, the stronger the connection between the two HG, and the stronger the connection, the more powerful they can be in the game.

 

So what does the Power Connections chart tell us? First, most HG have connections with most other HG, but no HG has a connection with every HG. Alyssa has no connection to Azah, and Derek X has no connection to Britini.  Britini has the fewest connections of all (3), which explains why no one objects to her being used as a pawn.

 

On the other hand, Xavier has connections with everyone except Britini, and six of them are multi-alliance connections.  Hannah also has a strong Connection Power, connected to everyone except Britini, but 8 of those are single-alliance connections. Kyland has the same number of HG connections but only 4 of his are single-alliance connections. 

 

Christian and Alyssa are not only teammates and have a Final 2 deal, they are also in 3 alliances together, for a Connection Power of 5. But they are only the second-most powerful in the BB House, connection-wise. That honor goes to Clair and Tiffany, who are teammates, have a Final 2 and share 4 alliances, for a total of 6 connections.

 

Brent thinks he is safe because he is in the two alliances, and on the surface of it, having connections with everyone but Azah and Britini would support that. But 4 of the HG with whom he is in an alliance are only in one alliance, so the power of those connections is less strong than he believes.

 

So what do you think of the Morty's TV Big Brother Season 23 Power Connections chart? I'm not promising it will pick a winner, but I think it can help determine how strong a HG's social strategy really is. 

 

 

 

 

[Fuskie]

Christian survived the Veto comp (it knocked Kyland out and he wasn't even playing!) and chose to not use the Veto. 

Brent knows he's the target but thinks, between The Slaughterhouse and Radicals alliance, he has the votes to stay. In fact, he was more worried Christian would take Britini off the block and put someone else on that he would have more difficulty beating in an eviction vote.

 

What he does not realize is he is not only X's target, but the target of the entire house. Even his own team is holding dual meetings - one where they plot his eviction and one with him where they play along with his perception.

 

This morning, Alyssa dropped just enough truth about X's plan to keep the focus off her and to keep Brent off the scent of the real destination of Flight BB23 under the control of Captain X.

 

It's a good thing Brent is trained for emergencies, because his game is experiencing turbulence and the oxygen mask has dropped. The only question is will he wake up in time and put it over his face first before securing the children?

[Fuskie]

To no one's surprise, Brent was unanimously evicted Thursday night. I say to no one's surprise, because Brent claimed he wasn't surprised even though he claims he didn't know it was coming. If the HG told him right before the show, neither he nor they are telling.

 

What disappointed me more than Brent's lack of surprise was Julie Chen Moonves' decision to not talk to Brent about the real reason the female HG turned on him, his lack of awareness of how his approach to women was not being well received. It's not like BB hadn't shown the HG expressing that discomfort and how it was driving their desire to evict him. So not addressing it either on the show or the post-show interview seems a missed opportunity to give Brent an opportunity to apologize and promise to be better.

 

I still don't know what airline Brent worked for. I guess until I fly on his plane, I may never know. Then again, even if I am on his plane, I probably won't recognize him. He just didn't make that much of an impression on me.

 

One of the things that has fascinated me so far this season is the democratic process the HG have adopted for the game. Maybe it is driven by the teams, but I think it's more than that. Maybe it's a sign of the times after this last year of election politics and pandemic, but there is an intentional and unerring effort for the HoH to meet with each Team and each HG individually. 

 

Don't get me wrong, the HoH pretty much has their mind made up the moment that key is put around their neck. I don't think for a minute they are being influenced by the other HG, the other teams, or even their own team. This isn't like past seasons where every decision was an "alliance" decision, and if you didn't give over your HoH to the "alliance", then you would be targeted. That was a very socialist approach - HoH's were expected to execute the Will of the People (though claiming it was the Will of the House).

 

This season, every HG gets heard, every Team feels involved. The HoH's have been smart, using the meetings to collect information, and share just enough information to get buy-in to their strategy. It is very egalitarian and peaceful. You even have some HG choosing to end their meetings early so that other HG don't feel like they are monopolizing the HoH's time or others are getting short shrift.

 

It will be interesting to see if this approach continues after the Teams end next week.

[Fuskie]

With Brent gone, the plan by the Jokers, Queens and Aces to put some hurt on the Kings experienced a False Start as Christian won HoH. 

 

The team quickly settled on Whitney and Hannah from the Aces as the nominees, though Christian and Xavier wanted to evict Whitney, while Sarah Beth and Alyssa wanted Hannah out. Little do they realize that, if nominations stay the same, it may not be their decision.

Even with Hannah nominated, there are still 5 members of The Cookout voting, with 5 non-Cookout votes. If they can sway just one to evict Whitney (not a stretch by a long shot), then Whitney will be evicted.

 

Whitney knows her back is up against the wall. Soon after the HoH comp, she was cuddling up to Xavier, possibly in a desperate hope he would dissuade Christian from nominating her. It didn't work. 

 

In truth, Christian had few choices. Outside of the Royal Flush alliance, he had the Jokers and the Aces sans Derek X. Britini was out because he wasn't going to nominate her for a 3rd straight week. And he did not want to send a fourth male home, so Derek F was out.

That left Azah, Whitney and Hannah. Keeping nominations within just the Aces was the smartest move. Of course, Veto could be the great disruptor.  

