Big Brother Finale

[blue_onyx]

Big Brother will be ending its 12th season tonight. I think it has been a bad season. Almost nobody, except Brendon and Rachel, came to play the game. People were more worried about doing what the house wanted to avoid any attention. So many competitions were thrown. This allowed a lame alliance to make it to the end.

I don't care who wins. I think it will be Hayden because he won more competitions and was fairly likable. I also think Britney will win the favorite player prize. Brendon could win becuase he was likable and seen as the underdog after Rachel left.

What are your thoughts on this season and who will win?

[SPKrazy]

1. I can't stand the 3 left

but I would bet on Enzo if he can hold on, otherwise Hayden. Lane is already wealthy

[gratuitous]

2. Actually, the Brigade pursued a terrific strategy

Face it, three out of their four members are the final three players, and the "brains" of the outfit was eliminated weeks ago. The brilliance of their play was two-fold: keeping their four-person alliance a secret until the very end, which enabled individual members of the alliance to form relationships with other folks in the house and keep tabs on everything that was going on.

Brendan and Rachel didn't need to be infiltrated; their game was obvious for everyone to see. But the nuances of what was going on with Britney, Ragan, Kristin and the others was common knowledge among the Brigade all along. Even at the end, when they were telling Britney she was going to finish fourth, she didn't really grasp it until they told her straight out that it was her to be evicted.

I thought Britney played a whale of a game. After Monet was eliminated, she could have melted down, but she kept it together, ingratiated herself with both the Braden/Rachel axis and the Brigade (though unwittingly), and stayed out of harm's way. She could have made a great case for herself in the final, but it was not to be.

As for the remaining three, Hayden is my odds-on favorite to win it all, followed by Enzo, then Lane. If Lane somehow pulls through to win the last HOH competition, I think his only chance of winning is to take Enzo with him. Enzo has not played a very competitive game, but he has played a very good social game. Lane has alienated some people, and my reading is that the jury will turn on him. If Hayden is in the final two, I think he wins, no matter who's sitting next to him. Hayden has won all kinds of competitions and been just about everybody's friend.

[blue_onyx]

4. I didn't see any strategy

The only thing they did was keep the alliance a secret. They even referred to themselves as dummies. I think the rest of the house sucked and were distracted by their hatred of Rachel/Brendon. Kristen pointed out how close the guys were early in the game. Ragan pointed it out a few weeks ago. Yet nobody did anything. Many of the contestants only goal was to get Rachel and Brendan out. After that, they thought they would all be friends and let the cards fall where they would fall. The Brigade wasn't great...they just didn't have much competition.

[gratuitous]

5. If you've watched other shows

Inevitably, when an alliance is formed and announced, the members become targets. You're right that nobody did anything about the Brigade, but I think that was part of their successful strategy to remain secret. Everyone is suspicious and watchful in these games, yet the Brigade avoided detection, in part by forming side alliances and keeping any opposition (other than Brendan and Rachel, who were numerically inferior) from coalescing. A Britney-Ragan-Kristen-Kathy alliance might have gotten somewhere, but three of those people thought they were the main alliance for various Brigade members, and Kathy (loved her to death, bless her heart) wasn't bright enough to forge any alliances.

For example, Britney strikes me as pretty perceptive (viz. her joining Rachel in the tub to drink and dish on other people when she couldn't stand Rachel) and competitive (she won a couple of competitions that I didn't think she would), but even though Ragan and Kristen tipped her off to look for it, she still didn't recognize the Brigade alliance until it was too late. Now, the editing of the broadcast programs can be selective and misleading, but in this case, I really got the feeling that the Brigade members did a solid job of concealing the true nature of their alliance. Their reaching out to non-members helped with that concealment.

I don't think much of Lane's smarts, but his last turn as HOH was a real stroke when he put up his Brigade allies opposite Ragan to make sure that Ragan was evicted in the number 5 spot. The show revealed that Hayden and Enzo would have dumped Britney given the chance, and the Brigade's whole strategy would have been upset if Britney had won the Veto that week and taken Ragan off the block. Lane's keeping Hayden and Enzo off balance that week made sure that Ragan left, even though he made an excellent argument to Britney and Lane for keeping him. The Brigade avoided all of the pitfalls other alliances have falled into either through luck or design (and probably more than a little of both). When they were vulnerable, they were able to minimize the damage to themselves (by design), and when they were feeling untouchable, they didn't betray one another (kind of by luck).

