Entertainment

'Big Brother's big babies compete for Power of Veto

by Henning Fog

I'm going to admit, several weeks into this 15th season of Big Brother, that I really can't make heads or tails of this game's rules. I mean sure -- I understand that it's an elimination-based reality competition, one in which (just like Survivor, which I totally get!) alliances are formed and dissolved and psychology/game theory is often way more important than physical strength, or even being nice.

But it still feels like a lot of stuff just...happens? And is explained to us, sometimes on cue cards, by people who seem incapable of stringing together a few sentences? (And when they do, they're just astonishingly racist?) I don't know. I'm trying. I guess I say all that as a disclaimer for whatever I'm about to write, which will probably sound about as intelligent as Jeremy.

What I do think I understand is that Power of Veto (POV) serves essentially the same function as Immunity on Survivor. Win the event; earn exemption from the next vote, or at least the ability to exercise as much. Yes? Tonight's episode saw contestants stuck in giant baby cribs, assembling oversized mobiles from stuffed animals and balancing poles. They "why?" is not so important here as the "wearing what?" the answer to which is brightly colored onesies. Jeremy, with his Cherokee tattoos peeking out from his chest region, looked especially cute. But guess who came to play?

"Guard your meat, 'cause I'm about to eat." We'll just let that comment sit.

Nobody outside of the Moving Company wanted Jeremy to win, and understandably considering the unified block his alliance appears to have built these past few weeks. But even after a slow start, Jeremy's mobile assembling left everyone else in the dust. Like Rain Man, he saw things the rest of the Houseguests couldn't see. Stuffed animals moved as if by destiny to the right bars. Amanda, the closest competitor, was still gauging counterweights when Jeremy punched the finish clock and claimed his POV necklace.

Amanda: "Much like a baby, I feel like crying and I need a bottle...of vodka."

That leaves Elissa, Helen, and now Nick -- substituted for Jeremy by two-time MVP Elissa -- on the chopping block for tomorrow's vote. Can the Moving Company's bloc overcome Elissa and Co.'s desire to see Nick gone? We'll see!