[Fuskie]

It was an Endurance Comp that lasted one hour, 26 minutes and Derek F beat the odds (and his own goal) of not dropping from the side of the BB Floater before Julie Chen Moonves finished her instructions.

 

Lined up on the edge of the cruise ship, the HG hung on for dear life to avoid a whale of a fall, with nauseous painted passengers above spewing green vomit due to the extreme rocking of the ship under heavy rains. One by one, they all dropped until only Derek X and Xavier remained. A deal was quickly struck and Derek X was the last to abandon ship.

 

Who will Derek X nominate? This gets interesting.

 

Claire is safe as a result of winning last week's Wildcard Comp. He's still in the Royal Flush and Detectives alliance, as well as holding three (3) Final 2 deals with Hannah, Kyland and Tiffany. That would leave only Azah, Britini and Derek F as his nomination pool. Except that he's already told Derek F he was safe.

 

Also complicating matters is a request by Xavier, AFTER he dropped, to protect the rest of the Kings. Team Play is over and Derek X seems to believe he only has to honor the deal to protect Xavier. And give him ample music time and half of his HoH basket food.

 

Can Royal Flush survive without the teams? Will any team loyalties survive when everyone is playing for themselves? Will Derek X take the easy road or the hard? Reply here and/or come into  the Morty's TV Fan Forums Chat Room all week and tell me what you think!

[Fuskie]

Here is a post-Whitney updated Power Rankings Chart with some new features. One thing is for sure, things are always changing in the Big Brother House. For one thing, Hannah actually knows she's a member of The Cookout and not just in Tiffany's head. Second, the Slaughterhouse, Mafia and Radicals alliances all hit the bit bucket. And depending on what happens this weekend with Derek X captaining the BB Floater, the Royal Flush could get deep six'd as well. But for the moment, this is how the Power Connections in the BB House break down.

 

 

The first thing to notice is that there is a new feature. I have documented the # alliances, # of F2 deals and the toal number of HG to which each HG is connected. And I produced a Power Connection rating to make it clear who is the best connected HG in the house.

 

The second thing to notice is that while the big alliances are dropping like flies, Final 2 deals are more powerful than ever. Of course, F2 deals are not sealed with a handshake but with being willing to go out on a limb to save your partner.

 

So what can we learn from this week's Power Connections?

 

First, it should come as no surprise that Britini has the lowest Power Connection Rating in the house. She has joined no alliances, made no Final 2 deals, and her only connections are to her fellow Jokers. And now team play is over. Still, I think team loyalties are sticky, so I'm still recognizing the connectivity of teams.

 

Azah is not in much better position than Britini. She's a member of The Cookout, and that brings 5 connections, even if she doesn't trust Hannah. Her survival in the game may depend on her connection with Hannah. Unfortunately, that's the only game she's got going on, and that puts her at risk. Yes, Cookout has the numbers to save her, but if 2 members of Cookout are nominated, it wouldn't surprise me if she wasn't sacrificed for the sake of the bigger purpose.

 

Next we have Derek F and Hannah, tied with a Power Connections rating of 11. They both have more than one alliance, and in Hannah's case, Final 2 deals. But both have left some potential relationships out of their game, which could mean fewer friends coming to your aid when your back is against the nomination wall.

 

With a Power Connection Rating of 13, Sarah Beth has multiple alliances, a Final 2 deal and connections to everyone except the Jokers and Hannah. But with Hannah well connected to Derek X, if she doesn't repair that connection she could find herself on the block. Great pawn material or a backup option.

 

Christian just came off a great reign as HoH for the Kings but his Power Connection rating of 15 indicates a weakness to his game. By focusing his attention on Alyssa, he is neglecting his other connections. It wouldn't surprise me to see a backdoor shot taken against him. The same goes for Alyssa, despite her having a slightly stronger Power Connection Rating. If The Royal Flush folds, the Royal Flush Four might also be no more.

 

Despite winning HoH and a strong social game, Derek X also has a weak Power Connections rating. His strength is the Royal Flush and his three Final 2 deals, but if the Royal Flush becomes a house of cards, by his hand or another, he loses a massive amount of connectivity in the game. And having so many Final 2 deals may come to haunt him.

 

Claire also would seem to be in a strong position with a Power Connections rating of 19, but that is largely due to her very strong connection to Tiffany. As long as Tiffany remains in the game or loyal, she should be all right, but you never want your fate to come down to a single connection.

 

Xavier came close to winning the Endurance HoH, though his having the strength to outlast Derek X may be revisionist history. He is connected to every HG except Britini, meaning almost the entire house has connected interest in keeping him in the game. Though he is in 3 alliances, however, he only has the one Final 2 deal. Unfortunately, it is with someone who has half his Power Connection rating and may not be in a position to help you when you need it.

 

Which brings us to polite, charismatic Kyland, with a super strong Power Connection Rating of 23. Like Xavier, he is connected to almost everyone in the house, but his missing connection is Britini, so for all practical purposes, there is no one in the game that doesn't benefit from his remaining in the game. Not only is he in 3 alliances, but he has a whopping 4 Final 2 deals. The flip side is that jury management becomes really difficult when anyone you vote to evict is a connection broken.

