Big Brother 18: State Of The Game [Op-Ed]

August 2, 2016 Branden Big Brother, Big Brother 18 90

Moving on to the second half of the remaining Big Brother 18 cast…

Michelle. I don’t have a lot to say about Michelle right now. I thought she might be playing a pretty low-key, but solid, game until she started acting insane over Frank leaving and has spent most of the season being catty toward Bridgette.

James. I think James has done a pretty good job getting himself off everyone’s radar. He’s done such a good job I don’t even think he’s really playing the game. But I think he actually is. Maybe? I can’t be sure though. Enough of the pranks, though. That’s getting old.

Natalie Negrotti and her Never-Not Pass

Natalie. I think she’s sweet and she’s clearly popular with viewers. I would like her to actually start playing the game, however. Her goal was only to get to jury, but I want her to kick into game mode and actually try to win.

Bridgette. Some people are Team Bridgette now because she’s the underdog. I do like an underdog story, but I don’t think Bridgette fits that persona. She made some stupid moves in the game and allowed herself to be Frank’s puppet. And now she’s probably going to be Paulie’s puppet. She’s playing for third at best, fourth at worst.

Victor. I think Victor worked hard to get back into the game. And that’s about all I can say. He’s not adding anything to the game and I don’t really think he knows what he’s doing. He’s just another number for the bros that will almost certainly ensure we get another season of all or mostly guys at the end of the season. Zzzz.

So my overall thoughts at the moment are that I can’t imagine anyone other than Paulie winning this season. Unless something happens to change how the game is currently going, we could already call the season done. I could see Paulie, Corey, Paul, James and Natalie as the Final 5 and James falling on his sword for Natalie. Then the three bros cut her. Paulie evicts Corey and then beats Paul in a 8-1 vote, with Da’Vonne being Paul’s only vote. Let’s hope none of these things actually happen.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Commenting Rules: Keep the conversation civil and on topic. If your comment does not add to the conversation, it will be removed. Debate intelligently. Insulting the author, Big Brother Network, or other commentators will result in comment removal and possible ban. Any comments with links or flagged words will go into moderation before approval. Anything we deem as spam will not be approved. Comments left in ALL-CAPS will be deleted regardless of content.

90 Comments

  1. Thanks Branden for your input, completely agree with you on your take of the houseguests. Sadly, at first I thought this season, thered be a lot more players for actually played instead of handing over their games to others. Big brother needs to work on their casting choices.

  2. Enjoyed reading your article Branden. I saw where Paul and Paulie both agreed that Nicole was playing the best game among the girls. I wonder what they’re seeing that a lot of people are missing?

  3. Great article. I agree about Nicole. I wasn’t a fan of hers in BB16 but I thought she would have the best gameplay out of all the vets. I also agree about Da. She’s very observant and she knows the game but there is a big difference between knowing the game and playing the game. I don’t see her as a big threat to anyone in the house.

    • But she’s a stirrer of the nobody likes a stirrer family. She can’t help herself. She actively targeted Tiffany and Frank, and it led to their downfall. Better to cut her now

      • They were both to blame, not equally though, his game play was not very good.

      • Tiffany was out because Paulie was obsessed with her sister and Frank left because he plotted to get Da’vonne out. Da’vonne had nothing to do with them getting evicted, other than voicing her opinion about it.

      • She flat out lied and told Frank that Tiffany was targeting him. Which then lead to Frank targeting Tiffany, with the help of Day telling everyone, especially Paulie, that Tiff needed to go and she also blamed her for stuff that Day had said. So how did she not have anything to do with them being evicted? She painted the target on their backs for them.

      • The whole alliance wanted Frank out, including Tiffany, so Da’vonne wasn’t lying when she told him she wanted him out.

      • So why didn’t she just say “a lot of people are targeting you” instead of saying just Tiffany? She had a purpose for that and it was to get them to target each other while she sat back and watched. She wanted both of them gone and set it up.

  4. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I totally agree about wanting Davonne to get the round trip. This bunch of houseguests is the biggest joke. These women are so stupid, I can’t take it. Don’t they watch this show? I can’t take many more of these bromance alliances coasting to the end.

