'Big Brother' Blowout: The Shortest Alliance in History? -- Plus, Playa Problems in the 'BB' House

Everyone is still inside the "Big Brother" house thanks to the Camp Comeback twist, but not all things are equal.

The comeback kids (David and Ovi) are sleeping in another part of the house, they're unable to participate in game-related elements of the game, so all they have is their social game. Will it be enough to make a difference when one of the first four evicted HouseGuests wins their way back in? Probably not.

What it does create is the opportunity for more pot-stirring, if people would be more aggressive with it. We've already seen Ovi get a slap in the face over what really went down with his 12-0 eviction. He was lied to directly by a power player in the house, but will he use this information to upend the game?

Will David be able to do anything to forge relatinoships or alliances with people he only knew for a few hours before Jackson/Michie faciliated his banishment via the Camp Director comp? Probably not, but they both needs to start doing something and fast if they don't want to head right back out the door.

Once again, we're seeing a large alliance gain dominance in the game, much as "Level 6" was able to do throughout Season 20. You'd think it wouldn't work in back-to-back seasons, but Gr8ful is poised to run away with it if something isn't done to slow them down. With Jack in power, it seems likely they'll have an 8-5 advantage after this week, and still no one not in it knows it exists.

Their biggest enemies in the game may prove to be themselves, and the games they play with others in the house. Or perhaps we're just hoping this isn't super boring until we get to Top 8 and Gr8ful has to start cannibalizing their own.

Michie is clearly a player in his real life, but he's finding that extremely difficult in the "Big Brother" house because you can't just drop a girl and move onto the next when the first girl is still right there all. the. time.

He discovered this first-hand in the most awkward moment yet as his first showmance, Kathryn, tried to join his hammock date with his second. And so, Michie orchestrated the worst possible it's-not-you-it's-me conversation in the history of the game.

"For your game and my game we have to separate. Everything I did the past two weeks out of my heart but I have to think with my brain," he said to Kat -- which was a total lie -- after pulling her aside. He'd simply decided Holly was a better showmance for the moment.

When Kat rightfully brought up the fact that he was spending an inordinate amount of time with Holly of late, Michie lamely tried to shut that down. "That does't matter," he told her. And when she asked how that was possible, he simply said, "This is between me and you and I don't want to talk about anybody else."

That's called deflection. Don't think about it too hard, sweetie. This is just the way it is. And when she left, he gave a simple, "Well, that's that" and probably thinks it's over.

But Kathryn is still in the house. And she can still talk to other people. Now, Gr8ful is a force to be reckoned with at this stage of the game, so it might not matter, but if she comes into power he might be in trouble.

Jessica lamented that all-women alliances never work, and so she set one up with Nicole, Kemi and Isabella. The only problem was that one of her spiders was actually a snake as Isabella apparently had more allegiance to Gr8ful than the Widows. Why? Because the Widows weren't in power yet.

Now, this is incredibly short-sighted of her. Why not keep BW in her back pocket and see how long she can play both sides? Well, Isabella isn't playing that kind of game and another all-women alliance fell apart before it could make a single move.

She ran straight to Jack and told him all about it. Now, Isabella was in a Top 3 alliance with Jack and Michi, so if that still holds it might be a good move. If not, however, eight people is a lot of people to jockey with over position. In the meantime, she's made an enemy out of the other BW members -- and Jessica and Kemi for sure -- now that Jack basically outed that he was told to the whole house.

It shouldn't take Jessica long to figure out who ratted her out. Isabella chose which side of the house she wanted to be on. Yes they have the numbers, but it wasn't necessary to out her duplicitous game this early as that calls her trust into question and makes her a target on the other side of the house when she was in good with all the girls.

And while Isabella is showing unnecessarily candid honesty with Jack, he's not doing his alliance the same courtesy. She gave away possible power in a sub-alliance on the other side of the house by exposing it, but Jack is keeping his Chaos Wacktivity comp win close to his chest, telling no one that he won.

The power allows him to force a redraw of Veto competition players and it's good all the way until there are only six people left in the game. It's not quite as strong as the power Ovi got voted out with, but it lasts longer and could make a huge difference in a key moment in the game.

That's why he's keeping it to himself. You don't have to reveal all your cards all of the time. Isabella exposed everything to Jack, perhaps not knowing that he was going to be very direct to Jessica with what he'd been told, and then tell the house the same thing. Jack is controlling information strategically for himself.

Isabella is trusting Jack completely, and he is wisely not returning the favor, choosing not to trust anyone implicitly. His strategy has been openly candid with the information he does share, which might even make him more believable when he does choose to lie or withhold other info.

Jack rises to the top with a stellar game (personal comments notwithstanding and not making it onto TV anyway) controlling information and dominating two challenges in a row now. He's now owned a mental game and a physical one, which is a huge part of how Kaycee emerged victorious last season. He is a huge target right now, which makes his long game dangerous, but he has a massive power alliance and has emerged as its de facto leader. Grade: A+

Isabella has put all of her eggs in the Jack basket, which is a risky move but also a strong one at this stage in the game. It's not clear if he'll be as loyal to her but so far the strategy is working and she's proving herself a loyal foot soldier in his crusade to the half-million. She might need to stage a coup if she wants a shot at winning, and we worry she's a little blinded by Gr8ful loyalty, but she's solid for now. Grade: A

Michie is Jack's right-hand man, but he's playing a little too fast and loose with the women in the house, which could make him enemies where he doesn't want them. Like Isabella, he risks the wrath of the wrong women coming into power, but even so with the mass of Gr8ful, they might just be fine regardless. He needs to stop messing with these girls, though, and get his head in the game for real. Grade: A-

