Celebrity Big Brother Blowout: Mind-Blowing Manipulation Upends Whole House, New HOH Is Crowned

The boy band star effectively set himself up to be backdoored -- he was hoping Todd Bridges might go home instead, but still felt good about what happened -- when he advised Shanna Moakler to save Carson Kressley from HOH Miesha Tate's crosshairs.

But that was only part one of his strategy. The second part required someone from what he perceived as the "good guys" to win the next Head of Household. The House is currently split in half with the "devil you know" having the numbers.

Miesha and Todrick Hall have been working with (i.e., using until they're no longer useful) Todd and Lamar Odom, while Chris was riding with Shanna and the power duo of Carson and Cynthia Bailey. With Chris out, it's effectively a four-to-three split. The "good guys" needed this HOH to have any chance in the game.

Friday's eviction episode ended with the Houseguests hanging on the wall in a classic "Big Brother" competition. With Miesha ineligible to play as outgoing HOH, she needed her guys to come through -- but had very little faith that either Todd or Lamar could do that.

Miesha was right to be concerned, as neither Todd nor Lamar were built for this competition. Todd has shoulder issues and Lamar is both afraid of heights and just a big, heavy dude. Lamar was the first one down, followed shortly by Cynthia and then Todd.

At this point, it was Shanna and Carson versus Todrick, as everyone pretty much knows that Todrick and Miesha have been running the House together. Miesha had been the muscle to this point, with her two HOH wins, while Todrick was the strategy.

As we noted in our last write-up, he's kind of abandoned the idea of a strong social game, hardly interacting with the rest of the House and almost smugly looking down at them as if he and Miesha were already sitting in the Final Two chairs.

There's a fine line between confidence and arrogant cockiness and we'd argue that Todrick has been dancing all over it, from what we've seen. In his exit interview with TooFab, Chris Ki basically said that he'd already sashayed way over it.

In the end, it came down to Todrick and Carson. Carson was poised to tie Shanna and Miesha with his second win, cementing him as the huge threat and target everyone in the House knows. A Todrick win would mean he's pulling his weight on that front with Miesha -- and actually building a stronger resume than her for the final Jury.

And you know that's just what he was thinking about. Unfortunately for Todrick, his dreams of HOH victory were dashed as he started to slip and fall. He had just enough time to make a deal with Carson to not put him up or backdoor him before he fell.

But down does not mean out when you are Todrick Hall. Love him or hate him, he is playing this game harder than anyone else. And while a lot of the Houseguests are playing with some sort of honor or integrity -- or at least concern for their brand outside the House -- Todrick appears willing and able to do anything to win.

With Carson HOH, Todrick was confident that his frenemy in the House would honor their deal but that did nothing to save Miesha from hitting the Block. She'd been openly targeting Carson since the beginning, putting him on the Block twice already. It seemed an inevitable choice.

Chris Kirkpatrick was wondering if getting himself nominated would be his Dan Gheesling moment, and it most definitely wasn't. But Todrick is making a case for himself as one of the legends of this game, just on the side of "evil," so to speak.

Game respecting game, it was a brilliant strategy to try some misdirection by throwing Shanna's game firmly under the bus to try and save him and Miesha through Carson's reign. And he was able to do it with a mix of the truth and blatant exaggeration.

Shanna was playing with Miesha and Todrick at one point, as was Chris Ki. And she agreed that Carson was a threat. But she also made a definitive choice, drawing a line in the sand when she defied Miesha just a couple of days ago by taking Carson of the Block.

Nevertheless, Todrick masterfully started by telling his version of the story to Cynthia, who he felt was more likely to believe him if it was a compelling and logical story. There's power in being the first to tell the story.

When Miesha came in and confirmed the details, Cynthia was sold. That's because Cynthia doesn't really know this game, which Todrick knows. He was also using this to his advantage, taking advantage of both her and Carson not knowing about the backstabbing and scheming of Big Brother.

