Big Brother has a sick sense of humour. Imagine being told that the Head of House has the sole power to evict two people of her choice and that she can use any criteria she wishes to make the decision. How do you go about making sure you stay in the game? Do you try your hardest to impress the Head of House, knowing that she’s probably just going to save her friends, anyway? Do you try to do everything well and risk being seen as a threat? The nerves must make you crazy.
This is how this week has been for the Shine Ya Eye Housemates – constantly trying to impress Maria, wondering who she would put on the block. They didn’t know what we and Maria knew – that there would be no Evictions, that this whole week has been nothing but an elaborate game designed to stress them out.
Maria was told, on Friday, that she would need to name six Housemates as being on the danger list and tell them to pack their bags in preparation for their possible Eviction. She did just that and named JMK, Angel, Pere, Yousef, Jaypaul and Emmanuel as the Housemates in trouble.
It’s hard to tell from this move, but we think she may have been trying to signal the truth to her fellow Housemates. While her relationship with Pere has been tumultuous, to say the least, his inclusion in the list is strange – there is definitely a connection between the two. Maria is either trying to pick names she feels will be most likely to forgive her for tricking them, or she’s trying to let the Housemates know that this isn’t serious, because she wouldn’t name Pere if it were real. It would be a gamble, but it wouldn’t be entirely out of character – Maria has made it clear that she doesn’t like the deception, so it would make sense if she tried to subvert Big Brother by hiding a message in her actions.
Of course, it might simply be that she’s seen which way the wind is blowing – Pere has fallen from the Housemates’ favour, somewhat, since his time as the Head of House did not go down very well. Perhaps Maria has simply decided to show the rest of the House that she is one of them and to get them to think she is not paired with Pere and the negative associations that come with that. Peace and Angel actually spoke about this: “The fact that Pere is on the list means that this isn’t personal,” they said.
If that was her plan, though, it clearly didn’t work – the six Housemates were very much under the impression that they were at risk of being Evicted. During their Diary Sessions leading up to the Live Show, the supposedly nominated Housemates had plenty to say.
“I’m sad that I’m up for Eviction,” said JMK, who mentioned that she mentally had to prepare herself for things like this. As to why she was on Maria’s list, she said she was probably her least favourite person, so it was expected. “I was hoping there would be a form of togetherness,” JMK went on to say, but she wasted no time in saying that she would put Nini in her place if she could.
“I woke up feeling excited… until the list was called,” said Emmanuel, who went on to say that he had been lost in thought since. When asked why he thought he was on the list, he said, “honestly, I don’t know. I’ve been thinking so hard… it’s just tough.” Despite being friends, he said he would replace himself with Saga, because it’s a game. “I see him as competition.”
Angel, despite thinking she was going to be Evicted, said, “I feel great. Thanks for asking!” As to why she was selected, she said, “I have no idea, actually.” She said that she would replace herself with… “I don’t know.” When prompted to properly answer the question, she finally caved and said, “Queen. I haven’t really gotten along with her yet, so she’s probably the safest option.”
Jaypaul confessed to feeling a bit nervous. “It’s just a reminder that it’s a game,” he said. As to why he was selected, he claimed that it was a bit surprising. "She had to do what she had to do. I don’t blame her," he answered. Like Emmanuel, Jaypaul said he would replace himself with Saga, if he could because he “didn’t put in enough work.”
"I’m feeling pretty good,” said Yousef, and then went on to say a lot of things without communicating anything at all, because Yousef is known for speaking more than he needs to. Honestly, he talks a lot. He was also willing to throw Saga under the bus in his place because he saw him as competition. Then, in typically Yousef fashion, he changed his mind and selected Queen. It took a while for him to say this, though. Eventually, Big Brother kicked him out of the Diary Room, in order to get some silence.
Pere said he would replace himself with the person who put him in that position – Maria, forgetting that the Head of House is immune from Nomination. He then revised his choice to Boma, for reasons of, “I don’t know.” It wasn’t the most illuminating of Diary Sessions.
The Housemates have yet to find out that they are all, in fact, safe from Eviction, this week. It remains to be seen how they will feel about being misled.