SPOILERS ahead from the 2019 Big Brother 21 live feeds.
Big Brother 21's Final 4 may feel like a family, but it's a dysfunctional family, and Nicole Anthony is fed-up with "martyrs" Jackson Michie and Holly Allen, who really have been getting on their high horses about the Final 4 deal ... that only Jackson is actually breaking with his plan to evict Cliff Hogg III.
There's definitely a tense divide going into this Thursday, September 19, 2019 live eviction. The outcome is 99.9% set, but Cliff is trying to say whatever he can to sway Veto winner Jackson to keep him. (Good luck, buddy. You played yourself.)
Jackson had promised to take Cliff and Nicole to Final 3, but that was Jackson just saying whatever he needed to say to save Holly in that Holly vs. Tommy Bracco fiasco. Jackson and Holly know that Nicole was the one who was pushing to evict Holly, not Cliff, and they tried to lean on her with that guilt. Nicole called them out on their martyr act, as if they were somehow wronged by a considered game move, and that excuses Jackson from actively going back on his own word. (Not that I have a problem with bouncing checks in the Big Brother house.)
Nicole got sarcastic with Jackson and Holly after one of Jackson's many long-winded speeches trying to justify his actions. Here's how a conversation played out between our upcoming Final 3 (with Holly just sitting there letting Jackson talk, as usual):
Nicole: We all put ourselves in pickles.Jackson: Exactly. But we would never have had to give our words to make deals if y'all had stuck to the original. If you had stuck to the things said in the RV about no funny business, and that Holly didn't even need to pack her bag, we wouldn't be in this position. There would be no lies, there would be no secrecy, there would be no new deals. We had one deal. Us two were sticking to it.Nicole: And you two are the martyrs of the season.Jackson: No.Nicole: You are tremendous.Jackson: Nope.Nicole: I hope they raise balloons in your honor and have Festivus for you and everybody cheers your name in the streets.[Jackson gets up and leaves.]Nicole: Because Nicole is the horrible person who went against everything. I hope they throw tomatoes at me on stage.
Bwahaha. Festivus! Good for her for calling them out. Jackson and Holly have been acting with such a sense of entitlement. It's OK for them to play the game and evict people, but if their allies even consider another move, well ... my god, how dare they?! And, actually, things are turning out better for Nicole. If Holly hadn't thrown the HOH to Nicole, Holly would've won that HOH, Jackson still would've won Veto, and she and Jackson said they would've gone to Final 3 with Cliff.
Watch the video, captured by BB21 Rewind:
At least Nicole is a lock for Final 3, so she can snap like that without fear of repercussions. She knows if Jackson and Holly go to Final 3 together they will take each other to Final 2, so she doesn't have to play nice anymore.
Nicole got her HOH win after Holly threw the endurance comp to her, and Holly has been not-so-quietly seething with regret about that. Holly told Jackson that Nicole has been "arrogant" this week, and "bullied" her over the Final 4 HOH. [eyeroll] Jackson was noncommittal about that, but he's the one who is really under fire this week since he won the Power of Veto and will be the sole vote for eviction.
Cliff had been delusional, hoping Jackson would stick to his word about taking him to Final 3, until Jackson told Nicole he would not do so. Jackson planned to make a speech at the Veto meeting, which is held live on Thursday at Final 4. Nicole didn't want Cliff to be blindsided, so she told him Jackson planned to take himself off the block and evict Cliff.
Cliff has been pulling his own martyr act in response. Feeling sorry for himself that he planned to stick to his word with Jackson. Never mind that sticking to a Final 2 deal with Jackson would've screwed over Nicole.
Cliff had reached the threat stage as of Wednesday evening, basically warning that Jackson will lose his jury vote, and if Nicole ends up in jury, she won't vote for Jackson to win either. The bitter threat. I can't see how that would sway Jackson when the alternative is Holly being bitter in jury, and the jurors being shocked that Jackson betrayed Holly. That would hurt his game much more. Because, otherwise, to me the biggest reason not to vote for Jackson to win is that he broke Have-Not rules. I don't even really see evicting Cliff as going against his word, since their original deal was for Final 4 and then every man for himself. It was always a better deal for Jackson and Holly than Cliff and Nicole. Should've broken them up at the double eviction.
At any rate, don't be surprised if the TV edits try to give Cliff some kind of hope -- maybe to give him a sympathetic edit and boost his AFP chances -- but it would be stupid of Jackson to turn against Holly now, and he does know that. We have our Final 3, now we just have to see who will win Final HOH Part 1 and Part 2, and meet up for Part 3. You can do it, Nicole!
Big Brother 2019 airs Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays on CBS. Keep up with all the action on the live feeds.