From what I saw on the broadcast episodes, there was no question that the four guys hung out together, but they also hung out separately with other people quite a bit.

Who's your pick to win it all?

[blue_onyx]

6. They deserve some credit

I just didn't see much strategy. During other more competitive seasons, the 3 guys would've never made it as far as they did.

Who do I think will win? Hayden, regardless of who is in the final 2 with him. If it's Lane vs. Enzo, it's a tossup. Enzo was horrible in the competitions but Lane wasn't a star performer either.

Who do I want to win? Doesn't matter...Hayden, I guess.

[NoGOPZone]

3. I can't see Enzo coming close to winning a jury vote, so whoever wins last HOH

would do well to take him to the finals in my opinion. Hayden would win a jury vote over Lane because he finished strong, but it would be close.

Brendon's image with both the public and the other guests seem to improve when Rachel was eliminated, so I think he'll win the public vote.

[Pithlet]

7. I agree. I stopped watching when Ragan was evicted.

I pretty much stopped caring when it was apparent one of the stupid "Bragade" members would win. But this was definitely not one of the better seasons. I'm still hoping Enzo didn't win. He's vile.

[blue_onyx]

8. Ragan was my least favorite

so I'll take the Brigade over him.

[Pithlet]

9. No. I won't take a person who admitted to harassing and stealing from a prostitute

Or Lane talking about putting the kittens in the rock crusher. Hayden was okay, but he chose to align with those cretins. Yeah, Ragan could be annoying with his crying. I just think he was emotional and being in the house with those people drove him crazy. But other than that he seemed like a decent person. ETA I think this will be my last season watching. It seems like their casting is worse and worse with each season. This was the last straw for me with Enzo and Lane, the two sociopaths. They might get away with it if they didn't have live feeds and the after dark on Show time. They can edit the sociopathic tendencies out, but we get to learn about them from the people who watch outside the broadcasts and recap.

[blue_onyx]

10. Ragan's behavior was pretty bad

The worst part is he was a hypocrite about it. I can't believe he didn't see the irony of berating Rachel for her behavior at the same time he was making fun of her looks, skin, etc. Britney made a joke about Rachel getting pregnant at the jury house (a joke she repeated on the show tonight) and Ragan said he would personally abort the baby. Classy. Ragan was full of himself (I think winning the vote for saboteur went to his head). He thought he was hilarious but didn't make one funny comment the entire season. He also represented a very cliche version of a gay man. Ragan was also edited very favorably compared to reality.

[DeltaLitProf]

11. Ragan reaallly got my goat

I'm a tenure-track academic myself, and if I were say the things publicly about a woman that Ragan did, I would expect my department to ask that I be fired.

[Pithlet]

16. I want to clarify, I'm not saying Ragan was sweetness and light

I'm just putting Enzo way way below him on the scale of evil is all. Although I do think being shut in with Rachal for 24 hours counts as extenuating circumstances. I think it is possible Ragan was driven to do and say things he might not have otherwise. I think that's true for a lot of people that go on shows like that. It's like a pressure cooker. Rachel said some awful things to him. She gay baited him which led to that fight where some of the worst things he said came flying out. If I were shut in the house with her? I don't know what that would do to me. She's ridiculous. She's plainly someone who thrives on stirring up trouble. There are videos of her on Youtube where she pranks people to get reactions, posted on a Big Brother fan site. As for Enzo, I think he was already slime going into that house, as evidenced by some of the awful things he's said he's done outside of the house, and even laughed and joked about doing. It's clear it's not about being in the heat of the moment for him. He's a slimeball.

[Pithlet]

13. Yeah, but living in a house with Rachel would make anyone crazy.

And he didn't harass and steal from a prostitute.

