Five Drinks into Reality TV: Putting Big Brother 18 to Bed

Tom's Take

BB18 is over, and while it was a marathon that overstayed its welcome, the season was one of the most dynamic I have ever seen, with power flipping around every week. I called Nicole as the winner very early on, but the journey there ended up being very unpredictable. Pre-jury was marked by the Frank/Day/Tiffany civil war, the early jury had the excitement of Paulie's downfall, and then you had the tragedy that was Jatalie trying to seize control of the game by backstabbing Victor, only for a buyback and James' laziness cost them, leading to a brutal f6 where 3 couples took turns brutalzing each other, and ending the season with the closest f2 vote in BB history.

So while this season was exhausting, I think it is actually a pretty strong season, and I am curious if it will be more revered in the future, especially if we get another BB16. Below I am getting into my final Game and Show point giving, going through the jury votes, ranking the season and the winner, and giving every member of the cast a letter grade.

And then this season will be put to bed.

Five Drinks Into a Big Brother Blog "I've Sheltered you from this Game"

Tom's Take:


I am a huge Natalie fan, and I thought her and James were cute together, and would make an adorable real life couple. That said, I do need to vent about something. There's this idea online, and in the game that Nat used James, and James carried Natalie. That simply isn't true. While I don't think either James or Natalie ever intentionally hurt the other's games, James DID on several times cause Natalie to be in MORE danger in the game.

More so, during their final fight James' words "I sheltered you from this game" betrays his patronizing attitude, and is actually another way of saying "I lied and kept secrets from you in this game."

I'm not saying James never helped Natalie in the game, both strategically and personally, but below is a list of ways James "sheltered Natalie from the game". (or in other words, hurt her game.)

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother 18 Weeks 13 and 14 Game and Show Rankings

Tom's Take

Nat for America's Favorite!!!





Natalie was the best this year. She was the most fun to watch, because she practically radiated positivity for most of the season, she was surprisingly strategic, her showmance was adorable, her heartbreaks were gut wrenching, and she fought her ass off this season. Watching her learn BB and fall in love with the game was probably the highlight of the season for me.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother 18 Game and Show Week 12

Tom's Take

This week, I'll give some rankings as soon as I"m finished with my love letter to my favorite HG of BB18.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother 18 Game and Show Week 11

Tom's Take

Well, this was a shitty week, especially because as a Natalie fan, I usually want to try and defend her. But, I just can't defend her lack of gameplay this week, other than to shift blame on to James and Meech for also not playing.

But here are some rankings, I guess.