TV

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Natalie
HOH Nominated – Paul, Victor
Veto Winner – Paul
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette #9 Paulie
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – Paul
Have-Nots – Victor, James
Have-Not Supplement – Pies

On the August 20th Big Brother feeds Natalie’s particular brand of HOHitis carries the unusual symptoms of big hair and enormous indecision. She flip flops back and forth about who her actual target is this week. Luckily the Veto competition follows suit in the afternoon to help nail it down a bit. Initially Nat battles a mental tug of war between Paul and Corey as her ultimate evictees. The only thing she’s certain about is how find she is of Victor and that she’ll be upset if he ends up going home this week. It’s hard to imagine, since he came back the house how Victor could have been such a pariah before and remain so beloved now. Yet he’s somehow the same Puerto Rican sensation. Maybe it’s because when he came back into the house FitVIc came to PLAY the game. Whereas upon first entry Victor really seemed more interested in becoming a soap star or some such media darling nonsense.

Paul wins the Veto and the feeds come back at around seven Big Brother time after four and a half hours of competing. Natalie thus immediately begins her guilt spiral that Victor’s still on the block… and a Have-Not. Lucky for Nat Nat, it doesn’t matter anymore that she can’t decide anything. The decision once Paul pulls himself off the block is wholly in Michelle’s hands.

Thus, Victor and Paul talk with Meech about it in the Safari room. When Michelle out Paul up on the block she said he was a liar and a manipulator, given some info she’d accrued in the BB house. So, there’s a funny moment during their conversation when Paul says he doesn’t want to tell her what to do and then proceeds to tell her she should put Corey up on the block in his place. Michelle tells him to, “stop manipulating” and it’s pretty snicker-worthy. She seems to be vacillating between putting up Corey and Nicole. All we know is that we want our Puerto Rican sensation kept safe. Corey on the block would make this more of a certainty, so we’re cheering for that choice right now. We’ll stay abreast of the decision-making progress for you here at Fetchland and on twitter @RuiningBB18.

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Natalie
HOH Nominated – Paul, Victor
Veto Winner – TBD
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette #9 Paulie
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – Paul
Have-Nots – Victor, James
Have-Not Supplement – TBD

The beginning of August 19th feeds brought America’s care package into Meech’s grateful hands. This wasn’t an ideal scenario exactly because Victor, our hero,  isn’t safe this week… yet. There’s always the Veto, which could be twisted into yet another nickname for Victor if you look at it cockeyed enough. But at least Michelle’s co-HOH ends up bringing lots of excitement to the house with drama, scheming surprises, and even some fighting. Natalie seems genuinely pleased to share the bloody gloves with her buddy Meech and thus they decide to make an unexpected move together.

Everyone expects Nat and Michelle to nominate Corey and Nicole and it makes sense, especially after they spend most of August 19th chatting it up with Victor and Paul. Right after Paul and Victor exit the HOH room, though, it’s time for plotting against them – Paul specifically. Michelle and Natalie decide to put up Paul and Victor. They have a few reasons, most of which they never tell the pair after nominations. For instance, Natalie keeps saying she thinks that in the scenario of Nicorey on the block Corey will win Veto and Nicole will end up going home. Nat says she doesn’t want to be responsible for “a girl going home” given that she’s all about girl power. Also, they both believe Paul is a threat and needs to go home. He’s been manipulative, lying, and all-around sketch. So, they forewarn Victor and tell him he’s just a pawn. After noms Nicorey meet in the storage room to celebrate with jumping and hand moves.

Right after they tell Vic the plan it’s time for nominations. So, Victor has zero time to warn Paul. The resultant fireworks after the ceremony are FUN and end up flipping the house yet again. Paul confronts everybody and keeps saying that they could have just said, “You’re gonna win this game so I’m putting you on the block,” and that would have been fine but they called him a liar. So, now he wants to talk about it. Funny thing is that the whole time Michelle and Natalie were chatting before noms they kept saying they could totally see Paul winning the game.  Then the whole shebang ends up in the late night hours of August 19th with that particular fear brought to fruition. Paul most likely IS going to win it. He talked his way out of his liar liar pants on fire status and flipped this whole thing back into his favor. Many confrontations bring it all out, followed by Paul-brand soft talking and then it’s all friendship all over again.

Soon after Paul distills the HOHs back down to approve putting Corey and Nicole on blast, he takes that job upon himself. He faces Nicole across the kitchen about lies she’s told. It’s not as funny as the “whole family” confrontation right after the nominations because Paul doesn’t have his floaty on this time. Also, we already pretty much know what’s going to happen because Paul talks about it with Meech and Natalie, along with Victor and James (the silent duo) before the confrontation. One funny element, though, is that clad only in his undies, Corey puts on his patriot unitard costume throughout the tense convo.

