By: Cristina Deguara – GlobalTV.com

Shannon and James are both on the block but will one of these big players actually go home?

It’s a live eviction episode and Ari is HOH (Head of Household). This episode of Celebrity Big Brother starts out as a Shannon Elizabeth pity party. Shannon is full on ugly-crying and the celebs are trying to make her feel better which is a huge mistake. This is a gateway move to changing up your plan and your target.

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Out of the blue Brandi Glanville asks Omarosa if she’s ever slept with Donald Trump. Her reaction? “Hell no!” Funny enough though Omarosa was just in the news this week for having propositioned Piers Morgan for a showmance during her time on The Apprentice so maybe this isn’t so far-fetched (although I’ll be the first to admit that on a scale of 1 to 10 Piers is sitting somewhere near the top and Trump can’t even find the scale, so good on her for at least choosing the pretty one).

 

It’s time to select players for the POV (Power of Veto) competition and it really doesn’t even matter whose chosen because Shannon is still the target. The one player I do want to see in the game is Metta World Peace but the random draw brings less than I hoped for: Ross Mathews, Brandi and Omarosa. We’re not exactly playing with the big competitors here.

Shannon and Omarosa have a private moment where a lot of loving words are exchanged (none of them genuine) and it seems like they both have the same thing on their minds – find a way to work together and flip the script on the house. In an effort to hedge her bets, Omarosa goes out of her way to chat up James Maslow too and offer him a “friendly face”. In her ploy to make a connection she plants seeds that he might be the actual target. James confronts some of the other houseguests which is clever on his part.

The key to this game is knowing when to stretch the truth and when to keep your mouth shut and Omarosa is about to figure this out. Marissa confronts her and she vehemently denies having ever spoken to James. Marisa Winokur heads out to grab James and it’s gloves off. It’s now a full-on confrontation and James’ coolness makes him very credible. Omarosa’s stunt has stirred up some doubts. Ariadna Gutierrez and Brandi are getting worried that if James wins they’ll be his target and are trying to figure out how to work with him especially after the eviction ceremony. They offer him a final five deal and he agrees because why the hell not? No one’s word means anything here anyway!

 

In desperation Shannon asks Metta if they can work together but Metta’s vendetta against the house knows no bounds. Apparently he’s out to get everyone equally (and not being shy about it) which is a strategy we’ve never seen before but seems to be working.

Julie Chen has messages from home for the celebs. It’s been 17 days since they’ve seen their families and this is a good way to kill some time and make the contestants emotional. Metta sets his eyes on a video from his wife and nearly loses his mind! It’s clear to see why he’s so desperate to get home! Ariadna Gutierrez’s dad appears on screen to wish her well from what looks to be a hospital bed and now everyone’s in tears!

Time for the VETO competition. One by one the players are invited into a pitch black restaurant to make their way through four “courses” as quickly as possible. Ross is up first and thanks to the power of night vision we get to watch him fumble over obstacles and wade through gross messes. There is literally no skill involved here at all. Covered in honey and spaghetti sauce and God only know what else, Ross comes out looking like a science experiment. James is up next and it’s hard to tell who’s doing a better job. There’s no timer as a reference so we literally won’t know until Big Brother tells us. James also comes out looking like a hot mess. Ari’s up and she’s lost her shoes in the honey pit which is weighing her down so much she’s also at risk of losing her pants.

It’s Omarosa’s turn and her strategy is to try to finish off somewhere in the middle. Sporting a swim cap and goggles, you really can’t tell if it’s her fumbling around or an alien but she too loses her pants in the honey (I guess for every Ari you’re bound to get an Omarosa – balance in the universe and whatnot). Brandi is up next and fares fairly modestly. It’s now Shannon’s turn and this is her only chance to stay in the house this week. Not only does the messiness of this challenge make it fun to watch but seeing the celebrities foolishly feel their way around in the dark is so satisfying. The women are good sports though and keep the complaints and squealing to a minimum.

It’s time to find out who did the course in the shortest time. Ross comes in at 9:46. Ari pulls in 12:02. Omarosa’s time is 19:29. Was it the asthma? Maybe she was out of breath. I know what you’re thinking. No one could possibly do worse than this. Enter Brandi at 21:29. Before the challenge she did admit to having a glass of wine to loosen up. How big was that glass? Shannon’s time is 8:41 effectively putting her in the lead. James’ score is the last to be revealed – can he beat Shannon’s time? He can and he does at 6:41. Looks like Omarosa will be going up in his place and she knows it. Her jaw is literally on the floor.

Behind the scenes Ari considers putting up Mark in James’ place but it doesn’t make sense. Ross tries to talk her out of it. For a woman who’s trying to keep her hands clean I have to wonder how much of this is a legitimate consideration and how much is just clever editing to keep us guessing.

Not surprisingly James uses the VETO on himself and Ari has to pick a replacement. She chooses Mark. What?! Omarosa is smiles all around. Dodged a bullet there, did ya? It’s time to plead their cases and Shannon uses her time to support Animal Avengers, an animal protection charity she believes in. Very classy.

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And now for the vote. Everyone votes for Shannon except for Brandi. Not sure where this has come from but I’m looking forward to finding out on Sunday night. By a vote of 5-1 Shannon has been voted out. It’s hugs all around and Shannon takes the eviction with her head held high.

For the HOH competition the yard is set up like a gym and the players all have courtside seats. The goal is to be the last seated celebrity – another physical challenge. The first three houseguests who drop out of the competition will get slop (yes, finally!). My guess is Marissa, Ross and Mark are going to be reaching for some mouthwash later this evening.

With 8 players left and only 7 episodes left, it feels like a double eviction will be in the works for this week. Who do you want to see crowned the new HOH? Leave your choice in the comments below.

Who would you love to see backdoored this week? Leave a comment below.