Cody Nickson was pretty much doomed from the start of Big Brother 19. Despite winning that first Head of Household, Cody went mad with power. Cody betrayed his entire alliance within the first week and went from the leader of the pack to the bottom of the totem pole. The Battleback might’ve given Cody a second lease on life but it was always on borrowed time. Cody, quite simply, couldn’t play Big Brother. Cody’s the completely wrong person to win the game but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the most entertaining houseguests of the season.
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A Different Type of Character
Cody isn’t the typical Big Brother fan favorite and not just because most people are still more than a little bit shaky about how to feel about the ex-marine. Cody lacks almost all the qualities of someone like a Johnny Mac or a Britney Hayes on even an Evel Dick.
They’re all bursting with personality and Cody barely has one. There’s a reason that Big Brother took to adding robotic sound effects when Cody would move in the last days in the house. It’s Cody’s apparent lack of all personality that made him so much fun to watch however.
Big Brother 19 is overloading on the type of houseguests who want to be famous. Paul has doubled down on his desire to be a memorable reality TV star. He doesn’t have the catchphrases anymore but he is still big on building his “FRIENDSHIP” brand in every second of screen time. Raven has no desire to win the game but rather just to tell the world about her many, many diseases. Josh, meanwhile, has completely taken over Paul’s noxious behavior from his previous season with the pots and pans and the meatball catchphrases.
Put alongside such ridiculous people, Cody’s complete lack of pretense is almost a breath of fresh air. Cody didn’t want to be famous. Cody didn’t even seem to want to be on TV and that made him a fascinating enigma throughout the season.
Fighting to Be Remembered
Cody’s inability to be even slightly civil ruined his chances in the game but it made for great TV. Usually when a houseguest dislikes another, they try to hide it for the sake of their game. Cody was either unable to hide it or just didn’t care, which resulted in some wonderfully uncomfortable moments throughout the season. Cody didn’t just cause drama in the house but he was able to add to the audience’s enjoyment of that drama.
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Cody’s (second) exit from the house alone should go down in the Big Brother Hall of Fame. It certainly wasn’t nice and in fact was probably extremely petty but it was 100% honest to who Cody is as a person and that’s fun and refreshing to watch on reality TV, especially Big Brother. Cody never felt fake or manufactured, but still managed to be more memorable than almost the entire house, who are constantly trying to produce themselves.
This is not to say that Cody was likable. Cody did many questionable things when he was on top of the house and after he was kicked to the bottom. Cody isn’t someone that anyone should really want to hang out with or maybe even respect. When it came to providing some memorable TV moments though, Cody delivered. In any other season, Cody’s robotic antics would’ve resulted in a dud of a houseguest but in Big Brother 19 he was a delight, rivaling and even surpassing the weirdness that is Kevin.
But what do you think of Cody? Was he fun to watch or was he just terrible? How do you think Cody compares to the other houseguests? Who is your favorite houseguest this season?
Big Brother 19 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c, Thursdays at 9/8c and Sundays at 8/7c on CBS. Want more news? Like our Facebook page!
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
