Celebrity Big Brother recap: Omarosa Weaves Her Web

Sure, this game is different than the BB we’re used to in that it’s shorter, but it’s still jam packed with decisions both good and bad. And these houseguests aren’t average Joes thrown into drama. They’re celebrities, which means their professions revolve around drama. That, my fellow Big Brother fans, is a thing of beauty and the biggest perk of the season. We’ve got drama on drama on drama. For every decision made, the mayhem surrounding it is gigantic and juicy thanks to the pack of ego-driven houseguests we have remaining.

Let’s get to it.

“Double, Double Toil and Trouble”

We pick up just where we left off — in Metta World Peace’s happy place, courtside at the BB HOH competition. The houseguests, dressed in Blindsiders jerseys, sit perched on narrow basketball court seats. The object? Hang on for dear life and endure tilting seats and a barrage of courtside obstacles — like popcorn, sweat, T-shirts, and basketballs — as long as possible.

One thing is abundantly clear as the houseguests battle it out. The House doesn’t want Omarosa to win, especially the reigning alliance of Brandi, Ariadna (Ari), Ross, and Marissa. And our new super-villain (or anti-hero, depending on your take) knows it. “Shannon has just been evicted,” Omarosa tells us, “which means the house will be looking for a new target. I want to make sure that target is not Lady O.”

Bad move, Power Four. Along the way, you’ve made it abundantly clear Omarosa is not with you. In competition reality, the threat you can see is more easy to defeat than the one you never see coming, and Omarosa sees you clearly.

Omarosa vs. the House seems like a dramatic enough conundrum. But this is Celebrity Big Brother, so of course there’s more to it in the mayhem department. We learn that just prior to the HOH competition, Brandi let Ari in on her rogue vote to evict Mark at the last ceremony. “I’m feeling very sad and very disappointed,” Ari tells us of Brandi’s decision. “I’m not sure I can trust Brandi anymore.” Even more scandalous, Ari doesn’t even wait to chat out her differences with Brandi. She goes right ahead and starts telling people about it, including Metta and Mark, who are the first two out of the competition. More on that scandal later…that’s about to be the Power Four’s second deadly faux pas of the night.

Before she even knows she’ll be feeling the heat from her alliance, Brandi feels the pressure in the HOH competition when it comes down to her, her sworn enemy James, and Omarosa, who, she tells us, could “ruin everything we’ve worked so hard for.” No sooner does Brandi express her trepidation than she falls. With the field clear of her adversaries, “Lady O,” the queen of wheeling, dealing, hiring, and firing, goes right to work making a deal with James.

She “word of God” promises to keep him safe and refrain from a backdoor if he drops. As if to warn her adversaries, she tells James mysteriously and ominously: “I have other targets.” James knows he and Omarosa don’t have friends in the house, so he gladly accepts her offer.

From Power Four to Crashing to the Basement Floor

What follows is like a funny, slow-motion cliché of an 80s movie. Our former ragtag group of heroic characters — Ari, Ross, and Marissa — share their dismay that their pal Brandi broke off from their super-special friend pact by voting to evict Mark. When they confront Brandi, Marissa says she was “shocked” and Ari calls her “selfish” since they assumed Brandi was trying to pander to Shannon on the jury.

Brandi, blindsided by the emotional reaction to her effort to show Shannon humanity instead of a unanimous eviction, starts to cry and says she wants out of the alliance. “You’re the one that did something; we didn’t do it,” Ross tells her. “We need a second to digest this.”

After Brandi isolates herself, the three remaining alliance members decide they’re cutting off their noses to spite their faces: Brandi’s decision might have been selfish, but they need the numbers and forgiveness is important. They go in and have a crying make-up session with Brandi. The band is back together! Hooray, everything is right in the world! Or is it?

While the Power Four were wasting energy acting out their own Lifetime movie, they’ve made a fatal mistake again. Omarosa has been using her time wisely, diligently weaving her web — a plan to set herself up for the remainder of the game. (Recap continues on page 2)

A Master at Work

Omarosa calls the houseguests down for an announcement that has (surprise, surprise) potential to shake up the game. We learn that America will vote on a Power of Veto twist. The houseguests don’t know what that twist will entail, but Omarosa wastes no time in dotting her i’s, crossing her t’s, and ensuring she’s set up for successful twist or NO twist.

Omarosa tells us the pairs (Ari and Brandi; Marissa and Ross) are the biggest threats to her game and splitting them up is her top priority. She also makes it clear Ross is her first target since he’s been adept at moving between the men and women and put Omarosa on the block during his HOH.

Her attack plan is twofold. First, she assembles her own Final Four with Mark, Metta, and James. She makes a deal with Mark to keep her safe if she keeps him safe. “If Mark is a floater, then Metta is an oversized rubber ducky,” she tells us. “If I don’t tie him down he’ll float away.” So, Omarosa strikes her deal with Metta, telling him she thinks they can go to the end. Finally, she approaches James, who knows just as well as Omarosa that he doesn’t have any friends in the House either. Boom, Omarosa has a new alliance.

But who to put up next to Ross? The second part of Omarosa’s plan after building a ship to the end is to choose a justifiable pawn next to Ross so she doesn’t get too much blood on her hands.

Brandi spills the beans to Omarosa, telling her directly about her rogue vote for Mark. That was easy. A justifiable reason to vote out Brandi? Check, she’s proven she’s untrustworthy. Then, Omarosa corners Marissa and Ari, who are quick to throw Brandi under the bus. A justifiable reason to vote out Marissa or Ari? Check and check. Why? Because, as Omarosa tells us, you can never trust anyone who is so willing to turn on their alliance so easily. It’s “sketchy and shady.”

So, with “a few options for that spot on the block” in hand, Omarosa welcomes the houseguests into the Nomination Ceremony. She unsurprisingly puts up Ross and Brandi next to him, citing her “sketchy” behavior for casting a vote to evict Mark.

Love her or hate her, Omarosa is only solidifying her reality television legend status.

Survivor is my first love, so you’ll get those comparisons in conclusion:

• Omarosa understands the power of chaos like Sandra Diaz-Twine.

• She sniffs out duos and covers all her bases in a similar way to Sarah Lacina.

• “Lady O” understands how to manage her power and the power of everyone around her like Boston Rob.