 

And finally, the most powerfully connected HG by a long shot, Tiffany. With a Power Connection Rating of 29, she too is connected to everyone except Britini. And as a master manipulator in the game, she has ingratiated herself into 6 alliances and four Final 2 deals. Even if she looses a couple of alliances and loses a couple of her Final 2 partners, she is still very well connected in the game. 

 

Does that mean Tiffany is a shoe-in to win the game? After all, she has very strong Power Connections with both Kyland and Claire. And she has multiple connections to every HG except Azah and Derek F, including Sarah Beth, the current target of her obsession. But being an intense gamer often makes you susceptible to paranoia and that can lead to poor decision making. 

 

My Monopoly HG Token remains Derek X, despite his middling Power Connection Rating. Of course, I just need him to earn me mega Morty's TV Bucks, not win the game.

 

But given their Power Connections in the BB23 House, it would not surprise me if the Final 3 was not Tiffany, Kyland and Xavier.

 

History, making to be sure. But as they have maintained from the start, there is a higher cause fueling their determination.

 

 

[Fuskie]

What a week it's been! Derek X was the last survivor of the BB Floater and, like Christian, seemed set on evening up the odds by evicting another female HG. He nominated a stoic Britini and a sobbing Sarah Beth for eviction, sending shivers up and down the Kings and the Royal Flush.

 

After the Veto was contested, that's when the games began. Sarah Beth was blasted for taking $5k instead of the Veto (which she would have lost anyway). Alyssa won a phone, computer, phone call and video call (if she lasts that long). 

Then, Derek X became Lord of the Porcelain Throne for a day (how can you need to pee 4 times in an hour!), Claire the Duchess of Hearts and Kyland a sandwich-making Jackass. 

And Britini proved she had the metal (and the medal) to win Gold.

With Britini rehearsing her removal from the block, Derek X's true target began to emerge and the rest of the house (almost) started to fall in line. When BB called for the OLD (Outdoor Lock Down), everyone started parading through the Gym to get a last word and BB actually delayed the meeting by an hour to let us watch.

It was during this time that Christian and Alyssa began to realize he was the real target. And the campaigning began immediately, with no HG safe from being thrown under the bus in a bid to not be the last HG evicted before jury.

Can the house stick to its guns and eviction plans? Or will one of the many (many) arguments made by Christian and Alyssa secure enough votes to flush Derek X's plans down the, huh, porcelain throne? And why is Sarah Beth crying?

Is it Thursday yet?

[Fuskie]

The Cookout were expecting an Elimination HoH comp & there was a plan to throw it to Azah or Tiff, but after eliminating everyone else, Ky won HoH. Tiff was upset for not winning while Azah was upset Ky did not follow the plan. The Cookout fracture continued. 

Prior to receiving his HoH room, Ky was told by BB that nominations would be @ 10:30am. During his HoH reveal, Big D joked Ky's friend who wrote his letter must be more than just a friend because of her picture. He was admonished by the other HG for crude comments.

Ky started abridged 1-on-1s and continued throughout the night. He assured the Cookout members he was still loyal to them and the cause. Azah was not very forgiving despite a long meeting with Ky in which she says he lied and he says she misunderstood. Ky also had a long conversation w/DX in which Claire was revealed as Ky's immediate target, and Big D volunteered as a pawn so that Azah & Brit would not, and to throw the rest of the house off the scent of The Cookout. He warned Ky the HG see him & SB as a showmance.

Ky finally went to bed at 6:43am and at 7:06am, BB woke the HG up for the day. A clearly exhausted Ky met with the HG again. Just before the nomination ceremony, Ky told DX he was putting up one of The Detectives as a pawn against Alyssa, and that is what DX told Claire. Ky's actual nominations were Claire & Big D. Tiff was crying about Big D being nominated. Big D either said he received $100 from America for the BB Casino Room (implying the HG were told the results of America's Vote) or he was manifesting it so he could get a power.

Feeds went to FotH for the BB23 Casino Room comp. HG will receive an amount of money as determined by America's Vote: $100 for #1, $75 for #2-4, $50 for the rest. They can play games for a power this week or save up for a greater power in week 2 or 3. Who do you want to receive the $100 and should they play for a power this week or wait for next week? What power would you want to win in the BB Casino Room?

[Fuskie]

Derek F, Derek X and Tiffany all received $100 from America; Xavier, Britini and Hannah each received $75. The rest received the basic $50. During Game Night in the BB23 Casino, the HG had the opportunity to win the chance to bet on who might win the OTEV Veto comp. Derek F, Kyland, Sarah Beth, Tiffany and Claire all paid $50 to play.

 

Alyssa won the comp, and because Kyland bet Alyssa would win, he won a second Veto.

 

The plan now is for Alyssa to not use her Veto but Kyland will use his to take Claire off the block and put up Britini in her place. Britini would then be evicted by The Cookout, who has 4 of 8 votes votes plus the HoH tie breaker.

 

If the HG nose grew like Pinocchio, then all the HG have sword fights with their faces. HG who won more money want close friends to know but downplay their performance to everyone else. Britini was not told that Derek F volunteered to go on the block for The Cookout, so she was talked into throwing the Veto to Azah (let's be honest -OTEV was not going to be Derek F's comp) for the Jokers. And Kyland is telling Alyssa one story for how he wants the Veto Ceremony to play out, his F2's a different story and of course The Cookout a third story.

