It’s been a tumultuous month in the Big Brother house. On Wednesday night it all came to an end. The winner of Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 was crowned, following the final two HOH competitions of the season. The finale felt tight, compact, and a bit rushed. Just like the season as a whole. Still, it wasn’t without drama and a few final twists. So which celebrity took home the $250,000 grand prize, and who was sent home bitter?
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. Instead, this includes 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)!
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When the dust and golden confetti settled on the steps of the Big Brother house, it was Tamar Braxton who overcame all odds to become not only as the winner of the season, but the unanimous winner. She was picked to go to the end by runner-up Ricky Williams, who apparently had not done enough to even muster up a single vote of support. He shocked the rest of the celebrities, the studio audience, and pretty much everyone when he decided not to have Lolo Jones sit next to him in the end. The duo seemed to be together for the entire season and were part of the same alliance.
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Was that move so cold-blooded that it cost Ricky the game? Well, it probably lost him at least Lolo and Natalie Eva Marie‘s votes. And it didn’t necessarily give the others any reasons to vote FOR him. It’s really a blunder when you think about it. Lolo wasn’t exactly cool-tempered this season and probably wasn’t loved by many on the jury. So the biggest question is: How in the heck did Ricky think he could win against Tamar?
Tamar, of course, was the main takeaway of the season. She is a gift to Reality TV. Tamar is full of drama, quite the diva, but someone you find yourself rooting for. And in many ways, it’s only fitting that she would end up winning this season. One of this season’s most interesting storylines involved her patching up her rocky past relationship with fellow houseguest Kandi Burruss. The two’s deeply-rooted friendship took them both far in the game, and really spoke to why Tamar was able to prevail where Ricky was not. She played a much better social game. Tamar connected on a level with the others that ended up netting her every single one of their votes to win.
Ricky played a heck of a game from a strategic standpoint. He even had quite the resume with HOH and POV wins. And his move to vote-out Kandi was the right one at Final Five. But I guess we’ll never know what could have been had he just brought Lolo with him. If nothing else, it would have made him appear human and caring. Instead of as a guy who was willing to cut even his closest ally to win the game.
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So a big “hats off” to Tamar Braxton, it was a much-deserved victory! Coming into the season, it was Tamar and Kandi that I had known the least about (sorry, I only exclusively watch Survivor and Big Brother). But, ironically by season’s end, those two were my two favorites and the ones that I felt will leave a lasting impact.
Not on the list of “leaving a lasting impact” is Dina Lohan, who through the very end just floating on by, never once getting involved in the game or seeming to understand just what the heck she was doing there. I had sort of hoped that CBS would have united (or exposed) her presumed “catfish” of a boyfriend by the end. That catfish conversation was really Dina’s lone contribution to the show. Instead, time was devoted to a quick sit-down interview with walking-talking-Big-Brother-twist, Anthony Scaramucci and us finding out by the end that Tom Green had been voted “America’s Favorite House Guest.”
Overall Celebrity Big Brother was an entertaining diversion this cold, cold winter, bridging the gap for the beginning of Survivor next Wednesday. And while it was all harmless fun, I can’t help but think that Lolo Jones was the sole contestant this season to walk away with sort of a tarnished image. She was one player that I found very difficult to root for, and I like Lolo Jones a lot.
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Lolo just didn’t seem to be having fun in there. In the moment who can blame her for being bitter and upset? But now a few days removed from the game, she’s still spouting bitterness towards not only Ricky, but she’s casting shade at Tom Green as well. Is she jealous that he won fan-favorite? Lolo is a hard competitor, but if this game repaired some image problems for people like Ryan Lochte, Kato Kaelin or Tom Green, it didn’t do any good for Lolo Jones, and that’s too bad.
A big thank you to all of you who watched this season along with me this past month. I hope it was as much fun for you as it was for me! And I urge you to continue on next week when Season 38 of Survivor begins next Wednesday…I’ll be back recapping that show each and every week throughout the season.
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.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE FINALE? THE SEASON AS A WHOLE? AND WERE YOU HAPPY THAT TOM GREEN WAS VOTED AMERICA’S FAVORITE?
[Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Mary Kouw – CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved]
