Season 18 Live Feed Discussion: Their Lives are Almost as Boring as Ours!

[Wings]

3 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Michelle might put Nicole up.

The only problem now is with James. Does he go against Paul/Victor and vote to keep Nicole, or does he get out Nicole? 

I don't trust James again. 

I don't either.  Paul will tell Victor later that James was sketch. 

[Lisin]

Oh I think Paul totally knows. He can tell James is being shady. 

ETA The only upside to Victor maybe leaving is he'd be competing against Paulie in the Buy Back.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Lisin

[Cosmosgravitation]

James is definitely voting out Victor.  Paul looks like he already suspects too.

All will be well with the world so long as Victor defeats Paulie in the buyback.  James's head will explode.

[Lady Calypso]

Natalie's reassuring Paul while James is as silent as a statue.

Honestly, I'd rather Corey leave than Victor. Then, all they have to do is take Paul up on his pawn offer if he doesn't win HOH. 

[Katesus7]

I personally care about my entertainment, and Paul is more entertaining to me than Victor, so I'm glad he won veto. I think it could be fun if Michelle gets her way and puts up Nicole. I want Nicole to sweat. I'd also be fine with Victor going this week, with James changing his mind 50 times before eviction.

[Vixenstud]

YES!  (Thrusts in the air).....SO glad Paul won veto.

Hopefully Michelle will grow a sack and put up Nicole.

[Wings]

Nat said she wanted Victor out.  

[Lady Calypso]

Why is James seemingly speaking so loud with Paul in the HOH Shower? 

Well, it's bye-bye Victor, I guess. I kind of want him to win buyback and then put up Corey and James, with Nicole as a backdoor.

[Wings]

They are still brain storming.  

[PaperTree]

1 minute ago, wings707 said:

They are still brain storming.  

It never rains in Southern California......

[Sayla Vee]

Really sorry Victor is going.  I like him more than anyone else in the house.

Would not be surprised if it's a Paulie-Corey final 2.

[Joimiaroxeu]

It all depends I think on whether production has the fix in to bring Paulie back. Paulie can likely defeat Corey. He probably couldn't beat Victor but I'd rather not take the chance if production is already set to pull some shenanigans on Paulie's behalf. Plus, leaving Corey in the house when there's a possibility Paulie could come back is a problem. Paulie would return with his former gang intact, plus he might could pull in Michelle. And WTF, James? I thought Natalie had him under control.

[Sara2009]

I don't understand this belief that the buyback will be rigged for Paulie.

[Wings]

1 minute ago, Sara2009 said:

I don't understand this belief that the buyback will be rigged for Paulie.

I don't think it is but many do. 

[J.D.]

I wonder if the jury HG's know they might have a chance to get back in the game.  If so, then Paulie's probably beasting his daily workout,.... running, lifting weights, lunges, crunches, pull ups, ...etc.  If not, then they're probably all just laying around, sunbathing, eating, sleeping, drinking mimosas and getting totally out of the right physical/mental condition for a competition.  In that case, Vic would have the best chance of returning if he goes next Thursday.  Unless being a have not takes its toll.

[Cutty]

Here goes dumbfuck James talking about what America wants. Shut the fuck up, you dope. You are a shit player. 

[lyric]

5 minutes ago, Sara2009 said:

I don't understand this belief that the buyback will be rigged for Paulie.

I don't think it's rigged for Paulie - I just think he'll win, most likely.  That said, it's utterly ridiculous there are 3 chances to get back in the game this season.

[Lady Calypso]

I think it makes me sad because Natalie might not get to F2 now, which is what I wanted for her. Not only that, but if Paulie beats Victor and the girls in jury buyback, him or Corey might slide right into the finals. 

I've just gotten dejected. This buyback messes up a lot. If Victor comes back, him and Paul will gun after Natalie/James. Now James isn't a big deal, but I like Natalie still. 

Ok, now time to list off scenarios to calm myself down!

Best case: Victor leaves, Bridgette wins buyback, she joins Natalie/James/Nicole/Corey and Nicole wins HOH. She puts up Michelle/Paul. Neither win POV and Paul goes. Next week, Michelle wins and puts up Nicorey. Corey leaves. Then Nicole. 

