Big Brother: All Stars | CBS | Week 6 HOH + Nominations
It’s week 6 and BB is airing its first Tuesday night show of the season (due to the Academy of Country Music Awards airing Wednesday). Will the house be shaken up this week? It hasn’t so far, but we’ll see…
HOH and Nominations
Who had the fortitude to stay on the The Wall in the HOH comp? Before we get to that…
Christmas and Da’Vonne spoke before Bayleigh’s eviction, and made amends from the messy argument that happened last week. They assure each other they’re safe if each becomes HOH, but in the DR Day says she’ll go after Christmas if she gets the chance.
Back to the comp: Dani says she doesn’t want to win, and the only person she doesn’t want to win is Tyler. Day drops, purposely, to make it seem like she’s not good at comps. In the DR she gives an Emmy worthy performance, crying that she didn’t win – then letting us know it’s an act. Da’Vonne is easily the most entertaining houseguest this season!
After Day, David drops, then Ian. Memphis, Enzo and Kevin follow. Tyler drops a bit later, leaving Cody, Nicole and Dani to battle it out. In the DR: Cody says he wants either Nicole or Dani to get some blood on their hands; Nicole says she doesn’t want to win. Again, on purpose, Nicole falls, then Cody – leaving Dani as the new head of household; Tyler is rightfully concerned!
Dani tells Day she can relax; it seems like she and the house will be gunning for Tyler. Dani says she’s close to everyone in the house, so nominations will be tough; David tells Day he’s worried because he and Dani aren’t close – however, he has the Disruptor power, which he hasn’t told anyone about. Kevin says he’s not close to Dani either, so he’s also worried.
Day tells Dani she’d put up Christmas, but Cody tells her to put up David and Kevin. They discuss back-dooring Tyler; Cody doesn’t want Tyler out because he says Tyler is a bigger threat, and without Tyler the target is squarely on him – and he’s probably not wrong about that. Later, Tyler talks to Dani and tells her he wouldn’t be bitter about Dani coming after him…
Kevin talks to Enzo, Dani and David about representation, and that he feels optimistic about where things are going with regards to people being able to just be themselves. Another important conversation, especially in the BB universe, because there have been major issues with the show and past contestants not being inclusive.
With so many alliances, Dani is conflicted about actually going after Tyler. She tells Kevin she needs him to be a pawn for her, and gives him a heads up that he’s most likely going on the block. Afterwards, she makes a deal with Tyler not go after each other until final 4 (!). Well, Tyler suggests that – will Dani play along? At this point she’s not even sure, but likes the option of keeping or evicting Tyler.
At the nomination ceremony, Dani puts up Kevin and David, following the wishes of her various alliances. She tells the nominees they just don’t really talk game and she’s genuinely sorry.
With David’s Disruptor power, there is a possibility for things to be shaken up this week. I hope he uses it, so Dani is forced to nominate someone else (most likely Tyler?) and ACTUALLY MAKE A MOVE!! But we shall see… M
The Boys | Amazon Prime Video | Season 2 Episode 4: Nothing Like it in the World
After failing to deliver Kenji to the CIA, a new lead sets The Boys in a few different directions. [It’s a recap, so spoilers follow].
Butcher and Becca
Butcher goes to the building that Stormfront demolished and meets with Mallory in front of a memorial wall. She gives him an envelope with a magazine clipping of Liberty, a Supe from the 70’s, and tells Butcher to have MM talk to her; an address in North Carolina is on the back. She also gives Butcher a possible address for Becca, even though he couldn’t deliver Kenji. Butcher is going after Becca alone, and he tells MM to find Liberty.
Reunited (finally)
At her house, Becca looks out a window and notices her car door is open; she goes out and finds Butcher in the back seat. She takes the car and they drive off to a bridge in the woods. Becca is happy to see him; he calls her his girl and she says ‘always’. She tells him about the one-time deal she made with Homelander: she says if Homelander killed Butcher, she’d kill herself in front of Ryan and her last words would be ‘your father did this to me’. Butcher says he’ll get her out of there; they kiss, and she goes back home.
After checking in on Ryan, Becca comes back to where she dropped off Butcher and they sleep together in her car; later she tells him they’ve been there since she gave birth. She says the arrangement is ‘ok’ and all that matters is that Ryan is happy; she says Butcher will love Ryan, but he doesn’t seem interested in the kid. He apologizes to her for ‘not being there’ and says he’s going to make it up to her.
The next day, Becca meets Butcher but tells him she’s not leaving. She says Butcher doesn’t want Ryan with them, and if the three of them leave, Butcher will find a way to get rid of Ryan. Butcher says Vought won’t just let Ryan go, but they could run away together. She says she has a son, but Butcher calls him a ‘Supe freak.’ Becca tells Butcher that when Homelander raped her, she didn’t go to Butcher because she knew all he would do is seek revenge. Butcher says he’s not leaving with her, but she hits an alarm and drives off…
Homelander and The Seven
Homelander watches Stormfront on the news; she is criticizing Vought and encouraging people to protest the company to stop more terrorist incidents from happening. Homelander flies to a secluded cabin where Madelyn Stillwell (!) greets him in some lingerie with a glass of milk (what is it with this dude and milk?!) Later, they watch Taxi Driver, and Homelander complains about Stormfront and the rest of The Seven. He says she “would have” got them back in line, and Madelyn says he doesn’t need her; he should get rid of “the weeds.” Suddenly Madelyn is in pain, and we learn it’s not really Madelyn (#obviously), but Doppleganger (Dan Darin-Zanco), who changes back to his normal form. Homelander gets angry and orders him to change back, and he does.
At Vought, Homelander gets into an elevator with Starlight and hits the emergency stop. He says Maeve begged him to save Starlight’s life; he gave her a second chance, and she failed him. He chokes her, pushes her up against the wall and says she disobeyed him for not killing Hughie. She says Hughie broke her heart and she hates him, but she’s not a murderer… convinced she’s not lying, he lets her go.
Black Noir visits analyst Anika with a note that says BUTCHER, and she searches for him; later, Anika finds Butcher on a security camera as Black Noir looks on.
A-Train sees Shockwave (Mishka Thébaud) in the halls at Vought and angrily goes to talk to Ashley. As they speak, Homelander comes in and tells A-Train he’s out of The Seven. Homelander says he knows that A-Train can’t run anymore, so he’s out.
Homelander has eyes for Stormfront
Homelander and Queen Maeve go on a talk show with Maria Menounos, and Homelander says they had no idea about Compound V. They discuss superhero dynamics, and Homelander announces that Maeve is a lesbian, with a Hispanic girlfriend. Maeve confronts him, and he tells her he knows all about Elena. She admits they are together and she loves her; he tells her he’s happy for them, but Maeve looks worried. Outside, Stormfront continues to criticize Vought at a rally. Kimiko moves through the crowd and approaches Stormfront, but Frenchie stops her from attacking Stormfront.
Homelander gets angry as he looks at memes of Stormfront, and confronts her about undermining him. When his eyes start to glow, she apologizes to calm him down. Stormfront says Homelander has fans; she has soldiers. She tells him he is the best of them, but he needs help connecting with his audience; he says he doesn’t need help.
