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Five Thoughts on 'Big Brother 19' Ahead of the Live Eviction Episode

By Ryan McGee | TV | July 13, 2017 |

By Ryan McGee | TV | July 13, 2017 |


I wasn’t sure if there were readers for Big Brother here, but last week’s piece demonstrated there was enough interest to check back in at least one more time. Here are five thoughts about the show through Episode 7. As always, I don’t watch the feeds or read spoilers, so everything below is based entirely on what CBS airs.

1) I knew Cody would be exposed, but never quite THAT fast.

It’s always fun to watch someone in Big Brother go from “invincible” to “almost certainly leaving,” but it’s rare to see it happen this early in the season. I pegged him for a midseason fall, but at this point, he might not be around come this weekend. And yet, everything lined up in spectacular fashion, like a perfectly-crafted stack of dominoes. The irony? Cody actually set up the dominoes that led to his fall without even realizing it. Why?



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2) Last week featured one of the all-time craziest Veto Ceremonies.

This whole “Den Of Temptation” twist is probably not going to last throughout the summer, but it did offer the show to essentially craft the twist that pulled the rug out from under Cody. By allowing America to select the player tempted, of COURSE they selected Paul, who of COURSE would take it, and the temptation was designed to create exactly the possibility that played out. But it was still pretty damn sweet to watch Cody have to put up a quarter of the house, not get anyone out that he really wanted, and force everyone under his dead-eye spell to flee for other alliances.

3) Alex being Cody’s kryptonite is worthy of a thousand gender studies dissertations.

Cody could have won the Veto Competition and prevented everything that happened. Instead, his “respect” for Alex caused him to throw the comp, which led to the failed back-door of Paul. It was utterly bizarre and eerily fascinating to watch Cody work through his feelings of actual respect for a member of the opposite gender. It’s like he never considered women could actually be of any value other than looking good next to him. The Alex/Cody/Jessica triangle is like an 80’s rom-com: Cody/Jessica are the popular couple, and the latter can’t believe the former has a crush on a girl with glasses. (The twist: The girl with the glasses draws her own comic books and doesn’t have time for his MRA ass.) I almost want Cody to stick around to see if his heart grows three sizes, but I’m guessing he’ll be lighting ants on fire with a magnifying glass somewhere far from the set come this time next week.

4) Without a clear target, the next few weeks will be impossible to predict.

Assuming Cody leaves tomorrow, there are no logical next steps. Jessica isn’t the next target, unless she absolutely goes HAM after his eviction and makes her presence in the house untenable. You could argue Josh or Ramses might be next: Josh has inexplicably not truly paid for his betrayal during the team competition in Week One, and Ramses could not have played this week any worse if he tried. But there are so many non-factors in the house right now that a few weeks of HoH’s uttering the famous “not getting any blood on my hands” phrase and then eliminating bland personalities rather than true competitors is definitely in play. (If I were in the house, I’d get Christmas out, because I think she has the clearest path at this point. She’ll eventually be a competition beast again once her foot heals, she’s smart, and she has a good social game.)



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5) I don’t know how long Paul can last, but the longer he stays, the more tolerable this season will be.

If you can tell me one thing about Elena, Matthew, Dominique, Mark, or Raven…well, you can tell me one more thing than I know about any of them after watching this show for eight hours. Big Brother always condenses storylines at this point in the game, only focusing on a few key people at a time. But do you really think you could survive a summer on their personalities? The one wild card right now is Kevin, the oldest competitor by far and the one who cuts through the clutter even in small amounts of screentime. I have a feeling, given his role this week, that he might get the next temptation offer. The idea that he can win the game seems like a stretch, but his role in actually teaching these kids how to act like adults might raise the level of the game enough to make it watchable when Paul inevitably gets sent packing.