but diamonds are a man's best friend

Now that was a live show.  They had good misdirection fodder with the idea that Matt might repl-nom Enzo.  I'd decided that I was pretty sure he was going to go Kathy or maybe Britney, so when they didn't even mention Brit, it was going to be Kathy.  In the end, it was the best move for Matt.  I think he figured out that the Bro-gade is shady, but by not being the one to strike the first blow he maintained plausible deniability if it comes to jury votes.

Matt's speech was fantastic.  It was just the right balance of misdirection, Brendon bashing, and gracious winner vetoing.  And I think the reactions of the rest of them were pretty legit.  ... I had a lot more to say about the show, but things are rolling in the house now, so I'm going to have to move on.  The one thing I will say is that I thought the portrayal of Britney and Lane's relationship was ridiculous.  Sure, he might have a crush on her, though I really don't see it.  And no way does she see him as anything other than a friend.

So, moving on.  I originally wanted Ragan to get HOH, but switch to rooting for Britney when I remembered her b-day is coming up.  Basically I wanted anyone but the Bro-gade to win.  So I'm happy.  It was the first HOH I actually cheered out loud for this season.

 

We come back to Matt telling them all his true Pandora's Box story.  The one thing of real interest that I heard was that he got warned by the DR when he was talking about "someone maybe having a power" that it was pushing the line of telling people.  Which explains why he stopped doing it.  He also said he had to tell them yesterday if he was going to use it and whom he was going to make the repl-nom.

 

He also talks about how bad he felt when they were all worrying about what was going to happen.  I was thinking the other day that he was probably starting to feel like a giant tool when Ragan was getting soooo upset about Matt's leaving.  And then when Ragan started going on about how it's particularly terrible that the rest of them would vote out someone with a wife who is "so sick" I kind of hope that hit his conscience a bit too.

 

They are all 100% convinced that Kathy was the StaboTool.  They figure she actually did the pretzels, that she must have done the note, and they're even reading into Julie's comment that the Tool's reign was over coming from the fact that the prods knew Kathy was going to be the Diamond Repl-Nom.  They can't agree on whether she got money or not for Tooling, or if she got evicted too soon.  Ragan's feeding right into it saying he's "sure" they'll get a video tomorrow revealing her as the Tool.  Of course, he's sure they won't but being so insistent just further casts suspicion off him.

Everyone wants Brendon gone.  So, it's all about the POV.  We'll get to that soon enough.

 

But first, it's all about the other nom.  There's always a chance that Brendon will get POV and so the other nom and then repl-nom are a factor.  And here's where Matt gets to use what he learned last week.  He's already made some pointed comments to both Enzo and Hayden about the plans to vote him out and all the time they've been spending with Brendon.  They're nervousing all over the place and trying to make excuses.  Matt's just laughing it off, but I'm pretty sure he's on to them.

 

A bit later Matt asks Britney who she's planning on putting next to  Brendon.  She says she doesn't know, and he points out that Enzo's the only one who's not been nom'ed at all yet.  She admits that's where she was leaning anyway.  Brit's a smart player, and I'm sure it didn't escape her notice that Enzo fought her for HOH.  If he was totally on Team Kick Brendon he wouldn't have been so concerned about her winning.  This sets things up nicely so if Brendon does win POV, Matt can turn to Enzo and say exactly what Enzo said to him this past week.  He is a diabolical genius.

 

Enzo/Hayden are also already covering for anything they said to Brendon last week.  They're telling the rest of them that Brendon's going to try to throw anyone he can under the bus and that if he says anything about them the rest should let them know and they're gonna go off on him.  Could get entertaining. 

 

So many Lines of the Day.... 

Matt: Congratulations, Brendon on getting so close to getting me out.  

Enzo: Give me a Scooby-Treat. 

Lane (to Enzo, about how the bro-gade was treating Matt): Dude, we were dicks. 

Britney: We were in the Have Not room and Ragan and I are all crying and talking about how horrible it is and Matt's over there like this [makes a face with a little smile].  And I'm thinking 'what a douche.' 

Matt (to Ragan): There was that one day you were in there crying and saying "whatever happens, it's going to be a dramatic week."  You weren't looking at me, so I looked right at the camera, smiled, and said "yeah, it's gonna be a dramatic week."  

Ragan: If he hadn't put me on slop for 24 days, made a deal with my best friend in the house, broke it and put him on the block, made a deal with me broke it, bullied me, put me on the block [...etc...] if he hadn't done all that, I could be civil to him.  

Matt: I mean, they knew I wasn't going to use it if I wasn't on the block.  So they'd do whatever the fuck they could to get my butt in those chairs. 

Brendon: I wonder if we were more surprised by the Diamond Power of Veto or by the Saboteur being done.
Hayden: Diamond Power of Veto.
(me: duh.)
Matt: I was more surprised by the saboteur.
(me: *laugh*)  

Britney: This is my best birthday ever.  

Enzo: This week's gonna be dramatic
Matt: You think?
Enzo: Yeah, cuz he's (Brendon) gonna be like...
Matt: Well, it's gonna be dramatic for you and Hayden.  For the rest of us, we're not gonna care.  You and Hayden are gonna get the most TV time with Brendon cuz you gotta climb out of his asshole where you've been for the past 2 weeks. 

Matt: You were gonna kick me out of the BG.
Enzo: No, no, we told you we'd split the votes, but that wouldn't work.  

Britney: How did Ragan go from the closest he's ever been to suicide...?  I went to the DR to request help for you.
Ragan: Did you really?
Britney: Mm-hmm.  I was really worried about you.  

Ragan: I can't believe Matt's in the bed next to me right now. 

Matt: You thought you were getting rid of the Gremlin.
Ragan: You gremlined your own eviction.  

Britney (to Ragan): He got Diamond POV, I got HOH, and you're happier than both of us.  

Ragan: How the fuck are the 3 of us still here?
Matt: Magic, baby, magic....diamonds. 

And the memory wall's going grey....