TVSquad

(S09E15) "The last one remaining above their disco ball will be the new Head of House." - Julie Chen

That's right. Before we can even think about getting to the nominations, Big Brother 9 has to finish up the head of household endurance competition which started at the end of the live show on Wednesday night. We last left the houseguests suspended on tiny platforms over disco balls hanging by chains. Now, they should have been playing "Stayin' Alive" but they must not have paid for the song. So there was silence ... and Natalie's never-ending voice.

James is a man driven to win from the start. He's bitter about his eviction knowing that only Chelsia voted for him to stay in the house. When the ChenBot's voice tells him that he was voted back in 5-3, he's even more bitter about the three who didn't want him to return. In Diary segments, Joshuah and Adam express remorse for voting him out while Matt and Ryan are happy with their choice. James can't see the Diary Room bits and the houseguests aren't supposed to talk about them. He can only take his fellow houseguests at their word.

He also doesn't have a clue who voted him back in the house. He knows that Chelsia was one, but who were the others? As they dangled above the yard on their balls, getting slopped with something which wasn't quite champagne, Matt implied he was part of the vote to get him back into the house. "We voted you back in," Matt said to James as if it made amends for voting him out in the first place. No, Matt didn't say HE voted him. He did use the word "we." But it sounded like he was trying to cash in on the fact that the others voted James back in when we know darn well Matt emphatically voted for the Mystery Guest to return!

Adam was out of the HOH comp first, blaming his own "fat ass." His large frame and bigger feet just aren't the best for this kind of comp. I'm not sure how my own big feet would do on that itsy-bitsy platform! He was out before the first half-hour was up, as was Joshuah who came tumbling down next. Both Joshuah and Adam let go. In a Diary Room aftermath segment, Joshuah said the comp just wasn't meant for him -- it's not something he'd ever win.

Then it was Matt's turn. He started complaining that his ankles were hurting and said he might jump down. In watching I got the feeling that he would have jumped but his actual falling might have happened sooner than he thought. It did look like he slipped beyond redemption and then jumped.

Sheila started saying how tired her arms were getting while Natalie chanted, "Can't we all just get along?" I'm not sure why Natalie was doing that as no one was not getting along at that moment. The ones hanging in there were pretty much concentrating on staying up. Sheila, looking more strained by the minute, confessed to James that she was one of the three votes for the Mystery Guest. She said she was hoping that Alex would come back into the house. James thanked her for being honest about it. Then Sheila once again said she hadn't eaten (she has been on slop and barely eating) and was sick. Then, thud. Sheila's out of the competition.



Once Sheila went down, Matt got all hyper that Natalie HAD to win for him to stay. With any of the other three -- Sharon, Chelsia, James -- he was sure he'd go on the block. So he kept rudely telling Natalie to stay up there even to the point that I thought he was snapping at her. Good little Matt's puppy dog that she is, she kept hanging on. Actually, out of the four, she looked like she would indeed last the longest.

Joshuah approached Natalie asking what kind of deal would be needed to have her give it up. Matt yelled at her to stay there. Dang, if I were her I think I'd say, "You're not the boss of me." Then I'd drop just to spite him! Ryan told Matt he should come over to where he was as they're trying to make deals with Natalie. "No deals!" yelled Matt. Then Matt told Ryan he can't stand Natalie's never-ending voice, but turns to Natalie to give her incentive in the long ago promised massage. He said he MIGHT give her the massage. She falls for it. Sigh.

When Sharon went down, Matt credited Chatty Natty. He might have a point there. Natalie just wouldn't shut up. Triyng to get Chelsia and James to drop out, Natalie assured them that they aren't her targets. She said she knows James wants to win to get his dignity back but she's out to win because she wants the HOH and the pictures from home.

Matt asked James how it felt to be backdoored. "Wonderful! I'll have to do it to you guys sometime," James replied. I'm going to take this as a hint on how James intends to play this game from this time on. It seems being evicted and coming back made him a stronger player. I didn't see that kind of resolve in Ryan although he's also an evicted returnee. Well, he didn't get to talk to Julie Chen, but he thought he was gone.

Of the three remaining, James looks the most uncomfortable. Natalie looks like she's having the time of her life. Chelsia was somewhere in between. Then it happened -- Chelsia slipped and fell. It was down to James and Natalie. Heh, Matt freaked! "Natalie, stay up!"

In an aftermath Diary Room segment James tells us that he would have to be struck by lightning to fall. But will his determination to win beat Natalie in a comp that's more suited for a stripper pole dancing kind of woman than a guy?

