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Another "Showmance" Could Be Broken Up On 'BB17'
We're getting down to the wire on Big Brother 17 , which means we're at the point where alliances have to be broken up whether the houseguests like it or not. Since Vanessa has been masterfully playing everyone in the house the entire season, I had no clue as to who she was going to nominate for eviction after she won the Head of Household competition this week. But after being so gung ho about breaking up the Austwins last week, I thought she might be leaning toward getting either Austin or Liz out this week. But no. Vanessa has chosen to target the other "showmance" in the house by nominating John and Steve for eviction.
So clearly John and Steve are not technically in a showmance since they're not romantically involved, but their closeness and the adorable bromance thing they've got going on has caused Vanessa to dub them that term for one of the most threatening alliances there could be in the game of Big Brother. The feeling Vanessa had that John and Steve would bring each other to the end no matter what caused her to keep her word to the other showmance of Austin and Liz to advance in the game with them by booting out one of those dudes.
I've been simultaneously in awe of Vanessa's gameplay and perplexed by it for a while now. On the one hand, she's a master manipulator with the ability to do things like convince Julia to try to take out Austin during last week's Bowlerina veto competition (like, what?). On the other, she sometimes lets her emotions and her relationship with Austwins get the better of her.
So after seeing Vanessa win HoH this week, I was convinced that taking out either Austin or Liz would be the best move for her if she wanted a chance at making it to the final two and eventually winning the game. But after watching Sunday night's episode, I'm not so sure.
While I do agree with her that it's very likely that John and Steve are guaranteed to bring one another to the final two, it was more Austin's actions that made me see things differently. Austin has been gradually moving away from protecting Liz and Julia at all cost over the past few weeks, which we saw really manifest itself during last week's veto competition. At this point, he is now more interested in looking out for his own safety than worrying about Liz's, even if he does love her.
Austin has even gone so far as to reaffirm his alliance with Vanessa and make it seem like he's willing to uphold the final two deal they made on day two in the Big Brother house. Before this, it didn't seem like Vanessa had anyone in the house she could really consider a partner who would bring her to the final two, so if Austin is genuine in his intentions, this could be a golden ticket for her to make it to the BB17 finale.
Though Vanessa and Austin have definitely had their fair share of ups and downs this season, they've always managed to work through them and maintain their relationship, so I actually feel good about the chances of this partnership lasting until the end. Sure, if Liz is still in the house, Austin might be persuaded to follow his heart rather than his head, but we've already seen Austin go back on his word a few times on BB17 by way of his professional wrestling alter ego Judas. Who's to say he won't come out again?
For more on this season of Big Brother, check out Bustle's podcast The Diary Room.
