We all know that Big Brother is a Reality TV show, with the “Reality” part being a bit of a stretch. It’s been around for so long now that it has a built-in fan-base who all know what to expect (you know, the “unexpected”) and most of whom know that they are tuning-in in order to mentally tune-out…this is not really a show that is going to test your intellect, but is instead a fun, cheesy Summer-time diversion.
We all accept, for example, the different costumes the houseguests are forced to wear, and there is great anticipation for our annual visit from both Zing-bot and OTEV, among the other red meat that the producers throw their fans each season. But we also know in our hearts that much of what we see on TV is a fabrication, a “version” of what is really going on, and that the confessionals are mostly lines being fed to the players (I hope this isn’t ruining the facade for those that somehow were unaware of the manipulative narrative that exists across not just this one, but of many Reality Shows across the TV landscape).
So what am I getting at, and why now? Because anyone who happens to be following the Big Brother Live Feeds this season knows that – this season more than ever – there is a real disconnect between what and who we are seeing on TV thus far, and who these people are revealing themselves to be in “real life” on the live feeds. Do you not know what I’m referring to? Read on!
I’ll try to avoid spoilers above the warning label, but as I do at the beginning of every one of my Survivor recaps, please heed the following: Remember that this recap assumes that you are caught up on all of the aired episodes of Big Brother 21. If you are not and don’t want to be spoiled, please come back later! It’s important to add that while we WILL hit on all of the important developments since the last recap, so if you need to go further back please click on the “Big Brother” Topic on this page to access past recaps…also, this is not a linear “blow-by-blow” recap, but is more of a discussion and reaction of what we just witnessed together.
CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!
We’ll get to the show and all the fun stuff in a bit, but we must address the controversies that are arising out of this year’s house guests, as seen on the live feeds…namely with recent HOH Jack Matthews and his close ally, Jackson Michie. From watching only the TV show and not the live feeds, you would think that Jack is a pretty likable albeit cocky guy…he’s good looking, he appears to be a physical beast, and he seemingly has a good social game.
But those on the live feeds have seen a different side of Jack and Michie, an ugly side that has some people calling for CBS to kick them out of the house. For example, there is a moment from the live feeds last week where it appears that both of them used the n-word in describing houseguest David. Jack also imitated David, appearing to walk like a monkey across the HOH room.
He then made several distasteful comments, with the one seemingly gaining the most attention being when he said about Kemi, that he would like to “stomp a mudhole through her chest.” Even if you buy that this is a common saying that one says and has nothing to do with race, in today’s day and age, it’s at least clearly implying physicality toward a woman and is simply not OK.
Add to all of this “proof” of inappropriateness, you have the fact that Jackson did originally choose three people of color (David, Kemi, and Jessica) to leave the game and compete to return, and then the first two houseguests to actually get evicted (following David’s exit) were two people of color (Ovi and now Kemi). Coincidental? You decide.
Beyond this, there is maybe more sexy-time happening in the Big Brother this season than on Love Island or Paradise Hotel combined. The live feeds have confirmed that there have been at least four hook-ups in the house already, with Jack and Analyse having hooked up, Nick and Bella having slept together, and then there is Michie, who had sex with Kat three different times before dumping her (the part we saw on TV), only to eventually bed Holly. Sex in the Big Brother house isn’t a new phenomenon, but this much of it in the first two weeks of game? The house has been a-rockin’ all season, and not just from the California earthquakes apparently.
At least tonight’s episode made a subtle hint towards the fact that Jack and Analyse hooked up, but by-and-large we are not getting a good representation of what is actually going on in there. And by the way, the sex stuff is one thing, but the ugliness being displayed by Jack and Michie is something that has led to many calling for a boycott of the show and its sponsors. Jack has allegedly been given several warnings by BB producers, but what is even more startling is how Jack is being portrayed thus far on the actual TV show.