So, the Sunday veto competition is crucial for Paul. He’s up all night August 19th “studying” for it all the way until past six in the morning. The guy who always talks about he’s just in the Big Brother house to have fun and for kicks is cramming like his life depends on it. He’s in it to win it, that much is certain. In fact, during the “friendship” talk with Natalie and Meech in the wee hours Natalie felt so badly about nominating him she cries and apologizes to Paul. Meanwhile Victor and James sit by silent and nodding the entire time. By the end of the “friendship” convo Nat and Meech are contrite and determined to backdoor Corey. It’s as if Paul’s already won the whole thing at this point..

Quote of the day:

Paul after nominations talking to Meech and Nat – I’m not here to tell you that you made a bad decision… but you guys did blow it.

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Natalie
HOH Nominated – TBD
Veto Winner – TBD
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette #9 Paulie
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – Paul
Have-Nots – TBD
Have-Not Supplement – TBD

The live show of August 18th begins as an exceedingly sad Paulie sits next to Uncle Sam on the block, red-eyed and puffy with an infinite frown. Julie even says in the intro that Paulie has hit “rock bottom” and then they show Paulie crying over the butterfly in the backyard. Next Paulie refuses to make the apple pies. The other houseguests pep talk and prod him to be strong and do the right thing. Make the damn pies, kiddo. Meech is happy because she’s no longer, “the biggest crybaby in the house”. Then Corey’s Paulie pep talk feels a lot like a cutting room takeaway from Hoosiers and BB provides some music in the scene just to let us know how to feel about it. Corey’s speech “works” and Paulie starts campaigning hardcore while waving his tiny pie flag. The funniest part of this section is when he’s campaigning to James who can’t take his eyes off the back and forth of the flag in front of him.

In the jury house Da’vonne says her biggest regret is not keeping her mouth shut in the game. Then she’s disappointed to see Zakiyah join her in jury after throwing the HOH. Day then gets seriously righteous about Paulie not using the Veto on Zakiyah, understandably. Bridgette joins them and they’re thrilled to see Michelle’s “goodbye” snake message about Nicole on the BB-provided video. After that the trio chant for Paulie to be the next one evicted.

Speaking of which, Paulie’s goodbye speech goes a bit long as he kisses everybody’s BB butts. Corey has a similar farewell message including that Nicole is “the sweetest cuddliest snake”. Then all the houseguest votes evict Paulie. There’s no sympathy vote after all. His ticket opening feels like a heart-pounding adventure crammed into thirty seconds but then it turns out he just has a one way to the jury house, after all. The suspense was fun, though! Julie asks Paulie about his crying while on the nomination block and he says it was all strategy. She then asks him about Zakiyah and he says he “definitely wasn’t playing her” but also seems uninterested in any relationship with Zak outside the house. Michelle says Paulie’s a “poor man’s Derrick” in her farewell video message which is funny because it’s true. Then once Paulie’s gone the houseguests each open their envelopes and Paul has the one way ticket. Though it’s moot now anyway Paul has fun dancing around in his Secret Service suit and pelican floaty. We’re still fans of the man for moments like this. In the end, Julie reveal a new twist, a jury buyback. So, one of the jurors will get back into the house after they battle it out competition-style..

After the show on the feeds before the HOH competition there are many re-tellings of Paulie’s campaigning comments. One that keeps coming up is how Paulie advised Michelle AND Natalie to join up with Nicorey so they can put Victor and Paul on the block together as a team. Meech has the most fun of all repeating it. Meanwhile Nicole goes straight to James and tells him to put up Paul and Michelle next to each other rather than putting her on the block – all before anyone has even played in the HOH comp. Then, after a long and apparently messy HOH challenge, Natalie emerges victorious. She’s happy and chatty all night long with her nomination decision still up in the air come morning. We’re excited to see who wins America’s care package to share the HOH by her side. Will it be Victor? Tune in to Fetchland.com and check out our tweets @RuiningBB18 to find out the daily scoop.

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Victor
HOH Nominated – Corey, Paulie
Veto Winner – Victor
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – TBD
Have-Nots – Michelle, Nicole
Have-Not Supplement – Sunflower seeds and corn

The August 17th TV episode brings Paulie’s game decay and the zings we’ve all been longing to see. It opens with the aftermath of nominations and Paulie telling us he’s headed into full-on beast mode in Diary Room. It’s not just a game to him because he’s a “born and bred competitor. Then there’s the kitchen confrontation between Paulie and Victor when Victor stands strong. “Some plans don’t work out. That one didn’t work out for you,” and Paulie has to suck it up, which just spins his top even harder.