    • I hope if she has it she goes right back out, it just will be a pain in the ass to repeat the same week twice in less than a month. She didn’t deserve a 2nd chance let alone a 3rd.

      • You’re 100% right. But she gives good sound bites in the DR so it’s not that big a shock they brought her back.

      • They’re lively. That’s what I mean. Love her or not (I’m not a fan) she’s always lively in the DR. Can’t take that away from her.

      • Big Brother is Rigged so she probably will “SOME HOW” get the round trip ticket. Da’ hasn’t won a comp. and runs her mouth. BB must like her ASSitation because she doesn’t deserve another shot after losing in the first round of her previous BB.

      • Didn’t the HG randomly choose an envelope. If she has it, then it has nothing to do with CBS. Just luck.

    • don’t you find the BB women to always be stupid? it seems they can never bond together against the men… they just fall in love and moon along behind some dude..sad

      • I do have to say the majority of women don’t play well. They let the guys take over, and/or attach themselves to a guy. There have been some strong women, some unlikable, some okay

    • I agree! I love Davonne and her diary room sessions! I really, really hope she has the round trip ticket! But if you look at the popularity polls every week it looks like the fans love James! I am not sure how to vote in America’s vote because if I knew Da was going to back in the house this week I would give her all of the my votes!

      • I voted for her and will continue to do so until she goes. She may also come back before they reveal the winner.

    • I am not a fan of Day but I’d LOVE to see her come back because this house needs something to break up the monotony

  5. Since the 21st century, words are used very superficially & liberally, so when people make claims of racism or misogyny, I don’t take it seriously. Some people are being insulted, but that’s every season, & I know for a fact the critiques aren’t what they expect HGS to be in private or online.

  6. CBS’s specific explanation of this round’s awarded power is as such: “The winner of this care package could single-handedly flip the house by preventing two Houseguests of their choosing from voting in next week’s eviction.”
    When you’re deciding which of the other remaining HGs to support cautiously support Da’Vonne because she’s the most likely evictee this week then your votes go to no one unless she has the Round Trip ticket. You’ll also want to keep in mind the other pending prizes. The following three packages will be “super safety,” “co-HoH,” and “BB Bribe.” Whoever wins this package won’t be eligible for those next three.
    Voting for this week’s care package opened yesterday and will continue until Friday, August 5th at 10AM PT. You have 20 votes each day. Shortly after that the HGs will learn who has won the next prize and remember all the details will be openly revealed. We don’t know if the HG who receives this has to make a publicly reveal of the canceled votes or even when that decision must be made.

      • The way I understand it is; if Victor gets ACP2 then he may or may not have to reveal to the HG what votes he cancelled. Sounds like they are leaving it to production to determine if the HG should know?? They know what the vote tally is so that gives them some room for drama or protecting those details.

      • It did say the HG has to reveal the award in the CP to all hgs…so whoever gets it best be careful whom he/she chooses to eliminate in this next round as it could place a big target on them next time.

      • that’s what is does in the end. From what was on the site, what might happen is the HG vote but 2 HG wont know if their votes got Cancelled. Guess we will see now it plays out with production.

        “don’t know if the HG who receives this (ACP2). has to make a public reveal of the canceled votes or even when that decision must be made.”

      • Got it. Thanks. Either way, these fools can’t keep a secret or make the decision without “the house”.

    • If Da’vonne gets the most votes and is evicted then the package goes to the person with the second highest votes.

      • Gambino- thats not what CBS says. “Your votes go to no one” is their statement

      • “In the event the houseguest that wins a Voting Period’s care package has been voted out of the house, such Voting Period’s care package will go to the houseguest that received the second most votes.”

        That’s quoted directly from the CBS website.

  7. Nicole has really showed her true colors this season. I used to think she was a caring individual. But she’s changed a lot. Now she only cares about guys. And not just any guys. They have to good looking, and dumb as a box of rocks. Every comment she makes about a guy, it involves his appearance. And every comment she makes towards a girl, it’s usually catty and jealous. I think she made a mistake coming back for a 2nd season. Because Nicole was one of the most beloved HGs ever. But now people see her true vain self.

