Big Brother: Eviction #7 and HOH #8

Crying on Cue: "If anything after this show, I'll be a great soap actor" --Josh

According to his pact from Tuesday night with Natalie, Josh needed two votes to stay. He thought he had Ryan and James. But when Natalie says that she doesn't want to be Sharon's "executioner" and she's uncomfortable with casting the tiebreaker vote, Josh needed to regroup. Joshua decided that the only way he's absolutely safe is if he gets three of the four votes.

So, he works on Adam. In a brilliant move, he turns on the waterworks and cries to Adam about how he's not ready to go home, this situation sucks, blah, blah. Adam buys into it so much that he even gets choked up. Adam hugs Josh multiple times and even wipes Josh's nose affectionately. Now, I'm not a fan of Joshua by any stretch but his fake breakdown as he ate a slice of pizza was pure genius.

The Campaign: "D-U-Triple N" --Adam

Still worried about James and Josh working together, Natalie decided to tell a shocked Sharon about Josh's plan to stay safe this week. Then the two ladies called Sheila up into the HOH room and Sheila was equally shocked and indignant about Josh's plans. Sharon said that she felt bad for Josh at first but now, her conscience is clear.

Two things I must mention here. First, it seems like there's yet another alliance brewing in the house. A girl power alliance. What do you readers think? Second, Sharon was smart to keep her campaign quiet and not go cause a scene with Josh whose been known for his explosions.

From there, Natalie orchestrated a discussion between Ryan and Sharon. Ryan said he didn't know if he could trust Sharon. Sharon replied to Ryan's concerns by asserting that she wasn't "gunning for" him and she never had been. She also said that she's never lied and if she walks out of the house, all of America will know that she's been honest the whole time. Then Sharon reminded Ryan that Josh and James have "plans" for Ryan and Adam. "It's all mapped out," she warned. After Ryan's vote was in the bag, Natalie worked on Adam and it was a done (D-U-N) deal.

All the while, Josh and James sat by the jacuzzi and congratulated themselves on how blindsided Sharon would be Wednesday night.

The Off-Screen Josh

Josh's at-home video package wasn't that great. I'll just mention that his mother is appalled by some of his behavior on the show. And what mother wouldn't be? Actually, it made me like Josh more knowing that his mother thinks he acted like a "monster" (her words) and put her fingers in her ears in embarrassment while watching the show.

Pre-Eviction Diary Room

We usually get to listen in more on the houseguests' thoughts about eviction. This week we only got to hear James and Adam. James said that Josh was his only friend in the house. Wait, I thought Chelsia was James' only friend in the house. Wasn't that what half of Tuesday's episode was about? My how that boy flip-flops! Adam said that he can't trust Josh and Josh has "pissed off a lot of the girls." But, Adam wondered if Sharon would rally the girls and turn them against the remaining guys.

Interview with Natalie

Julie asked if Natalie was worried about Chelsia and Mattie in the sequester house. Remember Chelsia threatened to hook up with Nattie's Mattie. (On second thought, I'm not sure if I read that in one of Jackie's live feeds or if that actually happened on TV.) Natalie said that Matt and she weren't dating but she still trusted him. Huh? She also observed that Chelsia would only hook up with Matt out of spite. Natalie then told the Chenster that Ryan is her closest ally now (despite her voting him out 3 times in the past).

The Eviction and Aftermath

First, the speeches. Sharon made a pretty generic speech. She's not ready to leave yet. If everyone voted for her to stay, she'd be thankful. You know, I don't even really remember what she said. We've heard it so many times before. You get the idea though.

Josh, on the other hand, had an mildly interesting speech (not half as exciting as Chelsia's but hey, everyone can't be that trashy). Josh called everyone "the most dysfunctional family on TV." He said that while he hated everyone in the house, he does care for them. Then he likened being on BB9 to being on a rollercoaster and asked everyone for one more ride.

The vote was live and here's how it went down...

Sheila: evicted Joshua
Ryan: evicted Joshua
Adam: evicted Joshua
James: evicted Sharon

After Joshua was formally evicted by the Chenbot, he made a semi-genuine speech about being yourself in the game and in life. He thinks that the most successful people are true to themselves. Then he told everyone to sit while he left, but a hysterical Sharon jumped up to hug him. He also hugged James and wished him luck. Sheila later called the speech classy and told Julie she was glad that Joshua "left with that attitude." So, I guess his speech came off as sincere.

During his interview with Julie (whose hair just gets bigger and bigger), he said that he thought he was evicted because he was the toughest competitor in the house. Josh watched good-bye videos and pretended to shoot himself in the head when Natalie came on.

Head of Household Competition: More or Less

For this week's HOH, the houseguests were asked about objects in the house, specifically how many there were of different objects (like mirrors, frames, etc.) Here's the questions and answers:

Are the more or less than 25 table lamps?
(Less, 19 tablelamps)
Sheila gets it wrong.

Are there more of less than 30 tree trunks in the Diary Room?
(Less, 23 tree trunks)
Adam, Ryan, and Sheila got it wrong

Are there more or less than 75 pillows inside the BB house?
(More, 87 pillows)
Ryan and James got it wrong.

Are there more or less than 37 frames?
(More, 40 frames)
Everyone got it wrong.

Are there more or less than 19 logs in the fireplace?
(Less, 16 logs)
No one got it wrong.

Are there more or less than 107 two-way mirrors in the hosue and backyard?
(More, 119 mirrors)
Sharon got it wrong.

Are there more or less than 115 pull-out drawers?
(More, Chenster didn't say how many there were. She just congratulated Adam.)

HOH goes to Adam.

We left off with Sharon looking very upset immediately after the competition. Ryan hugged her and said something to her but we didn't get to hear it. Sheila and Natalie were hugging and congratulating Adam. At the very end of the show, the hamsters were vigorously discussing the competition. Sheila was saying how Adam and Natalie were good with numbers and she wasn't (big surprise). James was back in his bedroom, isolating himself from the houseguests and probably preparing to be nominated.

I know when I review BB9 on Wednesdays, I usually leave off with a poll asking who will be nominated. But this week, I'm asking everyone to go a few steps further in their guesses. I think I'll ask you to predict who's going home this week. That means you have to think of who's going up on the block, factor in James' strength with PoV competitions, and decide how you think the votes will go. Feel free to leave an extended prediction in the comments.