Worst case: Victor leaves. He comes back. Paul wins HOH. He puts up James/Natalie. James wins veto and takes himself down because Natalie has to literally threaten to break up with him if he uses the veto on her. Nicole is put up and Natalie is evicted. 

Edited August 21, 2016 by Lady Calypso

[Cutty]

Michelle is scared of Nicole because she thinks she's "playing like Dan". LOL. 

[PaperTree]

1 minute ago, lyric said:

I don't think it's rigged for Paulie - I just think he'll win, most likely.  That said, it's utterly ridiculous there are 3 chances to get back in the game this season.

For real.  Eviction should be forever.

[Sara2009]

12 minutes ago, Cutty said:

Michelle is scared of Nicole because she thinks she's "playing like Dan". LOL. 

Could they just vote Nicole out then?

 

I'd laugh and laugh.

[Lady Calypso]

11 minutes ago, PaperTree said:

For real.  Eviction should be forever.

It really sucks because if Victor walks in, it totally negates Natalie's HOH and she gets screwed in the process. She gets a reset without being able to play for HOH and Paul/Michelle/Victor turn on her and James. I know it's a risk that they have to take, but Natalie/James think that Victor won't walk back in. It's dumb at this point, ESPECIALLY at final seven. All because BB wants another DE. 

[Cutty]

Victor wouldn't come back and target Natalie. He would target James. And who cares because fuck James. 

[Wings]

33 minutes ago, Sara2009 said:

I don't understand this belief that the buyback will be rigged for Paulie.

The reason many go there is that we have been privy to ways they do steer the game.  HGs talking about their DRs  expose production leading them to an action or decision.  They do some manipulating but not as much as some think.  I don't think they can rig a comp to "make" someone win. 

I believe the jury comp will be something anyone of them can win.  It won't be physical.   If it is, I will jump on the rigged train.  OR if it is endurance then that is something they have done before and it takes a lot of planning and building do not a last minute decision. 

Seems like most are going to bed early.  I have said that before to awake at 4am PST and find them still up so who knows.  I know that I am going to bed soon. 

At this moment Victor is going.  sigh  I really like him and he was my #1 to win.  :^(   James is gung ho and Nat has reservations because she likes him.  James is saying NO EMOTIONS, stay with the game.  

With that good night.  I am off to bed. 

So funny, Natalie told James she thinks and all boys alliance is lame and dumb!  

Edited August 21, 2016 by wings707

[Lady Calypso]

I wonder if James/Nat will change their minds if production hints heavily toward jury buyback out of fear that Victor would have a great chance of winning his way back in the house.

[Lady Calypso]

Also, if Victor wins buyback, it'll be the third chance he gets at the game in one season. And if he gets evicted again, he'll have been evicted three times in a season.

[Sayla Vee]

9 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

It really sucks because if Victor walks in, it totally negates Natalie's HOH and she gets screwed in the process. She gets a reset without being able to play for HOH and Paul/Michelle/Victor turn on her and James. I know it's a risk that they have to take, but Natalie/James think that Victor won't walk back in. It's dumb at this point, ESPECIALLY at final seven. All because BB wants another DE. 

It only sucks for Natalie.  It may work out just fine for Victor and Michelle.  And Paul, whom I really don't care about.

But I'm afraid it will be Paulie who comes back - not suggesting rigging, just a feeling.  If so, that will suck for Natalie as well.  But they have talked (all of them) about there not being enough people to make it to the end, and that someone would probably be brought back from jury.  Paulie, Corey and Nicole discussed it extensively at the kitchen table the night before the eviction.  All of them, at one time or another, have counted out the weeks and the number of houseguests, and all of them realized that they are one person short. 

I don't believe for a moment that Natalie wants Vic to stay.  She and James have been discussing it on and off for over a week.  She's just saying that now because she doesn't want Meech to know she lied to her.  She's just afraid to lose Meech at this point.

[PaperTree]

5 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Also, if Victor wins buyback, it'll be the third chance he gets at the game in one season. And if he gets evicted again, he'll have been evicted three times in a season.

