BB20: Looking Back on the Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight

I never understand how fans of a television show can get so vested in the cast that hate is spewed all over the Internet. I look at much of the Big Brother related posts on Twitter like viewing a car wreck -- you're nosy enough to see what's happening, but it's scary what you might see.

I've been involved with BB-related media since BB1 when I created AOL message boards for the new show, monitored both the boards and the chats. I've been blogging about the show since that platform arrived. (Just a note, my earlier season blogs were sunsetted by AOL years back.) I had paying freelance gigs with AOL Television and Weblogs Inc. for many years of the show.

There have always been some people in the cast I liked, some not so much. But ... hate? Nah. I don't know any of them personally to have such a strong opinion. I don't have to live with any of them. I don't have to hang out socially with any of them. They aren't my friends. The winner isn't going to send me any money. Someone will win every season. I am here to be entertained. That's it. This season entertained me. What more could I want?

On the cray-cray Twitterverse, I see all kinds of hate going on between FOUTTE/Hive fans and Level 6 fans. Sheesh. It's bad enough that we have politics separating people these days. It's ridiculous. I post links there to my blog posts, but don't need all that strife in my life. 

Today I'm going to give you my take on the FOUTTE/Hive hamsters -- the good and the bad, where things might have gone wrong --

Bayleigh

Oh, Bayleigh ... where do I start? She's attractive and smart. But, she made critical mistakes which cost her (and would have even if not evicted with the Hacker brouhaha). Call me old-fashioned, but you can hook-up with Swaggy without physically hooking up with Swaggy in the early weeks! Unlike so many, I don't watch the show for soft porn or even showmances. It still rings in my mind what my own parents would think about it if it were me on national television and the Internet!

But, after Swaggy was gone and she snapped back without moping around, I was happy. She showed that she could be strong. I thought that she could be a contender! Yay! Then she won HoH. And it all went down the drain. Her severe HoHitis and power trip turned me off. I think that the way she treated others when she was HoH ruffled feathers and, had she not gone under the Haleigh Hacker Debacle, I believe she would have been targeted as soon as possible. Now, I'm most certainly not saying I would personally handle it better than her -- but I would never be on the show!

As for the "since the finale" news -- She had a miscarriage while in the jury house. Swaggy and Baleigh are still engaged. They say it's true love. Who am I to argue? I wish them the best.

Fessy (Faysal)

Fessy, Fessy ... talk about someone who's totally clueless about the show being recruited ...! I think he might have had visions of showmances galore for the taking and winning all of those physical comps he was sure the show had. Um. Well. He did bring me some entertainment on the live feeds, though. His whisper strategy meetings with both JC and Haleigh (at separate times) really showed how little he knew of how BB works. Even the physical comps weren't quite what he expected of physical comps and he didn't succeed at all he wanted.

He seemed to be a nice enough guy. But that haircut annoyed me so much that I wanted to go in there and cut off that strange long hunk o' hair! He played with it so much that it irked me every time I saw it -- similar to Haleigh's biting her nails or Tyler picking at himself. I still see him in my mind sitting on that HoH sink and it ripping from the wall, though. That and his reaction still give me a giggle! I feel he was a bit of a big dumb lunk when it came to the game. I'm not saying that he's dumb outside of the house. Apparently, he's pretty smart and unfortunately Internet trolls brought down his app he created with bad reviews. Shame on them. 

As for "since the finale news" -- He and Haleigh may or may not be together. Well, since they're apparently heading to separate homes in separate states, it's more likely "may not." I don't think he's a bad guy, not at all. But I also don't think there will be marriage down the road for them. If nothing else, she doesn't seem to be ready to settle down right now. She's only 21. We'll see ...

Haleigh

Haleigh ... what can I say? I think that she made many mistakes early in the game and never could overcome them. Sam created a stir when she "shamed" Haleigh and Kaitlyn for hanging all over guys. In a way, she was right. Haleigh would physically hang all over Fessy (who encouraged it), Tyler, Scottie, Brett and even JC. While she didn't seem to think it was anything serious, I kept thinking Christine and Cody. No, it didn't go to that level, but I don't think it did her any good in the game, either.