[Pithlet]

14. Yeah, but living in a house with Rachel would make anyone crazy.

And he didn't harass and steal from a prostitute.

[blue_onyx]

15. I would rather live with Rachel than Ragan

[Pithlet]

17. Ugh. Rachal, the gay baiter? Rachel, the person who thinks that the unemployed just don't want

to work? Well, to each their own :shrug: I don't get it. She's one of the most obnoxious people they've ever had on the show. So he loses it a couple of times in repsonse to her baiting him. Big deal. Edit I'm sorry. I'm used to being on a board where we discuss this in the context of those who have the feeds and recap them. I realize that not everyone knows about all the behind the scenes stuff. These people might get a different edit and if some only watch the broadcast they might not know all this stuff. But Rachel baited him because he's gay and that's why he melted down the way he did, which is why I feel as strongly about her as I do. Rachel, Lane and Enzo are a casting trend that I don't like to see on Big Brother. Rachel the grifter, and Enzo and Lane the sociopaths. They think that they need this stunt casting for better TV. Ugh.

[blue_onyx]

18. gay baiter?

I found Rachel's statements accurate. As a gay man, I'm embarrassed at the way Ragan represented the gay community. "Julie, that's just a weekend in West Hollywood for me...hee, hee." How cliche. I've read the message boards and I'm not the only gay person that feels this way.

It wasn't just his arguments with Rachel. Ragan spent weeks trashing her endlessly. I stopped reading the feeds the week Rachel and Brendon were nominated because he and Britney couldn't stop talking about them. I don't think it's fair to excuse Ragan's behavior just because one dislikes Rachel. They were both childish. I just found Ragan worse because he kept talking about how he had the moral high ground.

I'm thankful Rachel was on this season. Without her, I don't think there would've been enough drama to make the show watchable. This was the most boring cast ever.

[Pithlet]

19. Sorry. I would trash Rachal too. I don't agree with some of the ways he trashed her. I concede tha

But anyone who thinks that the unemployed don't want to work deserves trashing. Women who think that other women in their vicinity are threats deserve trashing. Her type is eminently trash worthy. And no. I don't think that just because a gay man is an "embarrassment to the gay community" opens them up to the types of comments she made to him. I don't agree. I think they absolutely showed her attitudes toward the gay community. Both she and Brendan made multiple comments that were pretty awful IMO.

[blue_onyx]

20. And what about Ragan's comments

You think his repeated negative comments of waitresses are ok? You think his nasty comments about Rachel's weight and breasts were acceptable?

What comments by Rachel were so bad? That he was being bitchy? He was playing the role of the bitchy gay guy.

[Pithlet]

21. No. I don't think they're okay.

But he didn't watch as one of his buddies raped a prostitute, make off with her money, and then laugh about it on national tv. He didn't laugh about throwing kittens in a rock crusher. My whole point is he's just your normal average person with personality weaknesses. We all have them. Not a complete low life scumbag. So I'm not getting the Ragan is the worst of the wrost. That's my point.

[Pithlet]

22. Delete dupe

[Pithlet]

23. And to answer your question, I do think asking him if he's a bitch because he's gay is bad.

That went over the line. I seriously doubt she asked that because she had concerns about his role as the bitchy gay guy. She hardly strikes me as that nuanced of a thinker. Please. That sounded an awful lot like the insult it was meant to be. It was one of the first things she said upon the return to the house (and I wouldn't put it past the producers to plant the idea in her head, frankly. Anyone who would cast the likes of Enzo and Mike Boogie has no scruples), and it was what sparked the epic fight. And I'm sorry, but if a person hurls a slur like that, they have what they've got coming to them as far as I'm concerned.

[gratuitous]

12. And it's . . . Hayden

I was a bit surprised that Enzo had as much apparent support in the jury house, and it turns out that Hayden probably made his best move by going to the final with Lane. When Lane got the votes from Brendan and Rachel (I knew he was going to get Britney's vote), I thought for a moment he was going to win it all.

Hayden was pretty self-congratulatory in his final statement before the vote. I think he deserved to say a few of those things, but after one or two sentences, he should have shut up about it, because I think he came real close to giving away a fourth vote.