After that we see the Veto player pick and Paulie asks Michelle if she would take him off the block if she won. She says, “No,” so, he picks Nicole. This means Meech is the only one who won’t participate in the Veto comp because Natalie hosts and everyone else plays. Paul says after the player pick that he’s going to mess with Paulie so he’s stressed out for the Veto comp. Then we see that other early morning kitchen battle when Paul and Meech put Paulie on blast. He’s proven himself to lose his marbles a bit when he’s under strain so it’s a great strategy before the Veto. Even James gets in on it, confronting Paulie about how he flirted with Natalie even though he’s supposed to be James’s “boy”. Paulie claims in the Diary Room that this just fired him up even more to win the Veto. It’s a sympathetic edit for Paulie, making it seem like he’s being (2016 version) “bullied” as they gang up on him right before the Veto comp.

Next we see Zingbot and he zings every houseguest, including calling Victor a Dbag and Paulie a less attractive, less charming, and all around lesser person than Cody. Zingbot says Meech is a vomitcrybaby and blasts Nicole the worst, saying she can never win BB with her lame gameplay. He also calls out Paul’s catchphrases and thus Paul places his Pelican floaty on Zing’s waist. James also takes a Zingbot hit but Nat quickly comforts him. Once done with zinging, Zingbot announces he’s running for President and it’s time for the Veto comp. Nobody will go home empty handed, but only one of them can claim the Power of Veto. It’s that classic game of dirty Santa. You can take another houseguest’s prize just like in dirty Santa. First the houseguests have to “earn electoral votes” using catapults. When Paulie loses he has a hard time keeping his emotions still and even more so when Victor wins and trades his Apple Pie penalty for the Veto. He snarks that he “won’t be baking apple pie,” and then maxi-mopes in the Diary Room.

The August 17th episode wraps up with all the penalties distributed. It’s cute how Paul’s face lights up when they call him in to do his Secret Service Agent for the first time. Then he makes it look super fun. We believe in living like this, he embraces the cards he’s given and has maximum fun as he can doing it. That’s livin’… and it’s also good times for us to watch. Paulie’s pie penalty is another story as he calls waving the flag, brutal, and tears up while doing it. He’s contrite AF and gets pep talks from everyone… at least at first. As the Veto meeting begins, BB sounds a RED ALERT and Paul enthusiastically checks everyone and then sits down, satisfied and saying, “You can never be too safe”. Then in the Veto meeting Victor says it’s really all between the two of them and he can forgive but not forget, the same thing Paulie said to Victor before his eviction. Of course, Victor doesn’t use the Veto.

In the end Paulie says he’s hopeful he has the Round Trip ticket. We’ll find out tomorrow night for certain because the way the house is cemented in their decision to evict Paulie isn’t likely going to change in the next twenty four hours. Tune in on Thursday night for the live eviction and to find out once and for all who has that Round Trip ticket. We’ll keep bringing you daily updates on the feeds and TV show here at Fetchland.com as well as tweeting from @RuiningBB18.

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Victor
HOH Nominated – Corey, Paulie
Veto Winner – Victor
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – TBD
Have-Nots – Michelle, Nicole
Have-Not Supplement – Sunflower seeds and corn

The night before August 16th, the houseguests picked pies to determine the next set of Have-Nots. Michelle, James, Victor and Paulie – if he’s still around – got the unlucky Have-Not pies. So, Victor spends all of August 16th cooking and eating in the kitchen, anticipating a week of hunger ahead. Meanwhile in the realm of interior design news, the large kitchen dining table gets broken down to the mini one that seats eight people. This is symbolic and exciting for the houseguests because it represents that they’ve lasted in the house past the midway point.

Natalie lost mucho gusto because she’s sick, crampy, and still in pain. So, she takes to her bed for some restorative rest after lots of kindness, pep talks, and caring from James. He’s a master healer and says all the right things with just the gentle attention Nat needs. As soon as Natalie expresses a vulnerability, he’s right there telling her how strong she is. At one point she asks if he’s getting “annoyed with all this negativity” and James instantly comes back with a Marilyn Monroe paraphrase, “If I can’t handle you at your worst then I don’t deserve you at your best,” and even though we think that saying is kinda BS, one can’t help but admire James for saying it. He’s racking up major boyfriend points these days. On the less bright side, Natalie still has the neck pain and crankypants to go with it but we’re pulling for her to rock it out by Thursday. One thing we’ve learned for certain this season is that Nat’s tougher than she pretends to be.

August 16th serves as a major napping day in the Big Brother house with just a few bits of fun interspersed. Of course, there are RED ALERTS for Paul to do his Secret Service agent checkpoints and searches as well as Paulie’s pie time. Paulie does a strip down for one of Paul’s body searches (awkward) and then later in the evening he drops trou with his apron on while making pies. Right on cue, BB calls for another RED ALERT and Paul does a Paulie search – naked tushy and all. Many of the houseguests have fun with these RED ALERTS and disappear or at least require chasing to make the whole experience more fun.

