These episodes of Celebrity Big Brother are coming so quickly and often, it’s hard to keep track! The season itself could be described as “fast and furious.” But, a new power-alliance of four that was formed last night, it might just be “slow and steady wins the race.”
As I always state up-front – and much like my Survivor column for this very same outlet – what I plan to bring you this season isn’t exactly a blow-by-blow “recap” of the show, but rather my thoughts, analysis, and reaction to the episode (or episodes) that we just witnessed. In other words, I’ll assume that you’ve seen the episode(s) each time. So please, please, PLEASE, if you do not want to have the show spoiled, don’t read any further until you’ve seen the episode(s)! This article focuses on the Celebrity Big Brother episodes that aired on Sunday, January 27th and Monday, January 28th.
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Yes, thank God for DVRs and for our current culture of binge-watching. There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason as to the episode layout this season on Celebrity Big Brother. Here we are just eight days removed from last week’s Celebrity Big Brother Premiere. We’ve already had a total of six episodes, airing on all different days of the week.
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You can expect me to pipe in with my thoughts following each elimination episode. For this coming week – and I say this with only mild certainty – I’m pretty sure that there will NOT be an elimination during the next episode (set for Wednesday, January 30th). There most likely WILL be one during the following episode (set for Saturday, February 2nd). So that means by next Sunday, we’ll be recapping those two eps. Phew! It’s a challenge in and of itself just to keep all of this straight!
That being said, LOTS has happened in the Celebrity Big Brother house since Sunday night! I’ll try not to bury the lead: Ryan Lochte became the third houseguest (counting Anthony Scaramucci) to leave the show and the second to be voted out. It was the end-game of a master plan concocted by Kato Kaelin, whose stock in the game has shot up immensely since winning HOH a few days ago. Ryan was the most-feared competitor in the game, and his tour as HOH wasn’t exactly graceful.
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He was on the outs with everybody except for Joey Lawrence, who I think has yet to realize that he’s playing a game, or is even on TV (has there ever been a more clueless, detached played in Big Brother history? OK, I’m sure there has been, but – Woah! – is Joey in over his head). Kato’s plan worked to perfection. It was the textbook definition of a Big Brother “backdoor,” where the target doesn’t even get a chance to compete for the POV (Ryan wasn’t selected to compete).
It’ll be interesting to see where the bulls-eye shifts with Ryan out of the house, who up to this point has been the primary focus of most of the players. But perhaps the biggest development of the season came Monday when we saw the formation of what looks to be a new Fantastic-Foursome of an alliance. Tom Green and Kato Kaelin joined forces with Lolo Jones and Natalie Eva Marie.
This is great because the two pairs would never be suspected by others in the house. Lolo and Natalie in particular, are in a great spot, as on the other side of things they still have a “room” alliance with Tamar Braxton and Ricky Williams. So, they still have some options should the Tom/Kato alliance fall through.
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And with just nine left already, it appears that those in the biggest amount of trouble are those on the outs of these formations, namely Dina Lohan, Kandi Burruss, and Joey Lawrence. Don’t count Kandi out though, because she also has somewhat of a loose alliance with Tamar, Lolo, and Natalie as well.
The situation to watch has to be the relationship between Tamar and Lolo. They got into the season’s first big fight during these episodes. Not having known who Tamar was coming into this season (sorry, I ONLY watch Survivor and Big Brother when it comes to Reality TV programming), I now understand fully why she was picked to be on the show. She is pure Reality TV gold. I don’t think she’s given an uninteresting confessional or has had a dull moment in the house as of yet.
She’s also shown a more relaxed, softer side that has endeared her to the other houseguests (as opposed to some that we’ve seen on Big Brother who are just abrasive villains through-and-through).
But Lolo is the one that escalated the feud. She was probably right in extending the olive branch and trying to mend things with Tamar. I’m not sure if Tamar would have really left the Celebrity Big Brother house after all of that. But just in case, Lolo realized it was in her best interest to keep Tamar in the game. Cooler heads prevailed. But, with a character like Tamar around, it’s unlikely we’ve seen the last celebrity blowout of the season.
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Episode(s) Take-Away: The formation of the Lolo-Natalie-Kato-Tom alliance is a game-changer. I’d be shocked if they didn’t stick together at least in the short-term. If one of them wins the upcoming HOH, look for Dina and maybe Joey to go up on the block. But they even have enough votes right now to survive a Dina or Joey HOH, if they stick together. But things can change quickly in the Celebrity Big Brother house! Let’s see where things stand as we enter next week.
Quick Note! I appreciate that you are reading this recap! With the barrage of episodes coming our way, there won’t be a recap following EVERY episode of Celebrity Big Brother. However, you CAN expect a new article following each elimination episode this season. This coming week we have a new episode on Wednesday. Then, one on Saturday, which will likely be the next elimination episode!
The best way to stay in touch and make sure you aren’t missing anything is to follow me on Twitter – @tomsantilli – or on Facebook. Those that have followed me also know that I am a RottenTomatoes-approved film critic, and I encourage you to check out my weekly movie reviews as I am also the national film critic for AXS.com and am a movie critic/TV personality in the Detroit area.
We will be back following the next elimination episode! Thanks for joining me this season, now let’s talk Celebrity Big Brother!
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE LOLO/TAMAR FEUD? WILL THE NEW ALLIANCE-OF-FOUR BE ABLE TO STICK TOGETHER? AND DOES JOEY KNOW HE’S ON CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER?
[Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Mary Kouw – CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved]
