TVSquad

(S09E24) "James is the target this week. The whole house wants him gone." - Joshuah

So, it's James and Joshuah on the block with a veto competition looming ahead. I don't know how you feel, but I think the only one safe in the house is Natalie because she's the head of household. With the record James has and his determination, no one should feel smug or secure. If Natalie wasn't the HOH, I don't think divine intervention would help her either. James is a force to be reckoned with. He knows he'll go home if he doesn't win the power of veto.

How does it all pan out? Read on past the jump for the full review!

Although I don't think tonight's episode will go down in the history books, there were definitely some very good bits and pieces about it. I enjoy watching Big Brother because it's sort of a character study. As long as there are houseguests willing to display all their virtues and flaws, I'm willing to watch. I don't even like any of them all that much this season. But it's definitely interesting to watch them rise and fall flat, too. And, it's much better that it's them and not me!

Ryan and Natalie are worried that James will win POV. Joshuah is worried a bit. James feels alienated from the rest of the house. They already evicted him. He came back. They keep putting him on the block and he's certainly the target, not the pawn. He keeps winning POV and living for another week. Between his youth, determination, and a pretty astute ability in comps, they should be more worried than they are about him winning yet another power of veto.

James is hurting since Chelsia was voted out. Even though last week he said she had to go and he didn't even give her a sympathy vote, he now realizes that she was his only real friend in the house, his only confidant. He tells us he's like an island, all alone. I hummed a bit of "I am a Rock" by Simon and Garfunkel as he said it for solidarity purposes. Well, maybe I exaggerate just a bit. But I thought of the song!

Watching what happened next showed a side of James we don't see too often, as well as a part of Sheila I think we've seen way too much of this season. Seeing how upset and alone he was, Sheila went to him. She gave him a pep talk about how she was sure he'd win POV and stay in the house. She told him she had a gut feeling he'd stay, what a wonderful player he is and blah-blah-blah. I could tell watching his face that he fell hook, line, and sinker for it. Why, he's not alone! He has a friend who cares about him! He won't give up! He'll win POV and thank her for being his friend and giving him the will to go on!

But, mind you, this was Sheila saying it to him. She's constantly lying. Sheila doesn't care about James. She cares about Sheila and often seems to think the world show bow at her feet. After all, she's old enough to be the mother of the house! She lies to them roughly using the same sort of approach Matt used -- tell them what they want to hear. But, unlike Matt, no one has really called her out on it. Wait, it was James who called Matt out, right?

Well, he called Sheila out on this lie. He blatantly caught her telling everyone in the kitchen he has to be voted out this week. She wants him gone, everyone wants him gone. He had been napping on the sofabed and heard every word. So, itsy-bitsy black bikini briefs and all, he confronted her. "You lying sack of BLEEP!" She told him she was glad he heard her. He got more upset. He was shaking all over and turning about the color of his pink mohawk as he lit into her.

I'm not big on shouting fights, but this is one Sheila needed to receive. She's been doing that to others all along. James really isn't much more than a kid. She took his feelings of loneliness and offered him a false friendship when she knew he was vulnerable. Did she do that to help him? Nope, she did it so she would sit better with his vote from the jury, that's all. No one came to her rescue. Then again, it's hard to be real scary wearing a teeny black bikini brief just big enough to contain your stuff while shaking, spitting, and turning neon pink.


James moved on to Natalie, but only to rant about what Sheila did to him with her lie. Now, Natalie herself lies at times. She's even put him on the block and made it known that she wanted him out of the house. But she hasn't lied to take advantage of him when he was down like that. James was even losing his voice as he went on at Natalie. She didn't lie to him and tell him that people didn't want him to go. In his Diary Room segment, he cried and told us that it's the first time he's cried since his father died. Maybe he put himself in the situation in the beginning, but he is more alienated than anyone else in the house. He's the only one who will have to fight each and every week to stay.

Joshuah sympathized with James and reminded him that Sheila always lies to people. Joshuah has told Sheila before that she has to stop playing everyone in the house, but not to the extent James did tonight. Heck, even James has told us that Sheila plays everyone. She got him in a moment when he was really vulnerable and boy did she play him. But I don't think she'll do it again ... not to James anyway.

When it came time to choose veto players, the worst case scenario would be if James picked Sheila. But that didn't happen. Natalie got the houseguest's choice and chose Ryan. Joshuah picked Sheila out of the hat and James ended up picking Sharon's name. There was a cute bit when they were looking for a host for the comp. Since everyone except one person in the house get to play this time, Adam was alone on the couch. After looking around the room, he was chosen to host it.