Homelander goes back to the cabin, where ‘Madelyn’ is waiting. She does her usual routine, but he’s not interested. He tells her he doesn’t need anyone but himself, and Doppleganger changes into a copy of Homelander. He tells Homelander everyone loves him, but Homelander says he doesn’t need everyone’s love and he doesn’t need him; he snaps Doppleganger’s neck.
Hughie, Starlight and Mother’s Milk
Road trippin’
Starlight meets Hughie in Central Park, and she says she got his voicemail, but Hughie doesn’t want to discuss it; Starlight thinks things are worse off now that Compound V is common knowledge. Hughie gets a call about going to North Carolina, and he goes to leave, but Starlight breaks down and says she ‘can’t do this anymore.’ Hughie asks MM if Starlight can join them; he reluctantly agrees.
At a diner, Starlight tells MM how her dad used to sneak her to Dunkin Donuts for sugary treats, and he would just listen to her, unlike her mom. MM tells her about how his dad used to go to Baskin Robbins and sample every flavor; they toast to ‘fathers and sugar’. Afterwards, MM gives her wet wipes in the parking lot as a truck hits a car behind them. Starlight goes to help, but Hughie and MM say she can’t.
Hughie, MM and Starlight get 2 rooms at a motel. Starlight asks Hughie about MM’s OCD (the wet wipes, how he stirs coffee and taps the steering wheel 3 times, as examples), but Hughie hasn’t noticed. After discussing Starlight’s questionable candy bar tendencies, she tells Hughie she only sleeps 4 hours a night and is in constant terror of Homelander. After saying she doesn’t feel terrified with him, they sleep together.
Valerie tells her story
The group arrives at the address Mallory gave them, and a woman named Valerie Hunter (Dawnn Lewis) answers the door, but thinks they’re from Vought; they say they just want to know about Liberty. MM tells them he has a vendetta against Vought because his dad was a lawyer who fought them and ended up dying at 55; he says he wants to make Vought pay for what they did to his dad. Inside, Valerie tells the group that when she was little, while her brother Myron was driving and she slept in the back seat, Liberty stopped the car and took him out. Liberty accused him of being involved in a robbery and killed him; Vought offered them a $2,000 settlement and they took it. She says they can’t let anyone know she talked to them because Liberty would kill her; Hughie says she disappeared and no one has seen her since 1979. But Valerie gets a newspaper article with a picture and says “that’s Liberty.” The group looks at the photo of Stormfront on the front page.
The trio discusses the situation and Hughie asks how Liberty and Stormfront could be the same person; she would be around 70 years old. Starlight says they don’t know what Compound V can do and maybe she doesn’t age normally… Back in the city, Starlight thanks Hughie for letting her tag along, and she tells him they can’t be together again. She says they’re all alone, kisses him and says goodbye.
Elsewhere
After doing some drugs, Frenchie tries to kiss Kimiko, but she pushes him away. Later, Frenchie goes to see Cherie (Jordana Lajoie) and tells her about Kimiko; they sleep together, and afterwards Cherie says he’s trying to make amends for the people he’s hurt, but he should just let her grieve.
In Ohio, The Deep and Carol are interviewing women about love and relationships. The Deep chooses one woman – Gianna – but Carol tells him a woman named Cassandra is ‘his wife.’ They are trying to rehabilitate his image to get him back in The Seven, with the Church of the Collective’s help.
So Butcher and Becca can’t see eye to eye, Frenchie and Kimiko can’t connect, and Homelander can’t escape his serious issues. With A-Train being pushed out of The Seven, The Deep trying to get back in, and the shocking reveal that racist 70’s Supe Liberty is now Stormfront, things seem to be shaping up for an eventful second half of the season! M
It’s day 30 and Christmas (jingle jingle) is HOH this week! Will we finally get some excitement in the BB house? There’s a new twist with new powers; we’ll see if the old players will take advantage of them…
Nominations
In the DR Christmas says she wants to make some moves this week and show her alliance what she’s made of. Da’Vonne says if she would have won she had the ammunition needed to put Nicole and Dani on the block; Cody says he has to do a lot of damage control due to Kaysar’s speech. In the DR Enzo says Christmas went up on the block for him, but hopes she doesn’t expect that from him in return. Tyler, Bayleigh and Da’Vonne talk about the HOH competition, and say the members of The Slick Six kept choosing people in the alliance to go head to head with each other. Da’Vonne basically says she’s confused about what they’re trying to do. Cody tries to explain to Da’Vonne what he was doing in that comp, and he says he screwed up. Da’Vonne says ‘now it’s war’ and she’s ready…
Christmas and Dani celebrate and talk about Da’Vonne and Bayleigh as potential nominees because Christmas is in an alliance (or friendly) with everyone else. Da’Vonne says she hasn’t really talked to Christmas, but tells her she’s not coming for her, either way; she says she’ll vote however Christmas wants. Enzo says he’s going to use Christmas as hit ‘pitbull’ to go after whoever he wants. Enzo says Da’Vonne, Nicole, and Bayleigh are emotional players who need to go.
Christmas calls the houseguests together and describes the BB Basement twist. Three brand new powers will be awarded, but no one will know who wins them. The basement is completely dark, and the houseguests must find foam shapes and put them in their podiums. There are decoy shapes and all the houseguests are in the room at the same time, so it’s pretty chaotic. There’s goo, packing peanuts, hanging weight bags, and boxes everywhere and the houseguests continually fall (and even lose clothes). David finds the first power – the Disruptor – with a lightning bolt foam piece. Dani finds the second power – Replay – with a replay icon foam piece. Christmas finds the third power – Blocker – with a hand foam piece.
Christmas tells Tyler (with whom she has a final 2 deal!) that she got one of the powers. She learns the Blocker will prevent herself or another houseguest from being a replacement nominee at the veto meeting. She must declare she’s using the Blocker after the veto has been used but before the HOH names the next replacement. It can be used at the next 3 veto meetings.
Dani tells Nicole she got a power and learns the Replay power allows the HOH to play in back to back HOH competitions; she can use it for herself or for someone else for the next 2 HOH comps.
David learns the Disruptor power can save a nominee and force the HOH to name a new one; this can be used following the next 3 nomination ceremonies. He can use it on himself or anyone else.
Bayleigh tells Dani someone (Tyler!) told her Dani was coming after Bay and Day. Enzo confirms this and Dani gets angry. Dani goes to Christmas to vent, and in the DR Christmas says she can’t really put Bayleigh up because it will look like she’s on Dani’s side. Tyler says telling Bay and Day about Dani is coming back to bite him now.
At the nomination ceremony, Christmas nominates Bayleigh and Da’Vonne; she says she nominated Da’Vonne because she is Bayleigh’s ‘untouchable’. In the DR, a teary Christmas says she had to make this game move because there was no other option. In the DR, David says he could use his power, and Day says she’s determined to win the veto.
POV
All the houseguests are talking after the nominations; Dani tells Da’Vonne she never spoke against her and Bayleigh. Da’Vonne tells Dani it was Tyler who told them about Dani, and Dani comes up with a plan to potentially backdoor Tyler by throwing the veto competition to Da’Vonne… David says he will not use his Disruptor power because he wants to save it for himself.
For the veto, Christmas chooses Nicole, Da’Vonne chooses Dani, and Bayleigh chooses Ian. Ian hasn’t slept (for 2 days?!) and isn’t feeling well, so he goes to see the medic and doesn’t participate.