She seriously needs to seek help with that fingernail chewing. It drove me up the wall and I posted numerous screen caps of it just to skeeve  out everyone else as much as it did me! Now that I've fussed about her, let me mention some good things. I believe had she not hooked up with Fessy SO much, it would have helped her game. As it was, she was the last remaining member of her alliance in the house for a reason. No, it wasn't because she couldn't win comps because she did win some comps. It's because they liked her. She tried so hard after her alliance went that it was kind of sad -- we viewers and she herself could see the writing on the wall. She was just in the wrong alliance from the start and that did her in.

As for "since the finale news" -- See the Fessy one above, plus she's returning home to finish her degree.

Kaitlyn

I feel at a bit of a loss for words. She bugged me to no end on the live feeds with her neediness, her gurgly voice, her baby voice, her crying. I'm still stunned that she couldn't complete that six-part puzzle to get back into the house. She thought she was in love with Tyler. He thought not so much. She was out there in her own little world. It was obvious that she was never going to win this thing. That was about the only predictable thing about her.

All that said, she seems to have snapped back very well. Had she been in the house as she is on Internet, she would have been easier to watch. Yeah, the boyfriend at home left her. Yeah, she's still out there. But her Twitter is actually kind of entertaining and fun to read. There were so many people thinking she would need to be committed after leaving the house. They were wrong. She seems to have taken it all in stride. She probably still talks all gurgly, though.

Rockstar

Hmm ... I feel she came into the show to be a "character." From the weird eyeglasses to the wardrobe, it screamed attempting to be a character. I'm sorry. But props and wardrobe do not make you a character. It makes you annoying. I actually liked her best once she dumped the glasses and had one on one talks with Sam and others. She didn't do poorly on comps, coming close to winning many of the ones in which she participated. She took her Jesse Goddard punishment of the cooking and exercise in stride. That looked so grueling and you could tell she was sore and exhausted. I give her credit for that.

It did bother me that she seemed to have some sort of chip on her shoulder about financial classes of people. While she went on about Angela and Brett being born with money, she definitely didn't see her buddy Bayleigh's family home! To me there's no more sense in "hating people who have riches" than there is for any other reason. Heck, hate someone because they're mean, hate 'em because they're bigoted ... but it's just not a good thing to hate someone because you perceive they have a better lot in life or an easier one than you do. That will only keep stressing you out.

Scottie

I was a bit disappointed in Scottie. I honestly thought he would be more savvy in the house as a big fan of the show. I liked his fanatical cleaning! He made Sam look mellow when it comes to deep cleaning. Where he went wrong, other than being a bit hyperactive, was not being loyal to either alliance. Unlike JC who never was considered a part of either alliance, Scottie was with FOUTTE, then went to Level 6 crying when they were in power, then back to FOUTTE. He made some classic moves like voting out Swaggy while wearing a Swaggy shirt (and betraying his alliance).

But all of his sketchy moves made neither side really trust him. It seemed to me like he was more interested in making BB history than actually winning the show. That said, BB shouldn't do jury battle backs -- the person is just about always the immediate target for the next ouster. I was touched by his tender apology moments with Haleigh, but never really got into whatever that relationship he had with Steve. I wish him well, but he had his chance on the show and blew it. Next!

Steve

Speaking of Steve ... um. Steve? Who was he? 

Okay, I know who he is. He's from Jersey and I live in Jersey. But I do NOT have that accent. I feel kind of bad for him because, at 40, he was the "old guy" in the house. I wish BB would stop putting in one person older than the rest in there. While Kevin made it far in BB19, not many do. It's not fair to the one older person. Even without the blindside, he wouldn't have made it far. 

Swaggy (Chris)

Oh my. You can't win one comp and think you're all that and a bag of chips! I think BB kind of wanted him to be the "star" this season and that all blew up in their faces. He had the potential. But I feel his youth and all of a sudden on television affected his game. Had he not "swaggered" around the house after winning a comp and thinking he was a big shot, the whole FOUTTE alliance might have done so much better in the game. He alienated others and they wanted him out. Meanwhile, he was smart enough about the game and good enough in comps that he could have carried his alliance further in the game. He could have led them. Instead, his behavior brought about the blindside of him and marked the beginning of the end for FOUTTE.