A winner crowns a loser.
Or maybe the right person wins.
Almost exactly one year ago, something happened on television that has haunted my days and nights.
Credit: CBS
Up till right then, the game was all tied up.
But Steve got that final question right.
He was the last HoH.
And he had a decision to make.
Obviously, Vanessa deserved to be in the final two.
Obviously, Steve chose Liz.
He wanted to win.
Steve won, of course, but I have to imagine that what happened next is whatreallyhurt.
With seconds left in the season, Julie announced that America had chosen their favorite player.
A brilliant strategic mastermind?
None of the above: America loved James, Mr.
Prank Man, Mr. Nice Guy, Everybodys Pal, Just Happy To Be Here.
There is no justice, inBig Brotheras in life.
Paul wins the first leg of the HoH competition, a cat-based endurance comp requiring running and hanging.
In some ways, the endurance competition is the easiest part of this final three-part battle.
All of that, plus running.
Nicole plays clean and rad and powerful: She polishes off the competition in seven minutes and 24 seconds.
(I pretty much forgot Bronte existed.)
And so Im especially in awe of Nicole, who clearly studied for this final comp.
James grasp ofBig Brotherknowledge wasnt as impressive.
Was he ever in it to win it this year?
Or was he just looking for another summer vacation?
NEXT: The Jury
This isnt my favorite season ofBig Brother, but this is unquestionably my favorite jury.
Beloved glamourboy supervillain Dr. Will is on hand, interviewing the Jury Members about their votes.
Why should James win?
Oh, you know, he didnt get blood on his hands, his social game is phenomenal.
I rarely ever paid attention to him, says Zakiyah.
Hes very good strategically.
Crucially, though: People dontlovePaul.
Someone calls him obnoxious.
Someone says hes an evil dick.
I am bitter toward Paul is a typical statement.
Are people bitter toward Nicole?
Big Meech declares herself as a Nicole skeptic.
Did you just come in the house not liking her?
DaVonne didnt think much of Nicole.
All personal feelings aside, she says.
She lined herself up with men.
And no shade to you men, but she was Geppetto, and yall are Pinocchio.
That might have been it, right there: The whole game, decided.
DaVonne had every personal reason not to like Nicole.
But DaVonne knowsBig Brotherwell enough to know when someone is really playing the game.
But then comes the final leg of the HoH competition and Paul wins.
Who will he bring with him?
What will he do?
Paul stands up in the main room of theBig Brotherhouse, about to make a decision worth $450,000.
God damn him, he looks magnificent, and god damn him, he chooses to kick out James.
NEXT: The Winner
Is this a terrible idea?
Is this the worst move Paul made all summer?
I dont see any clear way that the Jury votes against him, in a final showdown with James.
Lovable bloodless players have wonBig Brotherbefore; dynamic supergenius plotters have won every battle but lost the war.
No, not Friendship.
Pauls main rule this summer has been: Paul must be Paul.
Nicole told Paul that James was open to a backstab; James did not relay that information to Paul.
James wasnt honest about being dishonest; for Paul, that was an unpardonable sin.
Heres what I know: Paul gives one of the best final speeches in anyBig Brotherseason.
Should he be a little more apologetic?
Do the people who dont like him have legitimate gripes?
Actually, the sheer professionalism of Pauls speech maybe works against him.
Is Nicole secretly a strategy beast?
How much of her casualness is fully planned?
We may never know.
You always saw Paul sweat.
Cards on the table: I think Paul shouldve won.
She lost the final HoH competition.
She had no power and yet, in the end, everything went her way.Thatis gameplay.
Winning comps is easy; winningBig Brotheris hard.
Thats an interesting stat.
James votes for Paul, mere minutes after Paul kicks him out.
DaVonne votes for Nicole, her nemesis-turned-icon.
Then again: Who knows about America, really?
Julie reads the people who got the most votes in the Americas Favorite Houseguest competition.
The top three are: James, Natalie, and Victor.
Natalie spent this season ofBig Brotherdoing… who is Natalie, again?
Now, I love Victor.
See you in 2017, America.
