“Big Brother” is back! Each week ET Canada will be interviewing the latest houseguest evicted from the house.
For a show which prides itself on the motto “expect the unexpected” this current season of “Big Brother” has done everything in its power to make that phrase redundant. Since week one, the housemates have bent over backwards to appease returning vet Paul. Initially, it seemed there might have been some self-awareness to their passivity, but as the weeks passed by it became evident that independent thought was something these people left back home. The rare minority that dared go against the Paul regime, like Jessica or Cody, was soon shunned and evicted.
Mark was at one time part of the Church of Paul, but he also had a Pig-Pen style stench following him around the house which made him a target. That lingering smell belonged to Cody, someone Mark was aligned with early in the game, and despite severing alliance ties, the two remained friendly on a personal level. As conversing with the enemy is a severe breach of the Paul cult rules, Mark was excommunicated and left in a sort of limbo with no real allies, especially once his showmance partner Elena was booted last week.
After Christmas became Head of Household, Mark could see where his week was heading, but he tried everything he could to change his fate. He pulled an apple from the Tree of Temptation; ironically selecting the power to “Save A Friend” in a house where he had none. He mended fences with part-time enemy Josh, he felt the heat from Zingbot, he fought hard for the Power of Veto, and he campaigned his ass off trying to convince his fellow housemates to split up the yawn-inducing pair of Matt and Raven. But despite his efforts, all he was able to gain were two sympathy votes from Alex and Jason, and he was evicted in a 4-2 vote.
ET Canada caught up with Mark to get his thoughts on the game, why he couldn’t convince his housemates to make a move, and where his relationship stands with Elena.
Hey, Mark! You campaigned hard this week, trying to get your housemates to split up Matt and Raven. Why didn’t they go with your plan, and did they make a mistake not taking the chance to split up a pair?
I didn’t want to give up that’s why I campaigned. But you keep those guys [Matt and Raven] in the house as long as you can because they aren’t doing anything. And I hate it so much. They’re not a threat, they’re just floating, and they go wherever the power is. The house didn’t make a mistake. Christmas made a mistake by not getting rid of Alex. I think Alex and Jason made a mistake by not keeping me. So I mean no, the house made the right move.
If you would have won HOH this week who would you have nominated and why?
I truthfully I have no idea. Most likely it would have been Christmas and Josh. It truthfully would have been Christmas and Josh because they’ve just been fighting and I know they’re in everyone’s ears going ‘they need to get rid of me’.
You tried a few times to get people to see how big a threat Paul is, especially in your chats with Jason, but it seemed no one would listen. Why is Paul such a threat, and do you think trying to turn the house against him is ultimately what cost you your game?
The speech with Jason didn’t help. The house wanted me out because the past couple weeks they saw me as a threat and they saw that I was with Cody and Jess and I wasn’t fully against them, and I wouldn’t antagonize them. The conversation I had with Jason, to see if I could trust him, and I wanted to see if he would tell me anything about Paul. That hurt his game more than it hurt my game. He doesn’t see it though because Paul is a very smart individual. The majority of the house are weak game players, so they don’t really know what to do. You could see they all wanted to follow Paul.
You clashed with Josh a lot in the house, but over the past week, you looked like you put aside your differences. Can you describe your relationship with Josh and how it changed over the weeks?
I mean in the beginning, I looked at him like a little brother. We were really good in the beginning then he had his emotional ups and downs. I kind of let him be, then he came around, and we started talking. He was so aggressive about what happened with Cody and Paul. Even before the whole drink thing [during an argument Mark threw a drink in Josh’s face]. Especially when I turned my back on Dominique, he just wouldn’t shut up about it. Then the drink thing happened then it was downhill from there. Then we were able to talk again because everyone wanted Cody and Jess out. But the more and more that I talked to him and got to know him, he’s a great guy. He surprised me because he sticks to his ground, he holds his own, and he really matured over the season. There’s a lot of emotions but I look back and laugh at him but he’s a great kid, and I hope we’re friends outside the house.
I can’t let you go without asking about Elena. You two had your ups and downs in the house, but you seemed to really care for her. Where does the relationship stand now and do you want to continue it outside the game?
Yeah I absolutely want to continue outside the game. All the ups and down was from her not wanting a showmance, and I did. She kept going back and forth between having a showmance and she thought I was hurting her game. So that’s where the ups and downs came from was playing the game and having a relationship. It’s very difficult in the Big Brother house, I was comfortable with it, but Elena was very hesitant and didn’t know what she wanted. I never met anybody like her, and I really hope it continues outside the house.
“Big Brother” airs Sundays at 8 p.m., Wednesdays at 8 p.m., and Thursdays at 9 p.m., on Global.
