And the Winner Is ..

Color me surprised that the final segment of the HOH competition went to a tie-breaker!

Frankly, I was sure that Hayden would blow Lane out of the water during this comp, and was kind of surprised that he did not. I also think that the tie-breaker question was ridiculously stupid and lacked imagination on the part of the producers and the show's creative team. Keep the questions coming until one of them misses.

Was it really that hard to come up with question ideas for the jury? How about asking Britney what was more annoying: the pranks of the saboteur or Brendon falling for Rachel? Or, Ragan's second round could have been his most disappointing moment in the house: his eviction or Matt throwing him under the bus?

Come on, time to switch things up and make the show interesting again.

It was no surprise that Hayden chose to face Lane in the final two, but it was a bit surprising to learn that the jury was fairly evenly split. To be honest, though, Brendon's rationale about the social game kind of smacked of sour grapes. Maybe he was still bitter that Hayden had a hand in evicting him.

In the Hands of the Jury ...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The jury house once again stole the show as Britney made her entrance wearing her "Bra-Gade" shirt. I mentally noted the spelling and wondered if Enzo truly meant his "history-making alliance" to have a meaningless misspelled name. Brigade, now that I understand, Bragade, not so much.

Poor Ragan was shocked again that Matt lied to him about the "boy alliance." Heads-up Ragan, Matt took lying to an art form in the BB house, complete with his gender re-identification for his "showmance." Why do you think he would have told you about the Brigade?

During the jury discussion, Britney lectured the rest of the house guests about why each one deserved the vote. It really seemed like her opinion was the only opinion that counted, and maybe it was because she considered herself the "uber fan" and BB goddess.

But really, two others made a lot of sense. First, Rachel was right that the Brigade did not control the entire game. Hayden was manipulated to put Annie up first week and keep Rachel, which was a dumb game move. Annie was essentially a non-player at that point. Rachel's HOH ended with the nomination of Monet and Matt but it was hardly a game changing move to save Matt that week when no one really cared whether Monet stayed or left. And so on ...

The second person who made sense during the deliberation was Ragan. Yes, the game is a social one, but one must also consider the competitive skills as well. To base a vote purely on the social game is ludicrous!

Enzo's Strategy!

But back to the house, where Enzo intended to "brainwash" his alliance members into taking him to the finals. It was a given that Lane would take Enzo to the final two, but Hayden was less pliable. Enzo did have a great social game but his competitive skills were lacking. Still, his ability to talk would be an asset in the final two.

The problem with Enzo is that he relied on his alliance to win. Time and again, he was first one out. His fate was definitely in his own hands during the final HOH, and he should have clung to that rope like a monkey. Instead, he dropped after only 19 minutes. Competitions were his achilles heel, or was it his strategy? Did he hope to get to the end of the game and say, "Yo, none of yous are there cuz I put you out. I loved you all and by the way, I started this alliance day two. Day two. Amazing"?

Jury Question Turn into a Formality!

The jurors questions were lame, and I think they need to return to the old format that was blocked from viewers and did not include canned questions. Lane's answers lacked any defining quality and in the end, no one, not even Lane, knew for sure what he had said.

Hayden did a pretty good job campaigning in the end, but he had a bit of a problem with his math. He did not win three back-to-back HOH comps, but only two as the final HOH included three separate parts, but is only credited as a single win. Altogether, Hayden won four HOH comps and a pov, and conveniently avoided crediting Lane with his part 2 win. If he's going to count his as two separate HOH wins, he should have at least credited Lane with his win.

Sour Grapes for the Jury!

Little surprise that the jury had a bit of bitterness. I would guess it's not a pleasant task to award a half-million dollars to someone whose game you might not have respected. Matt, however, was surprising laid back and seemed as if he had gotten his meds and was feeling no pain! He was casual and funny, and even managed to put Hayden on the spot a bit about his loyalty.

In contrast, Monet came across as brittle and unbending. What's up with that? Did she really think her game would allow her to make it to the end? She should be happy she won $10,000 for her two week stint! I thought it a bit tacky to include her Rachel comments in her flashback. Not a fan of Rachel, but imagine seeing those clips of Monet bashing her and calling her a skank during the finale. Then, the followup by Julie made me embarrassed for Rachel, and feel a little sorry for her. "I don't think I'm a skank. ..."

Another embarrassing moment was during Kristen's segment. The jury was shocked at Kristen and Hayden's relationship, and it seemed like even Hayden squirmed a bit. Julie followed up with a question about Kristen's bf before the show, and Kristen basically regressed into "Dating Game" mode to sell herself to a seemingly under-impressed Hayden who said he might take her out to pizza.

It's understandable on Hayden's part that he might be a bit leary of a relationship that escalated in four weeks. He might also have been forward thinking enough to consider the implications of being too enthusiastic in the face of what he considered a certain win.

The saboteur had to be mentioned of course, and of course, they had to replay Ragan's one and only in-house task. I can imagine what Rachel must have thought since she only took home $5,000!

But the stunner of the night was Britney who shook her head in disgust at Rachel's declaration about moving to LA to be close to Brendon. Britney labors under the delusion that her opinion is the only one that counts, and it's time she realizes that, while Brendon and Rachel may not be her cup of tea, her opinion doesn't count. I liked Britney better before she became so full of herself.

Hayden Wins By a Hair!

Counting the votes provided just a bit of tension as it came down to a three-three tie, and Enzo casting the deciding vote. Fitting perhaps, that Enzo cast the vote and based his decision on who needed a haircut and who needed a shave. Congratulations, Hayden! Who knew your hair would be the deciding factor?