Though often entertaining, Big Brother has not had me caring about who gets evicted for some time now. In fact, ever since Erik and Jessica went down in season 8, I haven’t cared at all which of the horrid houseguests perished and which won a decent sum of money.
This season, I had a similar reaction for much of the show; I was annoyed when 3 of my early favourites were evicted first but then was relieved every week that followed, when a slew of annoying stock characters were sent packing. Then, over time, I began to appreciate some of the players.
If you’ve been reading all summer you’ll know of my love for Memphis and my extreme dislike of Jerry; you’ll also know that I like Keesha enough but that she’s not very important at all, that I think Renny is nuts but don’t want to turn off the TV whenever she’s in the room (a feat for any BB contestant) and you’ll remember my conundrum of admiring Dan’s unique and thoughtful gameplay while despising much of what he stands for.

And all of a sudden… I care again. I’m not sure how they wormed their way into my heart, but I want The Renegades (Memphis and Dan) to be the final 2 almost as much as I wanted it for Chilltown (Will and Boogie) in All-Stars season 7. Hence, this week, for the first time in years, I was on the edge of my seat, rooting for Memphis (who has won a surprisingly low number of competitions) to win the veto so he could save Dan and keep their secret alliance alive.

Maybe it’s because I love good strategy over competition prowess (a staple of both Dan and Memphis’ game); maybe it’s because Memphis is the only truly non-moron to hit the house since season 8’s Erik, and Dan’s gameplay will keep him in the game; maybe it’s because there hasn’t been a successful secret alliance since Danielle and Jason in season 3; or maybe it’s just because I like these boys, but Dan and Memphis have me rooting for them and actually caring what happens on Big Brother.