S17.E40: Episode 40

[Tara Ariano]

The jury interviews the finalists and then votes for the winner.

[Arya]

Another season of BB comes to an end, and as always I end up completely disappointed. Why can't I quit this show?

[Petunia13]

Lesson: evict the nerd early.

[MKL122788]

Good season.

 

Just a crappy, generally blah outcome.

 

Steve did nothing relevant in this game before day 98. He won a competition that had some of the most ridiculous answers that it was basically a game of luck. He took credit for "big moves" involving eliminating Jackie and Julia. Ridiculous.

 

Liz was the central point of the 3/5 person alliances that dominated almost all of the second half of the season. At the same time, she hardly even fought for it at the end. I feel like it was there to be taken, but her lack of preparation did her in. Liz wasn't really much better than Steve overall, though. More deserving in my opinion, but only barely.

 

Thank you, Vanessa. You made the season what it was.

Edited September 24, 2015 by MKL122788

[aurora296]

I'm glad vanessa didn't win. Just didn't like her tactics. I was on the edge of my seat in the scales of justice comp. Bummed that JohnnyMac didn't win Favorite, but James is cool too. Liz had no skilled in persuading the jury. Steve annihilated her in that department. He had weeks to come up with every possible scenario/speech in his head and he was very convincing with the jury. I'm okay with his win.

Edited September 24, 2015 by aurora296

[Rina99]

I'm actually rather pleased.  I never minded Steve, and as much as I would have liked to see a woman win, I just plain couldn't stand Vanessa, and felt that both Liz and Steve worked equally hard, so either one winning would have been fine with me.  This doesn't bring me the pure unadulterated joy of Dan losing to Ian, but I'm pretty pleased to end the season on (for me) a satisfying note.  Any of the final five who made it would have deserved it, not a slacker in the bunch.  

 

And I'm thrilled that James beat John for fan favorite!

Edited September 24, 2015 by Rina99

[RandomWatcher]

I honestly thought Vanessa was going to win this season and that even if Steve did somehow manage to become the last HoH, he wouldn't vote Vanessa out. Looks like I was wrong and this is one of those times where I don't have a problem admitting that.

[TexasChic]

There were a few things that made this really close and something of a crap shoot. The puzzle was very close, then the question and answers were as well. This could easily have gone very differently.

[PaperTree]

"Who is shocked that Vanessa is bitter? I can't wait for her to justify her vote."

 

Not me.  She shouldn't even try to justify it.  He beat her in the F3 and booted her or she would have booted him.  And it pissed her off.  She whacked anybody she perceived as a threat.  She can cry in her $4.6 million.

 

Good for James winning FF.  I voted for JMac, but i'm not bitter.  It's only a game show.

 

On to TAR!

[alegria]

Anyone but Vanessa.

 

Congrats, James!

[choclatechip45]

I didn't like Steve until a few weeks ago, but I can't help to feel happy for him.

[partofme]

Well I'm bitter that JMac didn't win AFP. No way that wasn't fixed when James is Les Moonves's favorite. No way he deserved to win.

And the episode was going so well until then. Was happy Steve won and that Vanessa got third.

Edited September 24, 2015 by partofme

[Arya]

I thought when Audrey had her meltdown and was leaving, that would be the end of all he crazy drama. At least Vanessa kept the season interesting. Her constant crying and talking in circles was so annoying, but she made this season the best in years.

I guess good for James for winning FF? He wasn't that good of a player and he was pretty gross at times. He was sort of funny some of the time. I guess "America" just loves practical jokes.

[Uwbadgmad]

I normally, root for women to win but didn't want Liz to win and I was happy Vanessa was voted off before the Final 2. My favorite women were voted off earlier in the season. So I'm happy Steve won! I was disappointed Johnny Mac didn't win favorite house guest but if he couldn't win, I was happy with James winning. Wish it didn't take so long for them to get online voting fixed though since that was frustrating. We missed out on a few days voting until they fixed it.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Uwbadgmad

[Ceeg]

Vanessa voting for Liz isn't bitter IMO. I would have done the same thing. Steve was her lapdog and did everything she told him to do, except right up to the final moment when he had no other choice.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Ceeg

[vb68]

Yay Steve!  Very proud of him.  Nerds rule.  I lost a little respect for Vanessa with her vote.  Steve was upfront that he would have voted for her if she evicted him, but she couldn't  woman up and do it.  That's one reason I'm glad he won.  He was the bigger person.