But the most fun arises when Victor snatches up Corey’s eagle, Baldwin, for a fun and furious puppet show. Victor transforms Baldwin the stuffed eagle into an angry old man with ten baby eagles back at his nest in the hood. Baldwin yells at James about money he owes the cranky ass old eagle and berates him to the point that afterward James admitted, “I started to feel like I really owed that stuffed eagle money,” and everybody laughs, in the house as well as feedsters. Victor was truly hilarious as the curmudgeonly eagle, even making the puppet move in all the appropriate motions to intensify his outbursts. This won’t likely make it to the TV show due to the numerous F bombs Victor attributed to Baldwin.

Meanwhile when it comes to Big Brother gameplay, right now it appears we’ve got three teams settled and squared off against each other. There’s Corey and Nicole, who get more nervous with each passing moment he remains on the block. They spend many hours of August 16th whispering nervously. So, we see the seeds Michelle and James planted sprout into beautiful paranoia petunias in the Nicorey bed of the Toyko room. The other two teams are Paul with Victor and James joined-at-the-hip to Natalie. Where’s Michelle in all this? Still sitting pretty, Meech has situated herself into a strong, unpaired position. Each pair trusts her and would welcome her in their final threesome. All she has to do is keep it up and she’s golden to get through this. Meech helps it all along as she offers herself to be a pawn whenever game talk arises. We think if you asked Michelle who she’d most want to join for final three, she’d say Paul and Victor. And right now it also seems like the most likely scenario.

But there’s no way to know for certain how the cookie will actually crumble. Like any other game, Big Brother always maintains an intrinsic element of luck and many unexpected twists get thrown into the game too. They keep those houseguests on their toes to never forget they’re playing a game. Even you, James! It’s not the Bachelorette after all… even if you did find the girl of your dreams in the season 18 house. You’re still “playing” Big Brother, bro. We love the Jatalie flirtmance, don’t get us wrong. It’s just that when it gets down to it we’re here to watch ass-kicking game play. When it comes to Jatalie, you gotta look to the Nat Nat side for that particular brand of awesome sauce.

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Victor
HOH Nominated – Corey, Paulie
Veto Winner – Victor
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – TBD
Have-Nots – Michelle, Nicole
Have-Not Supplement – Sunflower seeds and corn

On August 15th the feeds are down for long periods because of the Veto ceremony and then a backyard county fair event for the houseguests. So, most of what happens during the day we feedsters figure out from subsequent conversations. This is no challenge after the Veto ceremony because Victor just leaves things as they are. Thus Paulie and Corey remain on the block. No surprises there. The backyard event is another story, though. Feeds are cut every time a houseguest mentions anything from the “county fair” so it’s hard to discern what actually transpires other than some boozin, lots of fun, prizes, and a visit from Ziggy Marley.

This may or may not be the reason for the “special show” on Friday, August 19th. But the fact that cameras are ultra-responsive with cutting feeds every time it’s mentioned makes this seem likely. Still, we manage to piece together a few facts from the county fair event. Only moments before the event begins Natalie strains her neck and subsequently withstands lots of pain, so it’s no surprise when she’s vomiting later, whether it be from drinking a bit too much to assuage the pain or from the pain itself. James holds the barfbag for her while she’s sick and at one point she asks if he’ll like her any less now. He assures her “No,” and it really does seem that, if anything, this only brings them closer.

Other houseguests are less successful in their attempts for deeper connection, especially Paulie. He starts a new sympathy-seeking loop bringing up his Aunt who’s sick with cancer. A low blow that’s been used in reality TV contests like BB before. Jonny Fairplay pretended to find out his grandmother died on Survivor to garner sympathy and it worked, so Paulie’s delving the sympathy strategy archives right about now. Even if he truly does have an Aunt with cancer, Big Brother is just a game. If you were playing scrabble with someone and they brought up a dying relative as a way to get an edge in the game would that be fair play? Yes, that’s why they call him Jonny Fairplay. He didn’t play fair. Fact is, though, Paulie doesn’t have to play fair. He can play as dirty as he likes and do whatever it takes to win. His challenge is that this sympathy strategy isn’t working at all. If anything he’s just alienating himself further from his former bros. In his other loop news, Paulie keeps repeating how he can’t handle going to the jury house like I get it, it’s a mansion resort and luxurious experience for YOU GUYS but I’m not like anyone else, I’m special and delicate. Resort vacations cause me anxiety. So, eyerolls abound every time Paulie leaves the room on August 15th.

