Well, here we are – finale night… or should I say FINALLY the finale night. I have been saying all of Big Brother 18, that 90+ days is just too long. Although we did see a lot of action this season, and plenty of tears, fights, scheming, and backstabbing. Two revivals added unnecessary weeks where we could have been enjoying our summer doing something else. But then again, if you are reading this, then you are addicted to BB like I am, so,…
Who would have thunk 99 days ago, that Paul, Nicole, and James would be in the final 3? if you can prove that they were your top 3 preseason picks, then I will give you 5 lbs of bacon… BUT FIRST – let’s take a walk down memory lane as I give each HG Bacon or Tofu based on their time in the BB house. Instead of top to bottom, I am going to go in order of eviction (final 3 in my predicted order):
Glenn Garcia- 2 strips of Tofu… so bummed we did not get to see more of Glenn as he was a preseason fav of mine. He had the potential to be the funny guy a la Enzo from BB12. He did have the chance to win one of 2 competitions to extend his game in the house, but came up short both times. Just think about this, if he beats Corey in the balancing coconut comp, there probably would not have been a Nicorey, and the other showmances would have stood out more. Damn you Glenn!!
Jozea Flores – Tofurkey of the Year! Yeah, we will always remember Jozea for one word MESSIAH! For people that do not like recruits on Big Brother, this is a perfect example of why we need them on Big Brother. They do not understand the concept of; It takes 90+ days to win Big Brother, it takes 1 day to lose it. In his case one word. As soon as he said it to Da’Vonne, he believed it, and he owned it. And then he walked out the door with it.
Victor… we’ll get to him.
Bronte D’Acquisto – 1 strip of Tofu – Unfortunatley – Bronte never really caught on to what was going on in the game, She had a cutesy little alliance with the Spy Girls, but other than coming up with names, they never put their plan into action until Bronte was gone. And that was only when they had a common enemy – Paulie. Wait, aren’t I supposed to talking about Bronte’s game? EXACTLY. (for the record, yes, she does look like Tori Spelling)
Tiffany Rousso – 3 strips of Tofu – in every preseason interview, Tiffany said she did not want to play emotional like her sister. That lasted, what? 3 days? She was smart & cunning like Vanessa, but her emotions took over. Her spats with Paulie, Frank, Da’Vonne were fun to watch, as was all the times groups would break up as soon as she came around. As fans, we loved the last minute flipping of the house to save her, in the hopes she would go after Frank, but that backfired as they teamed up. Didn’t matter anyway, she left the following week.
Frank Eudy – 1 strip of Bacon – as big of a target as Frank was on BB14, he had an even bigger one on him on BB18. For anyone that still wants to call him out on his inappropriate behavior, remember, as soon as he was confronted about it, he stopped & apologized, Unfortunately for him, it was too late as the damage was done. I think part of it was his competition prowess, but once he & Da’Vonne drew the line in the said, that was his last straw. Who knows just how close he came to convincing Michelle to use the Veto on him,
Da’Vonne Rogers – 2 strips of Bacon – similar to last season, Da’Vonne was not afraid to speak her mind. Unlike last season, people actually listened & supported her… for a little while. When the Frank/Da’Vonne beef was all said & done, her name was dragged through the mud as well, and she followed Frank out of the house. She did however make it to Jury. I could have done without the hair flipping.
Zakiyah Everette – 5 strips of Tofu – Zakiyah played such a non-game, that there were like 4 or 5 episodes in a row that she did not even appear in any diary room sessions. Not to mention she threw her game away for someone that did not even have the decency to remove her from the block when he had the chance.
Bridgette Dunning – 1 strip of Bacon – I didnt really know what to expect from Bridgette before the season started – and early on she seemed to just be there. She won the 3rd HoH and by then, she was all in with Frank. That would have been a great person to align with, except he was on his way to becoming Public Enemy #1. She completely let him take control of her HoH, and since he won Roadkill that week – he essentially made all 3 nominations.
Once Bridgette found out that he was responsible for one of her Spy Girls going home, did she jump ship and try to mend fences? NOPE! Once Frank left, she caught on to Paulie running the house and was instrumental in leading the charge to get him out. It’s just a shame that feisty side of her did not come out earlier.
Rankings continue on the next page…
Paulie Calafiore – 2 strips of Bacon – one of the most polarizing HGs this season – Paulie went from being the mastermind, to being the most hated person in the house. He was saying & doing all the right things early, even volunteering to go on the block twice. He was so worried that Tiffany was playing her sister’s game & instead of trying to team up with her he went against her. Once he had all the power in the house, he got too cocky and felt untouchable.
As we have seen in the past, you get confident in the BB House, you end up going home. That is exactly what happened to Paulie. He started to lash out at everyone, even his showmance partner Zakiyah. This prompted Natalie to say something to Z, which as we all know led to an epic fight. All that said, Paulie was a great competitor and brought so much excitement to the show. Just not all of it positive for him!
Victor… nope, not yet… keep reading.
Michelle Meyer – 1 strip of Tofu – Big Meech – oh boy, where do we start? She was the biggest superfan on this season – and he admiration to the vets kept her safe early on, and her crush on Frank went unnoticed until he teamed up with Bridgette instead of her. I honestly think that if Michelle won the 3rd HoH instead of Bridgette, Frank would have teamed up with her. She did cry a lot, she threw up after a comp, and had some scorching eviction speeches – but still she hung around.
Michelle’s game actually went south once she got the Co-HoH from America’s Care Package. Instead of doing what she wanted (nominate Nicole), she went along with Natalie and they put up Victor & Paul. How did that work out for her? Well, considering Nicole won the following HoH and was the tie breaking vote to evict her, I’d say not too well!