Zing!  That's what makes this "twist" so bogus.

[Lady Calypso]

1 minute ago, Sayla Vee said:

But I'm afraid it will be Paulie who comes back - not suggesting rigging, just a feeling.  If so, that will suck for Natalie as well.  But they have talked (all of them) about there not being enough people to make it to the end, and that someone would probably be brought back from jury.  Paulie, Corey and Nicole discussed it extensively at the kitchen table the night before the eviction.  All of them, at one time or another, have counted out the weeks and the number of houseguests, and all of them realized that they are one person short. 

I actually think that Paulie walking back in will help Natalie out. Corey/Nicole will surely tell him that Natalie saved them, and he'll at least put aside his feelings for her to keep her safe for one week if he gets into power. He could have been down a number if it wasn't for Natalie. Plus, she comes with James, who Paulie likes a lot. So it's sad that as a Natalie fan, I might be rooting for Paulie over Victor. Objectively, Natalie needs Paulie to walk back through those doors more than Victor. Subjectively, fuck Paulie. Bring back Bridgette or Da'Vonne. 

Also, I HATE that Nicole has this smirk on her face right now. I just want to smack it off of her face because she hasn't been on the block yet and it's final seven. And now that she's going on the block, she knows that she's safe so she's still comfortable. 

[J.D.]

But Nat is also a strong minded "Jersey Girl" who personally knows Paulie's ex.  If he hasn't gotten his misogyny in check, he won't want to side with Nat because he knows he can't control her.  He wouldn't be worried about having to control Nicole.  He'd leave that up to Corey.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

I don't think they can rig a comp to "make" someone win

There's "make' and then there's "create conditions which favor a particular HG's physical or mental abilities". I definitely think it's been done in the past and likely would happen in the future. As I said, it all depends on whether they want Paulie to come back. It's uncertain.

[Sayla Vee]

4 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I actually think that Paulie walking back in will help Natalie out. Corey/Nicole will surely tell him that Natalie saved them, and he'll at least put aside his feelings for her to keep her safe for one week if he gets into power. He could have been down a number if it wasn't for Natalie. Plus, she comes with James, who Paulie likes a lot. So it's sad that as a Natalie fan, I might be rooting for Paulie over Victor. Objectively, Natalie needs Paulie to walk back through those doors more than Victor. Subjectively, fuck Paulie. Bring back Bridgette or Da'Vonne. 

Also, I HATE that Nicole has this smirk on her face right now. I just want to smack it off of her face because she hasn't been on the block yet and it's final seven. And now that she's going on the block, she knows that she's safe so she's still comfortable. 

I totally agree with you that Natalie will be safe from eviction if/when Paulie returns for a week; I think it will probably even be 2 weeks.  His first line of action will be to get either Paul or James out, and then he will come for Natalie.  She won't make it any higher than F4 though. 

I no longer want Bridgette to come back because she'll just be walking out the door again as soon as she has a bite to eat.  If Da'Vonne returns, she'll want to join up with Meech, not Natalie or Nicole.  I doubt she'll be giving Natalie any bouquets for saving Nicole.

Nicole has earned the right to her smirk tonight, much as it pisses me off.  She has talked James and Natalie into giving her total safety  

[simplyme]

Paulie manhandled Julie Chen. I doubt they're rigging anything for that moron unless they want the show canceled. Anyone else he might have been fine.

I'm not really horrified at the thought of anyone going so long as F2 doesn't end up as Nicole and Corey. All the plotting and flipping is fun to watch. :)  I mean, yeah, I'd rather ogle Victor than Corey, but it's not like I'm attached to any of these people or sock puppets, or whatever they are. 

[TheRealT]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I guess, seeing as I've memorized the Jeffish Highlights, I want to make a comment on how fake Jeff as a host is. I know he's heavily scripted and all that, but it FEELS heavily scripted. It doesn't feel natural and he's a pretty bad actor in that case. I know the dialogue is pretty bad, but he has no charisma to help make it better to listen to him. Even his interviews are uncomfortable for me. His Austin interview, for example, was just really bad. Austin looked just as uncomfortable (I don't sit through Jeff interviews much at all). I know he's Grodner's pet or whatever, but they may want to find a second host. 