In the competition, the houseguests have to race to push a button when they see an equation on a big screen that totals 13. This comp has prizes that can be stolen: the veto, $5,000, a slop-unitard, a ‘never-be-a-have-not’ pass, and a punishment involving a treadmill.
Dani doesn’t get a chance to throw the comp, as Da’Vonne is eliminated first – then Bayleigh, Dani, and Nicole; Christmas wins the competition. Nicole gives Da’Vonne $5,000 in exchange for wearing a slop-unitard. Christmas gets a punishment as first place winner, and exchanges it for the Veto from Bayleigh.
Ian tells Nicole he just needs rest and food and will be okay; afterwards, Nicole goes to get her punishment unitard. It’s a box of “Sloppies”
Tyler says he’s not having fun playing this game and that it’s too much pressure; Dani and Cody comment that he’s losing weight. In the DR he says ‘something’s not right,” and that he’s the cause for a lot of the stress in the house. He goes to the have not room and talks with Day and Bay and basically apologizes for being the reason they’re on the block. He says he’s going to ask Christmas to take one of them down so that he can go up.
Tyler talks to Christmas and tells her both Bay and Day deserve to stay there more than he does; she tells him backdooring him isn’t good for her game and that she’ll ‘do what she wants’ with regards to the veto.
Day talks to Christmas and tries to get her to backdoor Tyler, but Christmas doesn’t think she can trade Tyler for Bayleigh. Da’Vonne says Bayleigh wants to go after Tyler, and Christmas later relays this to Tyler to sway him to staying in the house. Because of this, Tyler starts to have second thoughts about his decision to help Bay and Day.
At the veto ceremony, Christmas does the predictable thing and doesn’t use the veto. Bayleigh (oddly) asks if they can share who Christmas’ ‘untouchable’ was, and Christmas says no. #Weird. In the DR, Bay calls Christmas and Tyler snakes, Christmas says she’s not going to do Tyler’s dirty work, Tyler says he has to refocus, and Day is sad to be sitting up there with Bay.
Eviction
After the veto, Da’Vonne is incredulous, and Bayleigh thinks Tyler was lying to them about wanting to go up on the block. Bayleigh gets upset because she thinks it’s her fault that Day is on the block (which it kinda is).
Christmas and Day talk (again) and Christmas says she has nothing against Tyler, so she wouldn’t nominate him; she tells Day that Bay is the target. Tyler tells Day he’s going to make sure she stays and they (seemingly) are good with each other.
Cody is called to the DR; he finds a letter and immediately begins to cry. He learns his grandfather has passed away, on Labor Day, from cancer. The houseguests all support him.
Christmas talks to Dani about how Bayleigh is upset about being on the block, and Day overhears. She tells Christmas that Bayleigh feels betrayed by Christmas; they end up getting into a fight about gameplay and Day walks away. Day goes to the backyard and says she can’t react to Christmas because she’ll look crazy… Bay walks in on the end of the fight, and talks to Christmas about the situation; this ends up in a fight, and the ladies can’t communicate so Christmas storms off, clapping loudly, for some reason (?) and goes into the HOH room.
In the DR Day says she gave the houseguests what they wanted – she blew up, and now she’s going home. Christmas comes back downstairs and the three ladies start arguing again. Day says Christmas wanted to provoke her, and now she’s provoked.
So to sum up (I think?): Bay told Christmas that Tyler said Christmas’ alliance was coming after Bay and Day; Christmas told Tyler this, and Tyler felt guilty. Tyler told Bay and Day he’d offer himself up for eviction, and he did. Christmas didn’t take him up on his offer, and Bay took this personally. When Day tried to explain this to Christmas, all hell broke loose. Christmas thinks Bayleigh is mad because she wants Christmas to go after Tyler (for Bayleigh) and ‘do her dirty work.’ #Tired.
Day and Bay #BFFs
At the eviction ceremony, the vote is unanimous to evict Bayleigh. In her eviction interview, Julie tells Bay about the alliances, and that Tyler was Christmas’ ‘untouchable.’ Bay says she and Tyler spoke, and all the drama between them will be left in the house, and they (seemingly) are good with each other. Bye, Bay!
The HOH competition is The Wall endurance comp, and Julie lets them know the first 3 houseguests to fall will be have-nots for the week. Also, that there will be no battle-back, so they’ve (theoretically) made it to the jury!
Who will seize power and be the next HOH? Da’Vonne, if there’s any justice in this game! M
Below Deck Mediterranean | Bravo | Season 5 Episode 15: Shot Through the Heart, and Ibiza’s to Blame
Picking up immediately where we left off, Jess is sitting on the swim platform and Malia is tending to her. Malia radios Captain Sandy, who says to tell Jess to come see her. She goes back to her cabin to change; Rob says Jess is just anxious from the conversation they had. Jess goes to see Sandy and Sandy takes her blood pressure; it’s slightly elevated but Sandy said she had palpitations and it led to heart attack, so she wants to be extra cautious. Jess seems better, so she gets back to work. In an interview she says her relationship with Rob is taking a physical toll on her.
When the guests get back to the boat, Johnny Damon tries to hit some baseballs off the swim platform but is quite drunk. For dinner they are having a Great Gatsby party, and the guests, deck crew and stews are all in costume. Still a little drunk, Johnny sends back his steak to make it a little more well done. Ultimately though, everyone loves the dinner. We’ve had enough chef drama, Below Deck. Enough with the idea that the guests don’t like the food, please and thank you.
In the morning, Alex is looking for Rob, who is still sleeping. Jess runs to get him and he jumps out of bed to relieve Alex. Malia gets up and walks around the boat, complaining that it looks terrible, and seemingly starts doing things Rob should have done. She tells him she doesn’t want to see him and Jess kissing on deck; clearly he’s doing that instead of working.
Bugsy compliments Jess on her tablescape and the laundry; she says Jess has ‘done really, really well.’ Sandy calls Jess to the bridge and thanks her for being on top of things. Rob teases her and asks if she’s gotten her first compliment, which was genuinely funny. Jess again says how Bugsy’s structure is helping her. #Obviously.
Rob says his relationship with Jess is making him screw up. When they dock, he throws a line but drops it in the water several times. They finally get through it, and Rob overhears Malia complaining to Busgy about him; he says he’s entitled to make mistakes and she’s being a bit rude. Malia then tells Alex he needs to be wherever it’s critical because she can’t deal anymore.
The Damons leave the boat, and Malia has a chat with Rob about his mistakes. In an interview, he says he knows he’s screwing up; he tells Malia he understands. Sandy says the crew is getting better with Aesha and Tom, and the crew gets an $18,000 tip.
Aesha and Jess discuss boatmances; Aesha tells her about Jack and Jess tells her she and Rob have already said they love each other. Later, Aesha, Rob, Jess and Alex are talking, and while Rob is talking to Aesha, Jess is talking to Alex and somehow (?) this leads to a fight between Rob and Jess. Rob says he didn’t want to interrupt Jess and Alex’s conversation, and Jess says she didn’t want to interrupt Rob and Aesha.
Afterward, Jess goes to talk to Rob and he’s a little cold to her. She goes to talk to him again and she gets mad that he was ‘ignoring’ her; he says he was just having a light conversation with Aesha. They both say they don’t want to argue and Jess walks away. Later, in an interview Rob says Jess was just jealous; she apologizes and they make up.
