Big Brother is a show that can either keep you completely enthralled or completely bored depending on the personalities left in the house each week. By this point in the game, it will either start to get really, really good as the tactics change and alliances shift or you will just want it to be over because you really don’t care who wins. If the game is too predictable or no one you like is still playing, you couldn’t care less about the rest of the season. But there are some seasons where you are on the edge of your seat wondering what kind of stuff is going to go down next.
This week on Big Brother has been really interesting to watch, because the house guests are dealing with the fallout of Michelle’s eviction. I personally think that Nicole made the right decision to get rid of her nemesis, but I know there are a lot of people who think she cost herself the game by eliminating Michelle. I had one such conversation earlier this week where the other person thought, like Michelle herself said, that they should have gone after Paul and Victor because they’re the two strongest players in the house. This is absolutely true. Victor is clearly a competition beast, and Paul is probably the best strategic player left, which is crazy, since I think a lot of us thought that he’d be out second or third. To come this far really means something. Would Nicole have been smart to get rid of Paul instead of Michelle? Possibly as trying to split up two people is much harder than trying to evict one person, but Nicole was correct. Michelle was firmly in camp Jatalie and after they let slip that Natalie wanted Corey gone instead of Paul, there was no way Nicole and Corey would be able to trust the people in their alliance anymore. They had to jump ship and get rid of the competition. If they’d gotten rid of Paul and then Natalie or Michelle or James became the new HoH, Nicole would definitely be the next one out the door. If not her, then it would be Corey heading out the door. It’s true that neither Nicole nor Corey would be able to beat Paul or Victor in a final two at this point, I think the more immediate threat is more important than the long-term threat. Yes, if she makes it to the end with Paul or Victor, she will not win, but she has to actually get to that place first. With Michelle gunning for her and Natalie and James admittedly going after Corey and additionally with Victor going for her as well for getting rid of Paul, she would only have Corey to support her when she can’t compete for HoH. By getting rid of Michelle, she only has to worry about two people getting HoH, not four.
The only other thing that’s really interesting this week is all the drama surrounding James and Natalie. Fans have been split down the middle when it comes to Natalie’s behaviour this season. Some believe that she had been in the right when it came to all the stuff surrounding Paulie, while others believe that she’s really not as innocent as she pretends to be. Now, I think we’re finally getting a glimpse of what everyone has been talking about. She’s spent the past little while pissed off at James for trusting Nicole, which is ridiculous because in reality, she is the reason they’re both on the block and not Nicole. If she’d stuck to the alliance and didn’t try to take out one of their own, she might be safe right now. You could also argue that Michelle might also still be in the game if it wasn’t for her desire to get rid of Corey. But for some reason, she really can’t seem to understand why they ‘betrayed’ her. She doesn’t even consider the fact that she’s done something wrong in the first place. If you try to evict someone and then fail, do not be surprised when his girlfriend comes after you. It’s not betrayal. It’s revenge for betraying them in the first place.
Nicole and Corey aren’t the only ones to have a right to be angry with Natalie. James has more right than just about anyone in the house as he’s the one she hurt the most. I admit I believed her when she said she loved him because she really seemed to believe it herself, but now I’m pretty sure I’d been wrong. This week she really showed her true colours starting with her trip up to the HoH room to talk to Victor about what went down when they voted him out. I think Paul’s expression as she threw James under the bus probably matched mine as I watched. She put her trust in the wrong person? She regrets listening to James? I can’t believe this stuff is coming out of her mouth! She’s supposed to have true feelings for him! She told everyone she loved him! She’s reassured him that her feelings were real every time he felt insecure! Now she’s throwing him under the bus, especially after he’s already basically decided to sacrifice himself to let her get further in the game? I’m glad that Victor and Paul decided to tell James what went down with Natalie because I really needed to know yet at the same time, it was really painful to watch. It was like that episode of the Simpsons where Lisa breaks Ralph’s heart on TV. He looks so hurt and heartbroken, it makes me want to shake Natalie and make her see what a great person James is.