Yeah, I've always hated Jeff, but he really sucks as a host. Every year I wonder why they can't hire someone better or at least have multiple hosts or something. What is Jeff's job besides hosting the BB feed intermissions? Haven't he and Jordan moved to LA (presumably to famewhore)?

Watching the Paul-Nicole fight from last night [8/20 12:11A], Paul is TOTALLY channeling Polly. As I always think when HGs pull this interrogation shit, I can't understand why Nicole doesn't just tell him to fuck off and that she doesn't have to explain shit to him. Paul is a dumbass for not having learned from the Polly debacle that people don't like the whole cross-examination thing, even the people who aren't being cross-examined. It makes everyone super uncomfortable for someone to be demanding names and dates and verbatim quotes. I guess his goal is for everyone to be like, "Wow, Nicole couldn't back up any of her accusations against Paul. I guess she's a huge liar and Paul is as honest as the day is long. I feel so bad for ever doubting Paul...," but it pretty much never works out that way because 1) everyone is being shady to some degree and 2) even if they can't articulate it, they all know that they've been involved in duplicity with Paul and/or know of his duplicity. Also, Paul takes stuff too far all the time because he likes attention, making good TV, and the sound of his own voice. That wears thin very quickly. 

Edited August 21, 2016 by TheRealT

[thefog]

39 minutes ago, Sayla Vee said:

But I'm afraid it will be Paulie who comes back - not suggesting rigging, just a feeling.  If so, that will suck for Natalie as well.  But they have talked (all of them) about there not being enough people to make it to the end, and that someone would probably be brought back from jury.  Paulie, Corey and Nicole discussed it extensively at the kitchen table the night before the eviction.  All of them, at one time or another, have counted out the weeks and the number of houseguests, and all of them realized that they are one person short. 

Paulie had to have figured out that if he didn't have the RT, there would be a JJB.  That's why he wasn't piss at the end.

He can easily beat Corey, Bridget, Z, Day for JBB.  That's why it's better to send Victor out.  But if Paulie comes back, Natalie wouldn't be his biggest target.  He would go after the people that betrayed him - Paul, James, Michelle.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

3 hours ago, escape said:

The way Paul was ranting.  He will want revenge.

As he should.

natalie took a shot and misfired. 

I am sorry, I'm just not seeing how going after the guys she was originally aligned with, whom when they came into power just a week before, kept her and her man safe, was a wise decision. Victor and Paul chose Natalie/James over Paulie/Nicole/Corey and she turned around and screwed them over the very next week.

Again, Paul and Victor weren't a threat to her in the immediate future. Yes at F2 they are, but she kind of have to get there. Leaving Nicole and Corey in the game serves her no purpose. None. However, it works for James and Michelle who were aligned with them most of the season 

Edited August 21, 2016 by Deputy Deputy CoS
Correcting autocorrect

[zenithwit]

30 minutes ago, simplyme said:

 

Paulie manhandled Julie Chen. I doubt they're rigging anything for that moron unless they want the show canceled.

 

This.  I can't imagine Les Moonves was too happy seeing Paulie physically pick up his wife like that.    I wouldn't be surprised if Paulie experienced some sort of malfunction during the jury buy back. 

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

2 hours ago, wings707 said:

Nat said she wanted Victor out.  

While Nicole and Corey are still in the house. Haha

[thefog]

19 minutes ago, zenithwit said:

This.  I can't imagine Les Moonves was too happy seeing Paulie physically pick up his wife like that.    I wouldn't be surprised if Paulie experienced some sort of malfunction during the jury buy back. 

If that is the case, why not just remove him from the jury - instead of keeping him on their payroll - for literally hanging out - which is what life is in the jury house.

[BK1978]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

There's "make' and then there's "create conditions which favor a particular HG's physical or mental abilities". I definitely think it's been done in the past and likely would happen in the future. As I said, it all depends on whether they want Paulie to come back. It's uncertain.