Speaking of which, Derek F and Xavier seem to have gotten The Cookout back onto the same page. Even Azah and Tiffany seem to have made up. I suspect the truce is fragile, however. While they are all in support of The Cause that is bigger than all of them, I suspect some of them are naive enough to think the others would be willing to fall on their swords for The Cause rather than throw the others under the bus. I mean, what's better than an all-Cookout Final 3 other than winning the $750,000 as well?

Personally, I'd go for the $750K then donate $50k to The Cause to assuage a guilty conscience. 

 

 

It's time to refresh the Morty's TV Big Brother Season 23 Power Connections chart and there's been a big shift. That's what happens when the house's large alliance (The Royal Flush) goes down the drain, along with the a sub-alliance. The house does not realize it, but the season now has one solid alliance (The Cookout) and the rest of the house. But there are enough F2 deals between the members of The Cookout and outside The Cookout to keep things interesting. Each Cookout member knows the non-Cookouts have to go first in order to achieve a Final 6 of The Six. But nobody wants their side deals to be the next to go.

 

So without further ado, who is the most connected HG in the house this week?

 

 

As you can see, the Power Connection Rating values came way down, because the size of The Royal Flush alliance brought a lot of connections between a lot of HG. Additionally, unlike previously evicted HG, Christian's exit from the Big Brother House resulted in a number of broken connections - both in alliances and F2 deals. There is still talk about Teams supporting each other, but to a great extent, that's for manipulative purposes rather than than strong connections, but they still play a role. 

 

The new Power Connection Ratings leader is now Kyland, and not because he won HoH but his three alliances and three Final 2 deals. But don't feel sorry for Tiffany. Bides her failed coup attempt and nearly burning The Cookout, she remains solid with a Power Connections rating of 16 (four alliances and four Final 2 deals). 

 

Who are the weakest? Britini and Alyssa have no connections at all outside of their Teams. Sarah Beth, is also on the bottom, primarily supported by a "fake" alliance. I put "fake" in quotes because if Tiffany needs it, she'll make it real, but since neither Sarah Beth nor Claire are in The Cookout, they are all expendable. However, given the power of her connections, it's not likely that she'll need to play that Jackpot, and if Sarah Beth wasn't heavily connected to Kyland, her game might be coming to an end this week.

 

The Cookout's dynamic bears watching as well. From one perspective, it's the 3 guys vs. the three gals. From another perspective, it's Big D and Azah against X and Tiff with Kyland and Hannah in play. Will social pressure to hold to The Cause keep the Cookout together?  Or will individual needs and dreams eventually rip the alliance apart?

 

What do you think? Who is the most power HG in the game right now? 

[Fuskie]

I've been thinking about the Cookout this week. It's pretty certain that Britini will be evicted tomorrow night. The Six control the vote, even with Big D on the block. Even if Alyssa, Claire, Derek X and Sarah Beth came together to vote out Big D (which is unlikely), the Cookout counters with their 4 votes plus Kyland as the Tie Breaker. Unless Kyland is willing to be The Cookout's Yoko Ono. But I think there is just too much pressure, both in the game and outside the house to be the one to betray The Cause.

 

The big threat to the Cookout is if Alyssa, SB, Derek X or Claire wins HoH. Then, the Cookout is going to work hard to get them to target each other. Or convince one of themselves to offer up as a pawn. They have the votes as long as they stay off the block. Even if one Cookout is nominated, they still would have the votes. And if two Cookout members go on the block, the remaining 4 members could still control the 4-3 vote, deciding which Cookout member to sacrifice.

 

So basically, The Cookout is in complete control of the game, as long as they can stick together. However, the individual members are playing for themselves as well as for the "higher cause". Big D wants to protect Azah as a fellow Joker as exemplified by his offering to be a pawn to keep Azah off the block. Tiffany and Azah want to target Sarah Beth to weaken Kyland, who they view as out of control. Kyland wants to keep Derek X and Sarah Beth close. Xavier wants to protect Derek X and Claire as good for his game. And Hannah just doesn't want to be seen as the low HG on the Cookout totem pole.

 

The challenge for Kyland this week, and for all the Cookout in the coming weeks, is to balance their individual needs with their loyalty to "the higher cause". Already, Ky has fretted that The Cookout is hurting his game more than helping, but he cannot break free. Of course, the 2nd Power this week could throw away any individual or alliance strategy out the window.

 

I have seen a lot of comments on social media and in Morty's TV Chat expressing dissatisfaction in The Cookout. Some don't like seeing a single alliance dominating the game, making the Final 5 the Boring 5. Personally, I  have no problem with the alliance. It's no different than an all-girls, all-guys, all-jocks, or any of the other reasons for an alliance. Just because they are bonded by race does not make them any better or worse than any other alliance. It just hasn't been done successfully before.

 

What is different is raising the idea of "the cause" being greater than the alliance. That is new to BB. And what amazes me is they have held it together. For that, I give the Six a lot of credit. Despite their differences and their attempts to carve out their own games within the pressure of maintaining "the higher cause"x, they have held together. I give X and Baby D a lot of credit on that front as Tiff & Azah have repeatedly butted heads while Hannah and Kyland just tried to stay out of their way.