  9. Lol what a terrible post. TL;DR version: Everyone sucks and everyone is bigoted in some way.

  10. I think BB’s problem this season is that with the exception of Paulie (sibling), Tiffany (sibling), Frank (returner), and Day (returner) this house is FULL of Hufflepuffs. I would go so far as to say that Tiffany probably would have been a Hufflepuff if she wasn’t trying to be her sister and Frank was definitely a Hufflepuff his first time in the house.

    They’ve gotten so much crap in the past for casting terrible people that they cast a bunch of people that are exactly like the people America always chooses as favorite HG – James, Meg, Frank (S14 version), Nicole, Donny, Elissa, etc. The problem here is that likable people don’t make good tv they turn into lemmings. You need a balance of the cunning manipulative types like Evil Dick, Dr. Will, Boogie, Vanessa, Dan (S14 version); smart strategic players like Derrick, Ian, Steve, Andy; loyal but still smart players like Dan (S10), Kaysar, Hayden, Janelle (earlier seasons), Brittney; and then your Hufflepuffs like Jordan and the other people I’ve named already. Yes this list is mostly winners – they’re just the ones I remember the best…sue me.

    • I like Frank and hated to see him go. I love Evil Dick, didn’t care about the others. Dr. Will and Boogie were entertaining. Love Brittney

      • I liked Frank so much this season. It made me so sad. I like to keep people around who are playing the game. And Brittney is probably my all time favorite – genuinely like her game play and she’s one of the funniest people on the planet.

  11. Great piece! This Season is a wreck and a waste of time for me personally. But think twice about hoping that Da’Vonne has the Round Trip ticket. If she indeed DOES have it I think the fallout from those who believe in CBS/Producer manipulation will be too much for audiences to handle. With the amount of dead fish in the house this Season having her sent back in will give those who believe in manipulation a LOT of ground to stand on. Even if it’s 100% true (a Round Trip ticket for Da’Vonne) that’s going to be difficult to swallow as a viewer.

    • I don’t even bother watching BBAD and I can’t wait each year for BB to start. This year I don’t really care

    • Ok, they picked randomly from 12 different envelopes. I do not see how the ticket could be rigged! The envelopes are numbered 1-12 so Big Brother knows which house guest has the round trip ticket but only after they picked!

      • I’m not saying it’s rigged. (I don’t believe it is.) But people on these boards in previous seasons have LOVED conspiracies. Last year people posted a lot about Vanessa being the pre-picked winner because she had an upcoming card show happening on CBS. NONE of that was true (obviously) but some people love the idea of conspiracies. That’s all I meant. Apologies.

      • BB13 was clearly rigged for Rachel, so you can’t blame people for loving the idea of conspiracies (not that you, personally, did. but just saying.). It’s not like there’s no chance of it happening whatsoever.

  13. I can’t even watch the feeds or BBAD this year due to who they have as HG’s. III was hoping Frank could do something but now that he is gone, I don’t think anyone can take Paulie out now.

  14. It’s getting harder and harder to send any of the care packages to any of these players. I wished there’s a package to evict a player on the spot.

    • lol! I would like to evict some of those players as well! I really don’t think I want anyone else to win this season other than Da! I will give her all of my votes, she does have a 1 in 11 chance of having the round trip ticket!

  15. I hope James wins HOH and manages to toss Paulie out on his @ss, then we’d have a game worth watching

  16. Nicole, to me, has been the biggest disappointment this season. The whole season has just been bad so far. Just hand Paulie the check..quit wasting our time. This is getting beyond sad…no one seems to have a care in the world that he is running the house. I see no strategic game talk about getting out Paulie from anyone…they are just letting him rule. Also, I have an idea for these stupid showmances…anyone who comes into play BB and starts a showmance..that couple automatically gets two penalty noms..each! Three showmances in one season is way over the top!

  17. I don’t even know if we can still blame this completely on casting anymore. The world is completely different now. Anyone with a large number of followers on social media can it to generate money. Yes, younger people care more about social media but everyone is hungry for exposure now. Big Brother has to find a way to figure out whether or not the people they consider truly want to WIN the game because that’s been the biggest disappointment of the last seasons. Maybe it is time for an All-Stars season. I’m surprised they haven’t done another one yet.

