What can I say about James from Big Brother that hasn’t already been articulated two days ago? I guess a lot. After tonight’s veto ceremony episode, his hypocrisy and sanctimoniousness continued to frustrate me to no end. For a guy who talks about keeping his word, he sure knows how to be self-serving.
First, let’s get some things out of the way. As much as I dislike James, it was in his best interest to nominate Matt. The Boston buffoon is a tough competitor and a definite schemer, and while I personally am rooting for Matty (after Sheila, natch), there’s no denying that he’s a major threat to many people. (Side note: Matt should never have preened around after James was placed on the block last week. It just stoked his rivals’ anger).
Furthermore, I have to admit that lying about voting James out of the house was nothing short of dumb. The truth would inevitably come out, and Matt didn’t have as much to gain with the lie as he did with honesty, especially since James had extended some sort of protection.
That being said, my problems with James don’t stem from the actual nominations themselves but rather from the reasoning behind them. Again, he went on and on about being lied to backdoored and how his word meant something, but then he up and nominated Matt! It’s fine to put him on the block, but breaking your word after all that clucking just makes you kind of… um… AWFUL.
Even worse, James based his actions on the fact that Sharon merely surmised that Matt had been lying about the vote. His actions weren’t based on reasoning but speculation. That Sharon wound up being right was coincidental. Again, not a big deal with other players, but in the context of James and his emphasis on honor and dignity, you’d think he’d be a bit more thorough than relying on gossip.
Ultimately though, James decided that in lieu of Matt’s duplicity, the deal to keep him safe was now off. This was oddly reminiscent of a week prior when Ryan became suspicious of James and nominated him. When that happened, James spent the next several days rightfully bitching about being stabbed in the back. And yet, James himself had no problem doing the exact same thing to Matt. Whether Matt deserved it is really a moot point. The point is that James loses the right to talk about “dignity” and his “word” when he’s just as guilty of shadiness. Sure, it’s sweet revenge, but as the old adage says, two wrongs don’t make a right.
What’s even worse though is that during the veto ceremony, James couldn’t even cop up to his motives (at least as far as we could see). James didn’t tell Matt that he was on the block because he continued to lie even after taking a pledge of honesty. No, James went on a whole stupid thing about how it was obvious that Matt and Natalie were still a couple and therefore needed to be broken up. In a way, that explanation is even worse than the truth because then, for all anyone knows, all the blame falls squarely on James. The deal didn’t go sour because of Matt. The deal went sour because James decided to go back on his word.
Nevertheless, the latter point is not a major one. What’s important to note is that James is full of it, and seriously, he has to stop reveling in his Big Brother resurrection. The answer is no, James, you’re not the first player to be voted back into the house and then cause a reign of terror. It’s called season 3, Amy Crews. NOW SHUT UP.
Thoughts?