James was definitely tiring. He looked so much worse than Natalie that it seemed she would easily beat him. James told her he wanted to play Let's Make a Deal -- he wants Ryan on the block no matter what.

Now, Ryan is in earshot. "No deals! No deals!" Matt yells. But, of course, it isn't dear Mattie up there. He gave it up long ago. They're approaching the fourth hour of dangling and Matt was gone in the first half hour or so.

All of a sudden, after looking so good so long, first Natalie became quieter. Then she said she was feeling sick. James promised he wouldn't put her on the block if she drops. She cried that she wanted Matt to be safe, too. James then told her neither she or Matt will go on the block. She said "deal," then crumpled and let go of the chain.

So the recently evicted James is now the new Head of Household. "I'll stick to my word just like everyone else in this house," James told Matt as he shook his hand. Again, the hint of his strategy. Everyone in the house except for Chelsia voted him out in a backdoor after promising him he was safe. Some didn't have much to do with it other than the vote -- Joshuah, Sharon, and Adam come to mind. Some outright lied to him and backstabbed him. I think he's a man with his eye on the half-million and vengeance in his heart, don't you?

Matt finally is impressed with Natalie. He realizes she stayed up there for him and even in the end she didn't drop until James said he wouldn't put him on the block. He gave her plenty of attention, respect, and even the long promised massage. How long will that last until he just treats her like garbage once again? Will she come to her senses and realize it's pathetic to keep latching herself onto someone like him? Instead she just kept apologizing to him for not winning.

It's damage control time for the Boys Club. Ryan asked Natalie why she voted James back in the house. She told him she was scared it would be Allison and had to do it on her own. Ryan tells her that now that "they" are in power, one of their own will be voted out. He didn't come out and say it, but I think he's pretty sure he's the one who will go home this week since James promised Matt and Natalie a reprieve.

I don't know quite what to make of two oddly placed segments which might have been an attempt at lighthearted humor in this episode. They seemed very incongruous with the events of the evening. The first one was a "Bible Buddies" bit with Matt, Adam, and Ryan. Matt was reading about Jacob in the bible and commenting that he was one "big ass dude." It was a biblical interpretation of the likes I've never heard before, nor will I ever hear again. At least I hope not. The other segment had Joshuah fluttering about before the others were awake with a feather duster. He told us he's like a "gay French maid" and enjoys getting dust on the beds of people he doesn't like. Okay, that was five minutes wasted.

Back to the real stuff, Natalie got her massage during which Matt told her, "I love you, but not like that -- in a different way." He also told her "I'm not touching booblies, though. Flip them in because they're hanging out." All we saw was a blur where boobies should be and it gave me memories of Howie. Natalie told Matt that he has to convince James that he's one of the ones who voted him back in the house as he's sure to gun for them. She already told him that she voted for him to return. Adam, thinking James needs to know, went and told him he was the vote for him to return, not Matt. Who will James believe? Well, Adam voting for him to return is much more logical than Matt doing so, for sure.

Ryan talked to James trying for the "I was evicted, too. I know what it's like" card. James had no sympathy for Ryan's plight. He called him on the lies, the backstabbing and asked him why he put him on the block. Ryan started to blame the house, but then stopped. He hinted that he's not responsible for Matt's mouth. James told him that he will be going on the block because he (James) was screwed last week by everyone in the house except for Chelsia due to Ryan putting him on the block. "Get ready for an intense week," he tells Ryan. Gulp!

When it came time for the nominations, James told them he made his choices based on false pretenses and lies. The key order was: Natalie, Matt, Sharon, Chelsia, Joshuah, and Adam. That would mean that the nominations for eviction are (drumroll, please) ... Sheila and Ryan.

James told Sheila she's on the block because she gave him her word directly to him and then betrayed him. He said Ryan is on the block because he backdoored him. For all of her crying she does, Sheila put on a show in the Diary Room for us. "I'm not going to cry, boo hoo." How long will that last? Ryan is also talking tough, saying he's the King of the Block as it's the third time he's been up for eviction and he was already evicted once before.

Who will win the Power of Veto and will it be used to save one of the nominees? That's coming up Tuesday!

Joshuah wanted to solve the mystery of the fifth vote for James' return. He knows he voted for him to come back, as did Chelsia and Natalie. Sharon said she voted for him. Ryan and Sheila admitted they voted for the Mystery Guest. That would leave the last vote between Adam and Matt. Adam insisted to Joshuah that he voted for James to return. Matt just stood there acting confused and said he voted for him to return. He really isn't a good actor. He looked all flustered while Adam just seemed adamant that he's the one, not Matt.