Big Brother - Season 11, Episode 9 Recap

“ello kiddies
Whatcha gonna do when your heads exploding
So you missed some school
You know that schools for fools
Today money rules
And everybody steals it “ - Cheap Trick, “Ello Kiddies”

I have no idea why that song popped into my head, but I guess it’s somewhat fitting for tonight’s episode. Or maybe not.

Tonight’s broadcast should be more action-packed than the usual Tuesday evening telecast. Besides the reaction to Jessie’s nominations, we’ll be seeing the POV competition, some scheming, a sudden realization by one player, and the veto ceremony. Oh yeah, and a contestant in a funny costume. If there’s time, there may even be some more footage of the Lydia/Jessie/Natalie triangle…but I have a feeling that this may be saved for Thursday as the real action has been heating up all day today.

So here we go, and there’s no surprises in the reaction to the nominations of Jordan and Michelle, who talks about how they’re supposed to be “pawns to backdoor Ronnie”. Note to any future BB contestants - it’s impossible to have double pawns! Natalie hugs Jordan, and whispers to her that she’ll “be fine”. Jordan repeats what Michelle says, but adds that she doesn’t trust Jessie.

Jessie says he didn’t put up Ronnie because “he really hasn’t hosed me yet”, and that by being both a target and an ally he’s an “asset” for him.

Jeff comes into the bedroom to console Jordan, and she tells him that Natalie says she’s safe. They both still think that whomever wins veto will pull somebody down, and Ronnie will be gone. Jordan’s not so sure this will happen. Michelle then comes in just as they’re both walking out, but Jeff sticks around to also boost her confidence that Ronnie will be the one leaving.

Michelle adds that she doesn’t really believe anybody will stick their necks out for her, and we then see her talking to Ronnie. He’s still playing the sad puppy dog game, and tells her that it should have been him that was nominated. He claims that if he played and won, he’d use it on her. She’s way too smart to believe that, and says she won’t be picking him. “No offense.” She then walks out and tells the house about this conversation, and everybody has a good laugh. Well, everybody but Russell.

Now we see Ronnie walking into the HOH, and he immediately asks Jessie (and Natalie) if he’s still safe. Jessie lets out a loud sigh, and then asks where his loyalties lie. Guess who he points at? “Ronnie inside this house is like a convicted felon”, says Jessie, “but I hope he still has his best interests in mind.” He tells Ronnie that Casey, Jordan, and Jeff are the ones who want him out. Natalie adds that “you never directly screwed us”. Ronnie leaves with a horrific rendering of the “you’re my brother from another mother” cliché to both Jessie and Natalie.

Chima is now up in the HOH, and Jessie’s asking her how Ronnie’s banishment would benefit her. “I’m not going to make an alliance convenient for that week”, says Jessie, and then tells her that he wants to actually backdoor Casey. Chima agrees that this would actually be better for her than somebody on her team.

This scenario is now repeated with Kevin and Lydia, and as you may imagine they also agree. Wow, Jessie is good this season…so far.

After a commercial break, we get some filler from this past weekend when the house played Truth or Dare. Kevin is dared to go snuggle next to a sleeping Jessie, and hilarity ensues when he wakes up. Ronnie is then dared to go hug Casey. More hilarity ensues, but Casey’s pissed that everybody is now having fun with Ronnie. “Maybe he’s making his way back into people’s hearts.”

A bit later, Kevin asks a scowling Casey why he seems upset, and Casey responds that he didn’t like “being the butt of the joke”. Russell says “everybody was the butt”, but Casey says to never send “a rat to hug him again”. This is a big mistake, as the mood of the entire room darkens.

Jessie now gathers everybody to pick players for the veto competition. The worst case scenario for Jessie is that Casey wins, but Casey still believes that eliminating Ronnie is the plan. Jessie pulls out Jeff’s name, Michelle nabs Casey (which obviously upsets Jessie), and Jordan gets Chima. The host is obviously Natalie, which doesn’t sit well with Lydia.

Casey and Jordan both talk about how it “worked out perfectly”, and Casey adds that it doesn’t “matter who wins now. You can have it.” Oh boy. Meanwhile, Jessie and Natalie are clearly worried upstairs. Natalie says the “best case scenario would be you”. “Then his fate would be sealed”, responds Jessie as the ominous music builds to a crescendo.

After commercials, the veto comp begins. Everybody has to wear pink pig suits, and Jordan complains it “smells like poo” as they walk out to the backyard mud pit. “I like to get dirty”, she adds. I do love this silly girl!

Inside the pit are a bunch of truffles, which has cards with point values inside. They have to keep what they believe are the four highest truffles, and the winner is obviously the one with the highest total score. But…there are also prizes hidden in the pit, but if you choose a prize you receive one less card that goes towards your total.

After they all talk about how they want to win the veto (except a confident Casey), they swing into the pit. Yeah, the mud is “nasty”, but it’s a “do or die situation”. Michelle said this, but I bet any of them probably said this in the diary room. Jordan thinks there may be poo in the pit, but she doesn’t care, while Chima says that she doesn’t get dirty. “I didn’t even play in the dirt when I was two. This is not fun for me.”