So it was that I was happy to see him finally give her what she’s deserved over the past few weeks. She’s been bitchy to him ever since they voted Victor out over Corey, blaming him for everything and never letting him live it down. And now, on one of their last nights together in the house, she doesn’t want to sleep in the same bed? I’m sorry, but in my opinion, if you love someone and know you’re going to be separated from them for at least a couple of weeks, you’d want to spend every last second with them until you’ have to be torn apart. So the fact that she doesn’t want to sleep with him is very telling. He finally seems to put it together too. She seems to have a flimsy excuse for every argument he makes, but he just shoots them down, which I think is great. He doesn’t believe a word she says and it looks good on her. The fact that she doesn’t really fight back much throughout the whole argument is also telling. She barely shows any emotion, barely gives him any emotional reaction, except when he tells her he thinks she’s using him. Even that reaction doesn’t last long, before she gives up and just doesn’t care anymore. I think James can also determine that her lack of real interest in this conversation equals a lack of genuine emotion for him. It makes me feel really bad for him. He doesn’t deserve this treatment. I like to think he’ll be far better off and maybe even happier without her in the house.
So now we’re down to five house guests. I have no idea who is going to win the new HoH challenge, but I do think that Paul and Victor may be in trouble this week because Victor can’t play. Unless Paul wins HoH, I think one of the boys will end up in the jury next. If James doesn’t succeed, he’ll side with whichever side of the Final Four alliance does win and if James himself wins….well, I’m not sure who he’ll work with. On the one hand, he can’t really trust Nicole and Corey, though that’s his and Natalie’s own fault. On the other hand, I like to think he knows that he’d never win a final two against either Paul or Victor. So I think Nicole and Corey have higher odds of making it to the end, which I’m okay with, since Nicole and James are the two people I want to win. I guess we’ll see!
What did you think about all the drama this week? Do you think Natalie was only using James, or do you think her feelings were real? Her reaction to Julie’s questions, to me, seemed to show that she was using him as she was very non-committal about whether they’d make it outside the house. Who do you think will win it all? Let me know in the comments below and we’ll see you next week!
– This article and other Big Brother-related stuff by the estimable Rebecca Griffin
Categories: Television
The Telltale Mind 
I think that is a tough and personal question. Most or all of the showmances are asked that and they respond with “I don’t know; we will see” responses. She truly got along with him and had a good time together. We saw that.
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Yes, but she completely did a turnabout when it was him or her!
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Yes, but usually they say something along the lines of “I’d love for it to continue outside the house,” or something to that effect. There was none of that. It seemed to me that her feelings were platonic at best.
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Another good review, Rebecca. The whole showmance stuff filled up the runtime at least 😉
I think Natalie loves James more as a friend. I think she exaggerates a lot, which gets read the wrong way. Maybe part of her wanted to separate from James because the separation would hurt so much? She regretted her game moves and vocalized it, probably in the wrong way and to the wrong people.
As for contenders to win, I think Corey is making a real dark horse run. He proved he likes more than Christmas 😉 he likes strategy too (like keeping James close, and being on good terms with everyone in the house). From the cliffhanger HOH comp with the slip n slide fill the bowl with liquid thing, it looked like he was in good shape to win. While it’s unlikely he would win in the finals based on his speech, I think he has a great chance to be sitting there.
That said, I hope James can throw a wrench into the plans and the outcome is somewhat unpredictable. I hear ya, it’s not as fun when we know what each next step will be.
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final two james and nicole
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I agree. Or some combination of Nicole, James and Corey.
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Ill never watch Big Brother again after Nicole and Corey let it slip that the comps are fixed and production has a say in who wins and who loses…Big Brother has wanted Nicole and Corey to get to the end by doing nothing all season but lay in bed and making out disgusting and then all of a sudden they can’t be beat winning every comp out there thanks again to Big Brother production just another fixed game show that I’ll never waste another second on very disappointed in CBS
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I think she could love him as a friend, but I don’t believe it goes anywhere past that. Even if she didn’t mean to throw him under the bus, being pissed off at James for the better part of a couple weeks is a little ridiculous. At the very least, she’s shown herself to be self-centered.
