'Big Brother' recap: Grieve Me Alone

There was a live POV competition, which Jordan won. Returning from commercial, Jeff, Jordan, and Kevin were having a fervent negotiation in the other room. I thought they were hammering out a deal to put up Russell, but instead Jordan kept the nominees the same, and Lydia went home, garnering only Kevin's sole vote to stay. (Feedwatchers have reported that while the TV show made it look like Jordan and Jeff were snowed by Kevin, they had actually begun to doubt his story.) Lydia died as she lived: hypocritically. In her campaign speech, she said there would be no hard feelings if she was voted out. Then, when she was, she hugged Kevin and then stormed out without acknowledging anyone else. You stay classy, Lydia!

One last comment by Lydia caught my ear. When asked by Julie about her last-minute bonding with Natalie, she sighed, ''Yeah, that was tough. I got a kid sister I really didn't want...It's kind of like that playful puppy dog, and I'm like this old wolf going, Leave me alone, I want to sleep, I want to do my hair and makeup, I don't want to play badminton with you.'' I love how Lydia's idea of the elder statesman is someone who just wants to do her hair and makeup. This is exactly what a ninth grader would say if she didn't want to play with her sixth-grade sister.

We left off with a cliffhanger of an HOH competition, as the houseguests tried to drop — or ''recycle'' — cans into tiny tubes. (BB is way too proud of its recycling this season. Have you noticed those randomly long, loving close-ups of the house's recycling bins that have been a staple of the season? It looks like BB has a product placement deal with the Sierra Club.) I'd actually like to see Michelle win HOH, because that would add a crazy wild-card aspect to the direction of the game. Plus, I can't keep track of whether she's one of the good people or evil people, and this might help straight that out.

What did you think of Chima's expulsion? Did she deserve it? And will you miss Lydia, or were you glad to see her go? And finally, why does Kevin refuse to cover his ears with his sweatshirt hood? So many questions! While pondering them, don't forget to check out Julie Chen's blog, as well as our video interview with Lydia, which will be going up later on Friday. (Until then, make sure to watch last week's chat with an oddly bitter Jessie.)