Bring On the Jury!

The best part of the recent "Big Brother" live shows is not the live evictions or the competitions, it's the jury house!

Arts and Crafts, Pajamas and Competitors!

The jury house segment opens with Brendon, Rachel, Kathy and Matt painting. Painting? Yes, the four are doing some sort of arts and crafts project. Now obviously, the camera crew was on hand, and they must have know they were filming for the show, but Matt is sitting in his pajamas. Really, his pajamas? Is he that depressed?

The four discuss who might be entering the house next and think it will be one of the competitors left in the house. For reasons, I can't fathom, Kathy immediately deduces that Ragan will be next if they are going after competitors. Ragan, a competitor, really?

Moments later, Ragan enters the house with his exclamation that another showmance has entered the house. Showmance? Really? Okay, so the jury house lacks some sense of reality but it is fun to watch the interaction of these former players.

First up on the agenda, the DVD which Ragan introduces with a flourish. The jury members take some satisfaction in the fact that Ragan's CD bounces off OTEV and hits Enzo in the head. During the eviction section, Ragan announces how difficult it is to watch. Pretty typical stuff.

The Lie or the Truth ...

Until ... Matt asks for a word alone with Ragan. The other house guests caution Ragan to bring his drink and then proceed to spy on the pair who have moved to the patio. Cutting directly to the chase, Matt informs Ragan of his lie about his wife's illness. Now, you would think that Matt would be smart enough to have learned from his previous exposure of his lie that he needs to proceed more delicately.

Ragan digests the information and then asks to be left alone. It's hard to say why the reaction of the jury members has been so bitter. Maybe it's because he's openly admitting to a lie when everyone else is still covering their tracks. Maybe it's Matt's approach to revealing his lie? Maybe it's the fact that Matt involved his wife in a ploy to gain sympathy. I understand Kathy's reaction because she's recovering from breast cancer albeit she continues to smoke but whatever. I also understand Ragan's reaction because he felt he was Matt's bff. But I still don't understand why Brendon and Rachel are so bent.

The only possible explanation is that Rachel just enjoys the fact that she can be upset with Matt for something other than her eviction. As for Brendon, his explanation that he's going into the medical field is lame. He's likely just siding with Rachel.

The problem I have with Matt's lie is that it was totally unnecessary. If he wanted to make up a story, he could have done so with his own life but he effectively set himself up to take the title of "Most Hated Player of BB12".

But back to Ragan, who has been joined by the other members of the jury, and Matt. Ragan decides to reveal his lie that he is actually a communication professor. Within minutes, the conversation descends into an another Rachel/Ragan confrontation. Ragan accuses Rachel of being at the heart of every argument in the house which is only partially true. That, of course, causes Rachel to react. Since he's a communication professor, I can't help but wonder why Ragan insists on pushing Rachel's buttons. Best line of the night belongs to Ragan when he calmly tells Rachel that the two of them do not share a common reality!

All this being said, Matt's lie has got me thinking about whether or not he really wanted to reveal it or if he bowed to pressure from the producers to expose it. My feelings are that Matt likely was pressured to reveal it because he does not seem like the kind of guy who is too interested in his fellow house guests getting to know the "real Matt." Of course, it was bound to create some drama for the weekly shows which is a commodity seriously lacking this season.

Personally, I would rather have a choice of watching the live feeds in the house or in the jury house. As the numbers in the house dwindle, the jury house has got to be a more exciting place, and feed viewers should be given the option.

Whatever Happened to Real Endurance?

The recap of the first round of the HOH lacked the drama that usually accompanies this round of the competition. After a mere 19 minutes of swinging back and forth, Enzo is the first out. Shocked? Not really. He's hardly shown any competitive skills. Maybe it was surprising that he lasted 19 minutes?

Probably the most significant thing to come out of this competition was the fact that none of the Brigade trusts each other. Hayden looks at Lane. Lane looks at Hayden, and both decide that neither can be trusted.

As they ride back and forth under the cold water, Hayden and Lane begin to wonder where Enzo has disappeared. Turns out, Enzo is in the kitchen making soup and pizza because he "deserves it." Deserves it? Ummm .... okay. Enzo then proceeds outside to eat in front of his freezing alliance members. Great move if you are hoping to make it to the final two.

Lane's leg is numb but he's a football player who can block out pain. He says something stupid about his testicles during his diary room but assures that he's going to push through the pain. Meanwhile, my money's on Hayden, who is a football player himself, but has shown more intestinal fortitude than his Brigade partner.

Finally, after a little more than two hours, Lane drops leaving Hayden the winner of round one. Hayden calls it luck but in truth, he showed more personal strength than either Lane or Enzo. Lane, for his part, recognizes that falling off after two hours is really no different than falling off after 19 minutes.

Morph as HOH Comp?

The second part of the HOH competition features a morph competition which has traditionally been a veto comp. The unfortunate thing about this comp is that it was so easy most of the portraits were identifiable as soon as they were revealed. Lane, though, had the best strategy as he revealed all the portraits at the start of the competition. He correctly identified all five morphs in just 1:13. Enzo took the stage and spent a lot of time talking to himself managing to guess all five correct but in a longer amount of time.

Tuesday's show will include the face-off between Hayden and Lane, the final eviction, and the jury questions. Once again, the finale will be a two hour show which is an improvement over the one hour finales which always seemed rushed. In addition to the winner, the $25,000 prize is up for grabs. My vote is a little up in the air, but I think Brendon might be the deserving player this year.