Holly rises slightly above her alliance members in overall rankings simply by being the latest toy for Michie to play with. As Michie and Jack seem to be the leaders of Gr8ful, being the "woman" of one of them certainly isn't going to hurt her game. It's also a good place to get information and play for influence, if Holly is inclined to do so. But Gr8ful would need to crack first. Grade: B+

Christie, Analyse, Nick and Tommy make up the rest of Gr8ful and their importance in the alliance and savvy outside of it ranks them as listed here. They're all playing adequate games. Christie had a successful HOH and wisely stepped right out of the limelight. For now, they're all aligned right, so they just need to not rock the boat. Grade: B

Cliff and Sam continue to rid the middle of the house. They have no alliances and are wild cards, but they're not seen as strategic or challenge threats yet. They've no long-term future in the game if they don't do something to change their fate, but as they have no idea Gr8ful even exists, they've no clue they're on the wrong side of the power. Grade: C

Nicole is largely ignored, but she was a part of the ill-fated Black Widows, which means her name is in the crosshairs of Gr8ful for all the wrong reasons. She's not seen as a threat of any kind and is mostly forgotten still in the house, but her number will come up eventually if the alliance holds. And then there will be little she can do, no matter how much she confides in Ovi the truth. Grade: C-

David is seen as the odds-on favorite to return to the house, but it's unlikely to do him any favors. He has been largely ignored by the power structure since returning to the house, and no one seems keen on giving him or Ovi a real second chance in the game, making this Camp Comeback twist just incredibly difficult to endure (even worse on the live feeds). Grade: C-

Ovi could reclaim his Nightmare power if he returns to the house, but there's doubt that he can do so. Further, Jack and Jackson knew about it before and booted him out, so they'd likely just backdoor him out again so there would be nothing he can do about it. Nicole put some hard truth on him and now Ovi has no allies really at all in the house. Grade: D+

Kathryn made the mistake of falling for Michie. Now that he's decided he's done with her because she got too paranoid last week, her entire game is on the line. Michie might want her out just to minimize the awkward encounters and his bro, Jack, is ready to pull that trigger this week if he isn't committed to getting rid of a Black Widow. Grade: D

Kemi is on the block as a member of the Black Widows, and -- as many online speculate -- possibly because she's black. There have been hints of racism thorughout the season, and the people of color are being inordinately targeted over their white counterparts. Nicole wasn't nominated and she's in the alliance. Nevertheless, Kemi is on the outs with the power in the house and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time ever. Grade: D-

Jessica was the ringleader of The Black Widows, and the Jacks (Michie and Jackson) have been wanting her gone since the beginning. Another potential candidate for racism, but Jessica also named herself a strategic threat this week with her counter-allliance, so it's not as black-and-white as some might want. That said, comments in the live feeds have made the Jacks behavior even more questionable, but even there we've seen nothing definitive so it's a lot of speculation. Grade: D-

House Chatter

"This Camp Comeback twist could totally ruin my game." -Christie (after lying to Ovi that he was safe before a unanimous vote eliminated him)

"One in four chance to get back in; I'll take those odds. This is the beginning of the biggest comeback in 'Big Brother.' -David

"The bitches were not conspiring against me, turns out." -Kathryn

"I think we need to get David on our side, don't you think? Be nice." -Kathryn (to Michie)

"I trust when I do come back, you guys will be there to help me out." -Ovi (to Michie, who'll say anything on damage control)

"Can I talk to you privately as bros?" --Michie (to Jack)"They're conspiring against us." --Kathryn (to Analyse)

"You heard how the vote went?" --Kat"Yeah, it was 12-0." -David"Yeah, 'cause there are no alliances.""There are alliances. You're just not privy to it.""There are, but there's just not like one side gunning for the other, that makes sense.""You're not in an alliance, they're gunning for you! You don't gotta sugarcoat it for me."

"They played me for a sucker? Damn. -Ovi (after Nicole let him know Jack and Jackson never had his back)

"I legit thought I took 15 seconds, maybe 20. I ripped through that thing. So whoever did it must have just ran over, grabbed all three snakes and threw them in the crates. That's the only possible solution." -Sam after Chaos Wacktivity (he took 1:22, good enough for 2nd place -- Jack did it in 0:49)

"I'm faithful to my alliance, but at the same time I have to protect my own game." -Jack (not telling Gr8ful he won Chaos Wacktivity)

"I've never been to Fiji. I have nobody to go with. Like who am I gonna bring; I'd go there alone? That's kind of sad." -Nicole

"Holly. She's a great girl, she's got a good head on her shoulders. I need to be putting my energy into her and our alliance and myself rather than dealing with Kat." -Michie (jumping showmances)

"I'm probably like ruining stuff here.. I'm always doing this." -Kat (joining Michie and Holly in a hammock)

"I don't need a 29-year-old hounding my ass constantly. I just can't-- I can't do this anymore. Ultimately, she's hurting my game. THere's only so much that I can take and honestly, the juice just isn't worth the squeeze anymore." -Michie (about Kathryn)

"He comes to me with an issue he's having with Kat. This week I do have the power to solve that." -Jack (contemplating eliminating Kathryn)

"You show more attention to Holly." -Kat (when Michie is dumping her for "the game")"That doesn't matter." -Michie"How?""This is between me and you and I don't want to talk about anybody else."

"Anyone who throws an alliance my way, I'll catch it. But the only person I really trust in here is me." Kemi

"If Black Widows were in power, I'd totally be with them. But they're not. Sorry." -Isabella (the latest all-girls alliance goes down in dust)

"There was speaking of an all-women's alliance and you were kind of the head of that." -Jack"Oh get the f--k out of here." -Jessica (caught)

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