[Lady Calypso]

Good for Steve; he's a harmless winner, to be honest. I didn't want him to win (I wanted a woman to win), but I'm not mad at him winning. Out of all the guys, he was the most likeable for me. We could have had an Austin win, after all. It always could be worse. But I am disappointed Vanessa didn't win, and I guess part of me is disappointed Liz didn't win either. I don't like Liz, but it would have been nice to have a woman winner. But Steve did do enough to show that he's not undeserving. He's won comps, he's been part of pretty big alliances and even though he may not be the reason for things to go the way that they did, he was still an important part to Vanessa's alliance getting as far as they did. They needed him as a number and Vanessa was smart to bring him on instead of letting him continue to be an outsider and having the other side pick him up as a number. 

 

Which goes to show how much I wanted Vanessa to win, so I'm disappointed.

 

James won AFP. I'm not surprised, and I bet it was close between him and Johnny Mac. 

 

Again, could have been a worse season. I know most people are disappointed, but seeing as we had a typical Derrick win last year and a despicable Andy win the year before, not to mention a sad Ian victory over the much more deserved Dan in 14, this could have been so much worse. 

[Arya]

Lady Calypso, thank you for reminding me that it could have always been worse. Haha. WORD to your whole post.

[Katesus7]

Well that was all kinds of fun! For me, at least, I know I might be in the minority on this one. But I still loathe the fact that the final competition is the biggest crapshoot of them all. I would've been underground by question six.

Steve being a complete spaz while evicting Vanessa was my 2nd favorite eviction after Austin getting booted in his bare feet. For SHAME, Vanessa! It would have been perfectly fine if you had just let the man put on a pair of shoes. Meanwhile, I was just shocked he managed to put a shirt on for his eviction.

I think Liz could not have handled those 'questions' any worse. "So, I was a twin, and aligned with strong people"! No, Austin wanted to have lots of sex with you, and Shelli and Vanessa wanted you because your twin was an extra #. They aligned with you. I mean, even if she had brought up the fact that she fought to keep Austin when Vanessa was bent on backdooring him week five, I would've given her some respect. When even Austin is looking sick at your answers, you know you have bad answers.

They even gave her two chances! One of her 'questions' was why she should win over Steve, then their final speech was why they should win over the other. She couldn't figure out a better answer in the commercial break?

Another favorite part of the episode was Austin, my least favorite player of the season (post jury, at least), slowly realizing that his dreams of fame and fan favorite were not happening. He had to have noticed he got the least applause by far of the jury coming out, Day made awesome fun of him, by the time they got to America's vote, he knew the jig was up. Dumbass,

I'm happy James won America's favorite. I Loved Johnny Mac for inexplicable reasons, but I also really liked James and thought he was a better player. Go James!

[Eolivet]

Majority woman jury, majority woman final 3, majority woman alliances, majority of women making the power moves...

 

...and a man wins.

 

That's 71% men to 29% women winners, all told. But actually, that's just since the start of the show in 2001. In the last 10 years, it's now 82% men, 18% women. Oh, and women are now a big 0-6 against men in the final 2.

 

Something has to change. It has to. I mean, this is embarrassing. It's still 2015, right?

[Ceeg]

not to mention a sad Ian victory over the much more deserved Dan in 14, this could have been so much worse. 

I view Steve beating Vanessa right on par with Ian beating Dan. Not in the same way, but very similar, in terms of gameplay.

[loki567]

This is the only time I can remember the new jury format questions actually mattered. I think the votes could have gone either way and Steve knocked it out of the park and at least put some people who were on the fence, firmly on his side. Congrats to him. 

 

My guess is this is the absolute last time that the nerdy guy ever gets close to F2. I mean from the beginning of the season Steve was getting, "I don't trust him, he's too much like Ian," and look what happened. Any future players, get rid of the nerd. 

[judie]

Flop ending. Vanessa deserved to win.

 

I will never understand why James is popular. 

 

I'm not mad at Steve. He made the best move. It's just a disappointment for me that even in a year with several strong female players, we get another guy winning.

Edited September 24, 2015 by judie

[nightowl1989]

Winner - male.

AFP - male.

Both runners up to AFP - male.

Last woman winner - 2011.

IMO, the above information can just speak for itself.

[partofme]

It doesn't bother me that a guy won. The women in the top 3 were despicable. I could have gotten behind a Becky, Shelli or Jackie win but not those two females.

The only thing sucky about this was the AFP. Should have been JMac.

Edited September 24, 2015 by partofme

[thefog]

Majority woman jury, majority woman final 3, majority woman alliances, majority of women making the power moves...

 

...and a man wins.

 

That's 71% men to 29% women winners, all told. But actually, that's just since the start of the show in 2001. In the last 10 years, it's now 82% men, 18% women. Oh, and women are now a big 0-6 against men in the final 2.

 

Something has to change. It has to. I mean, this is embarrassing. It's still 2015, right?

Why is it so important a woman wins?