 

It will be fascinating to see whether The Cookout can hold together or the lure of $750k will lead one to break with the others and try to gain an advantage.

[Fuskie]

 

Everything was going to plan. Britini was evicted 7-1 (Azah gave Brit an approved sympathy vote) and the Goodbye Messages did not reveal the Cookout in case there's a battle back. All they needed was for one of the Cookout to win HoH.

 

That's when the plan fell off the thin purple rail. After Claire set the pace in the HoH comp, Sarah Beth came along and blew it away. Derek X came close but was still flying through the air when his time expired.

 

For Tiffany, this was the nightmare scenario  - the HG that she had been trying to get out for a month was now in a position to send her packing. Except that SB is apparently oblivious to Tiff's targeting and is in fact resurrecting the Jackpot alliance  between Sarah Beth, Tiffany and Claire that Tiffany and Claire had said was fake.

 

The Cookout's best option is to somehow talk Sarah Beth into nominating two Side Dishes. Of course, the Roulette Power makes this difficult. So they want to encourage HG to save their money for the coin flip power next week when they might have better chances.

 

The next best option is to only have one Cookout member nominated. Tiffany expects to be nominated, not realizing Sarah Beth does not get sick at the thought of her the way she does of Sarah Beth. But if one Cookout is nominated against a Side Dish, the Cookout still has 5 votes to evict and only needs 4. 

 

Many fans would love to see Sarah Beth get religion about The Cookout and nominate two for eviction. I think that's probably unlikely (both discovering the alliance and the nomination). But even with two Cookout members on the block, they would still control the eviction with 4 votes, so they can sacrifice the weakest player for the greater good.

 

As I write this, SB has already had her 1-on-1s and I think has a plan in mind. She was told a lot of lies and a few truths, but which will she choose to believe and which will she use to justify her decisions? The answer to that question will make this a most interesting weekend.

[Fuskie]

First, a quick update, and then, the new Power Connection Ratings are out!
 

After a marathon 4-hour strategy session Thursday night, Sarah Beth settled on nominating Claire and Big D, with neither being her target. The goal is to flush out the Roulette power, which will allow one HG to save one the nominees and replace them with the HG whose name is on the wheel. 

 

According to Kyland, he was successful at only one nominee being from The Cookout, and of her targets, only X is from the 6, and he's 4th in line. Claire, Alyssa and Derek X are the other three. All according to plan.

 

Now, here are the latest Power Connection Ratings!

 

 

To help make this chart more informative, I added a Power Rankings listed that presents the HG in their order of Power Ratings. Tiffany regained the the top spot by one point over Kyland. Both are in 4 alliances, both have 3 Final 2 deals, and both are connected to 8 of the 9 other HG. So what's the differentiation? Tiffany has one more alliance connection than Kyland.

 

One of the interesting pieces to the puzzle is that Tiffany and Claire created The Jackpot as a fake alliance with Sarah Beth, but now that she is HoH, she is leaning on that alliance to justify trust in Tiffany and Claire. And they don't even know it. Or do they?

 

The strength of a connection is in the willingness of of that connection to tell truth to power. And power's willingness to hear it. Last night, Alyssa told Sarah Beth how upset Tiffany was that she won HoH, but despite Alyssa being a teammate, she didn't believe it. And Tiffany told Sarah Beth that Alyssa had been actively campaigning to get her evicted over Christian, but she didn't believe it, despite being in an alliance together. Both were telling the truth (Sarah Beth has been a target for both HG), but because her connection to each is weak, she was not inclined to believe either.

Of course, even though she is HoH, Sarah Beth's Power Connection rating remains a low 7. She's part of only 2 alliances and her only Final 2 connection is with Kyland. She's not on the bottom of the list but she's not a contender. But she has the potential to shake up the Power Connections if two Cookout members are on the block next Thursday. 

 

In the meantime, her strongest connection is Kyland and he's working his hardest not for her benefit but for The Cookout. He bragged to Tiffany this morning that he was able to limit the nominees to just one Cookout member and even though she stayed out of his HoH, he has been all over hers.

One thing is for sure, there will be a lot of bruised if not broken connections when the season is over.

[Fuskie]

Tiffany's life as HoH lasted about 24 hours before being overthrown by Claire, who won the BB High Roller Coin of Destiny. The Coup d'Etat was supposed to be anonymous, so naturally the whole house knows.

 

Thinking she has a F2 deal with Tiffany, Claire kept nominations of Kyland and Sarah Beth the same. Due to his punishment from the previous week, Xavier was a third nominee. When Hannah won the Power of Veto, she took him off the block, leaving Kyland and Sarah Beth facing The Cookout's vote. 

 

As dethroned HoH and saved nominee, Tiffany and Xavier get to vote. Alyssa also gets to vote but she's basically irrelevant at this point unless she wins HoH. As secret HoH, Claire cannot vote and cannot compete for the next HoH. The cat will be out of the bag officially at that point.

 

Barring a massive flip by the The Cookout against Kyland, Sarah Beth will be able to explain herself in person to Derek X and Britini in the Jury House. And there is no reason to believe Alyssa and Clair won't follow them in short order as the Main Dishes send the Side Dishes packing.

