Big Brother 3, July 27: The Reign of Roddy

And so we begin the Reign of Roddy. But not before we hear a bit more about Tonya leaving. Chiara, in particular, is hit hard - to the point of tears. Amy, however, is tickled pink (remember the blow-up they had earlier in the week). Marcellas says Tonya made a couple mistakes that showed just who she was. Danielle tells Chiara that, as a mother, she could not respect what Tonya stood for, and the attack on Amy was the last straw. Chiara is most upset because Tonya shouldn't have been up to begin with - she was put up as the pawn to help rid the house of Josh.

Speaking of Josh, he thought all the women would stick together and is shocked that they didn't. But at the same time, he tries to lay a guilt trip on Chiara. Then he turns around and says that clearly the women (Lisa and Chiara) cannot be trusted. That makes it even, since most people don't really trust Josh, either. Despite this lack of trust, Marcellas says that while he would have preferred saying goodbye to Josh, they have an uneasy peace. Danielle is just happy that two are down with eight more to go - it's all about the money for her.

Moving on to Roddy, he says it's a freebie week for him, and he has a good feeling for who he wants out, who he's not afraid to offend, and who he needs to solidify. Eric is ecstatic because Roddy is his number one ally. Chiara is similarly overjoyed. Amy, not so much - for the same reason; Chiara hates her and so Amy hopes that Chiara doesn't influence Roddy. Yeah, right. Marcellas similarly expects Chiara to make the choices, and is afraid that she will seek revenge upon him for the eviction of Tonya.

Chiara appears to want Roddy not to nominate Gerry. Why? The reason isn't obvious immediately, but I suspect it's because she felt Gerry would too easily be evicted, and that's not who her main target is. Roddy just says the bloodbath is gonna start and that while there may be some emotional pain, there is a fine line between the game and personal feelings.

Early on, Roddy invites Gerry into the Head of Household (HoH) room for a little chat. Marcellas says he won't be like Gerry, the "prison bitch" who tries to lobby his way out of nomination. But it's Roddy making the overture here, telling Gerry that if he keeps him off the nomination, he wants something in return. Specifically, he wants Gerry to agree to the same should he become HoH. Gerry (of course) agrees to this, and it reminds me of some similar negotiating tactics from last year, where people made "deals" with others they never intended to nominate. Roddy is doing exactly that - he doesn't want to let somebody off the hook for nothing - he wants them to reciprocate. Frankly, it's a good plan, as long as the other person actually sticks to it.

If anyone is really doing lobbying, it isn't Gerry - it's Josh. Roddy says the guy just won't shut up and is overly paranoid. Yes, we know. We know. Anyway, Roddy says what he has up his sleeve must stay up his sleeve because people are defecting from alliances all over the place. He is playing for the last week of the game. Smart. Very smart. I definitely think Roddy currently has the best handle on the game at this point.

In between all of the politicking, we see a snippet of Danielle putting the others through her ab class, with Gerry playing along in the pool. Danielle finds it amusing to see him doing laps in the tiny pool, while Josh says it's the most ridiculous thing. Still, Eric points out that Gerry has definitely lost weight, so good for him.

Back to the personalities - well, Roddy's, anyway. Jason calls Roddy a walking encyclopedia and thinks of him sort of like an older brother - sometimes he picks on Jason, other times protects him. Most of the others seem to agree with the "encyclopedia" reference. As Eric says, no matter what he's talking about, you can't help but listen - he got a hell of a lot more out of college than Eric did! Lisa thinks it shows guys that it can be cool to be book smart and not just know how many beers there are in a six-pack. Let me just say that Roddy is a writer. Good writers pick up a lot of knowledge.

Marcellas has a crush on Roddy. So does Chiara, of course - and I think she's got a better shot. Still, Jason also holds a special place in her heart. Amy says Chiara is all over Jason and it really gets on her nerves. Poor thing. Guess who has really been getting on my nerves?