What a week in the Big Brother house! If you were just to look at Point A to Point B – from the beginning of this week to the end – you’ll find the outcome to be quite predictable. But man, that long and winding road that spans between this week’s start and finish proves that nothing comes easy on Big Brother, especially with only a few short week remaining in the game.
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!
Say what you will about the cast and this season, but I’d argue that Big Brother 21 has been better than most in its second-half. Rarely has there ever been so much action in the hours and moments leading up to the Live Show each week, and votes that feel wholly unpredictable. In fact, this season it has become standard that the Sunday show dedicate at least one or two blocks of time to letting us see what went down leading up to the vote…that’s not always how the show’s been structured. But even if the live feeds can be terribly boring for hours and days at a time (backgammon tournament or egg hunt anyone?), this cast packs enough drama for a week into every Thursday, and has consistently done so down the stretch.
It’s hard to overlook Michie‘s early game – where his bro-mance with Jack seemed to bring out the worst of him and showed an ugly side. But we’re in the presence of a great Big Brother player. Not good, great. As he was described on the episode tonight, Michie really is the total package, and what he did tonight was nothing short of miraculous. The guy has dominated the game physically, he’s been a major social threat and this week he displayed why his strategic game is just as astonishing.
Lying in games like Big Brother or Survivor seems like an obvious function, and Lord knows it’s done quite a lot. If you lie for the sake of lying though, you are often labeled a villain. But a well-placed, well-timed lie is among the most powerful tools a reality competition show contestant can wield, and Michie wielded it with perfection.
First, he created a good situation for himself in sneaking around and eavesdropping on Tommy‘s conversation with Nicole and Cliff. But to take that information and flip it around on Tommy was nothing short of genius and I think it solidifies Michie as a Big Brother legend-in-the-making, should he go on to win the game.
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Tommy of course, did not do himself any favors, creating his own mess with his “big confession” about knowing Christie outside of the game. It is very problematic that he decided to tell Michie and Holly first, and not only that, but then he tells Nicole and Cliff that he told the others “a few days ago.” I’m not sure why Tommy felt like he had to reveal this when he did…I really think this is an example of a player having a momentary lapse of judgment just due to the stress of the game and the loneliness he might have been feeling in that moment.
He had to tell Nicole and Cliff once he had told Michie and Holly, but he should have never told Michie and Holly. Had he been thinking rationally, he must have known that at this point in the game the players are thinking about jury votes, and confessing that you have a sure-thing sitting at the jury house just wasn’t smart. This ordeal nudged Nicole and Cliff in the direction to vote him out, so when Michie weaved his lie about Tommy, he was pretty much a done deal at that point.
Tommy was not supposed to make it through this week to start with, let’s be reminded. He was the clear odd-man-out after last week’s Double Eviction, and he ended up being the one that went out the doors. But after Nicole won the BB Comics POV, it started to sink in that it may be in their best interest to keep Tommy around. It was a sound idea with many pros and many cons. They ultimately stuck with their word to go to Final Four with Holly and Michie, and honestly, I’m fine with how they handled it out in the open.
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Michie might be hot under the collar about Cliff not being “true to his word,” but when he looks back on this he’ll respect the fact that Cliff and Nicole weighed out their options and considered every angle. And by the way, we know what Tommy had offered Cliff and Nicole, but we don’t really know if there was any sort of counteroffer from the other side.
We know, for example, that Michie isn’t competing in the endurance HOH, but what if Holly was willing to throw it just like Tommy? We will need to wait until Sunday to not only find out who wins this super-important HOH, but to see what deals might have been made that played into their decision to vote out Tommy.
A few weeks back, I would have told you that Nicole had absolutely no shot at winning, but with an HOH win on Double Eviction night followed by a POV win, she is now building a paper resumé that might earn her some serious consideration. I think the one who is in real trouble at this point is Holly, who is seen as “not being her own person” in Michie‘s shadow. Holly loses of course if she sits next to Michie, but I think she also loses up against Cliff or Nicole at this point. Michie is the one who still sits atop the hill though, and Cliff and Nicole are going to have to beat him head-to-head in the next POV or HOH if they want to win the game…it’s that simple.
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We know that if Michie goes to the end, he wins. That’s my take. The most rewarding and interesting Final Two would be if somehow Nicole and Cliff could BOTH get there, although it seems very unlikely for that to happen. If Nicole or Cliff wins this HOH, they’re guaranteed to both make Final Three, because even if Holly or Michie win POV and pull themselves off the block, the HOH would break the tie as to who actually goes home. So if one of them win, we will have a Final Three that consists of Nicole and Cliff, and either Michie or Holly.
It’s pretty straight-forward from here on out. Point A to Point B. It’s the journey in-between where all the fun happens, and I for one am stoked to see how it all plays out!
Quick Recap of the (past) Week
HOH: Michie
Original Nominations: Tommy and Cliff
POV Winner: Nicole, who used it on Cliff
Final Nominations: Tommy and Holly
Evicted: Tommy, in a vote of 2-0 (Nicole and Cliff voted for Tommy)
New HOH for the upcoming week: TBD (to be revealed on Sunday’s episode)
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Remaining Big Brother Episode Schedule
- Sunday, 9/15 – Find out who wins HOH, and who he/she nominates for eviction
- Wednesday, 9/16 – POV competition and ceremony
- Thursday, 9/17 – Next Live Eviction
- Sunday, 9/22 – Likely a “recap” show, looking back at various moments from the season
- Wednesday, 9/25 – The 90-minute Finale Episode where a winner will be crowned!
By the way, the Big Brother Finale this season follows the 90-minute Premiere Episode of the newest season of Survivor – Season 39 – called, “Survivor: Island of the Idols.” CBS just announced the cast of Season 39 earlier this week, and I’ll be covering Survivor again so I hope you will be watching!
The Remainder of this Big Brother Season: Just TWO more recaps remaining: Next Thursday and then following the Finale on 9/25! If you have comments or are dying to discuss the show, use the comment section of this article (below) as a sounding board! I may also Podcast about the Big Brother Finale on the return of my FilmSurvivor Podcast, when I discuss the Survivor Season Premiere as well.
See you next week!
TELL US – DID CLIFF AND NICOLE MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION? WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR FOR THIS SEASON’S FAN-FAVORITE? AND WHO DO YOU PREDICT WILL WIN BIG BROTHER 21?
[Photo Credits: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved]