    • Good point.

      At the first of this season, I thought Nicole was going to play a strong game and be one of the puppeteers along with the other vets and the siblings. But I am very disappointed with her gameplay.

      I’m disappointed Da started stirring up mess with her vets. Paulie & Co would have targeted her anyway because he wants an all male ending but if she hadn’t given people reason to wonder if she’s conspiring against them, she maybe could have rallied more support with James, Paul & the ladies. At least Paulie couldn’t tell Paul that she was a pot stirrer.

      Paulie is playing the best game, like it or not.

      I thought Zakiyah was laying low at first and would come on like gangbusters winning comps left and right but no, she’s planning her wedding and naming her Califiore children. If she had a notebook, she’d be practicing signing her name: “Zakiyah Califiore”. Another disappointment.

      Expected Corey was also laying low but would come through with more (legit) comp wins by now. But he’s safe. Maybe he’s saving it for “The Wall”.

      Speaking of disappointments – James. I’m glad Nat told him she was here for a game and nothing else but she respects him as a friend. Forget the lip smooch – a lot of us had this suspicion. Too bad she “came here for the game” but was content to settle for jury. Smh. James, you can drop off the hitchhiker at the next stop (Jury) and get your head in this game!!!

      I could not stand Paul, Victor (& Josea) at first because they were targeting the vets. Now, they’re targeting whomever Paulie wants and are probably safer than anyone else in the house who is not sporting a Y chromosome. If Victor wins the wall comp, they might decide to take out Paulie – who knows? Throw him & Corey on the block (or James) and voila, they could finish together.

      Thought big Meech might turn into something but she never really gelled with Frank or James or any of the boys so she would be fighting a losing battle now.

      • I doubt that there was ever going to be a lasting alliance with anyone, including the vets because they did it at the beginning of the game.
        Alliances before getting to know the players don’t always work. If it does is usually between two people only. Paulie and Corey are align until the end and hopefully he goes, but not before Nicole and Paulie.

      • This is the best reply I’ve ever read on these boards (imo). Well done!!!

    • Agreed. I mean Bronte applied to be on the show without knowing a thing about it just to get some air time. Apparently there are sites that will connect you to reality tv auditions. And everyone will say, of course I’m a BB fan. I don’t know how they’d get over that hump, but it needs to happen.

    • Your point is interesting but kind of contradicts itself. All-Stars all come back hoping for more camera time and the chance to stretch their self-believed “fame” into careers. Very few go beyond their Season and are forgotten quickly so they’re all hoping to be one of the very few who see another Season or maybe an appearance on TAR or SURVIVOR. So most of those players who play again are just looking for more TV time. Which is why this Season is so terrible. Bringing back 4 vets and bringing in 2 people with sibling relations to previous players who were there for a long stretch makes them all (6 of 16) experienced with the game. I think we need 16 people who really WANT/NEED the money who don’t view it as a humorous Summer with nothing to lose because they’ll be on TV. All-Stars are boring. We know them and their personalities already. I just wish they’d stop casting “bodies” in their 20s who have little/no life experience.

  18. Good summation, Branden. I agree on pretty much every count. I am Team Bridgette, though, and I don’t like Da, but otherwise, we’re on the same wavelength. Last night Natalie was talking to James in the hammock and she dropped the “ditzy” voice and talked about turning it up to start winning. I think maybe she’s been playing a part to a certain degree. Hmmm…

    • I hope so! Natalie does have a fairly good grip on the house, and if she is now here to play, it’s a shame America gave her the first care package. But then again, I’m not holding my breath for any of these houseguests.

  19. Hmm I’m wondering if CBS has data-mined BB fan demographics and decided most viewers want man-candy, ‘girls’ they can feel superior to, and guys who behave like girls.

  20. So Day is not nice to the other HGs and you like her for that? She keeps it real by being a sour faced, anti-social, paranoid, hypocritical curmudgeon.

    The vets had a perfect plan and were well on their way to playing a winning game. But then Da’Vonne went all paranoid with Tiffany and then Frank – without talking to either of them! Once Da lost her mind her game went down hill. She was great playing on everyone the first week.

