Many call this show a game but it's not game. Yes, there are games being played, both of the mind and competition sort, but this is about people being trapped in a house over an extended period of time. We can talk about strategy and we can talk about humanity. There are people who play this game ruthlessly and cruelly; and there are those who try to maintain some semblance of humanity. It's a tough call on who to root for. For my own mental sanity, it's time to break it down.
Let's start with Aaryn who is most likely the one going to jury this Thursday. I can't say I will be shedding any tears. She started the season as part of one of the most obnoxious alliances. Propped by them, she displayed a cruel and vile character, one that unapologetically, resurfaces with the slightest bit of encouragement. She taunted people on their looks, their ethnicity, their race, their sexuality. You name it. She said it. Then when her alliance was decimated, she turned the "good girl" act on that fooled many of them, especially Helen, into supporting her. She went on to win 4 competitions, putting herself in the position to be used by Amanda and Helen to take out Amanda's threats. During the HoH she won with Jeremy, one of her allies was evicted. For every other HoH she had, she nominated people that Amanda and Helen wanted nominated, even saying outright that she was being coerced.
Now, she knows that her "allies", Amanda and McCrae, won't even vote for her to stay over their pet rat, Andy. Elissa tried to put all the personal aside with Aaryn yet again, despite the fact that Helen tried the same and paid the price of her game, suggesting that they work together. When Amanda won the PoV, Aaryn went right back to the pigsty of an alliance, trashing Elissa. When their plan to fool Elissa into nominating GM in McCrae's place failed, and she realized that she was SOL against Andy, Aaryn went pleading to Elissa yet again. Elissa would have none of it. She called Aaryn out on her lies and behaviour, finally blowing her off by saying she would think about it. Aaryn failed in the game and on a human level this season.
Now on to Amanda, the Don of BB15. She started off the game by leeching onto the first HoH, McCrae, and created a personal relationship with him by swallowing him up whole. She helped execute all the evictions and controlled all the HoH nominations, until this week when she hit the wall called Elissa. This set off a chain reaction of demented behaviour like none we have seen before. That's not to say that Amanda's behaviour has been exemplary thus far. She has spouted as much if not more vileness than Aaryn or the others could ever think of, which is ironic because she's the one who called them on their racist comments. She' not only made racist, homophobic and other ick remarks, she spouted fantasies of violence against Elissa, Elissa's children, and Candice. Detailed, horrific fantasies of violence.
Her game could be called flawless but I often wonder if she would have made it this long (certainly not past 2 MVP nominations) if she were playing with people who had the drive, foresight and backbone to make some big moves. It's not like she hid her influence because it's not in Amanda to take the back seat to anyone. Her bullying tactics served her well with this crew but hit an iron barrier in Elissa. This is what drove her over the edge these past few days inducing a medication-driven whirlwind of vileness. Production put a stop to it with either medications, threats or both. This resulted in Amanda having a sit down with Elissa and apologies from both sides. I doubt that will change her behaviour but one thing I think it has changed and that's how the other HGs view her. This might have driven the last nail into Amanda's eviction.
I look forward to the BB15 house being cleansed from Amanda and her flee-bitten pet, McCrae. These are two people whose behaviour has vastly overshadowed any game moves they have made. Their only chance at an alliance is Andy and that's questionable. If the worse case scenario happens this Thursday that she or McCrae win HoH, and you know it has a high chance of happening, her game will continue but, on a human, level she has failed miserably.
There is not much to say about McCrae who has been Amanda's strap-on this whole season. He, more than anyone has been the biggest disappointment for me personally. I had high hopes for him from the preseason interviews and winning the first HoH, but then he turned out to be a gigantic dud. He quickly blew off the Moving Company, putting all his eggs and both his balls in Amanda's basket (pun not intended). He may revive should Amanda be evicted, but he is going for second at best.
Although he started out showing some sense of individuality by calling Amanda out on her questionable comments, he's since disappeared into a filthy emaciated hull of a human being who cannot articulate a full sentence without saying "I don't know." He's shown that he's incapable of thinking for himself throughout this season and has no problem bashing people behind their backs. I think this must come from a deep knowledge that he's effed up his game. The best I can say about McCrae is, I don't know.
Andy has played the rat game this whole season. He hitched his wagon to McCranda and hasn't budged since, not even to realize that the dumbest move in BB is to ally yourself with a showmance. He's been cut throat and insipid in his game and personal connections with people, but when the Zingbot called him on it during the most recent PoV competition, it hit a nerve. He wondered if he was being portrayed as this season's Shelly, getting more and more agitated. Andy, you're not being portrayed that way. You are that way. I don't understand why any player would adopt that strategy as it hasn't worked for the likes of Ronnie and Shelly.
He's said that now that his eyes are open he will go after McCranda but will he really? My guess is that he will throw the next HoH and go with whomever gets power. It's a flopper's way to make it to the end and it inspires me as much as overcooked noodles. Andy has mostly not participated in the slamfests but he's never discouraged them and sometimes laughed at the ugly comments some of the HGs have made. He's playing a spineless game, not one I respect. He's middle of the road in every way.
Judd has returned and I hope he makes the best of it this time. He seems aware that he was duped and playing Amanda's game before he was backstabbed and evicted. He made a deal with Elissa and is part of an alliance-of-the week but I don't set much store in either of them until I see him actually act on his intentions. He seems to have had enough of the McCranda show. Here's hoping he has the power to do something about it.
Spencer and GM get one paragraph. Spencer is there, floating along, surviving 6 times on the block, the stigma of The Moving Company and his association with BB15 public enemy #1, Howard. On a personal level, he sucks slugs. His constant perverted statements culminating in the sexual abuse of children makes him foul in my eyes, and hoping he's not dragged, like the goat he is, to the F2 chair. GM, on the other hand, has shown some remorse for the ignorant statements she's made and some heart in this game. She's obviously someone who appreciates honesty and kindness, mirroring the company she's in. She needs to find better company in her life. She too has survived being part of an alliance that has been decimated. I don't know who she will stay with moving forward. GM is a big question mark.
I saved Elissa for last. She's the one person, other than Judd, left in the game that I'm rooting for because of her game moves and her strength of good character. I know there are people who don't like her because she was given an unfair advantage of 3 weeks of MVP but she needed it because she had the unfair disadvantage of being the only person related to an ex-cast member. Those lame decisions are on production not her. Some hate her because they hate her sister Rachel who was a very polarizing person in the game. I like Rachel but Elissa is nothing like her.
Elissa has held on to her inner strength all season and even more so these past few days when Amanda launched her nasty campaign of bullying against her. What was Elissa's reaction? To laugh and rise above it. How can anyone not admire that? I don't know how I would have reacted but certainly not that gracefully when someone is attacking my child to my face. I wanted to punch walls just reading about it.
I've gone into detail why Elissa has played a very good game. Sure, people criticized her this week because she didn't put up Amanda with McCrae. She did a smarter thing. She put up two of her targets, now three people who have been Amanda's army. It's win-win in a lose-lose situation. Aaryn has been foul, gunning for Elissa, untrustworthy, playing emotionally and winning competitions. In my mind, Aaryn is the bigger threat; but if Elissa had gotten Amanda out, that would have been great too. She went from being alone at the beginning of this week to having formed some alliances and have some numbers. Maybe she has 3 people gunning for her next week, but she's shown the others that there is life outside of Amanda's butt-hole. And maybe, just maybe, they will all reclaim their balls from Amanda and stand where the sun does shine.