Aesha gets a call from her brother and says this crew is bit harder to gel with than the crew last year. And it’s true! We see a flashback to last year, and Aesha had Jack, Colin and Anastasia to hang out with. This year, she’s on the Love Boat, with all couples: Bugsy and Alex, who are just starting up, Malia and Tom, who can’t keep their hands off each other, and Rob and Jess, who are kissing one second, fighting the next.
The crew goes out to dinner in Ibiza, and it’s all couples + Aesha (and Pete – who is there but heavily edited out, as promised). Jess realizes she may have seen Rob the year before; this somehow leads to another fight, because Rob basically doesn’t care. He says ‘they’re there now’, so what does it matter, and Jess doesn’t appreciate that. The crew heads out to the club, and Rob tells Tom he can’t do anything right where Jess is concerned. Rob shows Aesha how to make a can of Red Bull suction to her palm (is that a common thing people do?), and Jess gets angry; in an interview she says she doesn’t want to watch Rob flirt with “Ayeesha”. Later, Jess tells Rob she thinks he’s already done with her; he says she’s projecting, but the episode ends with Jess telling Rob she’s ‘done.’
Stray Thoughts Ahoy
At the closing party, Michelle Damon straddles Aesha and makes her drink; she says ‘Don’t tell Captain Sandy!’ The guests are super drunk and having a great time in Ibiza.
Aesha calls Bugsy a s*** stain, and explains how it’s a term of endearment. Mmmkay. Did she call people that last season? Don’t think so?
Johnny apparently pees off the side of the boat; there was definite pixelization…
Tom prepares breakfast and Bugsy finally knows how to say ‘huevos rancheros’!
Alex and Bugsy (finally) kiss. Here’s hoping no one gets diabetes from all the sweet, sweet love happening on The Wellington. M
The Boys | Amazon Prime Video | Season 2 Episodes 1 -3
The Boys are back! After that bombshell was dropped in the first season finale, the first three episodes of season 2 ratchet up the blood, gore, twists, turns, and fatalities as Hughie (Jack Quaid) and the gang continue their mission to take down the Supes. [Spoilers for all of The Boys follow].
The Supes
Daddy dearest
The season starts with a funeral for Translucent (Alex Hassell), and Homelander (Antony Starr) continues pushing his agenda on the world. He wants all opposing Supes to be called super villains – not super ‘terrorists’ – but above all he wants his son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) to start using the powers Homelander is convinced he has. Much to the annoyance (and terror) of Ryan’s mom Becca (Shantel VanSanten), Homelander harasses his son – even pushing him off a roof – to get him to try to exhibit some sort of super power. Ryan does seemingly have powers, as he’s able to push Homelander away from Becca, as his eyes glow red. As a psychotic version of Superman, Homelander is scary, but as a father he takes this to a whole new level.
Stormfront admiring HL’s blue eyes
Homelander’s other main concern is the arrival of the brash Stormfront (Aya Cash), who was recruited by Vought exec Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) to replace Translucent. She arrives on the scene, live-streaming phone in hand, and Homelander is none to happy to not be in the loop about her. Stan tells off Homelander, and the Supe accepts the situation for the time being.
Annie/Starlight (Erin Moriarty) is still trying to take down Vought from the inside, and she blackmails a lab tech named Gecko (David Thompson) to get a sample of Compound V. With Hughie’s support, she manages to expose the fact that superheroes are created, purposefully, with Compound V. Starlight, Maeve (Dominique McElligott) and Stormfront go on a Girl Power press tour, and Stormfront tells Starlight not to take anything from anyone. Along the way, Starlight locks horns with A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) about the sample and her role in letting The Boys escape. He surprises her at the press tour, being released from the hospital; however, he’s not doing well – he has heart palpitations and seemingly can’t run the way he used to.
The Deep gets deep
The Deep (Chase Crawford) is still in Ohio, and still not dealing with his situation; he’s arrested for making a scene at a water park, but bailed out by a Supe named Eagle the Archer (Langston Kerman) and gets recruited into his church, The Church of the Collective – a riff on Scientology? He meets Carol (Jessica Hecht), a member of the church who, for some reason, is trying to get him back into The Seven. After reconciling the fact that he has gills and he’s not a monster, he gets some info from the head of the church, and goes after The Boys…
The Boys
The Boys are laying low with a gang in an underground ‘base’ beneath a jewelry store, but Hughie has been communicating with Starlight in secret; he ultimately professes his love for her. He’s having a hard time with the situation and ends up fighting with Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), but powers through as best as possible.
The Boys learn that a Supe terrorist with telekinetic powers has been smuggled into the country and turn to CIA deputy director Susan Rayner (Jennifer Esposito) for help. When she meets a grisly end, Frenchie (Tomer Capon) calls on Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Butcher rejoins them. Butcher gets in touch with former colonel Grace Mallory (Laila Robins), who gives them a lead. Later we learns that Butcher made a deal with Mallory to get Becca back in exchange for the terrorist.
A happy reunion…
The Boys track down the terrorist to a costume shop, where it’s revealed the man is Kimiko’s (Karen Fukuhara) brother, Kenji (Abraham Lim). They capture him, and keep him subdued; he tells Frenchie that he and Kimiko’s parents were killed and since that day she stopped speaking. They were alone in a camp together and came up with a type of sign language in order to communicate. Frenchie asks Kenji to teach him how to communicate with Kimiko, but he refuses.
…and a not so happy reunion
Butcher steals a boat as they take Kenji in to the CIA; as they are on the sea they are attacked by whales, led by The Deep. They ram a speedboat into Lucy the Whale, and shortly after The Seven arrive on the scene.
They chase The Boys through a sewer system, and eventually Starlight finds Hughie as Homelander comes upon them; he tells her to kill Hughie or he’ll kill them both. Butcher calls out Homelander and Kenji uses his powers to break the ground beneath Homelander and the roof of the tunnel, dropping a bus on Homelander. Kenji escapes and Kimiko goes after him; as they run Stormfront finds them. She chases the siblings through a building and ends up destroying it; on the roof, she shoots Kimiko with lightning and snaps Kenji’s hands. In front of Kimiko, Stormfront kills Kenji, but Kimiko manages to escape. Homelander arrives and is angry Stormfront didn’t save him for Homelander, as instructed; she replies with a ‘you snooze you lose, gramps,’ and leaves.
At a press conference near the building that was destroyed, Stan Edgar says Vought had no idea about Compound V, and places blame on a group of scientists led by the late Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue). He thanks Stormfront for stopping the super terrorist, and as she takes the credit, both Homelander and Kimiko – watching on TV – stare at her with savage hate.
Wrap Up
Three episodes in, and The Boys continues to be ultra violent while building upon the themes of season 1. The addition of the Ryan sub-plot adds a new scary dimension for the already horrific Homelander, and he also gets new foils in the forms of Stan Edgar and the equally scary Stormfront. These characters add a fresh energy to show; Aya Cash as Stormfront, in particular, dominates every scene in which she appears.
On the flip side are A-Train and Maeve, who so far aren’t really adding anything to the show… Maeve’s storyline with ex-girlfriend Elena is only loosely tied to the main story and probably could have been left out. A-Train suffering after his bout of drug abuse could really only lead to him either dying or recovering; his threatening Starlight doesn’t make him any more likable, and with an already large cast, it’s likely he won’t survive the season.