The comp itself was a bit unusual. I'm not quite understanding why it was called Big Brother Boardwalk, but I guess there are guessing games and games of chance on boardwalks. It's still weird. There were sample items/containers and then larger ones. For example, there was a small cage filled with the alphabet blocks we've seen in the guinea pig cage, then a huge one filled with blocks. The houseguests were told that the little one had 100 blocks. How many are in the big one? The closest answer wins a point. However, if they don't have confidence in their answers, they can fold and be able to go on to the next question. If they answer wrong, they're out. It's all about decent guessing and confidence. The first player with three points would win the power of veto.

There were tubs of lard, popcorn, veto symbols made with push pins, rubber balls in a gumball machine, and links in a chain. Joshuah and Sharon were out in the first round. Sheila kept guessing outlandish answers but folding so she hung in for a while. Natalie ended up with the first point, but then was flushed out. James had said prior to going in that he was getting into his mental warrior zone and definitely did. He watched the others and decided it was a lot like poker. You had to bluff and be confident appearing. Sure enough, he had Ryan folding when Ryan was actually coming closest to the correct numbers! In the end, it was between James, Sheila, and Ryan. Sheila was way off again and folded. Ryan didn't fold, but James had the closest number and it was his third point. James, the comeback kid, has once again won the power of veto!

Joshuah immediately decided he was dead. He walked away. He cried, "The funeral is over and I just need to be put in the ground." He figures that Natalie won't put someone from her side on the block, so it will be Sharon and himself on the block -- the saint and the sinner. And, he's the latter. While James is doing a happy dance, thankfully not in an itsy-bitsy black bikini brief, Joshuah is crushed. Sharon tried to console him, but he wanted to be left alone.

Natalie told Sharon she'd have to put her on the block. Sharon decided she's the ultimate pawn. In past seasons the pawn is often voted off, but Sharon is one who keeps being put up there because they don't want to vote her off. They truly want the other nominee to go. But it has to be a strain on her anyway. She cries.

You would think that Natalie would be super upset that James won the veto. Oh, she's not happy. But she smiles anyway. I think she's amazed that he won again. In talking with Ryan, they both seemed almost awed by the fact that he won even though it blows their plan to get rid of him this week.

Joshuah told Sharon and Sheila that he won't go around pressuring people to vote for him. He feels it's the worst case scenario -- he's on the block with his partner in the house and he truly likes her as a friend. In tears, Joshuah asks Sheila to take care of Sharon. Of course, he said that because he's sure he's a goner. He goes to the storage room to cry alone.


Oh, my! We get the toilet cam! I don't think we've seen that since Shannon used Hardy's toothbrush to clean the toilet! That's where Sharon went to cry alone. But could she be alone? Nope, her best new friend Sheila came in to console her. Sharon cried about Joshuah being so good to her and how much she thought of him. Par for the course, Sheila went with the flow telling her that he was indeed special.

But by then, Joshuah has had an epiphany! Who says he needs to go and Sharon should stay? He went to the HOH to talk deals with Ryan and Natalie. He promised them two weeks of safety and it's a done deal. Ryan will vote for him to stay and thinks James will, too. Natalie will vote for Joshuah to stay in the case of a tie. Joshuah ran off to secure James' vote and got the promise. Shh ... don't tell Sheila and Adam!

James prepared quite the speech for the veto meeting. As is tradition, Joshuah had to say something to try to get the veto used on him. I respect what he had to say. He said he had a philosophy that if you wanted to win the game, you have to win the comps. He didn't do that and didn't deserve the veto. Oh, amazingly humble for Joshuah, but he nailed it. He also knows that James would have to save himself, so might as well look good humble, right?

But it was James' speech was was the surprising one. While it was self-serving and gloating at times, it was impressive. He talked of being alone in the house in which everyone wanted him out. He talked of having to fight each week to win competitions to stay alive in the house. But then he turned almost evangelical telling everyone (while looking at Sheila) that they have the power and they too can win competitions in the house. Sheila beamed. Later they hugged. But, if you ask me, it was almost as self-serving but a lot more polished than Sheila's lies. He told us in a Diary Room segment that he wanted to be both confrontational, yet inspirational. He pulled it off. But I think the inspirational part was also to further his own game. Well done, though.

As was totally expected, Natalie nominated Sharon to replace James on the block. She gave her reason as she couldn't put anyone from her own side up for eviction. True, true. Hugs and tears all around.

The contrast between the reactions of Sharon and Joshuah from the Diary Room was like night and day. Sinner James is already scheming to get Sharon out of the house. Sharon is tormented because she thinks so much of Joshuah, she wants to mother him and take care of him ... but she's up on the block with him. More tears. Oh, no tears from me. I think I might shed tears of joy once Sheila is put on the block and is off of my television and computer!