I remember the first time I really thought they were rigging was back in season six.  I just thought it was so odd that the HOH would go back and forth between the two alliances.  Obviously the most blatant one was the Rachel/Jordan one.  Like you said when it come to comps I don't think they outright rig them but they make the conditions favorable to certain houseguests.

[TimWil]

I think Natalie might have unwittingly screwed herself out of being voted America's Favorite Player because of her decisions. It could come down now between Paul and Victor.

Edited August 21, 2016 by TimWil

[Umbelina]

James and Nat decided one of Paul and Victor needed to go no matter what during a great conversation this morning before VETO. 

Vic and Paul reaffirmed James out next after VETO today.

 

So, James and Nat are making the right call.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Umbelina

[Marie80]

1 hour ago, TimWil said:

I think Natalie might have unwittingly screwed herself out of being voted America's Favorite Player because of her decisions. It could come down now between Paul and Victor.

Her ratings have tanked at Joker's. She went from #1 (a spot she has held for the past 30 days) to #5 in the span of 24 hours! Now Victor is at the top. Wow wow wow. I never thought her odds for winning were great but at least I felt she had AFP in the bag. If she doesn't make it to F2 AND loses AFP. Well, damn.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Marie80

[SiobhanJW]

If Victor leaves this week and wins the Jury buyback he is the PERFECT goat. People are always iffy about voting for someone who gets evicted out the game to begin with, but TWICE in one season. I cannot imagine he wins. 

Edited August 21, 2016 by SiobhanJW

[Nashville]

17 hours ago, J.D. said:

Yikes --!!!  Paul might be a good guitarist and all, but I don't think I'll be going to one of his concerts anytime soon.  This is SO not my type of music:

 

15 hours ago, Callaphera said:

Not gonna lie, I actually kind of like it. I was expecting some sort of hipster music (I don't even know what that means, but I know it when I hear it). This was like... Disturbed lite or something from Linken Park. It's also basically what every other rock band is doing now with the tuned down and fuzzy guitars and double kick speed metal type drumming. It's not the worst thing I've ever heard, anyway.

Much to my own surprise, I quite agree.  And I do half-agree with you; I was definitely getting a "Coheed and Cambria meet Disturbed" vibe from it.  My own tastes run more towards Alice in Chains and Offspring, but not bad on the whole.

 

6 hours ago, J.D. said:

Because if Corey stays in the house and IF Paulie comes back, the Paulie-Corey-Nicole trifecta alliance would be a negative for Nat and James.  And with that stupid pseudo-kiss thing Paulie threw at Meech, that's just one more thing Nat/James would have to worry about.... the possibility of Paulie luring Meech over to the dark side.

 

6 hours ago, PaperTree said:

Aha!  Didn't see that angle.

Neither do the HGs, because they don't have a clue about the JBB.

My take on current events:

1. Three main power couples in the House: one strong (Victor/Paul) and two relatively weak (Natalie/James and Nicole/Corey).  Strength and weakness in this context means the couple's ability to protect itself through strategic comp wins; Victor and Paul have a proven track record; sporadic individual wins aside, the rest do not.
2. Michelle is an outlier to all three; she knows this, and has ties of varying strength to all three.  At present I'd rate her strongest preferential affinity as Natalie/James, Victor/Paul holding a fairly solid second, and Nicole/Corey bringing up the rear (bolds indicating Michelle's stronger bond within a given couple).
3. Paul has won PoV and will certainly take himself off, meaning Michelle will have to select another Block nominee from the potential replacements pool of Corey, Nicole, and James.
4. Paul will probably strongly encourage Michelle to nom James, which is exactly why Michelle shouldn't do it; such a move serves Paul's game, not Michelle's - and being already suspicious of Paul, I expect Michelle knows this.  Nominating James would weaken Michelle's strongest couple ally in the House and irrevocably damage Michelle's relationship with Natalie, who is arguably Michelle's strongest relationship remaining within the House.
5. That leaves Corey and Nicole as Michelle's only two remaining options - which of the two doesn't matter, as I will soon clarify.
6. The block will then consist of Victor and 1/2 of Nicorey.  Paul will vote to save his boy, and the remaining half of Nicorey will do likewis - leaving James as the swing vote.    