Corey could definitely win over Nicole or James. He hasn’t really pissed anyone off, and yet he’s made some moves. Not as big as the moves made by just about everyone else in the house, but still. If he wins HoH and nominates Vic and Paul and manages to evict one, that’ll be a great step for him in reaching the 500K.
James winning HoH could be interesting. I’d hope he’d stick with Nicole and Corey, but who knows. He’s unpredictable. That’s what makes him entertaining.
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hi. re: nat and james ‘break-up’..at the beginning of the discussion natalie had with victor and paul, she was in my opinion referring to Nicole and corey without saying their names, but she kept flapping her jaws and turned into james as well ..so sad, i found it heartbreaking to watch james fun summer wilt like the wilted natalie is..no glitter, no glory given to her..did you see how ditzy she acted on stage with julie? not one tear for james…she didnt even think she threw james under the bus when she was talking to julie~! she is as dilusional as paulie is~!!
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See, and I don’t think she was ever talking about Nicole and Corey because she kept saying to James and in the DR that she never trusted them. So either she really didn’t trust them and she was talking about James to Victor and Paul, or she’s recreating her history by saying she didn’t trust them when she actually did. Can’t have it both ways. I felt so bad for James though. At least Meg didn’t toy with his emotions. And even if Natalie does have some feeling for him, it’s clear that his feelings are definitely stronger than hers.
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Nat is a brat, James deserves so much better. I think Victor deserves to wins and hope James is the runner up. Nicole is only a sleep around showmance every time she’s on Big brothers, it gets old seeing all her trashy crap with a all these different guys, wish she could learn to play the game without screwing her way threw the game.
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I don’t think Nicole is as bad as you say she is. She isn’t with all the guys. It’s been one per season. It’s not as if she’s slutting it up for anyone who will take her. And I think she’s made some pretty good moves herself. She hasn’t been riding Corey’s coattails all season. If anything, he’s sort of been riding hers until recently.
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I agree, her dad must be so proud, she’s screwed 2 different guys on national tv. Cory is using her (he admitted after show he wants no relationship) which makes her look even more pathetic. I absolutely love Vic, makes me sick he’s leaving, I wanted him to win, love Paul, he’s hilarious! James is even more pathetic than Nicole. At least Nicole is in the dark, he’s been told she’s pretty much using him and still acting like a sick puppy dog! Natalie is fake, a user, a liar and I’m so happy she’s gone I’m giddy. I hope if Nicole is standing on finale night, then I hope jury rips her apart. I really hope Paul wins, I think his chances are slim but I’m hopeful. So production rigs the games, someone on here posted that, well since I know that I may be done too. So to sum up, Natalie, glad the user, fake chick is gone, James, open your eyes, don’t be pathetic. Nicole, she really is a backstabbing snake, Corey, user, done nothing in the game, maybe one move, go home, Vic can’t tell you how completely pissed I am that he’s leaving, Paul, intelligent, hilarious, hope he wins!!
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James is a good guy. He stoop by Natalie and helped her with the game and when her neck was hurt. Victor said James has been totally loyal to Natalie and voting him out was a great move. After Natalie talked to Vic and Paul in HOH, she talked to them the next morning. Look at the feeds, she started campaigning for James then turned into a campaign for herself. I guess the lure of 500,000K was too much for her. But I see a little hope for them if you watch their interactions the last night in the house. How could Natalie without strong feelings for James allow the James to massage most of her body? It went on for hours.
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Some women will absolutely let a guy massage them for hours without having feelings for them. The guy is doing all the work while she just lays there. Some women have no problem taking everything from a guy with no intention of reciprocating, unfortunately.
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She completely used him! I would have respected her if she admitted it was Gameplay in the DR sessions but she’s too much of a pageant girl to do that! Half of BB showmances are either all physical attraction /gameplay, but this one by far was one of the worst, as they never even REALLY KISSED! Comon, I understand not wanting to do any kind of romantic act on TV but PLEASE, it’s just a kiss. Now think about it? Would she be able to get away with that on the Bachelor, the show she shunned for BB?! Oh HELL NO! LMAO, for Natalie to even think about going on that show says ALOT!!! ALOT!!!
