Big Brother's "Puppet Mistress" on Getting Her Strings Cut

After letting her pull the strings since Week 1, the Big Brother 10 houseguests finally got wise and cut short Libra's stay in the house. Unfortunately for them, the self-proclaimed "puppet mistress" still has control over the remaining players, as with her eviction she became the first member of the sevent-person jury who crowns the winner. Because of that, we couldn't get too detailed in our chat, but we did manage to get her thoughts on this season's voting habits, how she survived so long without winning HOH and what she's planning to do with her week alone in the jury house.

TVGuide.com: You dominated the game early on. Why do you think you're sitting here now?
Libra Thompson: I'm a little bummed out for sure, but if you try to take risks in Big Brother, it's not always the best way to go about it. It was an experience, a journey, and I'm glad to be a part of it. And I had a lot of fun!

TVGuide.com:  I've been calling you the puppet master since Week 2. Was that always your plan?
Libra: I apparently didn't get the memo. From the onset, I was going to be one of the players that just kind of stays in the background, at least until Week 5. I wasn't going to say much and just look around and see what I was working with.

TVGuide.com: That obviously didn't last very long.
Libra: Yeah, that didn't work so much. We are all A-type dynamic individuals in that house, and we all want to be heard. So as I began to see the dynamics, I decided that might not be the best play for me. And once the HOH competitions weren't going my way, I decided that maybe if I could work together with others while they were in their HOH reign and convince them what needed to happen to benefit me, that it could work. So I started working angles and putting things in people's ears, and it worked for a little bit. But, then I got busted.

TVGuide.com: You certainly had a lot of power for someone who was never technically "in power." Did you have to adjust for each new HOH?
Libra: I definitely had to work with each person differently, because each week there was a different personality to work with. Whether it was stroking an ego or highlighting some of the perfect things about that person, whatever I needed to do to make sure that I was always within earshot of them, I pretty much did it.

TVGuide.com: When did you feel that it started to unravel?
Libra: I didn't even realize that I was doing it to the extent that I was until Jessie started giving the rundown of all the people who had left basically because of me. But I would always tell people, "I'm just one vote," but then I started to realize that maybe people were listening to me. At home that never happens, but here they were actually taking heed to me. It would have worked if I could have hung on for a couple more weeks and maybe won an HOH in there.

TVGuide.com: This season, many of the eviction votes were, like yours, unanimous, except for when you and Keesha split the house over Jessie. Do you think what's happened to you is exactly why the houseguests vote together?
Libra: People are definitely scared, and I'm sure after the big flip last week, they see that going out on a limb might end up putting them out here like me. So I think people were really cautious with their votes this week, and it's sad that people are scared to play the game. I came in as a gamer and ready to play, but if some of them feel that a vote buys them an extra week or two in the house, I guess that's what they have to do.

TVGuide.com: Big Brother's always been known for the fights, but this season has had its share of shouting matches.  How did you manage to be involved in most of them?
Libra: [Laughs] Drama, drama, drama. I'm not the kind of person who’s going to back down. If it's something that I feel at that moment, I'm going to say my mind. And there's a lot of people in the house like that. The reason the drama involved me a lot was because I was involving myself in it a lot. When you're trying to manipulate minds and have people think your way, you've got to be in a lot of pots. And some of my pots boiled over. But not backing down is my nature, so it doesn't surprise me that I was involved most of the time.

TVGuide.com: You were obviously playing a good game. Is anyone playing it better?
Libra: I honestly think Keesha is doing a really good job. She was able to forge relationships and get a rapport with people being HOH. When you get HOH, you can really filter out what's going on in the house. People trying to save their own butts will come to you and sell you their soul. So she was able to feel people out and work that to her advantage. Plus, she is a little more sleuth than me —  I was much more overt with my operations and she's more undercover.

TVGuide.com: So do you think Keesha will win? If not, who do think can?
Libra: It's interesting. Previous seasons usually picked out the weaker players and the strong ones are there at the end. This season, a lot of the stronger people have left early, so the players that are seemingly more weak are in the house. But there is no one weak person — you've got to be strong to be in that house already. So it's a crapshoot. Any one person can win this game

TVGuide.com: Is there anyone that you definitely don't want to win?
Libra: You can't hate the player, you got to hate the game. I'm a gamer, I take it as a game, and I'm not going to sit here and bang my head against the wall because I walked out that door. Some play personally, but when you come out of the house and you have a great life and family and kids, you know it's just a game So, for me personally, may the best man or woman win.

TVGuide.com: Aside from planning your Hawaiian vacation, what are you going to do all by yourself in that jury house this week?
Libra: I don’t want to tell you what I really am going to do, but I know I am going to relax and take some time to get a moment of solace. The house is intense, so to have this opportunity to be by yourself and reflect is going to be great. And as people come in, it's all about open arms and having a good laugh because at the end of the day, we're all just a bunch of losers.

Watch full episodes of Big Brother 10 in our Online Video Guide.
Sign up now for our free Daily Scoop e-mail newsletter to get the inside scoop.
Send your comments on this Q&A to online_insider@tvguide.com.