Victor spent much of the day cleaning and thus upgraded his position as house dreamboat to “future perfect husband candidate” because America already knew he could cook from the amazeballs rice he made a few days ago. The houseguests are still raving about his cooking. Around midnight, as the rest of the house slept there was a convenient trio in HOH of Victor, Paul, and Michelle – potentially our final three, if all goes as they’d prefer. The threesome checked in a bit about game, basically just to make sure nobody falls for any of Paulie’s BS. But they talked mostly about restaurants and back home, in full relaxation mode. At around one in the morning, though, Paulie and Corey join them for an awkward bit of chitchat that gets nixed quickly when Victor goes to bed. Thus Corey and Paulie are relegated to a game of pool in the backyard. It’s noteworthy that this is the first HOH where the bed truly just sleeps one person. In fact, there were weeks when it slept four (two couples snuggled up). This HOH bed stands as a symbol for how the game’s headed. It’s now each houseguest on their own out there. No matter how tightly some of them may cling to each other right now (ahem, Nicole) this will all fall away sooner rather than later. Fun part is this is when the game really gets rolling too.

We can’t wait to see it spiral into individuals pitted against each other even as they shout “Friendship” to the mountaintops. Those days are clearly right around the corner and the player best positioned right now seems to be Paul. He’s lining up his jury votes, keeping his hands clean, and making everybody laugh along the way. Nobody’s playing Big Brother better right now. Yes, Victor wins tons of comps, looking amazing all the while AND he battled back into the house. Socially, however, Victor’s on shaky ground with many houseguests. It’s not that he does anything wrong really but he eats more than anyone else and Vic’s direct about the stuff that annoys him… like if you drop a crumb on the floor he just swept. While this isn’t on par with Paulie’s emotional blackmail, nobody wants confrontational Mr. Clean for a roommate either.

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Victor
HOH Nominated – Corey, Paulie
Veto Winner – Victor
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – TBD
Have-Nots – Michelle, Nicole
Have-Not Supplement – Sunflower seeds and corn

On the August 14th TV show we finally get to see the production version of the Paulie Exposed Party. It’s fun to see how CBS chooses to portray the houseguest dynamics and it’s honestly the best rendering of BB reality we’ve ever seen in 18 seasons. CBS nailed this one. They quickly move into the scene where Nat sits Zak down to tell her about Paulie’s flirtations. Then Nat points out that if P was really protecting Z he would have used the Veto to save her. Sad but seemingly grateful, Z just listens. Next Zakiyah immediately tells all to Paulie and pisses him off, which we know was the plan all along (Natalie is no dummy). Paulie tells Z if he wanted her gone he “would have put her up there and ensured she would leave”. This, of course, doesn’t make Zak feel any better. Funny how Paulie rarely esed her pain whenever she sought him out for exactly that purpose. Meanwhile Natalie tells James about Paulie’s flirtations and he too immediately talks to Paulie. In both of these conversations Paulie keeps slamming “Jersey girls” which isn’t the smartest move, given that he and his family are from New Jersey, as is Zakiyah’s mother.

Then Paulie gets nasty AF to Natalie. He threatens her that she’s going home and telling her she’s “as fake as those things on her chest”. So, there’s a “house meeting” where Paulie gets confronted and douches out in front of EVERYBODY. Zakiyah leaves when it starts to get real. Bridgette stands up to Paulie for what he said to Natalie. Then he’s a major douche with the finale sarcastic clap and everyone seems to take note of how lame he is …except Corey. Paul in the Diary Room says it’s now time to distance himself from PeePee. Meanwhile Victor and Paul jump for joy in the storage room because they’re situated right in the middle of the two sides of the house and can switch between them because they’ve got “friendship” all around.

Corey hosts the HOH competition “Hollywood Squirrels” in a Park Ranger uniform. Everything about the challenge relates to Benny, the BB squirrel. Victor wins with an eagle eye and fast hand on the buzzer. Paulie says he’s happy because now he can “kick back and just cruise,” but what he doesn’t know is that BB cruise ship is about to crash and burn right into “FitVic” world. Paul and Victor play nice with everybody but they’re going to blow up the big boys, Paulie and Corey.

The next scene is 90 minutes before the live show when James tells Paulie he’s voting out Zakiyah. Paulie gets super aggressive with James and then confronts Paul about it. Paul in DR says he feels grilled like an ex wife confronting him about his secret family (haha). Paulie tells James he’s “being played by a Jersey girl” and he “better play hard at the next HOH”. Paulie apologizes after but James assures us in the Diary Room that he may forgive but never forgets. Then we see the nomination ceremony where Victor puts Paulie and Corey on the block. Afterward Paulie weeps in the Diary Room and Paul dances… on PeePee’s grave, it appears.

