Big Brother 19: Push-Pull-Paul

We're a month into the latest Big Brother Season. Season 19. And let me tell you, this season has been a wild ride. We had a night one eviction, we had the first ever walk out, we had a serious injury-- and, we have a clear “good” and “evil.”

Big Brother works best when there is an 'underdog' and a 'villain.' This isn't something we always get.

While I did like this cast with my initial impressions, I didn't exactly see an underdog figure. I was unsure how it would go.

The Producers had a few strings up their sleeves, though. We didn't have 16 newbies... we had 16 newbies and a VET (A previous player who is returning.) This did in fact leak before the season started. Most of us hoped it wasn't true.

Paul, the 'Vet' of #bb19

 As I said, this season, we have a 'good' and we have an 'evil.' Who's who? It might not be who you think.

The Vet, as I refer to him, is the villain. Last season, he was a newbie. He was extreme, but, he got a handle on the game. And, as if we are on the same time line, last season he was sitting in the final with a vet, who, most of the audience didn't think should win. But, they did.

So, the vet this season has lost his underdog status. Being a Vet has made him cocky as hell and Production has helped him unfairly. Fans voted to give a player a 'temptation.' And, of course, people will naturally vote for a face they know. So, the Vet won safety. For three weeks. Are you kidding me?

I could write pages upon pages on how that is unfair, but, I'll just say this: He got a terribly unfair advantage. Production knows he shouldn't be there, so, he needed production help or he would have been gone.

So, who is our 'good? Our 'underdog'? It's a pair. Jessica and Cody. You'll notice, in my first impressions, I said Cody would be the villain and Jessica seemed like a recruit and clearly cast to be the eye candy. The two entered a showmance early on.

But, when the season began, Cody was the only newbie who knew enough that the Vet was bad news and that the Vet needed to be targeted as soon as possible. Admittedly, for me, when Cody was the HOH the first week and drunk with power, I didn't consider him 'good' or 'bad', he was simply the only opposition for the Vet.

Cody, laughing along with Jessica.

Not to mention, he made a few questionable comments in the beginning, which is a whole other subject. But for me, I separate person from player and with knowing I am watching a social experiment, I'm fine as long as no one is in a drag out fight. Conversely, the Vet at one point considered doing black face to represent a snake... so... I consider my point made.

The Vet won HOH the second week and successfully backdoored Cody. We lost the opposition. Everyone now but Jessica was doing the Vet's bidding. And, eventually, it became difficult to stomach. A house without a power shift is bad, but a house with a Vet as the king/queen of the castle is worse.

With Cody gone, Jessica  realized she was alone. She saw that Cody was right: The other HGs were sheep and the Vet was the sheep herder. Thankfully, the viewing public saw this too. Most. And there was one last temptation for 'America' to give. The Halting Hex.

Jessica, who had been 'cursed', but her luck soon turned around.

And by the grace of--- Jessica got it. Now, she had the power to stop one of the next four evictions.  Knowing she had the power, Jessica breathed a little easier. And the Vet, he started to sweat.

At this point, Julie told us that the last four evicted HGs would compete to re-enter. The evicted HGs squared off first. Cody won the first and second comps. And the third, he was tasked to fight the Vet. They had to move a ball through a maze. (Much harder than it sounds.)

On a special episode, Cody fought Paul to return to the game.

Cody won.

Where we stand now is that The Vet is HOH again. Last week, Jessica won, but, the Vet managed to hypnotize her. She had a moment of clarity, but, Cody didn't see what she saw. They messed up. And this has been their issue. They know the Vet is in control of everyone else, but, the two of them aren't exactly compatible. They second guess each other.

While I have complained on Twitter, looking at it a bit more objectively, I see that it's still been a push-pull dynamic. You see, on the live show, after the Vet won HOH, Jessica was asked how she felt and she responded, “I'm just happy America decided to give me the last temptation and I can keep myself and Cody safe for a few weeks.”

Julie Chen was tongue tied, the audience gasped and the Vet went reeling afterward. He ended up nominating them both--- causing Cody to tell him he treated the other HGs like “dogs” and after some bating, Cody told the Vet “Fuck you” a bunch of times.

The Vet worked on Jessica some more. And while she did end up pretty much telling him what her power was, it has him confused. And the bottom line is that come Thursday, all his work will have been for nothing, because the eviction will not go through.

Other Thoughts So Far:

Mark has gotten a bad rap within the BB community. He is very emotional. But, I understand this. And, he took a liking to Elana, who obviously doesn't like him at all and he doesn't see it. She's using him. It really disgusts me. Mark, however, I see him as likable. He's an ugly duckling that turned into a swan and is trying to navigate life in this new state. I want him to go far and he did just win safety this week through a new competition.'

Mark, during one of the many 'conversations' with Elana.

Kevin is the dark horse here. Everyone likes him, he tells good stories, and he's very, very smart. He plays the part of the fool, and most all of them are falling for it.

Kevin, has them all thinking he's stupid, but, this is all a ploy.

Christmas is a strong mental player. She's aligned with the Vet as of now, which, makes me not like her so much. But, I'm hoping she turns on him soon. She's our serious injury-- she broke her foot horsing around. She's been out of the house a few times for treatment and even gave a live vote on the phone. I really thought that was showing major favoritism, but, oh well. Without the Vet, I think this season would have been Cody VS Christmas. And, I probably would have liked her more.

I'll check in again near the end!