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

5 hours ago, Umbelina said:

James and Nat decided one of Paul and Victor needed to go no matter what during a great conversation this morning before VETO. 

Vic and Paul reaffirmed James out next after VETO today.

 

So, James and Nat are making the right call.

The right call when? When Vic/Paul strategized to target JAMES (not Natalie) after Natalie screwed them over? Even if she's playing James game, her initial targets doesn't make sense.

I'm not enamored with Natalie's strategic prowess as most, but I do like her personally so I hope this somehow works out for her. However, I'm not going to twist targeting two guys who were not targeting her in the least into a strategic mastermind move.  

Edited August 21, 2016 by Deputy Deputy CoS

[Lady Calypso]

4 hours ago, Marie80 said:

Her ratings have tanked at Joker's. She went from #1 (a spot she has held for the past 30 days) to #5 in the span of 24 hours! Now Victor is at the top. Wow wow wow. I never thought her odds for winning were great but at least I felt she had AFP in the bag. If she doesn't make it to F2 AND loses AFP. Well, damn.

She just dropped to 7th now (James is now 12th). It's a shame, because she really did have AFP in the bag against Paul. I think it's because people don't understand this is a big move and that she may have handled it badly this week, but it's the right move overall. She wouldn't have known for sure if Paul/Victor were planning to bring her to F3. She can only trust them so far and in her eyes, Paul broke that trust through lies. I think people that vote on those polls just see this as a personal attack against two people that are favourites. Personally, I don't care much for Paul anymore. 

Either way, now they have to stick to their plan and hope that Victor isn't the one coming back through that door. And if Victor does come back through that door, I don't want him winning. A second chance gives him a good story. A third chance is really just ridiculous. Nobody should win if they've gotten evicted TWICE, even if they have fought their way back in. 

Natalie made a big move for her game. She can't be playing for America like James is. Well, I guess was, seeing as he's now turned on America. It's just too bad that there's a good chance of Victor coming back and making her HOH pointless. 

[JediDVguy]

34 minutes ago, Deputy Deputy CoS said:

The right call when? When Vic/Paul strategized to target JAMES (not Natalie) after Natalie screwed them over? Even if she's playing James game, her initial targets doesn't make sense.

I'm not enamored with Natalie's strategic prowess as most, but I do like her personally so I hope this somehow works out for her. However, I'm not going to twist targeting two guys who were not targeting her in the least into a strategic mastermind move.  

As with James's HoH reign, people seem think that just because Natalie isn't doing what the viewers want her to do, it means her strategy doesn't make sense.

She had two choices: She could nominate Nicole (awful at competitions, poor social game) and Corey (decent at competitions, okay social game), two players that promised safety to her and James, thereby eliminating the only other remaining showmance.

Or she could nominate Paul (very good at competitions, phenomenal social game) and Victor (virtually unbeatable at competitions, terrific social game), two guaranteed winners who claim they might keep her safe, but have demonstrated week after week that they're happy to backstab anyone, especially their closest allies.

She chose to target the bigger threats, who are now blaming Nicorey for their nominations. It worked perfectly. How does this not make sense? Should she have eliminated a weaker player and preserved the power duo who would've then turned around, evicted her, and likely gone on to win the entire game?

Edited August 21, 2016 by JediDVguy

[TheRealT]

5 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

She wouldn't have known for sure if Paul/Victor were planning to bring her to F3. She can only trust them so far and in her eyes, Paul broke that trust through lies.

The thing is, even if they were sincere about taking her to F3, there is pretty much no way she could win at that point. It's unlikely that she would win the F3 comp and there is no way Vic would have taken her to F2. Paul might have taken her to F2 over Vic, but I kind of doubt it. Even if Paul did take her to F2, there is no way that she'd win against him.

27 minutes ago, Deputy Deputy CoS said:

The right call when? When Vic/Paul strategized to target JAMES (not Natalie) after Natalie screwed them over? Even if she's playing James game, her initial targets doesn't make sense.