The show hasn’t shied away from showing ugliness in the past (remember Big Brother 15’s Aaryn Gries?), deciding to use it as a teachable moment for its fan-base. Will we see CBS and Big Brother step up to the plate and address some of this? I for one vote for the show to – at the absolute least – show some truthfulness and honesty as to what is going on with these players in the house…they don’t need to fabricate drama when there is actual drama going on all over the house!
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Sorry, I had to get all of that off my chest. As for the actual game of Big Brother, we did see at least THREE major strategy fails just in the last two episodes. First off, Bella‘s game was temporarily blown-up when she helped form the all-female “Black Widow” alliance, only to blab about it to Jack and her “Gr8ful” alliance.
But instead of leaving things there, she tried to save face with Nicole but it was not well-received, and when Nicole shared this info with Jessica, who then shared it with Kemi, it led to Kemi blowing up Bella’s game when she relayed this back to Michie (along with the fact that Bella had a Final Three deal with him and Jack). Bella though, dodged a bullet at least temporarily, because she is all but guaranteed to stay in the house one more week now that her showmance Nick has won HOH.
Then there was Cliff‘s epic fail. This poor guy. It’s not uncommon for house guests to talk directly to their family and fans via the live feeds, but Cliff’s monologue was overheard by Christie and it seemingly did a lot of damage to Cliff’s game. First, he outed his “Fellowship of the Zing!” alliance with Nicole and Ovi, but he also became the first to publicly draw a connection between Christie and Tommy as a possible “couple” (the viewers know that these two know each other outside of the game). Look, this wasn’t good for Cliff that Christie overheard his entire game, but in reality, is anyone really going to gun for Cliff? There are so many bigger targets in the game, I’d be shocked if he isn’t around for a while, even if he has lost trust with the Gr8tful alliance.
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The third big strategic boo-boo of the week goes to Jack, who all but confirmed to Sam that Sam is on the outside of the Gr8ful alliance. Sam was told by Bella that he was on the outside, and now he knows he is. The question for Sam will be: Can he do anything about it? The numbers are not quite on his side, as Gr8ful grows stronger by the week, and has yet to loosen control on the game.
Next week is the Camp Comeback Battle Back, meaning that the ultimate target of Nick‘s upcoming HOH may not be out of the game for very long. It also means that three players will leave the house. That leaves 13 players remaining, and you don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out that an alliance of eight clearly has the numbers…but will they stay together all the way to eight? If Nick catches wind that Bella is in danger (since her name is getting thrown around), he might go on the attack on her behalf, and the Gr8ful alliance may fall a lot sooner than many people think. Remember, expect the unexpected!
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Quick Recap of the Week
HOH: Jack
Whack-tivity Comp: Jack won the power to re-pick POV players at an upcoming POV comp
Nominated: Jessica and Kemi
POV Winner: Sam (he did not use the POV and noms were kept the same)
Evicted: Kemi, in a vote of 10-1 (with Michie being the sole vote against Jessica). Kemi stays in the house as the newest member of Camp Comeback
New HOH for upcoming week: Nick
Upcoming Big Brother Episode Schedule
- Sunday, 7/14 – See who Nick nominates for eviction, also the final Whack-tivity Competition
- Wednesday, 7/17 – POV competition and ceremony
- Thursday, 7/18 – Next Live Eviction, and we will also see the Camp Comeback Battle Back Competition where one house guest will re-enter the game
This Season: You can count on at least one of these Recaps each week, usually following the Eviction. That means that I’ll be back with a Recap following next Thursday’s episode. I’ll discuss everything that happened over the course of these three episodes (above). In the meantime, if you have comments or are dying to discuss the show, use the comment section of this article (below) as a sounding board! Here’s looking forward to a fun-filled Summer full of “unexpected” twists, as we look to cover everything going on in the Big Brother House, from A to Zingbot.
See you next week!
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ALL OF THE CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING JACK AND MICHIE? DO YOU THINK THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO REMAIN IN THE GAME? AND WHO DO YOU THINK NICK WILL NOMINATE FOR EVICTION?
[Photo Credits: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved]