So when Carson walked in, they all three hit him with this story, and Shanna's goose was pretty much cooked. She was flabbergasted when confronted, considering Chris had just sacrificed his game to put the three of them together and she'd just saved Carson. None of it seemed to matter.

We're not sure how much she fought for the truth, based on the television edit, but it was clear they were really not hearing her. Carson had decided that Miesha was a person of honor and integrity because she'd always targeted him first-hand. And then he decided to trust Todrick because he and Miesha had the same story, like allies can't concoct a lie together.

Again, the brilliance of the move was that there was just enough truth in it to put Shanna on the defensive. From there, Todrick and Miesha just smiled and rudely listened in as the three fought it out and Shanna appeared to be getting nowhere to the point she gave up.

Miesha even suggested earlier that Carson put her up next to Todd so they could backdoor Shanna. It appears that's exactly what he's planning to do. This has to be driving Chris Ki crazy at home, because he set the House up perfectly for the "good guys" to take control, and the "bad guys" have just twisted reality and lied/exaggerated their way right back into control.

It's impressive on one level, but incredibly frustrating on another. Can Shanna save her game? The Veto is her only hope, it would seem, unless Carson and Cynthia can calm down enough to listen to her and maybe start to see reason. Todrick and Miesha are certainly doing their part to keep them riled up.

Todrick Hall (36) is absolutely playing the best game in the House, and has been since Day One. He's managed to win no competitions, swap alliances, betray people and now lie blatantly to throw people under the bus and he's never been on the Block and no one is targeting him now. He's playing a very dirty and under-handed game, taking advantage of inexperienced players, but you play the cards you're dealt and he's playing everyone! Grade: A+

Miesha Tate (35) is starting to figure out the more devious side of the game, willing to lie and exaggerate to propel herself forward. She also smartly is tied to the game's biggest liar, but she's the one everyone believes has integrity and is straightforward and honest. For the most part, that is true. If she makes it to the end, she might be able to argue that her more honest game is more deserving of a win -- not to mention her comp dominance.. Grade: A-

Lamar Odom (42) has no idea what's going on from moment to moment when it comes to this game. But he's in the pockets -- of Miesha, Todrick and Todd -- who do know, so he'll just follow along for now. But he and Todd are expendable, so their time in the game is incredibly limited. Grade: C+

Carson Kressley (52) needs to slow down and really think this thing through. He's a savvier and smarter person than this. We think his outside relationship with Todrick, and his respect for Miesha, is clouding his judgment. He's just believing the first story he's heard. And he's not realizing that Todd and Lamar are on the other side, too, so he doesn't have the numbers. As soon as his reign is over, he's back to number one target in the House, but down an ally if Shanna leaves. That's terrible gameplay. Grade: C-

Cynthia Bailey (54) is blinded by her frustration and uncertainty about how this game works. Todrick masterfully planted enough truth in his story to create mistrust between Cynthia, Carson and Shanna and neither Cynthia nor Carson are sharp enough to realize he's just trying to break up their alliance while they're in power -- and they're letting it happen. Once Shanna is gone, if it goes that far, their games are toast. Grade: C-

Todd Bridges (56) seems to have a grasp of how the game works, and he is on the Block, but we only think he's really in any danger if somehow Shanna wins the POV or it otherwise isn't used to put her on the Block. Then, the House might actually -- and stupidly -- vote to keep Miesha in over Todd, so she and Todrick can keeping running the whole House. Todd is vulnerable here because he's totally expendable to Todrick and Miesha. Grade: D+

Shanna Moakler (46) has fallen victim to the Todrick smear machine, and she probably won't be the last. The more empowered he's getting, and the more every tactic he's tried is working, the more brazen he'll get in controlling the House and getting what he wants. Shanna still has a Veto to save herself, but she needs to calm her own emotions and try to rationally talk to Carson and Cynthia to change things, or they're all three doomed. Grade: D