[Callaphera]

After Steve booted Vanessa, I was certain it was his (and I was right). I wasn't a fan of the final 3 so it didn't really matter to me. I just wanted to see Vanessa go out when she was that close to the half a million dollars. I really wasn't surprised to see Liz lose. I mean, she didn't even know that the jury could ask them questions! You think she would have spent that last, boring week in the house to... I don't know... prepare?

 

Props to production for not going too deep into the showmances this season. Although I would have loved to see Shelli's reaction to the Clay/Meg moment in the bathroom.

 

Austin was nice and bitter. I hope he realized that Judas was one of the lamer jokes of the season. And yay for James winning fan favourite. Pulling pranks and scaring the bejeesus out of Julia on a nightly basis worked, I guess. I thought Johnny Mac's DR sessions would have won it for him.

 

Despite the final 3 and the winner, this was an excellent season after the last two. Here's hoping that the next one is even better!

[Cutty]

I'm legitimately shocked James won AFP over John.

Steve won the game by getting Vanessa out. In a game that lasted 90 million days, that's what it came down to. We'll never know if Liz had been the one to shank Vanessa if she would have won. I think so.

Why is it so important a woman wins?

 

Yeah, it's not like Liz was so much more deserving. They both played a similar game, but Steve made the last power move. I don't think this is a reflection on women in the game. 

 

Vanessa would have beaten Steve easily.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Cutty

[Never Again]

I'm very happy with tonight's episode, I'm so glad Steve won, and while I like Johnny Mac I'm glad James won. I don't know either one of them but it seems like James can use the reward more. John is single and a dentist, while James has a daughter to support. Outcomes like this put a smile on my face. Yay yay for Steve, I absolutely believe he deserved it. And he's too smart to do what Cody did last year and hand it away. Good for him!

[Gemma Violet]

I'm fine with Steve winning.  I was hoping for a Johnny Mac win as favorite player, but I guess I'm OK with James.

[blixie]

 

 

Winner - male.

AFP - male.

Both runners up to AFP - male.

Last woman winner - 2011.

 

And only one black woman in the finals ever, right? And all at the orchestration of a woman producer and woman casting director. Watch patriarchy work. 

[Wandering Snark]

I have no issues with Steve, he won when it mattered to take out Vanessa and them's the BB breaks. I think it's a shame Vanessa wasn't rewarded in the end for some really slick/Jedi like gameplay. Steve won the right to make the decision to not let her enter into the equation for the win and chose wisely. Yeah.

 

James had a heavy skew between feeds/shows I believe (not being a feed watcher myself) so I think I'd have preferred Johnny Mac to win FF but again I'm not outraged by the outcome in either case.

 

I'm only a bit upset we didn't see Steve pass out and/or vomit during the questioning because it had to be close.

 

Toro toro Big Brother, see you next summer my son.

[Ceeg]

Why is it so important a woman wins?

 

Representation (and equality) is important, even on dumb reality shows.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Ceeg

[robertorv]

I thought Steve came across like a bit of a jerk in his final speech. I much prefered the one I heard him practicing on the live feeds.

They really need to do something about part 3 of the final HOH. That is a really shitty way for such a great player like Van to have lost.

Congrats to Liz on her second place finish. The twin twist was my favorite thing about this season!

[PaperTree]

James has been leading the Jokers fan favorite poll since day 47 so his winning was no surprise.  Jmac and Meg went back and forth for second place.

[Eolivet]

Why is it so important a woman wins?

 

Because women controlled the season, and will likely never have the opportunity to do so again. I don't want to tell my grandchildren "I remember in 2013, the last time a woman won Big Brother," but that's the way it's looking right now. If on a season where women are the majority of jurors, women are the majority of the final 3, women are the majority in the power alliances, and a woman gets to the final 2, and the result is a man wins? That's a problem, to me.

 

I didn't say this about Victoria. This was the season of strong women, and a man won. That is frustrating on a purely statistical level, as well as a personal one.

[thefog]

Representation (and equality) is important, even on dumb reality shows.

It's not like Liz was more deserving over Steve. 

[firedancer41]

Can I just say, part one of the final Hoh was so weird! That looked nothing like candy apples; they looked like they had a bladder or ballsack dangling, and were being dipped in blood.

[blixie]

 

They really need to do something about part 3 of the final HOH. That is a really shitty way for such a great player like Van to have lost.

 

This is the first season I've watched since this was introduced and it is AWFUL, literally why not flip a coin? Because it doesn't take up enough time on camera basically. At the very least I'd prefer they did a version of HoH where they have to guess who said X in the DR during the game? Because then it's recorded proof and the Hamster and can't give fucked up answer, just to throw off the results. 