Since it was announced that Aaron Ashmore is joining the show as Supe Lamplighter, it’s probably only a matter of time before one of The Seven meets a super violent end; due to Amazon’s baffling decision to release episodes weekly from now on, though, only time will tell! M
It’s another week of Big Brother! In the first Janelle-less week, Kaysar is public enemy number 1, Kevin is the number 1 pawn, and for an All Stars season, this has been a complete snooze.
HOH and Nominations
In the first round of the HOH comp, Kaysar sinks his 3 balls and is the first to advance. Enzo eventually follows, then David (!), eliminating Nicole, Da’Vonne and Ian.
The Meow Meow in action
In round 2, Dani is the first to advance, followed by Kevin (!) and Cody, eliminating Memphis, Christmas and Bayleigh. Christmas came close a bunch of times, but couldn’t pull it off.
In the final round, Cody, Dani, David, Kevin, Enzo and Kaysar face off. Kaysar sinks 2 balls pretty quickly, much to everyone’s horror. It seems Kaysar is poised to win… until Enzo sinks his third ball and takes it! In the DR he says “I’m here to cause chaos and win this thing.” So his noms should be interesting?
Dani tells Cody that Bayleigh must have voted against the house; we learn Dani asked Cody to throw votes to Kaysar to shake things up. When she tells him it was Bayleigh, he’s not convinced. Everyone discusses the hinky votes and Dani continues trying to convince everyone it was Bayleigh who voted to keep Janelle. Cody and Enzo compare notes and think Dani voted against the house.
Kaysar and Da’Vonne discuss race, and how their journeys are similar. It’s nice to see Big Brother airing these conversations, in light of what’s going on in America; maybe it will expose people to some new ideas and do some good. This deep stuff is followed by the have-not transfer! Tyler, Da’Vonne and Dani are chosen as have-nots for the week. Do we care about have-nots anymore? I feel like BB doesn’t devote any time to them, or Slop TM, or the have-not room…
Apparently Dani and Nicole are super close; who knew?! I feel like Nicole hasn’t been around much, but good to know these two ladies at least have each other, I guess?
Enzo says he’s probably going to nominate Kaysar and a pawn. Kaysar comes to talk to Enzo, but afterwards (to no one but the camera) Enzo says he can’t trust Kaysar because Kaysar hasn’t spoken to him at all about the game.
Christmas gets plushy babies 10 – 12 and this punishment has officially become severely annoying run its course. She and Enzo team up, officially; they discuss the others: Ian as a big threat, Kevin as a floater, David as a big old question mark, and Dani and Nicole as buddies.
At the nomination ceremony, Enzo nominates Kaysar and Kevin, who perpetually looks like he’s on the verge of a mental breakdown. In the DR, Kevin asks why he’s “continually being nominated” and whines a bit (note: you weren’t nominated last week, dude); in the DR, Enzo says Kevin is just a pawn.
POV
After the nomination ceremony, Kevin continues to whine in the DR but goes to talk to Enzo. Enzo tells him he’s just a pawn, and he’s sorry… (For what?! This is Big Brother. All Stars!)
Kaysar talks to Enzo (again), and Enzo says he’s not trying to ruffle feathers in nominating Kaysar. Kaysar says he may potentially want to work with Enzo, not knowing about the hundreds of alliances going on. Enzo yeses Kaysar to death, but in the DR says he’s still the target.
Ian tells Enzo if he plays and wins the veto, he’ll ask Enzo what he wants to happen. Clearly, Ian’s buddying up to Enzo as to not be a potential replacement nominee, unaware he’s already on Enzo’s radar. Enzo tells Cody putting Ian up would be a power move; he wants to either evict Kaysar or “a big person” in the house.
Memphis and Kaysar put on a show where they guess the current news headlines. Apparently they’re not even able to have paper and pens in the BB house? Huh. Who knew?
David and Kevin decide as outsiders they could help each other; David would potentially save Kevin if he wins the veto. The players are drawn: Enzo chooses Tyler (4th time in a row he’s been chosen!), Kaysar chooses Bayleigh, and Kevin chooses David with Houseguest Choice. Kaysar talks to Bayleigh, unaware of the hundreds of alliances going on; the conversation doesn’t go well for Kaysar, as expected.
Kevin, Tyler and Bayleigh get ready
Memphis hosts the Puppet Master POV competition, which is an endurance comp! The houseguests have to hold on for dear life as they are hoisted into the air on ropes, like marionettes.
After about 12 minutes, Kaysar is the first to fall, as the houseguests are pelted with colored goo over and over again. Enzo follows, then Tyler. Bayleigh seems solid… until she loses a rope and can’t recover. David and Kevin are holding on, and Kevin makes an impressive recovery after losing a rope. David falls, and Kevin wins the veto. Kevin cries in the DR again.
Kaysar says with Kevin’s win there’s a ray of hope for him, and he talks to Ian, who is now getting anxious about being the replacement. Enzo talks to Nicole and Cody, and Nicole nods and agrees with them about Ian being a threat, but in the DR says she doesn’t want Ian evicted. Cody mentions how it’s weird that no one mentions Nicole [as a threat – because she’s won Big Brother already too!].
To solidify their partnership and throw the house off their scent, Christmas offers to go up as a pawn for Enzo, but Enzo isn’t convinced. Dani tells Tyler, in front of Nicole, they (the Slick Six) need to ‘have a meeting’. Nicole isn’t in the Slick Six, so Tyler is confused… he explains what happened to Enzo, unaware Dani is close with Nicole and the hundreds of alliances going on. Tyler and Enzo discuss the replacement nominee – either Christmas as a pawn, Ian as a threat, or Dani as a back-door.
At the veto ceremony, Kevin takes himself off the block, and Enzo plays it safe and puts Christmas up for eviction.
Eviction
Kaysar appeals to Memphis, still unaware Memphis is working with half the house. Enzo and Cody discuss Dani, and Enzo says he’s done with her. Cody then tells Enzo about the Slick Six, and in the DR Enzo says doesn’t care; he says “he’s in 3 alliances too.” Everyone seemingly turns on Dani; Enzo, Cody, Tyler, Da’Vonne and Bayleigh all talk about Dani and how she’s playing all sides.
Kevin and Ian discuss the rest of the house, and Ian says Kaysar told him about the big alliance. Ian talks to Bayleigh about who’s running the house; Bay says Dani and Ian says Cody. Later, Ian tells Kevin that Kaysar has nothing to lose and can blow up the house to expose alliances. Ian talks to Kaysar and (correctly) guesses there are many, many alliances. Ian no longer trusts Nicole, and he and Kaysar discuss how everything is being run by Nicole and Cody. Kaysar says he considers blowing things up because it would be fun.
For their eviction speeches, Christmas gives a little poem, while Kaysar does indeed try to blow things up by exposing alliances. He says Cody and Nicole are running the game, Cody is in an alliance with Dani and Nicole, and Tyler, Enzo and David are in another alliance. In a unanimous vote, Kaysar is voted out, as expected.
Julie confirms some of Kaysar’s suspicions about the alliances, and lets him know Memphis was not his buddy; Kaysar is clearly shocked by the info. Kaysar tells Julie that he didn’t come back to play for the money, but he was trying to make a difference by discussing the pain and division going on.