    James is a big disappointment. Nicole is too whiny to watch. I think watch out for Corey. He could be this year’s Cody.

    I agree Z is not playing. James just does not know how to play. Bridgette may not be as dumb as she seems. Sticking with Frank and now Paulie may get her far in the game. She’s like Victoria only she won comps.

    Victor is obviously laying low after having been evicted once already. That is a good strategy. Had he come back playing strong he would be not last.

    As for Paulie, he has gotten way to cockey but he is earning it by winning comps. He is a threat because he can win, unlike Da who is a threat only because she creates drama.

    • Lol. I agree. D is my favorite, but her personality and social skills are horrible. I think she knows the game and was playing good, but her mistake is being too trusting of her “alliance”. She is not a threat at all at this point, but was able to change people’s mind and manipulate some. Paulie does all of that and wins comps, so he is the real threat of the house, but no one ever notices. If I had a person telling me who to put up when I’m HOH. That person will be my #1 target.

  21. You say, ” I love Day’s DRs. Who doesn’t, right? “. Well, I don’t. I don’t love her nor do I even like her. She’s a loud mouth, sh*t stirring, flip flopping, hypocrite. I hope hope hope she does not have the round trip ticket. As for everyone else I think you pretty hit the nail on the head.

  22. Thoughts
    – I agree that James is doing a good job not being anyone’s target, but is he really playing the game? And if so is it for himself? Or Natalie? He needs to do more than gun for obvious targets.

    – Natalie is pretty much Jordan Lloyd. Sweet, bubbly, but not really strong in this game especially with comps. However she seems to have a good read on houseguests and like James isn’t really anyone’s public enemy.

    – Say what you want about Paulie, but he’s doing a good job getting what he wants. Yeah he coached under his brother’s fellow Hitman but it seems to be paying off. Problem is his social game isn’t the greatest. If he were less of a douche I’d root for him more.

    – Very disappointed in Nicole. Thought she’d try to change her game. Really it hasn’t changed as much. Only difference is she’s more whiny and crybaby like. Less of the Andrea clone than I thought she was. The problem is she’s focused on Corey’s muscles rather than the half million dollars.

    – Day really puts her feet in her mouth. Every time she tries to stir up trouble, she ends up backfiring on herself. I’ll give her credit for making it past being evicted second, but that’s not saying much.

    – Bridgette I wanna root for, but she’s not doing much to keep herself. I get that Frank left a lot of damage on her for being a target, but at the same time she needs to buckle down and keep fighting.

    – Z……… ? Look at my problem with Nicole and then you’ll see my point. Only with Paulie and not Corey.

    – Corey is pretty much a Shane clone. Handsome, buff, but a complete tool.

    – Paul and Victor I wanna like because they’re pretty tough cookies, but they seem to be Paulie’s goons rather than good players.

  24. Hey Davvone You are my favorite big brother character you need to really sway the other people at the eviction

  26. In regards to how Paulie is playing Z, I say fair game. If she’s too dumb to see what he’s doing, that’s her own fault because it’s incredibly transparent. But if Paulie can string along an extra vote for the next few weeks before she gets fed up, why not keep her around?

    Maybe it’s a bit questionable morally, but so is telling everyone in the house that you have cancer (Dr. Will). My personal philosophy is that if it betters your position in the game, do it, no exceptions.

    The comments about Natalie’s breasts are absolutely ridiculous though, I’ll agree on that one unequivocally.

  27. I agree that Nicole hasn’t made the best decisions and I would love to see a strong group of girls for once. But honestly how would it help her at this point to work with the girls? None of them have won Hoh! What’s the point of being in an alliance with people who can’t keep you safe? I understand that she is at the bottom of the guys’ group, and they will probably cut her once they get to top 5. But if she worked with the girls she wouldn’t even get that far. The girls are just not good enough players to rely on. I think she’s playing the game more than some in the house. Don’t really understand all the hate she’s getting this season

  28. I agree about everything with Paulie; I thought he would be similar to Cody but he is the total opposite of his brother. The girls are not good players this year and haven’t done anything in the game other than start the FF which is now over. Day is the only one who can think for herself; and its earned her a spot OTB and a pending eviction.

Comments are closed.