For an episode that was supposed to be pivotal and exciting, tonight’s felt a lot more low key than one might have expected. A good part of this could’ve been due to Big Brother being pre-taped rather than broadcasting live. Was it to spare the viewers from a potential meltdown as a result of Jeff using the Coup d’etat power? Possibly. Probably. All the same, half the episode was filler and the rest was just a lot of awkward tension as the re-nominations took place, followed by the eviction and Head of Household competition.
We all knew there was a good chance Jeff was going to use the Coup d’etat power to put Jessie and Natalie up. I’m sure it was less about saving Russell and Lydia and more about ensuring that Jessie left and if not him, then his closest ally. Before we got to the non-live “live” portion of the episode, we were shown an argument between Russell and Jessie that erupted when Jessie caught Russell trying to smooth things over with Michele. They got in each other’s faces and flexed their muscles but nothing more than that and a little yelling came of it.
Meanwhile, suspecting that either Jordan or Jeff had the Coup d’etat power, Natalie and Jessie attempted to make nice with them in the backyard. While Jessie splashed around in the pool with Jordan, Natalie played badminton with Jeff. Their ploy was obvious and pointless but hey, it was something to do, right?
As Chima was Head of Household, Big Brother interviewed her friend and grandmother. Both basically said that Chima is the same Chima in the house as she is out of the house. It could’ve just been the editing but while Grandma’s words seemed more along the lines of “She’s not perfect but she’s strong and I love her,” it seemed like her friend was mainly pointing out Chima’s weaknesses.
Speculation about the pretaping of tonight’s show was that the producers didn’t want to have to worry about Chima’s reaction when Jeff stood up to use the Coup d’etat. I’d actually hoped to see some kind of outraged response when Julie prompted Jeff to reveal himself as being America’s favorite BB houseguest but aside from Chima frowning, Jordan’s mouth hanging open and Jessie looking morose, there wasn’t much of a reaction from anyone.
After removing Lydia and Russell from the block, Jeff promptly asked Natalie and Jeff to take their place, stating, “I got the power and you guys gotta feel the pain a little bit. Enjoy.” Jessie came prepared for a surprise nomination, peeling off his t-shirt to reveal some abs and then another t-shirt with a photo of himself on it. It would’ve been funnier if he just took his shirt off and faced his elimination topless, in my opinion.
Julie gave both newly-nominated houseguests a chance to appeal to the rest of the house. While Natalie spoke about her loyalty, Jessie seemed less enthusiastic in his attempt to win people over. He addressed Kevin, realizing he might be his only chance to stay.
Chima and Jeff weren’t eligible to vote so it came down to Lydia, Kevin, Michele, Russell and Jordan. Jordan, Michele and Kevin voted to evict Jessie, with Russell and Lydia being in the minority as they voted to evict Natalie. I’m not exactly sure what Russell was thinking, considering it was pretty obvious that Jessie was Jeff’s intended target and the chances of Kevin voting to evict Natalie over Jessie weren’t high. Still, if Russell does manage to get to the final two, he’ll probably have Jessie’s support now that the big guy’s on the jury.
Upon elimination, Jessie handed out hugs, refusing one to Kevin as he made his way out the door and then jokingly came back into the house before leaving again to face Julie in an awkward interview. It was clear by his glassy eyes and the quiet way he spoke to Julie that Jessie was disappointed that he got the boot. Jessie did admit that he thought Jeff made the best move he could have, given his situation. Sure, there’s ego in there but at least he was big enough to admit it was a good game move.
For the Head of Household competition, the houseguests faced off in twos to buzz in on questions about past competitions. The loser of the round (either by not answering or by getting the wrong answer) was eliminated while the winner got to pick the next two houseguests to go up against each other. Lydia seemed too miserable to participate and was quickly eliminated by Kevin. When Kevin won, he looked to Chima to tell him which two houseguests to put up against each other. Something tells me that’s not technically allowed but the game wasn’t stopped as Kevin followed orders and chose Jeff and Russell to go next. In the end, it came down to Kevin and Michele and it was Michele who won the competition.
With the wild-card as the HoH it’ll be hard to predict the nominations or the elimination but as Julie announced that next week’s hopefully-live episode will feature the elimination of not one but two houseguests, anything can happen.
Finally, let’s go back and talk about Chima. Could she be throwing a hissy fit in the diary room tonight as Russell plays pool out back with Jeff and enjoys still being around despite her efforts to get him out? It’s possible. She seemed to be putting a lot of effort into keeping it together during the taping of the show. While her tense frown during the re-nominations and evictions wasn’t much of a reaction, she was mouthing off after Jessie left, saying she had to have a “talk” with the producers. And at the end of the episode, she was threatening to start swearing if the producers didn’t let her back into the house. “They’re testing my patience,” she said as the rest of the houseguests milled about around the HoH set. Oh yeah, Chima. You’re not diva at all.