Losing all hope feels a lot like freedom. – Fight Club

Paulie on the August 14th feeds is a perfect example of this. The guy’s emotional. At one point he sees a butterfly and starts crying. He’s ruminating; pondering the meaning of life, rebelling against BB, and making all sorts of threats about not sticking it out in jury house. This isn’t the Paulie we’ve come to know. Remember the guy who mocked and humiliated Tiff and Michelle for crying when they were on the block? He’s gone. In his place is a new Paulie – Humble Pie Bro.

Meanwhile the other houseguests are still thinking clearly. For instance, Paul suggests to James they start instilling some paranoia in Corey (and Nicole) that he might go, to rattle them for the HOH comp. Then he says, “Sounds like a job for Big Meech,” which is exactly what we were thinking. But that’s really the only game talk in town other than Paulie’s pathetic campaign attempts. The bright side to all of this shifting in the house is that Paulie’s back to being semi-attractive again. In fact, that pie-baking outfit looks REALLY good on him, almost as good as his newfound humility. Paulie’s caught in a loop talking about an ex that hurt him so it’s starting to seem like all that bravado he spouted for the first half of the season was merely a shield to protect his tender heart. The hurting are usually the most hurtful, after all.

When he’s talking about it the houseguests offer condolences and whatnot. They are kind to him. Paulie does take it a little far and he seems to get sadder and sadder as he waves his tiny pie flag for forty minutes as part of his Veto penalty. This is just Paulie’s current phase. We predict it’ll change and probably even before Thursday’s eviction. Meanwhile Paul is making us laugh with his Veto penalty, chasing houseguests for their patdowns and playing his Secret Service Agent role to the max. It makes the show so much fun when the players just succumb to the game and have fun with it. Paul’s the perfect example of this. He’s got a healthy, happy perspective and it’s a joy to watch… unlike all that pity party pie-making and flag-waving.

Victor talked to us feedsters a bit about Big Brother and how he’s grateful to be back in the game. We’re voting for him to get America’s next care package. It’s co-HOH. So, because he can’t play in the next HOH and we want to thank him for shaking the game and the BB house to its foundation with these nominations. Also, he’s mega dreamy. But seriously, there’s a reason they call Victor the Big Brother Jon Snow AKA Juan Snow and it’s not just because he’s dead sexy. He rose like a phoenix. It’s hero time in here! He lit the fire so let’s show appreciation and keep this blaze crackling.

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Victor
HOH Nominated – Corey, Paulie
Veto Winner – TBD
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – TBD
Have-Nots – Michelle, Nicole
Have-Not Supplement – Sunflower seeds and corn

The morning of August 13th begins with Paulie on blast in the kitchen at 9:30AM. This may not seem particularly early among normal, working, human folk. But in the BB house they stay up until three to five AM on the regular. So, it’s basically dawn on their timetable. Even though it’s that early Meech is hot to trot and ready to call out Paulie. Paul actually starts the confrontation when he asks Paulie who the one guy he trusts is, “because I know it’s not me, right?” he keeps prodding, which gets the roast rolling.

Paulie can’t drop his defense or ego. He keeps saying he threw the HOHs to “see where the cards would fall,” and after the Veto says he threw it “to see if they’d pull him off”. Even the greatest competitors can’t win every time, Paulie. Those of us out here in the non-BB world are watching the Olympics and there’s only one gold winner each time. One thing’s certain, nobody throws comps when their ass is on the line and we all know yours is in the BB house right now. Paulie’s defensiveness shows up in other ways too, though. Paulie brings up Season 16’s Cody and Derrick numerous times until finally Meech points out that he, “will never be Cody or Derrick,” and finally appeases all the feedsters who’ve been longing for Paulie to hear these words. Not that it would matter if he were one of them. Fact is, the BB game is a vital, living creature and one must adapt their game because no two seasons are exactly alike. Paulie also blames others for his situation, even saying at one point that Zakiyah should have prevented his game from blowing up (BBtime 10:05PM). This the day after he says Bridgette should ask forgiveness in the afterlife from God for standing up to him. Hmmmmm. Seems a tad high and mighty, in our humble opinion.

But turns out the actual high and mighty (Big Brother) didn’t do Paulie any favors with the Veto competition. It’s a crap shoot “type thing,” much to Paulie’s dismay. The houseguests get penalties and prizes including a vacation for Nicole, a weeklong costume for Corey, summerlong apple pie-making for Paulie, and the Veto for Victor. Paul gets a Secret Service agent costume but what’s great about his penalty is all the stuff he has to do as an agent. He has to keep a straight face, pat down each houseguest regularly, and check in at five different checkpoints around the house. Paul can’t take off any of the costume, including the earpiece and sunglasses for the entire week. Only exception is the suit can come off while showering. Corey has to wear his for showering but can take it off to sleep.

