Tonight the mediocre finale of the mediocre season of Big Brother aired on CBS. The finale episode of the season consisted of the usual footage of the jury members discussing which of the final two played the best game, followed by the interrogation of the final two and then the live vote. And for the first time in BB History, one of the jury members received a $25,000 viewers choice prize.
For some reason, I felt sort of disappointed by this season’s finale of Big Brother but I suppose that’s only fitting as I’ve felt that way for most of the season. I don’t know if it was the weird spring-version of the show that made this season feel off or the whole couples twist but I just wasn’t as into Big Brother as I usually am. Normally the finale is when everything comes out but with the exception of some awkward comments from Allison and Jen and Julie briefly ribbing Natalie and Matt a bit, there wasn’t a whole lot of drama during the live portion of the finale.
Before we get to that though, let’s talk about the jury questioning. Sheila arrives at the sequester house and the group quickly gets to discussing Ryan and Adam’s game play. Sheila seems convinced that Adam threw the final Head of Household competition. While Adam did tell Ryan he was going to throw it, there’s no way of knowing whether he really did or if he would’ve taken Sheila had he won it. Sharon is equally irritated over being voted out and blames Ryan for betraying her in the end. Josh seems to be leaning towards Ryan while the rest are on the fence and willing to hear them both out.
The jury questioning consists mainly of the jury members airing their grievances in the form of questions and the final two desperately trying to answer the questions as best they can. Matt seemed less interested in their game play and more interested in knowing what they would do with the money if they won. Adam went on about setting up a program for autistic kids, while Ryan said he’ll give some of it to his mom and something for Jen. He also mentioned something about charity but once Jen’s name came up, Chelsia used it as an opportunity to remind Ryan that Jen trashed his reputation and called him a racist. Ryan argued that he loves Jen and wants to start a life with her or whatever. Judging by Chelsia’s reaction, that wasn’t the answer she was looking for.
The questioning went on with Sharon asking Ryan about betraying her (he denies it) and Sheila calling Adam out for throwing the final competition (he denies it). Ryan kept his cool throughout the questioning but Adam wasn’t so well poised. He got louder and louder with every answer and seemed completely shaken up once the whole thing was over. In the end, we were left not really knowing which way the jury was leaning.
Back to the live portion of the show. Julie introduced the jury and there were cheers all around for everyone. Before she addressed the jury, they got the voting out of the way. Everyone had the usual vague remarks about why they were voting the way they were. James’ only comment was that he hopes the winner parties the money away. After the voting was done, Julie took a minute to ask Matt if there was anything he wanted to tell Natalie before she had the chance to watch the episodes (and see how rude he was behind her back). Later, she asked Jen how she felt about Ryan’s partner, Allison. Jen went on to say she still doesn’t like Allison nor did she appreciate Allison saying she’d make a better match for Ryan than she would. Allison said she didn’t harbor any ill will against Jen and that she just didn’t like the way Jen was playing the game. She also said she didn’t understand how Jen, who supposedly loves Ryan, would be willing to ruin his reputation (saying he’s a racist) just to further herself in the game.
Finally, we get to the votes. Matt and Natalie voted for Adam. Joshuah voted for Ryan. I guess Sharon didn’t forgive Ryan for not helping her get to the final three because she too voted for Adam. Sheila on the other hand, did forgive Adam for throwing the final comp (either that or she believed him when he said he didn’t throw it and would’ve taken her if he’d won) and gave him a vote, securing his victory. James and Chelsia also voted for Adam to win.
Adam and Ryan come out of the house to applause and we get to watch Jen repeatedly hiking up the top of her dress while Julie congratulates Adam. Before the episode ends, Julie announces that James won the viewer’s choice award for favorite juror. Hooray for James. He jumps up and down in celebration of this victory and that closes out this season of Big Brother.
I didn’t really have a favorite when it came down to Ryan and Adam so I didn’t care all that much which one of them won. Both played the game well enough but neither of them wowed me with their strategic abilities. In the end I think it came down to winning the right competitions and making the best decisions in terms of their alliances. Good game play on both of their parts buts at the same time, nothing so amazing (compared to previous winners) to cause me to really get excited for either of them. I guess this season just ended up a bit underwhelming for me. Though I do love that they added on the jury prize. It’s about time they threw that bonus in.
And finally, CBS aired a promo for the new season of Big Brother. The song “Happy Together” played while sillouettes of people danced around and the words “Summer And Big Brother Together Again” flashed across the screen. What does that mean? Is it just a way of pointing out that the old summer-version of the series is back or does that whole “Happy Together”/”Together Again” thing have something to do with the theme of the new season? What do you think?