Natalie Negrotti – 2 strips of Bacon – just like her other Spy Girls, Natalie did not do much early other than flirt with the boys. Which was her plan right? But she ended up getting into a “showmance” with James. That wall of protection helped her for a while – and she along with Bridgette were responsible for the downfall of Paulie’s game. Natalie showed she was not going to be walked on, and as soon as she perked up her game was on point.
For a few weeks there, I thought she would be a lock for the Final 3 – then her biggest mistake of the game was trusting James’ gut – and turning on Victor & Paul. That ultimately led to her demise – and in a rare move, the girl in the showmance was evicted before the guy. One thing about her game that goes unnoticed is her power of observation. She was more aware of the pulse of the house than the rest, just wish she did not go against her gut. She was the last hope for a NY/NJ person to win the game.
Victor Arroyo – 4 strips of Bacon – finally – evicted for good the 3rd time. yes, plenty of people were upset that he got not just a 2nd chance, but a 3rd chance too. Hey, that’s the way the game was setup this season, and being such a comp beast helped him when his social game couldn’t. After his first re-entry into the game, he did change his attitude and behavior, and toned it down a bit. He did get a little lucky that the house was already in a power struggle between Day & Frank, so he sat back and observed from the sideline.
Victor just about always kept his cool and played very strategic, never making emotional decisions. Sure a lot of that had to do with teaming up with Paul. But his trusting nature caught up to him and Vic found himself walking out the door the last time by the people he had protected a week earlier. I am hoping that Victor wins America’s Favorite Player because of how hard he fought all season.
Corey Brooks – 3 strips of Bacon – for most of the game, a lot of us thought Corey was nothing more than a dumb jock. He made us think that way because of his dazed glares & spending more time canoodling with Nicole and not really getting to know most of the other HG’s. Not sure it was by design, or pure luck, but Corey did have himself well protected most of the game. His two biggest allies were both bigger targets in Paulie & Nicole. He was “bro” enough in the middle of the game with Paul & Victor when they were in the Executives alliance – and then teamed up with them again to form the Final 4 Alliance.
For one of the most athletic people in the house to never really be a target says something about Corey’s overall game. 3 PoVs & 2 HoH’s wins under his belt – he sure did build an impressive resume going into the final 4. But coming up just short in the final PoV may have cost him $500K.
Rankings continue on the next page…
James Huling – 4 strips of Tofu – in case you were unaware – this was not James’s first rodeo. And in case you did not know, James was in a showmance with Natalie. Do you know how I know those facts? Because James said them over and over and over and over and… you get the picture. He kind of Mr. Magoo’d his way to the final 3 (for those of you too young to remember Mr. Magoo, look it up).
James was the most nonthreatening of the returnees, and he did win the HoH to get Frank out, but that was just a long line of moves that James made that he did because “it’s what the house wanted.” His gut was usually wrong, and he gave bad advice to his alliance members, but here we are on finale day – and there is still a chance he will walk away with the money. A very slim chance, but a chance.
Nicole Franzel – 5 strips of Bacon – there has been a lot said about Nicole’s game both inside and outside the house this season, but you cannot deny that she was playing the game hard all season long. She was emotional at times too, but always made smart game decisions. She also played the part of master manipulator several times – not sure how many times it was intentional, but this is Big Brother and you need a little luck sometimes as well as smart gameplay.
If Nicole can manage to win the last part of the HoH and put herself in the final 2 chairs, she could actually walk away with the money. I think she has a good shot against either James or Paul, but only if she can make it there herself. Most of the people in the jury were screwed over by her at some point, and if they take a step back and look at it, they will see these were great moves by Nicole. A bitter jury may not award her the money – so we shall see. If she does win – it was well earned.
Paul Abrahamian – 5 strips of Bacon – “Your Boy”, “Friendship”, “Pissed”, Pablo, Secret Service Man, Paul sure had a lot going on all season. He was guilty by association early on with his alliance of Jozea & Victor, but as soon as they started getting plucked, Paul had to find a way to get out of sticky situations. He used his gift of gab, his best asset, to work his way in and out of favor with the right people at the right times. He proved he was a loyal ally to whomever he was working with that week, and won his share of comps along the way to build the most impressive resume of the final 3. He just needs 1 more win to get himself to the final 2 – and he will be crowned the winner of this season.
If Nicole does in fact bring him to the final 2, he could make a case, but getting himself there will seal the deal. I was convinced early on he was going to be the first boot. Lucky for him Jozea had a bigger mouth & Victor was a bigger physical threat. Week 2 he figured out he had to play along with the rest of the house and turn on his boy Victor. He did it so seemingly well, that Victor was not mad at him once he came back (throwing that vote on Bronte had a lot to do with it).
Paul’s game was one part Andy (BB15) by making sure he was involved with every conversation going on in the house, one part Evel Dick (BB8) by getting in people’s faces and causing confrontations to put targets on other people’s backs and off his own, and one part Dan (BB10), by always keeping his options open and going with the people that could further his game. What do all three of them have in common? They all won their (1st) seasons.
Will Paul’s name go up on the wall along side of them? We will find out for sure in just a few hours.
I would like to thank all of you for reading this column again this season. I hope you had as much fun reading it each week as I had writing it. I usually sign off at the end of the season by saying, we have a long 9 months before Big Brother comes back – but this year, we only have to wait 1 week. Let’s hope that the shorter season will keep up the intensity we saw most of this season. I am glad they got rid of the Battle of the Block, but I am still holding out hope that the Food Competitions come back at some point.
From outside the Big Brother house, I am Adam Poch, have a great day!
Follow me on Twitter to get more updates as the season progresses twitter.com/heavymetalteddy.