Guess what? Shannon just realized that nobody likes her. Wow! It's amazing that somebody so clueless can survive in the wild. But there you have it. Her relationship with Will (and Jim) is further explored and another strange relationship is looked at as well: Kent and Bunky.
There was not much that was new during episode 8, especially if you watch the live cams, and read our article summarizing episode 7. Then again, watching the live cams usually makes watching the show unnecessary, so we'll presume most of you haven't been doing that. The show opens with the guests discussing Autumn's eviction and with some brilliant editing showed the Untouchables (Hardy, Monica, Krista - a subfaction of the Real People) wondering how Nicole could have voted for Autumn, since she was saying she wanted Autumn to get at least one vote. They also wondered what Autumn looked like when she left the house, since they could not look.
The guests discussed Hardy being head of household, and, as Shannon said, "Hardy's HOH, and I think Chill Town starts to dwindle from here." Brilliant deduction. If anything, this episode showed that Shannon is slow to realize the truth about what is going on in the house (more on that later). There was also a brilliant quote from Will to Shannon on why he did so poorly in last week's HOH contest. "Why do we keep having these contests that you're supposed to know about the other people in the house? I haven't listened to one word they said, I didn't know that was a requirement." Hello?? Earth to Will! Did you not realize that BB is a CBS show and on every episode of Survivor 1 and 2, they had these challenges! But then, you just reinforced to the nation how vapid and uncaring you really are. My feline has more compassion than you display! Hardy as HoH wants Will to be accountable for his actions. Yes, and when that happens we will have world peace as well.
The show then segued to the Shannon/Will/Jim love triangle again. And stays there. We learned that Jim is 7 years younger than Shannon and is unemployed. Shannon felt Jim was her soulmate, but now she's not so sure. She obviously has feelings for Will. Hmm. Wasn't there a song about this- "Torn between two lovers?" And isn't the next line, "Feeling like a fool"?
CBS must have been looking really hard for video bites to air for the entire hour, since now we were shown the women discussing the PB&J punishment. I wouldn't consider that a punishment, a PB&J sandwich is great with a glass of cold milk. Besides, how many college kids go weeks on the PB&J diet because they can't afford to eat "real" food? Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. Some minor stresses, then came up between Hardy and Bunky, when Bunky says he feels bad for the girls eating PB&J and feels the boys should throw the next food challenge so the girls can eat. Of course, Hardy tears into Bunky for feeling like this and Kent is surprised as well.
Segue into the food challenge. It's a group challenge, so no one will be eating PB&J for two weeks straight.
The houseguests wrote three foods they have each been craving on yellow balls. They were told that approximately 100 balls would come flying over the fence at a speed of one ball every three seconds. One grocery item was written on each ball. 27 of the balls were the foods the houseguests wanted; the others were staples and other assorted foods (I wonder if any were for peanut butter or jelly). Anything caught by the guests and placed in the bags became food for the household. Mike was the big winner here in his catching ability. But he was not so great that he will be quitting his day job for a baseball career.
The heartwarming part of the show examined the growing relationship between Bunky and Kent. We learned that some of the HoHs have let Kent sleep in the private room because his snoring was SO bad it kept the other guests awake. What the TV viewers did not know is that Bunky has been sleeping on the floor in the same room. That is understandable, since one bedroom has the Chill Town clique, and one bedroom has the Untouchables clique and Nicole, and neither Kent nor Bunky fits into these cliques. Their friendship is probably the most unusual and heartwarming since Richard and Rudy became friends on Survivor 1. Witness this exchange: Bunky is snoozing on a pallet on the floor, and Kent puts a blanket on him like a parent would do to a beloved child at bedtime. Kent says "Goodnight you homo," and Bunky says: "Goodnight you old grouch." If Bunky and Kent show any staying power, this might be a great relationship, both for the viewers and the house; a true friendship not based on ulterior motives.
Next CBS decided to keep tugging at our heart strings - or at least try to. Shannon fell apart. She has stated several times in several episodes she cannot stand smoking, but here she tries her first cigarette. The way she carried on laughing, I was thinking that this was not tobacco, but something stronger! Shannon was then shot in silhouette by the door, Somber music in the background. She told the camera she just realized that everyone hates her and she will most likely be evicted. She went into the diary room and said she has had an epiphany: Everyone in the house thinks she is a bitch. Apparently no one has ever called her that in her real life (well, not to her face, anyway). She then left the room and sat in Will's lap, and - hold on to your hats, folks - Will tells her that he loves her! Will is actually capable of loving someone other than himself! Well, at least that's his claim.
CBS now had 15 minutes left in the show, minus the commercials, so here come the nominations! Hurray! Bur not before a scene between Mike and Hardy where Hardy says if he does not nominate Mike, can Mike promise Hardy that if Mike becomes HoH again, will he not nominate Hardy? Mike thinks about it, tries some conniving, and declines the offer. Now comes the part that everyone has been waiting for. Hurray! Nomination time! I must confess, I found out who they were about 10 hours before due to the web postings, and a friend's e-mail. But even if I hadn't it still was no surprise: Will and Shannon. Could it have been anyone else? While we were treated to Shannon claiming Hardy was a coward for doing this (she had earlier said she'd fake cry if it were the two of them, but apparently changed her mind), CBS failed to show Mike going ballistic over the nominations and Will threatening to walk if Shannon is booted Thursday night. Maybe they're saving that to spice up Tuesday a bit.
It should again be no surprise who will be evicted: Will. The women will all vote for Will because they do not want to lose 3 of their sex in a row - and because he's a jerk. Bunky and Kent see Will as more of a threat than Shannon - and he's a jerk. The others will vote for him because, well, he's a jerk. See a pattern? Buh-bye, Will. It's just a matter of time, now.
Susan Schechter works for a multinational Financial Markets/News company as a Research Analyst/Biographer covering the UK, Australia, and other Commonwealth countries.
Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look around our Big Brother 2 Page for everything from episode recaps to features and commentary.
Remember to take a peek at the rest of the site. You can find our most recent articles at the Home page and take a look at our sections on WWF Tough Enough and Survivor. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!
