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Double Play, or Struck Out

At the end of any season of Big Brother, there is no greater power than that of the Veto. From the Final Five on, alliances can be made or broken based soelly on who wins he Veto, moreso than who wins Head of Household. It is quite telling, in fact, that the two most recent Head of Household were evicted the following week. Victor and Corey’s evictions could be predicted as strong possibilities going into their respective final weeks.

What was less predictable, however, was the lack of realization in each player as to their respective fates.

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The Crushing Truth

The most painful losses in Big Brother are ones in which the person evicted had no idea how much they played a role in their loss. Players who put the blame on others for their own poor play have been shown the painful truth later on, and the realization that they sealed their own fate has caused embarrassment for many a former Houseguest.

In the end – and despite putting the blame on James for most of the week – Natalie had no one to blame but herself

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The Imitation Game

From the beginning of Big Brother 18, there has been a consistent effort by two players to play the strategy that led to a win by Derrick LeVasseur in 2014. Both players were coached by Derrick, both came in with a pedigree (though with different origins), both have seen some success during the season and prior to two weeks ago, there was a clear indication of which was most likely to succeed and which would not.

That the tables turn in Big Brother is unsurprising – that Paulie’s eviction became unavoidable while James is in a clear position to be successful in the game going forward was surprising, and tells much about the lessons each took from the Big Brother 14 winner.

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The Unfinished Symphony of The Big Move

The concept of “The Big Move” is one that most commonly excites fans of Big Brother. This makes sense, normally – after all, when fans are looking for a “Big Move” this typically means they want a move to be made that helps their favorite player. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with this; after all, the idea of watching without a favorite is one that most fans do not ascribe to and having favorite players is perfectly acceptable as a way to watch the show.

While fans love Big Moves, however, Big Brother Houseguests traditionally are very wary of doing so with good reason – Big Moves get people evicted.

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Two Roads, Diverged

This season has seen an interesting dichotomy emerge between two players related to previous Houseguest, showing distinct  and definite alternate ways of playing the game. Whereas one of these players has capitalized on strong game play and social work, the other fell into a trap partly not of her own creation, but one in which she still exacerbated her own situation by not playing strong enough.

Indeed, Paulie and Tiffany have fallen into archetypal roles that are well-worn in Big Brother, and which clearly define how their game play has come to pass.

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