Big Brother 18: What We Can Learn From Paulie…

Hi, everyone!

You know, I’ve been watching Paulie since he was nominated and I really have to wonder: would Paulie have had any chance of getting on Big Brother if he wasn’t Cody’s brother?

I mean, don’t get me wrong.  I know that the main reason Paulie was selected was because he was Cody’s brother.  But, up until a few days ago, I really thought that Paulie was the type of player who could have gotten on the show on his own.  Unlike say Tiffany or Elissa from Big Brother 15, Paulie seemed like a legitimately strong player.  He was good-looking (or, at least, he was until Paul cut his hair) and he seemed to have a good social game and he was athletic.  Even as I slowly started to dislike Paulie, I still thought he was someone who could have gotten on Big Brother on his own.

But this week, I’ve seen a new side to Paulie.  Ever since he’s been nominated for eviction, Paulie has been whining nonstop, to the extent that he even cried.  And, after Victor won the Veto comp earlier today, Paulie has been saying that if he’s evicted, he won’t even go to the jury house.  He’ll go home and, I assume, he’ll give up whatever money he would have received for serving on the jury.

It’s not only incredibly immature but it’s also a sign of his own sense of entitlement.  It’s obvious that Paulie felt that he was destined to win the game.  It appears that it never even occurred to him that he could potentially be voted out.  This is one reason why I don’t like it when production recruits players.  Recruits always think that they’re special and that they’re going to be untouchable in the game.

Consider this season.  It’s still debatable how many of the newbies were recruited, though we know that several of them were.  (At the very least, Jozea, Bronte, Natalie, and Paul were all recruited.)  We know that both Tiffany and Paulie were recruited because of their siblings.  And, of course, the returning players were all approached by production.  Watching them, it’s obvious that all of the recruits were led to believe that they would be big stars during this season.  It’s also obvious that none of them (with the possible exception of Paul and Da’Vonne) were psychologically or emotionally ready to play this game.

And that’s why the season has featured so many players who apparently had neither the desire nor the knowledge necessary to play the game.  They didn’t feel like they had to know what they were doing.  They felt that, as recruits, they would have an easy time in the house.  Unlike the fans who apply every season, these recruits didn’t have to fight or struggle to get into the Big Brother house.  Unlike the occasional fan who manages to get in the house, the recruits aren’t focused on winning the money.  In fact, many of them don’t even need the money.  Instead, recruits are simply happy to have a chance to appear on television and hopefully promote their own careers.  James said it best when he explained that he wasn’t focusing on the game because he believed that production and the viewers wanted him to see him play pranks instead.

Just a few weeks ago, I would have said that Paulie was one of the most confident guys in the house but that’s actually not true.  Watching him now, it’s easier to see that his previous confidence was more a case of entitlement.  He played like he wasn’t worried about being voted out because he sincerely believed that he would never be voted out.  Like many recruits, he probably assumed that production had his back.  What may have seemed like strategy was instead just arrogance.

After today’s veto competition (which involved Zingbot and will be broadcast on Wednesday), Paulie told Corey that, before the season began, his therapist had wondered if Paulie was actually stable enough to enter the house.  Paulie also said that, when asked if he was in therapy, he lied to production.

And don’t get me wrong — there’s nothing wrong with being in therapy.  But, watching him over the past few days, it’s become obvious just how emotionally unstable and generally immature Paulie really is.  Paulie probably never should have been put in the house.  He had a good run but his post-nomination behavior has revealed him to be a far weaker player than he initially seemed to be.

The lesson to be learned from this season is really the same lesson that should have been learned from the previous three seasons: No more recruits!  No more relatives!  No more friends of former Big Brother houseguests.  No more returning players!

Instead, let’s hope that someday, we get a season where the Big Brother house is full of players who have actually applied to be on the show.  Give us some houseguests who actually love the show as much as we do.  Give us a season where the season’s stars haven’t been pre-determined ahead of time.

Give us the Big Brother that we all remember and love!

Here’s hoping,

Lisa Marie