You know, the usual weirdness
For the HOH comp, the houseguests have to face off, looking at pictures of the houseguests run through filters, and answer “More, Exactly or Less.” After a bunch of rounds, Da’Vonne faces Christmas in the final round. Da’Vonne rings in incorrectly and is eliminated, so Christmas goes from being on the block to being the new HOH!
Julie lets us know that the BB basement will be opening, an entire competition will be played in the dark and 3 new powers will be unleashed into the house.
Hopefully these new powers will stir things up a bit and flip things around because watching a huge alliance run things hasn’t made for an exciting season of Big Brother. With Kaysar and Janelle gone, the alliance has to turn on itself at some point – and these guys should be kicking themselves for not making big moves every single week. M
Lovecraft Country | HBO Max | Season 1 Episode 3: Holy Ghost
This week we start in church! Leti is watching her church service, remembering Ruby telling her to “fly.”
After the title card, there is another card that explains, well, this:
On “Day 1”, we cut to Leti dragging Ruby down a street on the North Side of Chicago. They talk about the money Ruby has given to Leti, and Leti asks her “what if she never had to pay rent again?” Leti stops in front of a huge Victorian house and tells her sister she bought it!
Ruby doesn’t believe her, but when they go in and see that it’s a major fixer-upper, Ruby understands. She asks Leti where she got the money for the house, and Leti sidesteps and says she’s going to open up a boarding house, a kind of safe haven. She says she wants to bond with Ruby, and Ruby says she’s taking the biggest room. The sisters laugh, but when Leti shows Ruby the elevator (!), she almost gets her head chopped off in the process. Spookyalready!
George’s wife, Hippolyta, is looking at one of George’s books, then as if in a trance, starts ripping out pages. Tic and his cousin Diana are in the kitchen cooking and setting the table for breakfast; Hippolyta joins them, clearly adjusting to life without George. Tic has been staying with his family for weeks, but says he won’t be staying anymore because he has things he needs to take care of.
Tic goes home, where Montrose is drunk and passed out on the floor, muttering. Tic throws water in his face and asks his father if he can stay with him for a few nights. He agrees, and they discuss the past few weeks. They told Hippolyta that the sheriff shot George; they had a funeral and she saw George’s body. Tic wants to explain what really happened, but Montrose says there’s no point and gets angry when Tic brings up what his uncle would do if he was still there.
Leti has a ton of people in the new house, moving in, renovating, and carrying in furniture. Tic comes over and tells Leti he’s going back to Florida, since his aunt and cousin are doing okay. Leti tells him she has a spare room and he should stay for the housewarming party; Tic says he told his boss he’d only be gone for a few days – over a month ago. Some neighborhood racists show up, bricks tied to (and leaning on) their car horns in front of the house, while white cops drive by and watch. Tic decides to stay a little longer…
On “Day 5”, while the white neighbors are putting up signs to try to get Leti and company to leave, Leti is asleep in her bed. Her blanket is being taken off of her, and a ghastly woman with a bloody mouth watches her… Leti wakes (and jumps) up but the room is empty. She opens her very wet window and the car horns are still blaring. In the basement, the furnace is going at full blast so Leti uses a wrench to shut it down. She hears a banging sound and voices and goes to investigate, stepping over a bear trap; through some huge cobwebs she finds a trap door in the floor, which someone is trying to bust through… Tic and Leti open the door and go down into the room, but it’s empty. Tic says the room would make a good dark room; he tells Leti he’ll put reinforcements on the windows and keep watch, and Leti is grateful.
Hippolyta is intrigued…
On “Day 8”, Leti has her housewarming party. Hippolyta and Diana come too, and Diana and her friends use a Ouija board in the basement. #BadIdea. They ask the board who they’re talking too, and it spells out “George is dead.” Hippolyta goes looking for Diana, but a room’s door opens behind her. Inside there’s an apparatus, and she goes to touch it…
Ruby is singing at the party as Tic arrives, in his army uniform. He watches Leti dance with a man, while another asks him what her situation is. He continues watching and gets increasingly jealous. Leti goes into the bathroom (and neglects to see a ghost in the shower!). Tic comes in and the two quickly have sex. Tic reaches down and sees blood on his hands and Leti apologizes for not realizing she “started her monthly.” Tic says it’s no big deal and Leti says she’ll see him downstairs; he leaves, and Leti cries.
Back at the party, Ruby is playing poker with some guys when she sees a burning cross out on the lawn. Leti grabs a baseball bat and some men get shotguns. Leti breaks the cars’ windows and headlights and hits the bricks off the horns so they stop. Ruby quickly pulls up in a car, and the people throw the bats and guns in the trunk as she speeds away. The cops come and arrest Leti; she is put in the back of a paddy wagon with a cop named Lancaster. He berates her, and the cops driving swerve the car so she gets thrown around the back. Lancaster asks her how she was able to buy the house, and tells her they found the bodies of 8 black people in the basement; he says she won’t last if she stays there. Such a charmer!
Leti has had it
Leti comes back to the house, and in her new dark room, she turns on the red light to find her pictures have been marked up. When she arranges the pictures to line up the markings, it is a face. The face becomes real before her, and yells at her to get out of his house! A freaked out Leti goes looking through pictures, and while Ruby tells her people are moving out and they won’t be able to afford the house payment, Leti tells her she still has money from their mother. Leti says she got a call about an inheritance, and Ruby is incredulous, since their mother had no money, and Leti didn’t even go to her funeral. Leti and Ruby argue and Ruby calls her selfish.
Montrose goes to see Hippolyta; he sees she bought a book – George’s favorite – and Hippolyta lies and says she ‘spilled coffee’ on George’s copy. She tells Montrose that something isn’t right about the story of George’s death.
On “Day 10”, Leti is researching her new house; she tells Tic it’s haunted. It’s called The Winthrop House, and Leti says the realtor JJ (aka Jerome Jackson), was shady. It turns out the former owner was a scientist who was fired from his job for unethical practices. She tells Tic about the 8 bodies and how she thinks the doctor was experimenting on humans and Lancaster was supplying him with test subjects; now she says their souls are trapped in the house. She also lets Tic know when they had sex it was her first time. She says she died and it ‘feels like something’s missing’ from her since she came back.
Cut to Tic, Leti and a lady with a goat walking up to Leti’s house. The woman slits the goat’s throat (!) and collects its blood. The medium puts red blood X’s on all their foreheads, and they go down to the dark room. She does a ritual as 3 white male neighbors break into the house with baseball bats. Two go into one of the rooms and see a ghost of a basketball player with a head of a baby. They back up into a radiator bursting with steam… as another man opens the door to the elevator. He sticks his head in, and the car comes crashing down, cutting his head off, grossly. There seems to be a ghost in the car as it comes back to the floor. In the basement, after things stop swirling around the trio, a pipe bursts, and the water wipes the blood from their heads. The medium is possessed and attacks Leti and Tic; Leti calls out the victims’ names for help and as Tic subdues the medium, he is possessed. Leti sees the victims’ ghosts converge in the room and all together they chant, exposing the astrophysicist’s spirit and expelling it from the house.
Afterwards, people move back into the house, and the elevator is working again. Leti and a reporter use it, and the reporter asks her if she’s heard about the disappearance of 3 of her white neighbors. Leti says she didn’t know anyone went missing, and they get off the elevator… which closes by itself and goes down several levels to a hidden tunnel where the bodies of the 3 men are, along with the remains of the doctor’s 8 victims.
