What a difference a week makes. Johnny Mac was evicted on Big Brother 17 when Austin nominated him and Steve while choosing to align with Meg and James. But this week, Vanessa is in charge and decides to do the opposite.

There’s also the returning juror in a competition that lasts about as long as a Vine video. And since it’s Johnny Mac who comes back, it’s kind of like last week never happened. Sorry, Austin. Actually, I’m not.

The HoH Competition

The Dizzyland competition that essentially ended during the live show on Thursday is shown. By the time the episode ended, three people had already fallen off and the others were in bad shape. They must keep one foot on the disk at all times and they all talk about how hard it is.

Julia falls first, followed by Meg, Steve, James and Liz. It’s immediately down to Vanessa and the four jurors. Then Jackie, Becky and Shelli all go down in a row. Just like that, Johnny Mac is back in the game. It’s down to him and Vanessa, and the AusTwins are all freaking out over John coming after them.

Vanessa promises John safety and says she just wants a letter from her girlfriend Mel. Come on, you’ve already gotten a letter from her. John wants to fight to take care of business, meaning Austin, but Vanessa doesn’t relent. Johnny Mac eventually slips off, but he doesn’t care. He knows he’s safe because Vanessa made a deal with him before the eviction to work together if he comes back.

Vanessa is the new HoH! Honestly, I think this competition lasted longer on TV than it did in real life. She claims that she’s going to redraw the lines and everything is on the table. That’s a total lie.

Johnny Mac Is Back

Austin and the twins are furious that John is back because they know he’s coming after them. Liz claims that John has vengeance against them for “no reason.” Nominating him and evicting him seem like good enough reasons to me. They go on and on about how much they HATE him and how they need Vanessa to take him out.

Steve, however, is happy John is back, but worried because people know they’re working together. They both trust Vanessa now and decide to be distant. John and Vanessa agree to keep feuding because he didn’t accept her deal, but they’re solidly working together. Vanessa knows that she needs Steve and John as a side alliance to protect her since she’s the fourth wheel with the AusTwins.

This is why Vanessa is better than the AusTwins. They made alliances with everyone. She makes alliances with everyone EXCEPT two people, giving her people to nominate without betraying anyone. Meanwhile, James and Meg hope Vanessa will finally turn against the AusTwins. Keep dreaming, fools.

The Filler

We get a lot of filler in this episode. Everyone treating Meg like a grandma, weak, frail and forgetful. It’s funny because half the house is older than her.

Then we see Vanessa getting her HoH room, which we thankfully glossed over in recent weeks. She gets photos and a letter from her girlfriend Mel and she cries a lot. James is just mad there aren’t any new pictures of Vanessa’s hot mom.

Finally, there’s some nonsense about Austin asking Liz to be his girlfriend outside of the house. I didn’t hear her answer because the sound of my gagging was too loud. My hearing came back just in time to hear Liz say he’d better break up with his other girlfriend when the show is over, followed by a “meow” to indicate her cattiness.

The Target on James and Meg

Vanessa sells the AusTwins on the fact that John and Steve are a layer of protection for them. She knows the AusTwins are close to James and Meg, but she isn’t. Before John’s eviction, James and Meg talked to Vanessa about maybe evicting Steve because they shouldn’t just do what the AusTwins want.

Vanessa uses that as ammo to turn the AusTwins against James and Mefg and it works immediately. God, Liz is so freaking stupid. Vanessa tells her one thing and suddenly she “one million percent” doesn’t trust James and Meg anymore. Also, we don’t get to see how Vanessa planned on baiting James and Meg as a “trust exercise.” This was entrapment, pure and simple.

Then Vanessa entraps James and Meg some more by asking for information to help her make the right decision. She claims in the diary room that she wants dirt on Austin to turn on him, but they don’t give her anything. If they did, it wouldn’t have mattered and we know it. They are reticent to say anything because Meg knows that everything they say to her will be used against them.

James offers to be the pawn if Vanessa needs to put one of them up against Johnny Mac, but Meg then steps up to volunteer as tribute as well. This worries Vanessa because they’re so close that they will sacrifice themselves for each other. Ugh, she thought it was romantic when Clay did it and has no problem with Austin saying the same crap about him and Liz. James even says he’d be OK with nominating Austin and the twins, which will come back to bite him, obviously.

Later, James remembers that when he was HoH, Vanessa made a deal with him not to nominate him and one other person of his choosing prior if she won HoH prior to Top 7. However, he doesn’t want to bring it up because it might make her think they don’t trust her.

The Nominations

Vanessa nominates Meg and James. They were both blindsided, thinking they were good with her and only one of them might go up as a pawn. Her speech is about how this isn’t personal, it’s a game move like chess. She refers to James as the king and Meg as his queen.

Meg is shocked because her game is falling apart again. Austin thinks they got what they deserve (says the guy who has NEVER been nominated). James has a surprisingly good attitude about it.

Who Won the Power of Veto?>>

(Image courtesy of CBS)

John Kubicek

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire DiariesSupernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.