[Fuskie]

It's time to check out the latest Power Connections!

 

 

Fewer HG mean fewer connections, and let's be honest, the only connections that mean anything now are between the Main Dishes of The Cookout. Although Claire (7) ranks 5th in the Power Rankings, she's only there by the force of her Main Dish, Tiffany.  

 

If you want to get a feel for the dynamics within The Cookout, Hannah and Azah have Power Rankings (6) only slightly better than Sarah Beth (5), who will be sent to the Jury this week. The only connection Alyssa (3) has is with Xavier, and little does she realize that's an arranged pairing.

 

The top of the food chain continues to belong to Tiffany (13), with Kyland (12) close behind. Xavier (10) and Derek F (10) both fall into the middle of The Cookout.

 

Unless Xavier wins HoH this week, Alyssa is likely to be let go next week. First, she and Xavier are now seen as the remaining duo in the game, and second, Tiffany is not going to let Claire, her strongest connection in the game, go without a fight. It would not surprise me, given the chance, if Tiffany didn't try to get out Alyssa then arrange for Claire to win HoH so she could eliminate some Main Dish dead weight without any blood on her hands.

 

It does seem unlikely at this stage that The Cookout will turn on each other before the Final Six, but at some point, that lure of $750k has to start tugging harder than The Cause.

 

It is also interesting that, in the Derek X's Goodbye Messages, Kyland strongly hinted at The Cookout, stating that he was part of a big alliance since Day 1. But since he didn't name names, Derek X was only grasping at straws as he tried to rack his brain to figure out who is in it. Maybe the clear air of the Jury House will help.

 

Sarah Beth's arrival should be a big clue as well.

 

 

[Fuskie]

Tiffany cast a sympathy vote, Sarah Beth was evicted 5-1, and again, Kyland laid the groundwork for jury management by hinting at The Cookout. The jury has figured out the strategy and 4 of the Main Dishes and Side Dishes, but haven't yet pieced together the whole puzzle.

 

In an endurance comp that played out live on the feeds, Tiffany outlasted her fellow HG and Bubbles the pachyderm to win HoH for the second week in a row. Azah wanted The Cookout to throw the comp to her, but she lost her ticket to the circus.

 

The only two Side Dishes remaining are Claire and Alyssa, so expect Xavier and Claire to be nominated. If Alyssa comes down, then Claire will go up. The nightmare scenario for Tiffany is if Claire wins Veto and takes Alyssa off the block. That would force her to nominate a second Main Dish, ensuring The Cookout would be down to five.

 

Azah is upset they didn't throw the comp for her again and Tiffany is making sure she knows it's Kyland's fault for not dropping.  Tiffany had every opportunity to drop for Azah as well. And Azah could have tried holding on a little longer. Somehow, Tiffany has never done anything wrong in this game and Kyland is (horrors!) playing for himself. 

 

Next week will also be the first of two back-to-back Double Evictions, and as HoH this week, Tiffany will not be eligible to compete. Still, as long as the remaining Side Dish is on the block and the alliance holds true, she should be safe.

Unless one of The Cookout is a Hamilton fan and decides they are not going to miss their shot...

[Fuskie]

I keep reading on social media that this season is the most boring ever. I am never quite sure which season this person is referring to since I've heard this complaint for 23 seasons of Big Brother, 2 seasons of Celebrity Big Brother and one season of Big Brother Over The Top. Not to mention 9 seasons of Big Brother Canada.

 

I just can't figure out what drives people to think this, because there is an awful lot of whispering that goes on to produce 45 minutes of highlights per episode three times a week. It is just when you think the HG are not doing anything that the whispering begins, or a HG addresses the camera directly, or conflict breaks out. It is when the HG seem boring on the outside that you should pay the closest attention because I guarantee you that there is more going on than meets the inattentive eye.

 

No more so than in the less-than-24 compressed hours between a live show and nominations. Some HG reflect on the HoH comp with pride at what they achieved while others bemoan the their failure or inability to rise to the occasion, where each has different definition and measure of success.

 

Then we move into what I call the What's Next phase, where HG try to figure out what the new HoH is going to do, how they might directly or indirectly influence that decision, or how they will have to react if what they expect will happen does indeed happen. 

 

Every HG is smart enough to tailor their conversations to their immediate audience, though some (Tiffany) seem to have trouble being aware of her whereabouts before opening their mouths. It is when they are alone and speak direct to the cameras, to us live feeders, even more so than DR sessions that are selectively edited, that we presumably get the most honest insight into their thinking, their strategy, and their character. 

 

Let's take a look at the Morty's TV Power Rankings for today.

 

 

Tiffany has retained her spot at the top of the Power Rankings on the strength of her Final 2 deals, one more than Kyland has. Xavier and Derek F are close behind, potentially foreshadowing a Final 4, with Hannah and Azah being sacrificial Main Dishes should it become necessary.

 

Or, the Six could to go for the jugular and take out the most connected before they can turn on the others. Sometimes being well connected can be a disadvantage as well as an advantage if you are perceived as a threat more than an opportunity. 

 

Alyssa's only remaining connection in the house is Xavier, and since he threw the HoH comp (by his own admission), he tacitly gave Tiffany permission to nominate them both and secure Alyssa's eviction. This was a sacrifice Tiffany herself was not willing to make, pushing Kyland to the brink to win HoH. 

