Many define HOH-itis as, “a disease that occurs when a sitting Head of Household becomes so mad with power that he/she alienates the house and is often sent packing in the weeks after their HoH reign.” If that is an accurate definition, Shelli’s Big Brother game just may be on life support.
WARNING: This post contains Big Brother spoilers from the Live Feeds that have not yet aired on the CBS show. Please do not proceed if you do not want spoilers!
With Audrey outed and everyone aware of just how much poo she has stirred up in the house, it seemed all but certain that she would be nominated for eviction this week. It would almost take a miracle to save her game; luckily for Audrey, that miracle happened!
Of all the houseguests, Shelli has been the one who has been most easily manipulated by Audrey so when Clay’s Shelli’s nominees – Da’Vonne and John – lost the Battle of the Block and officially made her Head of Household, she made it a personal mission to protect Audrey from the chopping block. Of course, in order to do this, she had to sell everyone else on the idea that it was more important for Day to leave and for Audrey to stay. Shelli’s official reason: Da’Vonne had not created any trust with her.
Yes. Shelli is asking for people to believe that Da’Vonne is less trustworthy than Audrey, someone who had blatantly gone around the house telling people to target her and Clay and who had even told Da’Vonne that she did not care if Shelli goes on the block (during the first week) as long as it was not her.
Shelli would also like them to believe that, despite the fact that Audrey is not going up, she is not working with her under any circumstances. (She even banned Audrey from the HoH room the first couple of days!) The house has gone along with the plan mostly because Da’Vonne is not an important part of any of their strategies, but also because they are just happy that it is not them!
Here is the real reason Shelli wants Da’Vonne gone: The Fast Forward.
Besides the fight that Da’Vonne had with Jeff and Clay (when they questioned her about walking around their house) and Audrey spending a better part of a week denigrating Day’s character to anyone who would listen (further souring Shelli’s feelings towards Da’Vonne) Shelli is also extremely bitter that Day did not use the Fast Forward on her or Audrey. Da’Vonne’s logic was that it was strategic and she knew no one would be targeting Shelli or Audrey because of who they are.
People were also talking about the possibility of there being an alliance between the first eight. She gave it to someone in the second eight to throw off suspicion. (Also, the smart thing to do would have been to pull Jul/Liz in to their group, using the save as a starting point. Oh well!)
Strategy or not, this explanation did not work for Shelli, and Da’Vonne still must go!
While the original plan was to put up Jul/Liz to get Da’Vonne out of the house, Austin and Vanessa came up with a plan to get the twins off the block. Jul/Liz is a number for them and, although the duo would likely remain in the house over Da’Vonne, they did not want to risk it. To sell this idea to Shelli and Clay, they needed someone who had an even better chance to stay in the house over Da’Vonne: Meg.
After Shelli informed Meg that she was going on the block, it confirmed for Da’Vonne what she already knew, she is going home. She had stated right after the HoH competition on Thursday night that she was going home. She had stated that Audrey would not go on the block as soon as Shelli remained HOH. She had stated that they would put up someone like Meg, who the house would never vote out. She had held out a little hope that something would swing in her favor but, alas, the Big Brother Gods are not with her; or are they?
We still have this week’s twist where one houseguest will be able to void three votes. This takes Da’Vonne from needing seven votes to needing only five. If someone with a strategic mind wins that power, and they have enough time to plan to use it, it is possible that they come to the realization that it actually makes less sense to keep someone everyone loves versus someone everyone (but Jason) is willing to sacrifice. (Hello, Judd!) While things are looking bleak, there is always hope in the Big Brother house where plans can flip on a dime.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see the impact this decision will have on Clay and Shelli’s games. Her reign has not gone quite as she expected it to. When James was HoH, his room was always busy with people feeling comfortable going upstairs. Shelli, on the other hand, can be quite intense and controlling, actually going as far as to telling how people to speak and behave. Examples include snapping at Vanessa about whispering, going off on Jeff/Clay when she walked into the room and saw that they were talking game without her, and telling Jeff how to question people for more information so that he can pass it along to her. (Not quite realizing that he is actually intentionally withholding information because he does not want her to have it.) She also has a tendency to aggressively grill/interrogate people for information when they are in her presence.
#bb17 Shelli has the absolute worst case of HOHitis. She expects everyone to come & talk to her & kiss her feet.
— Kim Takeda (@kimnsin) July 5, 2015
Shelli to Jeff: "since you're in our alliance, you're going to have to…" with instructions for reporting news & information #HOHitis #bb17
— hamsterwatch #BB17 (@hamsterwatch) July 5, 2015
The fact that very few people have come up to her room to try to gain favor with her, in a meaningful way, has definitely not been lost on Shelli. She has spent a few days vocalizing how displeased she is about this. It is possible that the houseguests, while not really verbalizing it, fear that she is still with Audrey and that she will tell her everything that they say. Like it or not, Shelli is going to have to reconcile the fact that people look at her as a package deal with Audrey and she is not the safest person to be aligned with right now.
With that said, after complaining to Clay and Jeff about no one ever coming to the HoH room to build a “Circle of Trust” with her, those three somehow ended up in a new alliance along with Jackie and Johnny Mac. Like most alliances in the Big Brother 17 house, something about this union does not feel quite solid… Nevertheless, Shelli fully lays out the terms of being aligned and included in her Circle of Trust.
This meeting has to end in pledging a blood oath, otherwise, what's the point? #bb17
— Krazilia Love (@KraziliaLove) July 5, 2015
While HOH-itis has undone many a player’s games, with roving allegiances being the cornerstone of this year’s contest, it is entirely possible that Clay and Shelli escape all of this unscathed.
If Audrey wins HoH this week, she has her sights set on Becky, as Becky is still harboring animosity towards Audrey for connecting her with racism. Although Audrey’s plan was to make people believe that Da’Vonne is the one that is insinuating that Becky is racist, Becky did not fall for it. In fact, Becky is highly offended by this devious ploy and she has made it abundantly clear that she wants Audrey’s head on a pike. Audrey wants to take her out first.
Good luck Becky! While you fought a train and won, Audrey tends to get exactly what she wants!
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