Big Brother 2, Episode 18: The Plotting of Dr. Evil
by David Bloomberg
-- 07/10/2002
Monica calms down, Krista says she won't lie and deceive (apparently ignoring the past), and Nicole pushes for a strategic vote. Meanwhile, Dr. Evil continues to spin his web of deceit in hopes of making it to the end.
Once again, the Tuesday episode was less than exciting. Even the reward challenge, though amusing, had a prize that was pitifully dull. We had our share of the usual politicking, but even that lacked the oomph of last week’s bickering. Ah well. At least we can always count on Will, aka Dr. Evil, to provide us with some amusing moments.
Last episode, I said that it looked like Monica would be the next one evicted. Tuesday’s episode began in the same vein, with Monica still being mightily pissed off at the world. She decided she would pack ahead of time because she was sure she would be going. She told everybody she would be going. Dammit, she was going and nobody could tell her different!
Well, except that it turns out the people who controlled her future didn’t think she was going. Nicole, who doesn’t get a vote but does have influence, wants to get rid of Krista. Hardy wants to get rid of Krista. Will wants to do whatever will keep him in the game, which means voting against Krista and staying tight with Nicole. Bunky will pretty much do whatever anybody else tells him is the will of the house.
But Monica’s behavior had Hardy commenting that if she didn’t cool off, maybe she would end up going. On the flipside, Nicole used her behavior to help convince Will by indicating that there was nothing funnier than to take a person who is sure she is going and making her stay.
In fact, we see quite a bit of Will and Nicole, and are even treated to a historical look at their “relationship,” complete with four chapters. Chapter 1 was “Hate at First Sight” and showed clips from very early in the game. Chapter 2, “Let’s Talk,” showed them as they at least stopped ignoring one another. Chapter 3, “Flattery Will Get You Everywhere,” moved more into the present as they started to scheme together. And Chapter 4, “Romance Blooms?,” was the strangest one because there is absolutely no indication of a romance there, except maybe in Will’s deranged mind. Indeed, as Will said, “We’re both attracted to me.” But, of course, she just won’t admit it. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
A fair amount of time was spent on their current plotting, scheming, and conspiring. Will said he is slowly hammering away at Nicole to try to break her trust in Hardy. Nicole actually appears to believe the man she calls, “the evil doctor.” She said she thinks he’s been totally honest. Oh, man! Will summed it up best when he said he hopes she does believe him, but if that is the case, “she’s stupid” because she shouldn’t. I have to agree with Will on that one. But I think his plan has worked – by admitting to being a liar and “evil,” he has gained her trust. It’s kind of backwards, but we see it in real life, too. For example, I just read an article about Senator John McCain in U.S. News & World Report. It talks about how he lied during his presidential campaign, but then admitted he lied and thereby gained the respect of people. Huh?
Speaking of U.S. News, the reward challenge dealt with the fact that the houseguests have been totally cut off from the outside world (except for banners on planes) for their entire stay. They pretty much have no idea what’s been going on. So the challenge involved identifying as true or false headlines from the news of the past few weeks. The team that got the most right would get three whole minutes (whoopee) in the Diary Room with newspapers and the like strewn all over it.
Team 1 was made up of the nominees, Monica and Krista. Team 2 was Bunky and Will. Team 3 was Hardy and Nicole (normally the Head of Household doesn’t get to participate in these, but they needed another team member).
Team 1 was first. The headlines were:
Elian Gonzalez and Father Return to Miami Seeking Asylum (they did rock/paper/scissors to guess an answer and came up with True; obviously, they were wrong)
Next Episode of Star Wars to be Entitled, “Attack of the Clones” (they guessed False, but it is, unfortunately, true)
At Wimbledon, Andre Agassi Announces Steffi Graf is Having His Baby (they guess True, and it is indeed)
Team 1 gets only one point. Team 2’s headlines:
U.S. Federal Appeals Court Rules It Is Legal to Fire Someone Because of Their Sexual Orientation (Will hands off to Bunky on that one, who guesses that it’s True; he’s right)
Oprah Winfrey Purchases Chicago Cubs (they say False, and are correct – maybe the headline should have been “Chicago Cubs in First Place,” which is almost as unbelievable – but it would have gone from True to False on Monday)
Mike Piazza Named MVP of 2001 All-Star Baseball Game (Bunky handed off to Will on this, and Will guessed False; he was right)
So Team 2 got all three right. Team 3 has to get ‘em all right to stay in the game:
Average Gas Price in America Soars Past $3/Gallon (they say False and are correct)
Janet Reno to Hose Late Night Cable Talk Show (they actually guess True and are wrong)
So the prize goes to Will and Hardy. Other people can request that they look up information for them. The only one I heard was Krista requesting information from “Police Beat.” Looking for some friends of yours, Krista? Maybe Justin or Mike Boogie? Or maybe you wanted to see if the media found out about your own record involving battery against your boyfriend? Yes, they did. Tell Hardy they found out about his drunk driving incident as well. Do any of you have clean records in there?
But I digress. Then again, so did the show. Much of the rest of it was just filler. Bunky lost weight and has built up his muscles and is looking like “Hunky Bunky” according to Nicole. Viewers gave the houseguests a trampoline in the America’s Choice question, and Will is the happiest I’ve seen him other than when he’s inflicting pain on people. He tells the viewers that they have redeemed themselves and actually says “Thank you.” Amazing.
Oh, and Ophelia the pig left. Awwwww.
Getting back to the scheming, Nicole told Hardy that she was upset at the revelation of the Untouchable alliance. Well, not so much at the revelation but at the fact that it ever existed. Hardy tried to push it all off and claims to be allied to her 100%. We’ll see. But Nicole definitely used it to her advantage, pushing him some more towards getting rid of Krista this week.
At the Monday meeting, Monica did not fulfill expectations and explode. Instead she seemed fairly calm and almost rational. She said she does, indeed, want to stay, but she came in with dignity and pride and will leave that way (you just had a bad spot in the middle there where you lost your grip).
Krista said she respects everybody, and won’t participate in lying and betraying. What? Unless you can go back in time, it’s a little too late to be saying that. You were part of a secret alliance. Within that alliance, you schemed with Monica and Nicole to be the final three. Then you betrayed the alliance to plot with Will to oust Hardy. And you’ve lied about so many things I can’t even begin to list them. Now you’re saying you won’t do it?
Several of the houseguests thought it was a big lovefest, but count on Will for the most direct approach: He didn’t believe either of them. And he’s probably right. As he said, “I know everyone in this house is evil; I’m just the only one who can admit it.”
Indeed. And the way he has been worming his way into the confidence of various people, he may yet pull this game out.
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