 

Tiffany made sure that Azah put the blame on Azah not winning HoH was Kyland's fault for not throwing it to her, but Tiffany could have thrown it to her first and chose not to. Azah thinks she deserves to have HoH handed to her on a silver platter, while Derek F thinks competitions should be tailored to let him  win.  That they are both so vocal in their views will not be lost on the Jury should they make it to the end.

 

The number of alliances and Final 2 deals are dwindling as the more insincere connections give way to eviction votes. It's a bit surprising to me that evicted HG have not expressed anger or even frustration that alliances and F2 deals have not held. It's almost like nobody takes their alliances or Final 2 deals seriously, which is a change from past seasons. 

 

With the exception of The Cookout, of course, but that alliance is bound by a "higher cause", to ensure that a Person of Color (POC) wins Big Brother for the first time in 23 seasons. As we all know, Danielle should have won BB3 if the other HG had not seen her DR sessions, which is why we have had a sequestered jury ever since. 

 

This bond over skin color, not even ethnic background, has dominated the game this season since the day the HG first stepped into the house. The Cookout has managed to overcome disagreements between themselves while keeping their secret from the rest of the house. Even when given clues by Kyland in his Goodbye Message, Derek X and Britini in the jury have been unable to put all the pieces together to solve the puzzle, though they are getting closer.

 

Kyland is the only HG practicing jury management at this point. They know they can't keep the alliance secret from the jury - at least three of the Main Dishes will be in the Jury House along with the evicted Side Dishes before Finale Night. Yet only Kyland has been semi-honest with the the Jury. Historically, juries will reward strong game play - the just cannot stand being lied to (just ask Paul - twice!). Whomever is in the Final 2, the jury will likely know all the secrets in the house, so that will be the last chance for The Cookout to come clean.

 

Whether they do or not could be come the difference between $750k and being a footnote in a history-making alliance.

[Fuskie]

I've seen a number of posts on social media and comments in the Morty's TV Fan Forums & Chat accusing The Cookout of being a racist alliance. Racism is an easy word to through around by those who do not really know the meaning nor have ever experienced the blunt weight of its practice. I count myself among that group.

 

As a white male, the system was designed for people like me, whereas from the very start of this nation (going back to the days of Columbus, the creation of the Constitution, the Civil War, the Civil Rights era and today's Black Lives Matter movement), it was not designed for minorities. Yes, we have come a long way from the days of slavery but while Declaration of Independence says All men are created equal, it has never been the case that all men (or women) are treated equally. That is racism.

 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines racialism as:

Quote

A theory that race determines human traits and capacities" and defines "racism" as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

 

Now let's apply this to Big Brother Season 23 and The Cookout alliance. Do the Cookout believe they are superior to those not in their alliance? I haven't heard that. Do they believe that those that they have evicted are inferior to those in the alliance? To the contrary, with the exception of Brent and Frenchie, they have been largely complimentary and given evictees the impression they were evicted for their competitive skills, not because of any pigmentation deficiency.

 

The Cookout was formed because in 23 seasons of Big Brother and Big Brother OTT, no person of color has ever won the game. Yes, Danielle Reyes made it to the Final 2 in Season 2, but she was denied the victory, despite having played the superior game, in part due to the evicted HG having had the opportunity to watch her honest and open DR sessions that were broadcast in episodes. It was no accident that in Season 3, a sequestered jury was added to the game. And yes, there were winners with different ethnicity, but they were all basically white.

 

Instead, we have seen season after season that minorities or those who don't "fit in" because they were gay, socially awkward, old, a minority or different for any reason were frequently targeted first.  And even when someone who is Black made it to the Final 2, they lost the jury vote. I am not saying it was intentional or that any past HG were racist or discriminatory, though some most definitely were.

 

If you really want to see a racist season, be sure to check out Season 15 in your Paramount+ app. Until then, I thought Season 9 was the worst ever. Any time someone complains about a season of Big Brother, just tell them to go back and watch Season 9 or Season 15 and then tell explain how this season could possibly be worse.

 

Back to this season.

 

The Cookout was formed by the six HG who are not white with the intent of making Season 23 the first in two decades to break that barrier. It was not that they felt the rest of the house wasn't good enough  or deserving, but that these Six had a bond. Despite having been raised with diverse backgrounds, they share a common experience of having been looked down, dismissed, or being made to feel they have to work thrice as hard as those with lighter skin tones. 

 

In Big Brother Season 23, rather than just casting token Derek F (Big D or DF) came up with the idea of the Six coming together to form an alliance whose primary purpose was to make sure a person of color (POC) won Big Brother USA for the first time in over 2 decades. In every other aspect, they are no different from any other alliance that banded together based on whatever bond or common interest, real or contrived, that brought them together.

 

Tiffany came along and provided a strategy to the Alliance, with each Main Dish having a Side Dish with whom they would pair up and steer away from the others in the Alliance. To keep the alliance secret, each Main Dish and Side Dish would be nominated as a pair. They would even throw "sympathy votes" against their own alliance members when they were sure they had the votes to evict, which would further throw anyone off the scent. 

