Ruining Big Brother 18 – September 4th

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Victor
HOH Nominated – Natalie, James
Veto Winner – Corey
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette #9 Paulie #10 Victor #11 Michelle

The September 4th TV show starts as James and Natalie find out that Meech is going home last Thursday night and thus realize they’re a lone duo in the game. For some reason this is a shocker to them and, of course, sends Michelle into the land of tissues and tears. It’s all Meech’s doing, though. She talks to Nicole, campaigning for the first time since being nominated, about an hour before the live eviction show and, surprise surprise, it’s too little and too late. This TV show edit is pretty on the mark, unlike some of the other ones in this September 4th show. We gotta admit that we were disappointed to see Corey’s sleep-talking get a segment when Victor’s nature watch bits with are so funny and entertaining. Hopefully Wednesday’s show will give Victor’s nature watch talents a spotlight.

The HOH competition stays pretty close but it’s slow going and everybody’s frustrated and shredding their digits throughout. Victor keeps his momentum going best. He’s a steady player… and the best! James, meanwhile has tiny fingers and works diligently but gets nowhere, like a comedy pratfaller making zero progress for nearly the entire competition though he’s clearly trying his best. The other players, though, are all getting closer to the win at about the same rate despite Nicole making silly egg puns the whole time. Soon after James gets his first letter Victor wins it all and becomes the next HOH, as we already knew. Speaking of already knowing stuff, James and Natalie predict right after the comp that they’re going on the block the next day. Correct, sir and lady!

Next we see a flashback to Victor and Paul calling their bro alliance the Sitting Ducks. But the true sitting ducks are James and Natalie, their partnership starts to crumble as James says things like, “You don’t have to like me back,” and then she comforts him that she likes him for who he is and no other reason. This isn’t exactly an accurate rendition of the Nat/James dynamic this week or even how Natalie talks to James. She’s much more of a mixed message type… and that’s putting it kindly. One minute she’s calling him her “soulmate” and next she’s saying they should just be friends. James then explains to Victor and Paul that he betrayed them the week before because of his final four deal with Corey, Nicole, and Natalie… but just as he’s making his point Corey and Nicole come into HOH and interrupt the conversation. So, James sucks it up and leaves. This is typical of James who is far too passive. Why didn’t he just ask for a minute to talk with Victor and Paul? It’s not that difficult to do. But no, he just gives up. He goes to Natalie resigned and she says, “What am I gonna do without you?” James replies, “You’re gonna win,” and she knows he’s right; (for once) Nat’s gotta play the damn game for herself. Oh yeah. In fact, from that moment forward she really starts detaching herself from James and the comments are far more on the, “Let’s just be friends,” trajectory these days. One of them is leaving the house and she’s prepping herself for being James-free. It’s actually pretty smart.

In the nomination ceremony Victor keeps it simple with his speeches. All he says is that Natalie is the pawn and James was the deciding vote that got him out. So, it’s all pretty clear and makes sense. Paul and Victor are happy. Then in the Diary Room James makes an idiotic comment about how he’s responsible for Natalie being on the block and wants to win the Veto so he can take her off and make it up to her. Why James wants to sacrifice his (non) game for her makes no sense. C’mon, James. Everything was making sense for a second there! Why’d you have to go and ruin it with your silly remarks. Are you channeling Marcellas Reynolds (from BB Season 3) now?

 

The September 4th feeds begin with a bang even though Victor and Paul are calmly sipping coffee outside. Natalie comes to join them and immediately says she wants them to vote her out and keep James. At the same time James says to Corey that he wants to be voted out so they’ll keep Natalie. Paul responds by asking Nat what she’ll do if they kept her. This stuns Natalie. She doesn’t want to answer other than saying that of course she would fight for herself. But then Nat says, “It’s just really hard being on the block with your best friend,” which really bugs them because she put them on the bock together. Victor was even evicted as a result. Victor and Paul joke about it for the rest of the day. Corey decides to integrate all of this “strategy” into his Veto speech, “Well, since you both say that you want to leave this house, I don’t see much point in using the Veto to take you off the block.” Ha ha. It might actually make a semi-interesting Veto ceremony for the first time in Season 18.

Later in the evening we get some freestyle rap from “el douchebag “(Victor’s self ascribed rapper name) and it’s hilarity in the kitchen. Certainly more fun to listen to than Nicole’s whining or Jatalie’s bickering taking place in other rooms. The rappin’ mostly involves Vic engaging Paul across the counter with raps like, “Inside his beard/ is another beard/ and inside that beard …” And he even says, “Mic check on Mr Jenkins” at one point. Mr. Jenkins, being, of course, the basil plant that Bridgette had to leave behind when she was evicted. Thank you, Victor, for the endless reams of entertainment.

– Katherine Recap