I'm not enamored with Natalie's strategic prowess as most, but I do like her personally so I hope this somehow works out for her. However, I'm not going to twist targeting two guys who were not targeting her in the least into a strategic mastermind move.  

I think targeting Paul/Vic was a long-term strategic move, while "sticking to the plan" would have been a short-term strategic move. It's true that P/V weren't immediately targeting Natalie, but they were talking about going after James and it's not good for Nat's game for James to go at this point. And really, the best case scenario for Nat sticking with V/P is that she'd end up in F3 with them with little chance of getting to F2 and less chance of winning even if she did. She wanted to make a "big move" to beef up her resume for the jury and eliminate a strong competitor she probably can't beat (in comps or jury votes). That all made/makes sense. It also would have made sense for her to just have an easy week and hope for the best moving forward; it was a judgment call. Also, the fact that V/P still aren't gunning for Nat even after she took a shot at them and missed is another reason that taking a shot at them was a good idea for her. Even if she failed (which she kind of has at this point), she was still fairly well insulated from their revenge.

[J.D.]

9 hours ago, TheRealT said:

Watching the Paul-Nicole fight from last night [8/20 12:11A], Paul is TOTALLY channeling Polly. As I always think when HGs pull this interrogation shit, I can't understand why Nicole doesn't just tell him to fuck off and that she doesn't have to explain shit to him. Paul is a dumbass for not having learned from the Polly debacle that people don't like the whole cross-examination thing, even the people who aren't being cross-examined. It makes everyone super uncomfortable for someone to be demanding names and dates and verbatim quotes. I guess his goal is for everyone to be like, "Wow, Nicole couldn't back up any of her accusations against Paul. I guess she's a huge liar and Paul is as honest as the day is long. I feel so bad for ever doubting Paul...," but it pretty much never works out that way because 1) everyone is being shady to some degree and 2) even if they can't articulate it, they all know that they've been involved in duplicity with Paul and/or know of his duplicity. Also, Paul takes stuff too far all the time because he likes attention, making good TV, and the sound of his own voice. That wears thin very quickly. 

For me it's all in whether or not the lies are true.  That's what justifies the confrontation.   Last year when Vanessa went on her confrontational rampage, I was through with her.  When Jace cornered Steve Moses, I knew he was a jerk and I was glad to see him go.  This year when Paulie confronted Zak in Paris, I was done with him as well.  Each time the confronter was spewing garbage they had invented.  On the flip side, when Day confronted Audrey in BB17, I was hooting and cheering from my recliner because what Day was saying was true -- and Audrey deserved it! 

That's not to say people shouldn't lie to get ahead.  After all, it's still Big Brother.  People are going to lie; it's part of the game.  What matters is whether or not you get caught and how well you can handle it.  If a HG is going to  accuse another of something they didn't say or do, they need to be able to take the backlash.  Short of a physical confrontation, there is no "going too far" in a cross-examination.   That's what makes BB so much fun!!!!  Who wants to watch a bunch of people laying around all day, munching chips into their microphones?  I want to see strategic moves, and people getting caught in lies and how well they can bounce back from the brink of death.

In the real world if your coworker lies on you, you're not going to corner them in the break room and get all medieval on their ass.  But this is Big Brother.  It's not the real world.  The stakes are much higher and you have to learn to play by a whole different set of rules.  Of course people don't like the whole cross-examination thing, but with $500,000 on the line, you can't expect normal societal niceties to apply here.

I'm on the fence with Paul.  I don't know if I feel his confrontation is justified because I don't know if what he was accusing Nicole of is true and she actually said/did those things, or if Paul was in her face with a bunch of made up save-my-ass accusations.  I've posed that question here but got no answer which leads me to believe the former and that people are protected Nicole because she's a girl.

If Paul was strong-arming Nicole unnecessarily, then that was an asshole move.  But if Nicole is guilty of what Paul was accusing her of, then she shouldn't be surprised that he came at her.  You can't go making up stories that will damage another contestant's chances of winning, and then when faced with a confrontation, cry 'unfair' because he's a man and she's a woman.