Big Brother Recap: Week Two

Kristina Carroll ’16/ Emertainment Monthly  Editor
There’s only one word to describe this past week in the Big Brother house: SHOCKING.  Typically I love watching alliances crumble into pieces and major plans going down the drain, but this week left me furious.  Not only was my favorite houseguest eliminated, but I was also forced to witness what I truly believe to be the dumbest gameplay in BB history.
It all started with the HOH competition that I left off with last week.  As I mentioned before, this competition was unique because it was played in pairs.  Although it was a close call between several groups, Aaryn and Jeremy ultimately came out on top.  Confident that he would be able to have a strong influence on her decisions, Jeremy happily agreed to have Aaryn crowned as the third HOH.
It was pretty clear to most of America who Aaryn was going to nominate Elissa, seeing as she had it out for her practically since day one (but especially after she played a major role in sending David home last week).  But the second choice nomination was harder to determine.  In the end she nominated Helen, mainly because she too voted to evict David (which to me is very stupid reasoning), and she is Elissa’s closest friend in the house.
And as for this week’s MVP, it was a huge disappointment.  Why?  Because Elissa won AGAIN.  Come on, America.  I know that she’s the most famous contestant right now, but do you really think she’s deserving of being the MVP of the entire house??  I personally don’t think she’s been playing the strongest game.  Unfortunately, I feel like the idea of a BBMVP is failing, because it seems to be nothing more than a popularity contest.
And this is where things take a turn for the worse.  Elissa chooses Jeremy as the third nomination (which I must admit was a much smarter choice than Aaryn’s), and they set off to the backyard to play for the POV.  The yard has been completely transformed to resemble a baby’s crib, with giant mobiles hanging in the air.  And along with this competition, called “Cry Like A Baby”, the houseguests receive a special message from BB superstar Britney!  She makes a special announcement that she is pregnant—which is why the competition is baby-themed.
The houseguests compete to construct their own mobiles, working to balance giant stuffed animals on each rod so that there is nothing touching the ground.  Once again, this is a very close competition, and the end result is that….drumroll please…Jeremy wins the POV!  This obviously means that he gets to take himself off the block, and Elissa the MVP has to choose yet another person to nominate.
Something that I’ve learned early on this season is that when Elissa is in power, she doesn’t mess around.  After her first choice nominee escapes from the chopping block, she puts up Nick, one of the strongest players in the house, both mentally and physically.  Seeing that Nick is part of the biggest alliance in the house, the Moving Company, I think that I can speak for everyone including him when I say that his chances of surviving this week were looking good.
Unfortunately, things have a tendency of taking a turn for the worse in the BB house, and this is just one of those instances.  Half of Nick’s once-reliable alliance suddenly turns on him, and McCrae and Spencer end up voting to evict him!  And with that, Nick became the second evicted houseguest of the summer.
I was extremely upset by Nick’s departure for several reasons, the first one being that I felt he was the strongest competitor in the house.  I feel like he took the most risks, and played the game extremely well.  He was intelligent, sly, and a good sport, which is a rare combination in the Big Brother house.  The other thing that infuriated me was the fact that his alliance is virtually crushed now that he’s gone.  Nick was the creator of the alliance, and served as the brains behind all of their major decisions.  Essentially, he was playing the game for that entire group of men.  If they had just continued to go along with his plans, I am sure that they would have guaranteed themselves more time in the house.  However, now that he’s gone, not only is their alliance exposed, but they also have nobody to patch up the damages that they’ve caused.  Therefore, they’re only digging themselves deeper every day.
If you haven’t noticed, I’m still a little bitter over the eviction of my favorite houseguest.  But don’t worry, there’s still hope for several other strong players.  I’m keeping my eyes on Andy and Judd for now.  They’re both staying quiet (or in BB terms, being a “floater”), but I feel like they definitely have the potential to stir things up later in the game.
It will be interesting to see the events that unfold this week, because Helen has won the HOH!  You know what that means…the Mom Squad is in charge for yet another week.