Big Brother 11, Week 7
By Eric Hughes
August 30, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Save for a pissed off Russell screaming at Jeff and Jordan at one point, this week's crop of episodes very much felt like Big Brother: The Brady Bunch Edition. The baddies, the loudmouths, the attention whores... they've all been wiped out.
Oh how that peeves a Big Brother loyalist. Let me explain.
There's an interesting case of Catch-22 that operates within the Big Brother game – or, really, most trashy reality TV programs. You develop your favorites over the course of a few weeks and hope to god they'll band together to take down the side of the house that aligns itself with evil. For seemingly the first time, it actually happened this year. All those players you can hardly stand – the intimidators, the backstabbers, the fightaholics – have been evicted. What we are left with are contestants who are more deserving of guest starring on Teletubbies than they are on a show that feeds on verbal bitch slaps and nothing fights.
(Perhaps there's a touch of exaggeration in that last sentence. But you get the idea).
The problem, of course, in leaving behind only the Jeffs, Jordans and Micheles of the house is a noticeable lack of drama among the remaining HouseGuests. Having for so long yearned for Chima's eviction or Lydia's eviction, I find myself wanting them back in the house!
Oh what a Catch-22 indeed.
And now for the recap...
Week 7 at a glance
Head of Household: Jeff
HouseGuests nominated for eviction (pre-veto): Kevin and Natalie
Power of Veto winner: Jeff
PoV used on: Kevin
HouseGuests nominated for eviction (post-veto): Russell and Natalie
HouseGuest evicted live on Thursday: Russell
Who should have been evicted: Russell
New HoH: Kevin
HouseGuests remaining: 5 (Jeff, Jordan, Kevin, Michele, Natalie)
Maybe taking Russell out of the game wasn't such a hot move
Russell and Jeff had a deal to take each other to the end. Yet as this week in Big Brother wore on, Jeff was made aware that Russell had cut a similar deal with Michele from two HouseGuests – Natalie and Kevin – who believed a white lie about Russell would not only throw the 24-year-old martial arts fighter under the bus, but keep both Natalie and Kevin in the game as well. Their story: Why trust a mysterious figure like Russell when you've got two hardworking players who've also got your back?
(Not that Russell didn't already have it coming. Over a pickup game of poker, Russell threw a ridiculous fit with Natalie when she told him how he should be playing. And I mean ridiculous. Jeff's Diary Room reaction? "Holy macaronis... we were playing for Now and Laters").
Anyway... The plan worked beautifully. As we witnessed on Tuesday, Jeff rearranged his Chopping Block from Kevin and Natalie to Russell and Natalie. Two days later, Russell was gone.
What Jeff wasn't made aware of was Natalie and Kevin's plan to make him their next target. As luck would have it, Kevin now holds Head of Household for the upcoming week and likely will nominate Jeff and a pawn. Or like Russell, wait to backdoor him after the Power of Veto competition.
So much for Jeff winning the season, as I predicted in this space last week. I'll be lucky if Jeff even makes it to the final four.
Jeff and Jordan sittin' in a tree, F-I-G-H-T-I-N-G*
Speaking of Jeff, who's already cannibalized most of this column, he and Jordan are on a bit of the outs. Like an old-fashioned married couple, the two bickered with each other more this week than any of the ladies of The View could manage with Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
The main source of contention was Jeff's belief that Jordan wasn't pulling her weight. Jeff provided the legwork from them to remain in the game, and Jordan merely followed along without ever doing anything productive.
It got to a point where Jordan, in the Diary Room, said she "missed the old Jeff." And I have to agree with her. Snappy Jeff kinda sucks. Granted, he had HoH power during one of the most important weeks of the season. Yet his attitude and treatment of her left me with a sour taste.
The ‘tude continued later in the episode when Jeff went all Hulk on Jordan for not saying anything to Michele after she ventured into the HoH room to grill Jeff on his final four ideas. Instead of standing by Jeff's side, Jordan listened to tunes using noise-canceling headphones. Even so, Jeff didn't buy that Jordan couldn't hear anything Michele was saying to him.
It all seemed rather petty.
*Close enough!
Meanwhile, back at the Jury House...
For the first time this season, we got a glimpse inside Big Brother's Jury House, the space recently evicted HouseGuests call home until the September 15th finale.
As of now its only inhabitants are Jessie and Lydia. So... things weren't all too interesting. Unless, of course, you're a fan of Jessie's narcissistic antics. His brief cameo on camera included various most-muscular poses and informing us that he's the tannest he's ever been.
By that point I ran to the bathroom to vomit in the toilet, so I can't say with certainty what followed thereafter.
Eventually, Lydia showed up and they fake fought for an awkwardly long time. When Jessie was booted from the house, Lydia learned she had been played by him, according to stories from the other Big Brother females. Apparently, Lydia is already over it.
Final thoughts
With Kevin in charge for the first time this season, it'll be interesting to see if he stays loyal to Natalie and targets Jeff this week. His other option would be to align himself with Jeff and his power partner, Jordan, and take down the house that way.
Given that Natalie's popularity in the house isn't as strong as Jeff/Jordan, I'd imagine Kevin'll stick with Natalie for as long as he can. Because in a vote between Kevin and Natalie, I'd think Kevin would win out.