• “Seriously, you don’t wanna miss this, no matter what game might be on another channel.” --Announcer
• “This is torture for me not be able to put my feet on the ground. I’m 6’10: but I’m afraid of heights.” --Lamar (shortly before falling from wall)
• “Now I’m down to Todd and Todrick, which -- no offense, Todd, I love you -- basically means now I’m down to Todrick.” --Miesha (watching HOH comp)
• “It’s a Pride parade, Carson!” --Todrick (as they get nailed with colored nail polish during HOH comp)
• “Shocker of ‘Big Brother 3,’ Todd and Lamar have fallen down.” --Todrick (arrogant as ever -- but not inaccurate)
• “If Carson wins, we can flip the House. But if Todrick wins, I’m in big trouble.” --Shanna (after she falls, leaving only those two)
• “It’s down to me and Carson. Fitting because this is the gayest competition I’ve seen on ‘Big Brother.’” --Todrick
• “Will you please not put me up or backdoor me?” --Todrick
• “Yup. Promise.” --Carson (before Todrick drops)
• “I can’t wait to quote her exact words and say, ‘I have to put you up because you’re the biggest threat.” --Carson (about Miesha, after winning HOH)
• “I’m really struggling right now with my track record in this game. I thought I would have won something by now.” --Todrick (to Miesha)
• “I think Lamar understands how half the game works. I think eventually he will understand how the whole game works, but by then, he might be at home.” --Todd
• “Who wants to see my HOH room?” --Carson
• “Should we go do it?” --Todrick (to Miesha)
• “Uh, no.” --Miesha
• “I feel like I should go do it.” --Todrick (politics)
• “Where is Miesha? I notice she didn’t come up for the party.” --Carson (smirking)
• “I would never break our deal … but if you play in the Veto, leave the nominations the same.” --Carson (after telling Todrick he’s putting up Miesha and Todd)
• “That’s the way it has to be.” --Carson (to Todrick)
• “So if she were to leave, the four of us legitimately work together to get Lamar and Todd out, and then may the best man win?” --Todrick (to Carson, Cynthia and Shanna)
• “Shanna does not deserve to be in that Final Three over me because I, at least, was honest when I went over to the other side. She was not. She was in a Final Four with us.” --Todrick (plotting to shift focus away from Miesha to Shanna)
• “Sorry, Shanna. You’re cute, but I’m about to blow your game up. Hunny.” --Todrick
• “If you can make sense to Cynthia Bailey, she will believe you.” --Todrick (planting seeds)
• “Cynthia is starting to believe me and thank god. I don’t know if I could have sold this to Carson, but if the two of us go to him, he’ll believe it.” --Todrick (after Miesha backs his story to Cynthia)
• “Put me on the Block, put whoever else you want to guarantee will be maybe a good chance to win the Veto, we all go in on this together and we backdoor Shanna.” --Miesha (to Carson -- is this actually going to work?)
• “We just shook up this whole house. There’s still a chance for us.” --Todrick (after painting Shanna as a super-villain)
• “They are trying to do this to us!” --Shanna (about dissent being created between her, Carson and Cynthia)
• “She even said that to me, you drew your line so there’s no conversation to be had.” --Shanna (to Carson and Cynthia)
• “Can you click that, they’re listening.” --Shanna (to Carson)
• “I let you guys have your privacy in the bathroom, could I have mine now?” --Shanna (to Miesha lurking outside the door)
• “I wouldn’t say you let us, but okay.” --Miesha (but she did, she left immediately)
• “I’ve been guiding you guys.” --Shanna (acknowledge she knows the game better than Carson and Cynthia)
• “And we’ve been keeping you safe.” (Cynthia)
• “They’ve been keeping me safe? I’ve won two Vetoes. I took Carson off the Block, Chris Kirkpatrick sacrificed his game so we could move forward together. What are you talking about?” --Shanna
• “Well played.” --Shanna (walking past Miesha)
• “If she didn’t tell them to put you on the Block, she needs to say it right to their face. That’s the only way I’m gonna believe it.” --Cynthia (to Carson, in front of Miesha)