Casey makes a serious mistake, when he decides to keep a margarita party instead of a points card to go with the “ten” we can see on his board. “I like throwing parties, and making the other house guests feel good can do nothing but bring positive vibes my way.” Uh oh. Silly Jordan tries to explain the strategy of what numbers to keep, and even she’s surprised that she sort of makes sense.

The game finally ends, and Natalie adds another “temptation”. Choosing one of six envelopes can either add or subtract points, or may be an additional prize. Michelle goes first, and chooses an envelope because she fears she had the lowest numbers. Casey also nabs an envelope, while Chima declines. Jeff also chooses an envelope, but Jordan declines because it “might be bad luck”. Jessie also chooses one, and Natalie claims that the one he chooses would have been the same one she’d pick. Um, sure it was.

Jessie has a prize of $2500, and his other cards add up to 26. The envelope added five points to make it 31. Jordan’s score is then revealed, and her total score is 24. Jeff’s points adds up to 27 points, but his envelope contains a -5 card, which puts him at 22. Chima’s cards add up to 25 points. Jessie’s still in the lead.

Casey reveals his cards next, and the house is excited about his margarita party. Jessie has a nice laugh over it, however. Casey’s cards add up to 22 points, and we see that the top of his card has the letters B and A. He thinks it’s a trip to the Bahamas, but instead he “won” a banana suit that he has to wear for a week!

Finally, we get to Michelle, the last player. Her total points add up to 28 points, so she needs four points in her envelope. Inside was a card for seven points, so she wins with 35 points! She’s pleased that finally she showed the house she can compete. Unfortunately, she falls into the pit when she attempts to swing across it to get her veto. Now that’s funny.

After another break, we see Casey being called into the diary room to get his banana suit. He talks about how he didn’t need to win, but wanted to win some prizes. He’s not happy at all with his “prize”, especially when everybody else laughs.

We now see Michelle entering the HOH to talk to Jessie, and he immediately asks who he wants her to see be put up. She doesn’t really want to say, and Jessie tries to say that the house doesn’t necessarily want to see Ronnie be put up. He tells her that if they were to join forces, nobody would suspect a thing, and that they could still wander around like they don’t like each other. Michelle quickly figures out that he’s now targeting Casey, but claims that eventually she’ll be trying to get Jessie out of the house. Yeah, sure.

Now Kevin and Lydia are alone in the HOH, and Kevin is pointing out how Jessie is always sleeping in the same bed as Natalie. Good observation, genius. Of course, this sets off Lydia, who complains how it’s always about how she has to approach him. Kevin advises her to tell him to cut ties with Natalie, and that the athletes are always asking them to do their dirty work. “Why don’t we keep Casey”, he asks. “If he stays, he’s going to gun after the athletes.” He actually makes sense, but of course he’ll never do anything to actually follow through with that plan.

Michelle is now in the bathroom with Lydia, and she asks who she thinks Jessie will put up. Lydia tells her that she thinks it’s going to be Casey. “I just have a bad feeling that Ronnie is talking to him.” Michelle points out that it’s a numbers game, and Lydia adds that she hates people that believe they’re always safe. Quick cam shot to Natalie, in case you missed who she was talking about. Jordan walks in, and Lydia informs her that it might be Casey.

Jordan walks away to tell Jeff, who is not happy. “If he keeps Ronnie, he’s a fucking idiot.” We jump ahead to later in the evening, and Jeff informs Casey of these rumors. Casey asks what he did to deserve that, and jumps up to go talk to Jessie.

Inside the HOH, Jessie is confronted, and all he has to say is “the right guy is going out the door”. Casey asks if that’s him, and Jessie’s response again is the “right guy”. Casey tells him that he’s never said anything about going after him. “There’s ten people in this house, and you’re number ten on my list.” Jessie says in the diary room that Casey gave him “some food for talk”, and that he has to make the right decision at the right time. Yeah, way to add some phony drama.

Finally, it’s time for the anti-climatic veto ceremony. You know the drill - Michelle looks at the wall of pictures, while everybody else talks about who should be put up. Michelle talks about how she’s enjoyed her time, and her win proves she can compete. She obviously uses the veto on herself. Jessie then gets up to choose a replacement nominee, and babbles about “enjoying the fruits” of his victory. He then tells Casey that he’s the replacement. Jordan catches Ronnie staring at her, and asks why he’s looking at her like that. He denies it.

As the concluding music fires up, Jessie explains that Casey is one of those who “hates those are on top”. Ronnie then brags about how “the force must have been with me…this is my house, and I’m not going anywhere”. Jordan says it sucks always being nominated, but she’s going to win the next HOH. Casey complains how Ronnie clearly has Jessie wrapped around his fingers and is “playing him like he’s a video game. I didn’t think that Jessie was that dumb. Apparently, he is. That said, we may see an angry, fighting banana this week.”

Oooh, a huge announcement will “turn the game around” on Thursday. Is it the end of the teams?