As Julie said, it was an I told you so moment, a moment Paulie will relish for the rest of his life. What I would give to be at the wrap up party and in the middle of a Paulie/Natlaie or Paulie/James convo, to hear Paulie gloat about being right about HIS, “Jersey Girl”. Remember James, Jersey girls eat up Southern Boys like you. I’m from Jersey and of course not all Jersey Girls are like that, but unfortunately, Natalie is.
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Fantastic piece! Lots of food for thought and discussion – love it! Natalie surprised and disappointed me last week. I actually liked Nat thru most of this season, and then the sh*t hit the fan and as James put it, she showed her true colours. Hers was one of the most ugly sour-grapes exits I have ever seen on BB. Natalie vomits out the ugly on the inside, the papers it all over with a beauty pageant bubbly “oh, sorry!” and she thinks all is well, at least according to her response to Julie. Nat is gone and forgotten in my mind. Looking forward, Victor is the next to leave. That much is certain, now that Veto has been played. Unless Nic wins this next HoH, Corey is almost certainly the next to leave. Both Paul and James see the wisdom of breaking up NiCorey before the F4, as do Nicole and Corey themselves. NiCorey are discussing this very possibility as I type this, in fact. I feel fairly confident that we are looking at a James, Nicole and Paul F3 and a James/Nicole F2 – and who would win in THAT matchup is anyone’s guess!
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I think that Natalie’s mistake when in HOH talking to P&V was… She didn’t use Nicole & Corey’s names… Instead said… ” I got influenced by the wrong people”. ( Meaning NICOREY) then added… “I trusted James”…. And everyone has interpreted that one sentence into her throwing James UTB…. when in fact she was actually throwing NiCorey UTB!!
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Yeah, except that she’s also been going around, saying she never trusted NiCorey, so if that’s the case than the person she did “mistakenly” trust is James. And she was clearly pissed off at James for DAYS for siding with NiCorey, which shows that, even if she didn’t mean to say it to P&V, she was still thinking it: she regretted trusting James.
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Trying to figure out if the author of this article is special needs, or has just never watched the feeds. Either way, it may be best if they reassess writing on things that they’re clearly uninformed about.
Natalie was rightfully mad at James for lying to her several times about having an alliance with Nicole. It got exposed and she became angry over the fact that he’s been lying to her all season.
“Trusting the wrong people” was blatantly referring to Nicole and Corey. She’s stated that several times over. It was angled at telling Vic and Paul that Nicole and Corey couldn’t be trusted, a fact that they’re now learning the hard way as Victor is out of the house in a few hours.
I guess it’s impressive that there are people out there stupid enough to believe the “Poor James” edit when the entire fight stemmed from James lying to someone that he “loved” for weeks if not months. Natalie was bratty this week, but James is a total scumbag, not a saint.
xoxo
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First of all, there’s absolutely no need to personally attack anyone. I like to believe we’re all mature enough to share our opinions without tearing the next person down to just to make ourselves feel better. For those who aren’t, maybe this isn’t the forum for you.
Secondly, I’ve said numerous times that I don’t watch the live feeds. I live in Canada, so I couldn’t get the live feeds the regular way, even if I wanted to. I’ve stated from the start that I only comment on what I see on TV, as many other people do as well. Yes, I realize I’m not getting the full story, and I’m okay with that.
As for everything that went down last week, as I said before when talking about the Paulie situation, if my opinion is misinformed, then I stand corrected. But I will say that some of the other people who have commented are feed watchers, and I haven’t gotten any indication that Nat was in the right and James was in the wrong. So I invite other feed watchers to share their opinions.
When it comes to Vic and how trustworthy Nicole and Corey are, you can’t blame the two of them for wanting to get rid of him. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure VIc and Paul were trying to get James on their side too, which means they’re just about as trustworthy as NiCorey. I’m willing to bet that if Paul had won HoH, Nicole and Corey would be up on the block right now.
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Obviously you haven’t watched the show and live feeds this year if you think James is a scum bag, looks like you may be just even a bigger brat than bat.
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