[Sweets McGee]

Vanessa should've won and she knows it. The look on her face the whole time she sat on jury was painful. Can't wait for the post show interviews.

[Lady Calypso]

I view Steve beating Vanessa right on par with Ian beating Dan. Not in the same way, but very similar, in terms of gameplay.

 

Oh, I do too, trust me. I thought about that, and the only reason why I view this differently is because Dan made final 2 and that's why he should have been the winner. Steve booted Vanessa just shy of final 2, so that's the only major difference I make. If Vanessa had gotten to final 2 and Steve somehow won because of a bitter jury, then I'd say it would be on par. 

[nightowl1989]

The point isn't that a guy won THIS year. It's that a man wins MOST years, and that pattern is frustrating. And I am also not surprised that people don't see it as a problem, which feeds right into the pattern.

I love James and I'm glad he won fan favorite. I don't love that Jason, a shitty person who was evicted pre jury, was in top three.

I'm always disappointed. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Edited September 24, 2015 by nightowl1989

[thefog]

Because women controlled the season, and will likely never have the opportunity to do so again. I don't want to tell my grandchildren "I remember in 2013, the last time a woman won Big Brother," but that's the way it's looking right now. If on a season where women are the majority of jurors, women are the majority of the final 3, women are the majority in the power alliances, and a woman gets to the final 2, and the result is a man wins? That's a problem, to me.

 

I didn't say this about Victoria. This was the season of strong women, and a man won. That is frustrating on a purely statistical level, as well as a personal one.

BB is a silly reality TV show.  Steve vs Liz - I don't see how Liz was a stronger competitor.

[Cutty]

The women were way stronger than the men of this cast. If you asked me who the two best players of the season were I'd probably answer Vanessa and Shelli.

 

Then there's Meg.

[MKL122788]

Why is it so important a woman wins?

 

I see it more as a statement about societal perceptions in general. This game is a microcosm of society.

 

I believe the spectrum of behavior profiles societally acceptable to men compared to the ones acceptable for women to possess slant heavily in favor of men for shows like this.

 

You have to be aggressive, strategic, social and physical in this game. Strategically aggressive women are often frowned upon, so even if they were good at other things, they get negative reputations. To play the game effectively as a woman, you will almost certainly end up disliked.

 

Just look at Survivor. The girls have done well because they don't care much about that any more.

 

A perfect example was the returning winners in Heroes vs. Villains.

 

Tom was considered a hero, but he was one of the biggest bullies near the end of his season. Parvati's black widow alliance pulls off some of the most epic blindsides which should gain her praise, but the audience hardly cheered when she won. She comes back as a villain as a result. Even Sandra was considered a villain and her only merit as one was she was very direct with her language.

 

The bottom line is it is just more difficult to pull the things off on a reality TV show as a woman. It says more about what society expects and tolerates from women as appropriate behaviors than it does the games themselves.

[mooses]

Eh, Liz and Steve were pretty equal in terms of gameplay. Both used big targets to shield them and won competitions. Steve was easier to see as a better player because it wasn't tied up with romance.

But he really thinks he's Ian. He won, so I can't knock him for not playing, but he didn't have as much influence throughout the game as he thought he did.

[Stinger97]

Reminder, folks, that when talking about the finale, please remain civil. Thanks!

[Marie80]

I'm quite surprised at just how satisfying that finale was for me. I would have loved for a woman to win, but I would rather that woman not be Vanessa. Jason hit the nail on the head with his comment to her. I definitely could have seen myself rooting for her if she just owned up to her game play more and cried less.

 

I am really happy James won over Jmac. I was a Jmac fan for a few weeks but then his sense of humor began to grate on me. At the end I just didn't find him funny at all. Definitely don't get his popularity.

 

For weeks I have been wishing there was some way we could see Austin's face when he returned to the real world and found out America disliked him. Seeing him walk on stage to almost no applause was the next best thing.

 

All in all this was a great season, and I'm sure that had a lot to do with the fact that there was little production manipulation, Battle of the Block was shut down early as were the BB Takeovers, no Pandora's Box, Rewind button, etc. It was just classic Big Brother and that's how I prefer it.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Marie80

[blixie]

 

It's not like Liz was more deserving over Steve.

 

You obviously think Steve was more deserving than Liz, and I think Liz is more deserving than Steve.  They're games were fairly equal but yes I though Liz played a better game over all that I respected more than the game Steve played. 

 

But we all hate Austin, right? RIGHT?! 

 

Okay.

[TexasChic]

Why is it so important a woman wins?

Our society has a long standing double standard when it comes to men and woman; men are admired for being strong and aggressive, woman are vilified for it. This show seems to frequently reflect that attitude. So on a season with several strong woman players, it would've been nice to have seen one win and prove that things are changing.