In town, Tic watches as a car pulls up in front of the office of Jerome Jackson; a white woman gets out and goes in, and he follows. Tic sees none other than Christina Braithwhite (!) talking to the realtor in an otherwise empty office. Jerome leaves and Tic says Leti’s inheritance came from Christina, not Leti’s mother. Tic says he recognized the name Winthrop – as in The Winthrop House – which was carved into the frame of Samuel Braithwhite’s favorite painting. Christina says Horatio Winthrop was a founding member of the Sons of Adam but was banished when he stole pages of a book needed to decipher ‘the language of Adam’ to read the Book of Names. Horatio didn’t want Titus Braithwhite to be the only one who could read the language.
Christina begins explaining things to Tic
Tic pulls a gun on Christina, but is not able to pull the trigger. She continues her ‘lesson’; she says her father created an invulnerability spell for himself but had to remove it when he tried to open his portal. She says that every spell created by the Sons has come from 1 deciphered chapter of the Book of Names, orally passed down; the book is now gone and Titus locked his pages in a booby trapped vault only he could access. Christina says if Horatio Winthrop’s stolen pages could be found, they could decode the language in its entirety. She tells Tic he needs to be smarter, because he obviously can’t go around killing white women…
So another episode with lots to unpack! This one was creepy all the way through, and brought the scary many times. In the preview for next week, we see a very much alive (?) William, and Tic, Montrose and Leti going exploring. Looks like the Braithwhites will be sticking around, but what about dear departed uncle George?! M
Below Deck Mediterranean | Bravo | Season 5 Episode 14: Whole New Ballgame
Aesha Scott is back, so The Wellington has a new second stew, and it’s off to Ibiza! Sandy introduces Aesha to everyone, and in a confessional Aesha says she knows Hannah’s not there anymore but no one wants to discuss the situation. Probably better that way! Aesha has such a sunny attitude (about everything), and hugs everyone on the crew; she’s also excited that her first charter will be with the Damons.
Bugsy tells Aesha she loves her attitude then fills her in on what’s been going on. Aesha says she and Hannah are close so she’s heard about Bugsy, but she’ll make her own assessment. I forgot that Aesha and Jack were last season’s Rob and Jess! Aesha reports they’re not still together. #NotShocking.
After a tight squeeze into the dock (with a huge audience of people, by the way), Sandy tells Malia she did a great job; Tom says the same in their cabin. Malia, no matter what else, is extremely good at her job.
Johnny and Michelle Damon, along with their guests, arrive and Sandy ominously tells them they want to “make it up to them [especially] in the food department.” Be careful what you promise, there, Cap!
Adena, a drunk guest, falls over with her glass and gets cut; Malia comes over and gives her a Band Aid. Crisis averted! Apparently she does this kind of thing – the Damons tell Aesha that she broke some of their wedding wine glasses! Aesha also mentions Adena was on a charter last season, too, but with the Queen of Versailles. She apparently really likes the Med, and alcohol!
Bugsy says Aesha is already doing great and things are just working. Be careful what you say, there, Chief!
Tom says he ‘has to be perfect’, so… no pressure. His first meal goes really well, and the guests say the food is already better than last season, right off the bat. Tom says he knows nothing about baseball, but creates a baseball theme (complete with a baseball dessert), and the guests enjoy everything. Tom, no matter what else, is extremely good at his job (so far!).
In a confessional Rob says his ex-girlfriend reached out to him, and he doesn’t know how to tell Jess. He eventually tells Jess about it, and she says she doesn’t care. Later, Jess and Rob text and he asks her not to make “[the situation] about herself.” Alex tells Jess she should see both sides and try to be understanding; Jess doesn’t want to hear it, and says Rob should “block the bitch.” Logical, I guess? Jess tells Rob “Demon Jess” can emerge every so often, and in a confessional admits that she “destroyed [an ex’s] new house.” Something tells me she’s not speaking metaphorically; I can imagine Jess ramming a car into this dude’s living room.
Bugsy throws a funky neon dinner party, complete with colored tutus for the stews. Some of the guests wear neon, others put face paint on, and I really have no idea what this was supposed to be, honestly. Johnny tells Sandy his food wasn’t piping hot, and Sandy runs to Tom to make sure Johnny’s food is like magma. In the madness of trying to keep the food at volcano-levels of heat, Bugsy drops a cloche that was covering a plate to keep it like the surface of the sun. She, Malia and Sandy are all running around and Bugsy says “Tom will freak” if she brings it back, and in a confessional, Tom says he’ll freak if it comes back. Malia runs to tell Tom that Bugsy dropped a plate, and he goes into action to prepare another. The guests enjoy dinner, and Sandy says Tom recovered nicely.
The guests, Pete (remember him?) and Aesha go to an end of season party ashore, which Aesha describes as a “weird drunken circus.” She’s not wrong! In the meantime, Sandy tells the crew to play with the water toys while the guests are away, and they happily do. After jet-skiing, Jess says her heart’s beating really fast, and she sits on the swim platform to rest; Malia tends to her and calls Captain Sandy as the episode ends (she’s in the preview for the next episode, so I’m guessing she’s just fine).
Stray Thoughts
Jess, for some reason, is salty about not being promoted to second stew. Maybe it’s because she lets laundry pile up, hooks up with Rob all day and complains when people ask her to work?
The guests use the water toys, but are terrified of the 1 (?) jellyfish swimming somewhere (?) near the boat. No one gets stung, obviously. Nice try, editors.
Jess begrudgingly admits things have been easier since Bugsy took over as chief stew. Imagine!
On a jet-ski, Alex tells Bugsy he’s just happy she’s there. Aren’t we all?! M
The house is firmly against Janelle and Kaysar, and yet another new alliance, “The Slick Six” is formed; they are: Tyler, Enzo, Dani, Da’Vonne, Bayleigh, and Cody.
For the Have-Not transfer, Enzo and Cody volunteer to be have-nots; Christmas chooses Bayleigh and Nicole chooses Janelle (with a snide comment, much to everyone’s shock!).
Janelle and Kaysar ask Memphis if he wins Safety Suite he will save one of them, and he says he will… in the DR though he says he’s not trying to win, as to no anger his alliance.
Tyler tells his alliance he’s thinking Kaysar and Janelle; Dani and Cody agree. Da’Vonne asks her alliance members to give her the safety plus 1 if they win, getting them paranoid; she says she just wants the punishment, since she’s never had one.
In the last Safety Suite comp, the houseguests competing (Nicole, Memphis, Enzo, and Dani) had to get from one end of the room to the other while dodging “lasers” in order to “steal” a safety orb (giant ball). They then had to get back to the start with the ball, while dodging all the lasers. If they touched a laser, they’d have to start again.
Enzo wins with a very speedy 4 minutes, 41 seconds, and gives his plus 1 to Christmas; in the DR he says he’s trying to reel her in as an ally. Da’Vonne looks unhappy about not being chosen for the plus 1, which annoys Tyler, because he says she doesn’t trust him.
In the DR, Janelle says she knows Memphis threw the competition (he did), and that he’s the type of player who doesn’t want to make any moves. Janelle and Kaysar separately make their cases to Tyler, but ultimately he nominates them both for eviction.