 

What is different from past alliances is that they have executed their plan to perfection. Despite not meeting regularly (and suspiciously), they hid behind the Teams for the first month, using tribal rivalries to justify targets that were aligned with The Cookout's interests. Even after the team twist ended, they still stoked the embers of team tribalism to pit non-alliance members against each other. 

 

That isn't to say that there are not divisions between the member of The Cookout. Derek F and Azah have largely lived on the edge of the alliance due to their inability to win competitions. Xavier is put out that he keeps throwing comps to help the alliance achieve their goal but others, namely Tiffany and Kyland, have played the game for themselves even while sticking loosely to the cause.

 

In Tiffany's case, she has a tendency to use The Cookout as a blunt cudgel to keep the others in line even as she continually makes unilateral decisions that furthers her own game at their expense. Kyland is seen as a smooth talker who makes you think he's putting the alliance first even as he's looking to advantage his own game. Ironically, it is Kyland's jury management, hinting at The Cookout without breaking his word to reveal it, that would likely be seen positively by the Jury members.

 

Juries generally accept that lying and deceiving is part of the game. What they hate, and what often leads to a "bitter" jury vote is when HG continue to lie and deceive the jury once they have been evicted from the game. Just ask Paul Abrahamian, who twice played strategically strong games to reach the Final 2 but both times was dissed by the jury in large part because even up to the season finale, he failed to own up to the elements of his game.

 

So where does that leave Hannah? She considered part of The Cookout months before she was even told it existed. Then, when Tiffany (who has a big mouth in the house and often lacks situational awareness when using it) spilled the tea that The Cookout existed, she dithered and said it was just something in her mind. I'm not sure when she and the other five owned up to having included her in an alliance without her knowledge, but she's played a quiet yet instrumental role ever since she found out.

 

Hannah's hope, along with Azah and Derek F, is that Kyland, Tiffany and Xavier will go after each other in the final three weeks of the season, leaving them picking up the pieces and bringing the cause of The Cookout home on Finale Night.

 

In fact, the Main Dishes in The Cookout have largely become emotionally connected to their Side Dishes. Derek F volunteered to go on the block to spare Britini. Kyland cried after both Derek X and Kyland were evicted. That is why those who have made the sacrifice of their Side Dishes feel like they have born the burden of the alliance, both because they were on the block against their external partners and because it left them largely alone in the game. Tiffany went against her alliance to win HoH to protect Claire, even as Xavier threw the comp to leave Alyssa exposed.

 

Which brings me to looking forward to many who are hoping that the Double Eviction that is coming up this Thursday will finally lead to Main Dishes of The Cookout turning on each other. While they will have no choice if Alyssa wins HoH  or Veto (spoiler: Claire will be named the replacement nominee after Alyssa uses the Veto to take herself off the block and will be evicted Thursday over Xavier), if she does not, The Cookout will hold together one last time to complete their mission.

 

The reason is simple. Nobody wants to be the one responsible for breaking up the alliance and failing to achieve an all minority Final 6. That person would immediately become the target of the rest of the alliance. This is why the rest of her alliance was so cold to Tiffany after she won HoH against the previously agreed-upon plan, and while being forced to nominate and evict Claire is karma coming back on her from the perspective of the rest of the Six.

 

So Tiffany will nominate Claire, the Cookout will evict Claire, and then Tiffany will hope beyond hope that Alyssa does not win HoH or Veto. Because if the last Side Dish is safe, The Cookout will have no choice but to consume one of their own Main Dishes, and Tiffany is looking mighty tasty right now.

[Fuskie]

A friend recently approached me to say that due to life circumstances, they had been unable to watch the first 2 months of the season and were hoping to get into the last month but were not up to speed on the game so far. So I came up with this quick tutorial to explain to your friends where you've been since July 4th.

 

Sixteen HG entered the BB House and were divided into 4 teams of 4. On Day 1, Tiffany, Derek F, Xavier, Kyland and Azah formed an six-person alliance called The Cookout, which also included Hannah (also called Chaddah) but they didn't actually tell her she was in it for the first couple weeks. Don't ask me why.

 

The goal for these six was to ensure the first ever all dark-skinned Final 6. In other words, to evict all the white/light-skinned HG. To accomplish this, Tiffany came up with a plan where each alliance member took on a partner from outside the alliance that they would pretend to have a F2 deal with. And when it was time for that Side Dish to be evicted, the Main Dish would be nominated along side to dissuade anyone from thinking The Cookout existed or that the Six were secretly working together.

 

Using the Teams twist, The Cookout were successful at manipulating their counterparts into nominating and evicting the guys and then the girls from other teams outside the alliance to the point where The Cookout gained numerical control of the game. They will evict Claire tomorrow night, leaving Alyssa as the only non-Cookout member left in the game. 

 

And they still have not made the connection, though the Jury Members are starting to piece it together and realize they had been hoodwinked (being kind) from the very start. This alliance and strategy has been very controversial among fans, with some applauding the execution of the secret strategy and others calling it racist (it's not according to the definition of the word).

 

Tomorrow night is a the first of two back-to-back Double Evictions. If Alyssa wins HoH or Veto, then The Cookout will fail in their objective and be forced to evict one of their own. The Cookout members have been lining up F4, F3 and F2 deals for the end game but in a DE, anything can happen.