by David McAlpine

Last time on Big Brother 11, Jessie nominated Jordan and Michele for eviction, angering the part of the house who thought he was targeting Ronnie. The house continued to split down the middle as Jessie started to gun for his real target for the week: Casey. Jessie's plan was carried out in full when Michele won the Veto, then used it on herself, allowing him to nominate Casey in her place.

Naturally, Casey is pissed, and a la Laura, he's trying to make a point as he makes his exit, but also trying to save himself with some crafty wordplay. Ronnie, like the little weasel he is, can't stop being so excited about being off the block this week. Ok, we get it, you escaped getting pounded into submission by the entire house--it's not wort wasting out time to watch him celebrate. Meanwhile, Casey, Jeff and Jordan sit in the backyard trying to figure out just what went wrong.

Apparently, Lydia is also more crazy than we thought. I mean, I thought the fights with Natalie over other things but really over Jessie was a little off, but this girl is nuts. Not only does she get in bed with Jessie while he's sleeping, she makes really threatening comments about how she could mess with him if he made her angry. No wonder she can't contain herself around Natalie, she's legitimately psycho.

Casey starts the campaign with Kevin, who tells Casey that, if he can get three more votes, he and Lydia would be down for keeping him (which is a smart move, considering they are in the same clique). They discuss who to go to to appeal his case, and Casey selects Russell, presenting him with some very valid points (including the fact that Russell is on the outs with Jessie, especially with Natalie and Ronnie in the house). It doesn't seem to be getting through that head of Russell's, though, so I'm not sure how well it will work.

And, finally, CBS ran out of material to fill the show, so it's montage/background time, this week with Jeff and Jordan: a double whopper! Their parents confirm what we knew the entire time (neither of them are the brightest bulbs in the box), and apparently they think their relationship could be real. That one I'll hold off on making a call about.

Julie turns back to the houseguests, specifically Lydia and Natalie, pressing them about the growing tension between the two. Neither of them say too much and it's obvious that they don't want to talk about it, which means that this conflict is legitimate. I'm still holding out for a catfight, who's with me on this one? So, instead, we get to watch a slow-mo replay of Michelle staking a nice faceplant in the mud after this week's Veto competition.

Up in the HoH, the conversation continues between Julie and Jessie about Natalie and Lydia. Jessie insists that everything is platonic (since when did almost-sex become "platonic"?), which is obviously not true, you can even tell by the way he says it. Only Jessie could pretend to be deflating his ego while, at the same time, inflating it just as much. Julie's thoughts at the end of the interview? "Lame!" Yes, Julie, we agree. Lame.

Back to the nominees, where Jordan gives the same sweet eviction speech she gave last week, then enter Casey with a whopper for everyone. He starts slinging insults left and right, namely to Ronnie ("you're a dork-apotamus with a God complex") and Jessie ("you have the IQ of a banana"), then sits down. It sounds like there's really no saving Casey now. The houseguests shuffle into the Diary Room one by one to evict:

Jeff: CASEY
Ronnie: CASEY (and, in true "dork-apotamus" fashion, takes some lame parting shots, as if he's getting some vindication)
Natalie: CASEY
Chima: CASEY
Russell: JORDAN
Michele: CASEY
Lydia: CASEY
Kevin: CASEY

Thus Jessie succeeds this week and Casey is out the door 7-1, but not without a few choice words. Casey confronts Jessie about going back on his word, and Natalie comes out fighting, trying to turn in back on Casey. All Jessie can do is sit there like a log and look at Casey, trying to intimidate him, but Casey is an angry, middle-aged man in a banana suit who just got screwed on national TV, I don't think anything is going to intimidate him right now. During the goodbyes, it really shows who is willing to be civil about the game and who is willing to make it personal (i.e. Natalie and Ronnie), and Casey says his farewells.

But before we can get to the much anticipated HoH, Julie announces that the cliques have been dissolved and everyone is playing for themselves, but not without another twist: a secret power. One houseguest will be given the secret power and it can be used in the next two weeks and the winner is going to be decided by America's Choice. Perhaps this will give Jessie and Ronnie a chance to wake up and realize that we don't like them.

What we do know that the houseguests don't is that the power is the Coup d'Etat, where the winning houseguest has the power to change one or both of the nominees to whoever they want (excluding the HoH and the Veto holder) before the live eviction. I smell a change coming in the game--Jeff for the win, anyone?

Out to the backyard for HoH, and it's an endurance competition. It's centered around them "graduating" from the cliques, so they sit on suspended platforms swinging in a circle, occasionally hitting a giant foam diploma and eventually getting soaked by rain machines. The only perk? One of the first five people to drop will win $5,000, but the only other prize is the ultimate power in the house for the upcoming week.

Who will win the next Head of Household and who will they nominate? Will the mood (and the targets) finally change in the Big Brother house? Tune in to CBS Sunday night at 8/7c to find out!

(Image courtesy of CBS)

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