LAST EDITED ON 07-10-10 AT 07:29 PM (EST)

From Jokers live feeds reports:

"annie said she was sitting with the girls during the blackout, and brit said "no you werent"
the guys wonder if brit can be accounted for during the blackout. matt doesnt want to rule her out unless he is absolutely sure. "

and

"Annie tells Ragan Britney was speculating Ragan might be the saboteur in the cabana room."

So forgetaboutit...the black out that is.

I wondered why Matt had on shorts then pants...now I read that the houseguests mentioned there were 2 black outs.

So we're being shown clips from one and then a redirected second one?

That explains why some people moved and some didn't. Why Matt was sitting in the chair Brendan had been sitting in. Why Matt had shorts on and then had on pants in another clip. Even Annie's hair looked different.

I've read good rationale for Matt or Ragan being the Sabo; I'll stick with Kathy due to her exaggerated reactions when Sabo and slop were being discussed.

Plus, duct tape x's were put on Kathy's and Brit's pictures. And Enzo and Kathy are both missing items. Kathy's trying too hard to make it seem like she's a target ,perhaps?

Maybe the houseguests talking about there being two blackouts was one of the reasons BB told them to stop talking about the Sabo?

This puts the official death to playing along at home. If the banker's going to cheat, the only fair response is to set the board on fire.

LAST EDITED ON 07-11-10 AT 04:26 PM (EST)

Here from Quirkydude are the clips & the key points added:

Note Annie's hair change, too. It's "put up" in the later pic; it was gathered into a loose ponytail in the first one.

Very nicely done -- unlike all effort put in by the show's editing team for this sequence. But my point stands: if you're going to play around with the clues, expect the book to be thrown across the room.

If only we had to put up with the sabotage for a mere five weeks.

Inquiring minds want to know...

why, after a private Brigade discussion with Enzo in the HN room, after Enzo left the room, did Matt turn to the BB camera and smile and give a thumbs up? Was that the Sabo sign to BB?

LAST EDITED ON 07-12-10 AT 08:11 AM (EST)

What editing did do however during last night was at the very end when they asked: "who is the saboteur?" we saw Matt, Kathy and Andrew on screen. It has to be one of those three. Also, to eliminate some more, we could go back to the opening sequence when the announcer told us about only half the cast saying: One is a doctor, one is a genius one is a Vegas showgirl etc... Those not named can't be the saboteur (but I didn't take notes!)

Matt has to be the saboteur.

LAST EDITED ON 07-12-10 AT 10:15 AM (EST)

Do they beat us over the head with obvious editing clues, or do they use them to try and mislead us?

I tend to the theory that the producers will use editing to mislead us, in which case the obvious "suspicious looks" shots would be red herrings. Hence my hunch that Monet is the leading candidate for saboteur.

But I have to admit Andrew is a candidate also, he isn't ruled out by being on a couch during the blackout, and he seemed to be much too ready to volunteer for weenie in the first challenge. This could have been preplanned to insure his immunity for the first week in which the producers have less influence. It might seem fishy at first, but subsequent events would tend to obscure this and the others might be looking at someone else by the time nominations came around for the second elimination.

My primary vote is still Monet, but back up is Andrew. I'll admit Kathy raised my Sherlockian eyebrows too.

ETA: I don't know exactly what to make about the 'Xed' pictures. I assume (? Don't know if this holds up or not) that the pictures were taped in the night, and that any one of them could have done it. The producers may just want to cause over thinking and pointless confusion. Maybe to throw everyone off of Andrew's scent?

LAST EDITED ON 07-12-10 AT 05:38 PM (EST)

I believe editing does both! They showed Matt, Andrew and Kathy probably because they knew those 3 were the top vote getters up to now. Two false indications but 1 is the right one. They wouldn't completely ignore the saboteur like they did to Kristen and Monet in this episode.

The problem with Andrew is that his ploy made him a huge target for next week. That's still 3 weeks short. Matt made an immunity deal with Hayden that was much more effective. He had to know going next to last was the best place. It's always the last two standing that can make deals.

Well yeah, that makes sense. If Monet gets a little more face time or a quasi-saboteur edit tonite, there will be a stronger case for her. As for Andrew, he has put a target on his back and that might be misdirection, but I just can’t get past his unhesitating willingness (per the edit) to volunteer to be the weenie without (supposedly) his knowing that it meant he would be immune for one week. I think it’s a good bet that either he had been let in on the secret or he was blindly following producer’s instructions, and that he is the saboteur. Don’t forget, he is the prime suspect (he was the nearest off couch hamster to the locked door when the lights came on) in the locked pantry door caper.

I think I caught a lie by Monet. In the background of one of the shots while detailing who was where during the blackout she says she (wild paraphrase) “You were next to me, she was there, and I was here all the time”. But according to the stills, she is lying about her own position, she clearly wasn’t there all the time. The fact that there two (or more?) blackouts might explain that, but it did seem as if she was trying to establish a false alibi for herself.

Wish-washy fellow that I am, I’m reversing my order. First guess is Andrew, second is Monet. After Tuesday’s show I may change it again.

I haven't had much time to do anything other than watch the two shows on CBS.

My guess would be either Matt or Kathy. Matt because he is allegedly "so smart." Why would a genius go on this show? Kathy because no cop is that stupid, although we do have Louie and Michael from TAR.

I find it hard to believe Kathy struggled that much with those two comps.

Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie

But that only put a target on Kathy. If she would have wanted to throw the competition she could have spent all her time in the popcorn bucket, pretending to be unable to find a tooth. It would have been soooo less obvious.

And, since there definitely was going to be a Have-not team, there was nothing to sabotage. Actually, winning the competition would have meant 4 contestants would be Have-Nots instead of only 3 + the saboteur.

I have 2 thoughts on who the Sabo is. The obvious one is Andrew because as stated, the producers probably told him to volunteer out of the first HOH and give him that immunity so the twist didn't get voted out the first week. But moreso I am leaning towards Brittney. She choked bigtime on the first 2 comps, and she seems very flaky so she could be trying too hard to throw stuff as part of her sabotage.

I haven't followed all the positional tracking ... I'm not good at that stuff.

My thought is that the producers want above all for the twist to last long enough to be memorable. If I were them, I wouldn't cast one of the demographic or lifestyle misfits as saboteur. I would cast someone with the personality to mingle with the herd.

I would not cast Kathy or Andrew, as they both have a great shot at getting voted out because they are different. Although Ragan is mingling well as far as what I've seen, he is older. (I think being the gay guy would work in his favor.)

The most likely person to stay in is a pretty girl who is good at getting along with people. Any of the strong males have the potential to be seen as early threats, but then their alliance was kind of predictable, so it could be one of the big guys, but see next point.

The saboteur should have brains. That leaves out Enzo and probably Lane and Hayden. Brendan has brains that were hidden by "swim coach" -- but then he goes and outs himself, as does Rachel. And they start a showmance, drawing early fire. Annie too is not playing with enough emotional attachment.

Then comes the question of whether CBS would edit Sabo as UTR week one. Both Kristin and Monet were UTR on air. There won't be much impact for the audience if either one is announced, as it will be more WHO?

I lean towards Britney or Matt. Neither is perceived as an athletic threat; both are socializing well. Kathy and Britney have a bit of a tiff going, but I think Kathy is the one hurt by it.

The only thing with Britney is she's let herself be known as the BB expert, right? Sabo really shouldn't reveal having that much knowledge about the show.
Matt is an obvious casting choice if CBS was looking at IQ as a Sabo casting factor.

You tell me if either of them is ruled out by the couch position.
Lastly, IF the Sabo put the lock on, then Sabo knew the blackout would happen, and should have been in a position for a quick exit when it started, certainly not touching anyone. For me that would be the more telling shot to look at.

However, producers could have done the padlock to get the Sabo twist going and make everyone start analyzing who was where, in which case Sabo should have been cozying up to someone. While that is a "not fair" way to start the twist, I wouldn't put it past the producers.

But, to counter that, if they plan to show us footage of what Sabo did as part of the reveal, like they did at the end of The Mole, then Sabo must have done the padlock.

They are so ripping off The Mole with this twist.

Matt does seem most likely. I think the saboteur knew exactly when the black-out would happen so he was already by the door at that time and got to the couch while everyone was still panicking.

"hey are so ripping off The Mole with this twist"

I think they are also trying to cash on the interest created by Russell.

The thing with this twist is that I wouldn't want to unmask the saboteur. If I had it figured out, I would make an alliance with him. What better ally than someone who doesn't want to win? I promise him 5 weeks if he doesn't sabotage me.

It brings up the question of how the saboteur gets knocked out the game. You (probably) can't walk up to every hamster and say 'You're it', then watch to see who leaves. Do they have to be caught in the act? Presented with proof? It's possible that if you said 'I know you're the one and here's why,' you'd lose that hamster before you could ever reach 'alliance'.

But you're right: the saboteur has a vested financial interest in being protected until Week #5 -- which is why the producers, upon seeing that kind of pairing, would immediately order repeated sabotage of the alliance partner. Fun for the whole family.

It's BB. The goal is to pay as few people as possible.

I meant that the clues left, and the confessionals where hamsters analyze Molish (I mean Sabo) behavior, are reminiscent of The Mole. I see the Russell connection, and I think you're right, but in form, Russell's few bits of sabotage had a different impact, because no one knew it was a saboteur.

They could have cast a Russell like Saboteur who would act more like America's Houseguest and carry out a secret agenda. Instead, they announced the twist, which makes if more Molish -- especially the not eligible to win part.

They did change it up though, because this Sabo/Mole can be evicted/executed, and is only a twist, whereas of course on The Mole, guessing the identity is the whole deal.

Julie didn't say what would happen to the Saboteur if he/she makes the five week mark, did she? It's possible the producers could just do a reveal and take the person out of the house at that point.

Or, and this seems very likely to me, if the Sabo makes it thru the fifth week we learn what stage two of the twist is. And how much money the Sabo will earn if he/she makes it thru, say, the tenth week.

It seems to me that 50K wouldn't be enough to tempt someone from going for the big reward without a promise of possibly more to come.

What happens after week 5? The lame thing would be to reveal him to the hamster and have him leave the house. The interesting thing would be to have him take away part of the $500 000 first prize for each additional week the saboteur stays in the house! Like $50 000 a week. Find the saboteur would REALLY become important.

Not just petty, but cheap. Expect the producers to steal it. (As long as no one gets the removed money. At least, none of the hamsters. Ever.)

LAST EDITED ON 07-14-10 AT 10:31 AM (EST)

I like that (rewardingthe Sabo with part/all of the grand prize).

Which means it's DOOMED! Doomed I tell ya!