The Veto theme this season was Zingbot for President! and the houseguests are happy they got to experience the infamous Zingbot’s zingers up close and personal, especially superfan Michelle. It isn’t clear exactly what they zingers were verbatim but Corey seems most bothered by his, which apparently refer to his showmance with Nicole. What else could you have been zinged for, Corey? The way you constantly gaze off into space with a creepy/dreamy expression? Or perhaps how you check out and go blank-face whenever anyone talks to you? Those aren’t necessarily funny zings, Corey… but they are true.

Meanwhile Paulie pity party campaigns and claims he won’t even stay in the jury house, if evicted, because of his crippling case of claustrophobia. Nicole assures him that, “the place is huge,” but for some reason this does not console our delicate petunia, Paulie. At this point all of the houseguests are pretty sick of Paulie-brand histrionics. You can sense it from watching the body language dynamics around him anyway but it’s ultimately verified when Paulie goes to Diary Room to get his pie instructions and the houseguests immediately started slamming him. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

There’s still several days before the live show eviction Thursday night and we’re hoping for some action with the houseguests tickets. Because they expire Thursday, if all the houseguests (other than Corey and Paulie) open their tickets it wouldn’t matter to their game. But it WOULD reveal whether or not Paulie or Corey have the Return Ticket by the process of elimination. This info would be highly valuable to prep before the live show. Paulie actually mentioned it on August 13th in the evening so we have hope that he pushes it. That guy can be mega pushy and maybe he can put it to good use for us. Use your powers for good, Paulie! We’d sure appreciate it.

Best Quotes of August 13th: “I’ve got my hand up an eagle’s ass” – Corey about his costume

“I didn’t have to shower with my sausage” – Nicole about Corey’s costume. He has to wear the whole thing including hand props, even while in the shower.

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
HOH – Victor
HOH Nominated – Corey, Paulie
Veto Winner – TBD
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – TBD
Have-Nots – TBD
Have-Not Supplement – TBD

The August 12th feeds were a festival of aftermath in many forms. It all began with Nicole winning the safety care package from America. This is unsurprising to Fetchland because most viewers of Big Brother are of the normal and un-obsessed variety. They just know she’s cute as a button and that’s certainly true, especially if you just watch the TV show. We’re disappointed in Nicole, though because she was given a choice between a unicorn costume and the one she’s wearing. It’s baffling to us that she’d choose THIS over a unicorn. Newsflash, Nicole, unicorns are the bomb. They’re magical mythological creatures that represent purity and strength. OK, we’ll calm down in a bit…

Speaking of calming down, after Victor nominated Paulie and Corey there was a long awkward kitchen silence before Paulie came at Victor hardcore. Corey played eye darts wth himself while listening at the the table in his Christmas hat. Meanwhile Paulie just played fight fight fight. Victor wasn’t playin, though. He pointed out that Paulie put him out of the house. Period. I can forgive but I can’t forget. I went out that door. I talked to Julie. He ended the conversation after pointing out that he didn’t attack when Paulie put him up. Oh snap. They’re talking but we’re busy bein’ lost in your eyes, Victor. Thanks for snatching that hero archetype out of Paulie’s mitts. We appreciate your balls. In the meantime perhaps Paulie can cool his jets sometime soon.

Paul confronted Paulie about how he acted like he didn’t trust him after Zakiyah left. It is a super duper smartypants strategy to come after Paulie at this point. It’s psychological warfare in there and Paulie even starts crying during their convo. Paul gets him at a weak moment and makes him feel guilty. This is a solid game tactic. If Paul hadn’t taken this stance, Paulie would have confronted him hardcore. But now he doesn’t have to defend himself, Paulie does, once he gets a grip on his tears. It’s brutal magic. Remember, Paul plays chess. Natalie also waves her magic cheerleader wand, inviting Nicole to join the girls for a post-nomination conversation. She does the EXACT same thing Paul did with Paulie. It’s always bothered Natalie that Nicole has been consistently cold to her. Natalie’s main goal is to befriend everyone in the house. She tells Nicole now, who’s in a weak Corey-on-the-block emotional state. Nat she’s always wanted to be Nicole’s friend and it’s bothered her that Nicole wasn’t friendly back. It works like a charm. Nicole apologizes to Natalie. Glitter blasts out of the walls in a glorious confection, pink balloons and streamers fall from the ceiling, (in our imagination) and all was well. In actuality, all that happens is the apology

It’ll be an interesting week ahead as Paulie and Corey play Veto and campaign. Going forward Michelle already offered to and will likely be the pawn that goes up next to Paulie or Corey if the other one wins the Veto or gets pulled off by another Veto winner (would have to be Nicole). It’s likely Michelle will stay no matter what, thus solidifying Meech as the houseguest who goes up on the block over and over and over but doesn’t go home. She’s also becoming the houseguest who blows sh** up by speaking her mind and we love that too. Paulie is perpetually on edge around her. It’s fun when the player who keeps avoiding eviction even though they always seem to be on the block gets mad emotional all the time, so we’re enjoying this season. Roles are reversing, emotions are flowing and now everyone (except James) is playing the game. We’re having fun!

