TVSquad

(S08E30) We're one week out from the finale of Big Brother 8 and if you'd have told me 29 episodes ago that Zach would be in the final four I would have told you that you were an idiot.

Well here we are at episode 30 and it looks like I'm the idiot, but can you blame me?

With the exception of maybe Carol, who did so little I actually had to go back to an old post to look up her name, Zach was always that guy taking up space as the cameras panned around the house.

He never did much and he never said much. He just kind of sat there with that crazy clown grin sipping on a cup of water or munching on a bowl of food. Essentially, his gameplan was to have no gameplan.

At least that's the impression I got. Then, around two weeks ago, Zach switched up his game and went from being a passive observer to an aggressive play maker by winning two competitions in rapid succession.

Then came the move he made last episode when he said that Jameka had restored his faith in God. Dick was on to his sneaky move from the get go calling it "a strategic move" instead of a genuine resurgence of faith and I tend to agree with him.

Still, the old Zach would have never considered taking something so personal to a person (like religion) and using it to further his agenda in the game. I was actually kind of proud of him, never mind that he looked like a complete poser during the praying sequence.


I took the time to type out the two prayers Zach and Jameka shared below.

Zach:

"Heavenly father, grant us the chance to perform at our best ability. Let's finally defeat evil (Evel) so to speak. Just let me perform well and if that involves victory I thank you for the chance. Amen."

Well, that definitely sounded like the prayer of someone who doesn't pray all that often but he gets an E for effort. Next we had Jameka.

Jameka:

"Dear heavenly father. Send your angels amongst us oh God. Let them fight on our behalf oh God. Let this be the day lord for vengeance oh God. Please strengthen us . God, give us everything we need to protect us, love on us, in Jesus name I pray, Amen."

Jameka's speech sounded more like a prayer a soldier would make before entering the battlefield, but I guess it kind of worked in this situation as well.

Anyhow, it's been nice watching Zach play with some heart these last few weeks. I can't help but think that if he would have put out this same amount of effort earlier in the game he'd find himself in a much better position right now. As it stands, people on the jury see him as someone who floated through the game and got lucky in the competitions when it mattered. I'd much rather have the jury know that I played hard all along and won some competitions when it mattered. Juries in these reality shows always seem to despise the people who fly under the radar.

Life in the Jury House



Have you been curious about what's been happening in the sequester house? Well so have I, but sadly the answer appeared to be - not a whole lot.

Dustin was the first to arrive and he equated his time in the jury house to living in paradise. Jen was the next to join him and although they had their differences, they appeared to be getting along splendidly.

Waaahmber arrived next and she and Dustin continued their friendly relationship as if it had never ceased. Then came Jessica quickly followed by Eric. Amber and Dustin seemed thrilled to see the two of them evicted around the same time since they helped to orchestrated their dismissal from the house. Eric and Jessica also appeared to pick up the showmance that they'd left in the house.

And...that's about it. There was no real drama to speak of, no revealing that Eric was America's Player (although he did say he was dying to fill them in on the secret), no discussions on why things went down the way they did. Zip, nada, zilch.

It was actually quiet a let down. I think that the conversations that take place in the sequester house would be equally if not more interesting than watching some of the filler they put in on the main show, but what do I know?

I guess we'll have to wait until a reunion show after the finale before we really get to watch the house guests vocalize their feelings about how they were kicked off the show.

Power of Veto Competition - Big Brother Decoder

The PoV competition looked a tad on the confusing side, but it made perfect sense once the contestants starting playing.



The contestants had to put a face between two clues that described an evicted party. As you can tell from the screencap above, some of the clues actually applied to two people which is what made the competition a bit more difficult.

Upon getting the faces matched with the clues appropriately, the contestants then had to rotate a giant decoder wheel that matched up with numbers that would ultimately give them the answer to the question, "How many seconds have you been in the Big Brother house?"

Dick actually had his puzzle completed and only had one number wrong, but he ended up changing a couple of the pictures which took him out of the competition.

Zach didn't really understand the premise of the contest until it was too late, and Jameka was her usual useless self when it came to this challenge.

That left Daniele to win the Power of Veto for a record tying fifth time in one season. This caused her to run around the backyard screaming like a banshee with its head cut off.

Daniele winning PoV all but sealed Jameka's fate. There is no way anybody wants to face her in the finale.

Before we got to the Veto Ceremony and the Live Eviction, the rock music was queued, and we got to listen to what I hope will be Dick's last outburst before the game comes to an end.

Zach was this episode's recipient and Dick proved that he is the worst winner on the planet by yelling at Zach feverishly. Dick did his usual cursing routine and taunted Zach for claiming to be "the muscle" that was going to take the Donato's out of the game.

It irks me to think that this Tommy Lee want to be could potentially walk away from this show $500K richer.

Zach did manage to get one line out that made sense while he defended himself. He basically told Dick that Daniele carried him through the entire game. That sounds about accurate to me.

Of course Zach's other memorable line was, "You better get your ass on the treadmill. You're going to need it!" I have no earthly idea what the hell that was supposed to mean.

Veto and Eviction Ceremony

Daniele ended up surprising her dad during the veto ceremony by using the PoV to take him off of the block.



It was mostly a symbolic gesture because either way a Donato vote was going to be used to send Jameka home tonight. Nonetheless, Dick seemed genuinely touched by Daniele's move and kept repeating, "I'm really surprised. Thank you. I'm really surprised. Thank you."

Wouldn't it have been spectacular if instead, Dick took this opportunity to vote off his own daughter? Wouldn't that go down as the most despicable action ever to take place on a reality show? Would anything ever top a father stabbing his flesh and blood in the back immediately after she did something kind for him - all in the name of a $500K bounty? CBS should have figured out a way to make that happen. Maybe they could have offered to double the money if Dick turned on his daughter. That would have made for wonderful television and would make this the best season of Big Brother to ever air.

I'm pretty sure if Dick had done something that evil he would have spontaneously combusted on the spot.

Unfortunately for me, but luckily for Daniele, Dick did the honorable thing and kicked Jameka out of the game instead.

And then there were three.

The Final Head of Household Competition - Phase 1 - The Bunny Hop

The contestants were asked to step onto a pillar and hold on to a key that was dangling above them. They were instructed that one hand had to remain on the key at all times. A bunny on the end of a long metal pole was then sent into rotation on a path aligned with the contestants feet.

Every time the bunny came by Dick, Daniele, and Zach were forced to jump over the pole and rabbit.



Julie also informed us that the winner of phase one will automatically go on to phase three of the final HoH. The winner of phase two will square off with the winner of phase one and ultimately win the chance to pick who they'll be sitting next to for the grand prize.

Who is going to win Big Brother 8? We'll find out in a week but you can make your pick in the poll below.