Power of Veto
Tyler, Janelle and Kaysar pick Cody, Bayleigh and Memphis, respectively, to compete. Long story short, Kaysar and Janelle are eliminated in round 1, and Cody ultimately wins. In the DR, everyone thinks Memphis threw the competition (he didn’t).
Christmas and her ‘babies’
Christmas’ punishment for being Enzo’s plus 1 is having to take care of a ‘baby’ plush toy for the week; this annoying cute plushy whines and cries and Christmas has to tend to it. The announcer lets Christmas know that another ‘baby’ is born, and another, and another, and ultimately Christmas has to care for 9 (!) crying plush toys. They joke that Enzo is the father, and Bayleigh jokes the Meow Meow needs to be spayed an neutered!
Janelle makes a case to Cody and says if she uses the veto she’ll vote with him for the next 2 weeks; she wants to take out floaters. In the DR, Cody ‘considers’ it, but he’s been gunning for Janelle since day 1.
In the least shocking move all season, Cody doesn’t use the veto, and the nominations stay the same.
Eviction
In the DR Tyler says he’s re-thinking his moves because he’s getting rid of big targets and moving himself up the list. The Slick Six meets to decide who to evict; Bayleigh brings up the fact that if Janelle is evicted, this will be the third week a woman goes home.
Da’Vonne says she wants Janelle to stay because she’s in an alliance with a bunch of guys, and Janelle can take them out down the line. She tells Janelle to talk to Kevin to see if she can get his vote. Janelle tells Bayleigh she has some votes, and it might all boil down to Cody’s vote to keep her. Janelle talks to Cody and offers her wedding ring as “collateral”. Janelle is playing this game!
David thinks Da’Vonne tried to get him out of the house; David tells Da’Vonne that Tyler and Cody told him there was attempt to flip the votes from Nicole A (#RookieMistake). He then basically tells Tyler he’s in an alliance with Da’Vonne and Bayleigh. Tyler tells Cody what happened and they say they’re done with David.
In her nominee speech, Janelle says they’re the coolest bunch of people she’s played Big Brother with; Kaysar basically says he just wants to keep playing the game.
Dani surprisingly votes for Kaysar, which flusters Julie! Ultimately only Dani and Enzo vote to evict Kaysar, and Janelle becomes the third person evicted from the house.
In the exit interview, Julie spills the beans about the votes and the alliances; she tells Janelle that Memphis had a hand in her eviction, and that basically trusting Memphis was her mistake!
At the HOH competition, Julie lets the houseguests know the Safety Suite twist is done. By random draw Nicole, Da’Vonne, David, Ian, Enzo and David are chosen to compete first. They must roll 3 balls up a ramp and sink the balls in the holes at the top… HOH TBD!
So Janelle is officially out of the game, but you can’t say she didn’t try her best to stay! I understand why the rest of the house wanted to get her out, but it does sting that it’s only week 3. Janelle is such a strong player – physically, mentally, and socially – and it was so fun watching her play the game, even if only for 3 weeks. Can’t wait until she can come back in season 30 for All Stars 3! M
Below Deck Mediterranean | Bravo | Season 5 Episode 13: Welcome Back
Previously on Below Deck Med, Hannah got fired! That’s really all we need to know, right?
Picking up where we actually left off, Bugsy throws out some potatoes and Tom goes a little nuts. He’s very frustrated, cursing up a storm, as he prepares the rest of dinner, and of course, the cake that was thrust upon him. At least the guests seem to like the rest of the meal? Sandy finally seems happy with her chef, at least. Tom makes the cake, but complains about ‘being a circus monkey’ when they go sing happy birthday to one of the charter guests.
Rob and Jess talk about Bali, and they’re getting a little sickening. #NotJealous.
After dinner, Tom calms down and Malia tells him he was amazing, for having just been thrown into this situation. It’s true; he really did smash it with that cake, and things can only get better from here once he’s got a rhythm going…
The next day, Bugsy says she’s got a lot to handle with only a staff of one; Tom kills breakfast and the guests are really happy. Bugsy and Tom discuss the guests’ beach lunch. I personally hate eating outside and beaches, so this is my worst nightmare, and I can’t imagine how annoying it is to set things up – even after watching so many season of Below Deck.
Bugsy, Alex and Pete go setup the beach lunch; after a shrimp cocktail mishap, the crew gets Tom’s delicious-looking food over to the beach. The guests again seem happy. Some guests go back to the yacht, while others pose naked and take pictures on the rocks. Is this a normal thing to do? When in Spain, I guess.
Alex and Bugsy continue flirting, and they’re getting a little sickening. #StillNotJealous.
Malia’s having issues with the deck crew; they don’t seem to be listening to her and she’s getting fed up. She already seems to be spending a lot of time in the galley with Tom, trying to keep him from melting down. She calls the deck crew fu**ers because they didn’t listen to her; in the crew mess, Rob asks Malia why she’s angry with him, and tells her he’s upset she called him that name. Sandy is sitting there for this, and gives her 2 cents (insubordination isn’t cool); Rob moves on, but complains to Jess.
After a belly dancer performance, some guests are unhappy with their dinner; they say the chicken is pink and under cooked. Bugsy returns the chicken (which Tom says is fully cooked – it sure looks like it!), and Tom cooks it some more. Alex, at Bugsy’s request, joins the belly dancer for round 2; he gets shirtless and Bugsy drapes some fabric around him. He dances with the belly dancer to put on a show for the guests, and they seem to appreciate it.
The charter guests notice the interior crew seems to be down a person, and the crew does seemed to be stretched to its absolute limit. Right on cue, Sandy complains to Jess that laundry is piled up, and tells Bugsy “it should never be” like this. Not sure what she expects when the whole crew is helping run food and clean cabins, but okay!
On the last day of charter, Bugsy has never heard of huevos rancheros – the absolute best breakfast, anywhere, really – and mispronounces it a bunch of times (love those cheeky editors with their subtitles!). As the guests leave, they seem to be really happy with everything. They leave the crew $20,500 and Sandy seems happy with the team. She lets them know they are getting a second stew for the next charter, which will be in Ibiza (and the charter guest is a returning Johnny Damon)!
Jess gets her finger splint taken off, and while she’s off the boat the crew discusses Rob wanting to surprise her with the fact he’s changed his plans (and flight to Jess’ flight) to join her in Bali. Busgy comes up with an elaborate set of notes to lead Jess around the boat to end up on deck, where Rob is waiting.
After 5 (!) notes, Jess finally finds Rob and this is all now very sickening. #NotAtAllJealous.
Five hours before the next charter, the new second stew arrives, and it’s Aesha Scott from season 4! Now that they have a full crew, what could possibly go wrong?! From the preview of next week, lots!
Stray Thoughts
Jess complains that whenever she and Rob are together they get interrupted. It’s almost like they’re not getting paid to hook up… weird!
Having Tom on the boat is definitely pulling Malia’s focus; she seems extra annoyed at everything. Rob did the right thing confronting her about her management style – if my boss called me that I’d be upset and want to discuss it, too – but ultimately she can’t manage her team and help Tom for every meal.
I liked Aesha last season and think she’ll bring a great energy to the interior team. Bugsy is hyper and Jess is the polar opposite of hyper, so if Aesha can take some work from both of them, they’ll hopefully calm down a bit. M
mikexmachina 