– Katherine Recap

Daily BB House Stats:
1st eviction Stats for August 11th
HOH – Corey
HOH Nominated – Michelle, Bridgette
Veto Winner – Corey
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah

Daily BB House Stats:

HOH – Victor
HOH Nominated – TBD
Veto Winner – TBD
Evicted – #1 Jozea #2 Victor #3 Bronte #4 Tiffany #5 Frank #6 Da’vonne #7 Zakiyah #8 Bridgette
Battle Back Winner – Victor
Return Ticket Holder – TBD
Have-Nots – TBD
Have-Not Supplement – TBD

The double eviction show of August 11th show felt like the same rollercoaster whiplash thrill ride it does in every season of Big Brother. The episode begins with a quick recap (not enough) of this week’s drama and secretive shenanigans trying to blindside Paulie by evicting Zakiyah. The awesome (but also sad) part is that it ends up actually working. Zakiyah is quickly evicted and quite sad, tearing up in her Julie interview. Then, because Zak doesn’t have the return ticket, she’s off to the jury house. It’s heartbreaking to see her go and feel like a fool who got played but Paulie’s flabbergasted face serves as a soothing salve on this sick BB burn.

In the first HOH comp of August 11th “Statcathalon” (it’s a mental one using BB18 house stats) Corey wins on the second question with the greatest of ease. He nominates Michelle and Bridgette. The Veto competition that follows involves frantic ball pit searching for clock discs. Corey wins AGAIN and makes it look pretty damn breezy. He does a brief consult with Paulie and Nicole about what to do off to the side before they rejoin the group on the couches for the Veto Ceremony. Corey leaves the noms as they are.

Meech, it turns out, ran off during this tiny interim between the cop and the ceremony to put on a delightful blue dress and lipstuff. It’s a mad impressive transformation within the brief time frame. Michelle’s goodbye speech calls out Nicole as a snake and seems to offer herself as a sacrificial lamb, assuming eviction. Meech says she’s ready to go because she got to blow up Paulie’s game and that was all she wanted anyway. Then Bridgette gets evicted with Natalie the singular vote to keep Michelle in the house. Right away Meech starts bawling like crazy. Her histrionics are hilarious because it’s evident she has no control over them as Michelle calls out, “I love you as a person and I’m so glad I got to know you,” while weeping hysterically as Bridgette calmly leaves the house with a smile. Sitting with Julie, Bridgette also has the one way ticket and this she’s off to the jury house. It’s a real shock to both her and Michelle that she’s been evicted.

The feeds come back up to the houseguests in damage control mode before the next HOH competition. Nobody says what they really mean. Everybody’s apologizing. It’s tense AF. There’s a disturbing trend for a bit during this perios when certain houseguests slam Zakiyah in her absence, which we’d prefer to pretend never happened and erase from the Internet forever. Zakiyah was a lovely person inside and out who got PLAYED personally and by the game. It’s sickening to us that anyone would be compelled to exploit her even after she’s out of the house. Bad enough that it happened to her while she was in the house.

There’s a brief respite from feeds in the evening while they play the next HOH competition and when they return Victor won yet another HOH. At this stage of the game Victor realizes (with Paulie in a floaty’s help) that Paulie and Corey need to go up on the block. He convenes with James and Natalie as well so that they can all agree on the plan. Victor shows his smarts in the conversation. He points out that even though they have the numbers and will all play in the Veto the only factor they can’t count on is the next care package. It could screw up their plan, he knows. At one point Victor’s forced to listen to Paulie drone on about how Natalie “deserves to be on the block every week” and then you can actually see a light go on in Victor’s head like I’m HOH, I don’t have to sit here and listen to this so, he gets up and leaves Paulie alone.

Afterward Paulie talks to Corey and is now obsessed with getting out James and Natalie as revenge for getting Zakiyah out behind his back. But, Paulie, we’re so confused. Didn’t you say you don’t play with emotion? But you’re going to leave Victor and Paul, who also voted to evict Z and are much bigger threats, in the house… where’s the logic in that, oh mighty king of logic? It’s not as if you owe Victor and Paul anything now. They played the same hand James did. So, why choose to go after ‘lil James and Nat while those two beast bros are still stompin’ around the BB house? We believe emotion might play a role, since you said it was “for revenge” and still seem pretty darn pissy. Funny thing is that it doesn’t matter because Paulie has no power now. In fact, he’s about to go right back up on the block next to Corey. We can’t wait.

– Katherine Recap