Big Brother recap: Nobody Puts Natalie in a Corner

Iconic 80s pop-rock duo Roxette once said it best, "It must have been love, but it's over now."

That's right — the reign of Big Brother's Jatalie is coming to an end. They don't share the common idiocy of Corey and Nicole or the same desire to throw their bodies against each other like Paul and Victor, so here they sit, together on the nomination block. It's a painful blow because Queen Natalie seemed like a breath of fresh air at one point. And though James is awful at playing this game, he was once loved by America. But Victor, hell-bent on going full Alexander Dumas this season, is exacting revenge on those who wronged him.

Nicole goes into the diary room and forces enough tears out of her eyes to appear sincere about how hurt she is Jamesy is on the block this week because HE'S A GOOD PERSON. But it appears he may not have much to worry about because Natalie, the intended pawn, jokingly told James it was fun being on the block with him, and of course Paul relayed that information to the group. They were not impressed at all. Reflecting on the season and mistakes past, Natalie and James talk about how they should have stuck with Victor and Paul. Natalie brings up how at one point, she insisted Corey go over Victor…and guess who foiled her plans and voted out Victor? You guessed it. Jamesy.

Queen Natalie showed up in the HOH room, though, because she's ready to play. Yes, James is wonderful. Yes, he's an American treasure. But he's standing in the way of her prize, so she goes to the HOH room and apologizes for what James did. If you listen, in the distance you can hear the echo of the bus tires rolling across James' face. It's iconic. It's savage. It's what it took to win Big Brother back in the day, when people weren't afraid to play the game fast and loose and harsh. But that's not how it plays out, because Paul and Victor pull Nicole and Corey up to tell them about what Natalie said…as if she would be ashamed if James found out. But flip downstairs, and there's Natalie, telling James herself. Because she's shameless and conniving and has no reason to hold back at this point.

But we cut to the veto competition, which is MacGyver-based because it's being rebooted for CBS this fall. There's a pretty obvious plug for it, but no matter how excited you are, the focus is on the veto right now. In the competition, you have to essentially solve a number of puzzles. It involves using shapes to release a door to a tunnel, flooding a small tube with water, unlocking a door, launching "plutonium" into a container, which blows a door off its hinges…which, ironically, is how I get into my apartment every night after work. Anyway, Natalie does a pretty solid job of getting through and giving us a play-by-play. Nicole, on the other hand, appears to have never competed in a competition before. Victor nearly unseated Natalie, but it didn't work. And then there's James, who wasted all of his water and never floated that key out. And then there's Corey…who is self-proclaimed at mental comps.

NEXT: The rise of Smart Corey

I'm going to start a new paragraph and be honest with you. At first read, I think Corey is dumb as a sack of hammers. I have never been a fan, be it because of his comments pre-show or his faux hawk or his worthless relationship with Nicole. But most of all, I relied on Corey's ignorance, but here he is…in the MacGyver competition. And he gets to the final phase with four minutes remaining. He struggles to land the plutonium in the container, which is explained to us by Nicole who surmises he's too strong (I literally can't). But he eventually lands it, and Paul stands no chance. Corey wins, and effective immediately, I have to reconsider calling him an idiot.

Nicole, Corey, Victor, and Paul celebrate their win and take turns taking jabs at Natalie, and Natalie hops in bed downstairs and calls it like she sees it: She's going home. James said he's going to say they should vote him out, but Natalie whines against it. Upstairs, Paul, Corey, and Nicole are advocating hard for Natalie to go while Victor argues he wants James gone. But it doesn't take long for the tides to turn against Natalie.

Corey goes downstairs to let James know he may not be out the door yet. He does so because he might be able to pull James back and use him after Natalie is gone. But Natalie isn't one to be blindsided, and she admits pretty openly she knows Natalie and Corey aren't going to vote to keep her. Natalie asks James if he threw the comp, but he says no. Then she asks if he has a final-three deal with Nicole and Corey, and he says no. Then she drops the bomb and says, "If you stay and then work with Nicole and Corey… I'll never talk to you again." James replies, "That's a really mean thing to say," and outside this house… Yeah, sure. But Natalie isn't here for your showmance. She isn't here for James. She's here to win, and like her or not, she's pulling out all the stops.

But it doesn't stop there! Paul and Victor pull James upstairs to tell him Natalie "regretted trusting him." That's not exactly what she said, but who's keeping tabs, ya know? James is, in a word, devastated. He joins Natalie in the backyard, but he's unable to say just how much his heart is breaking. Good thing this game is for winning $500,000 and not falling in love. Right? RIGHT?! We'll never know, I guess. Natalie thinly argues Corey should use the veto on her, but mostly James. James plugs MacGyver again and then says to use it on Natalie. But Corey decides not to use the veto, leaving what used to feel like love, sitting on the block. Nicole is LOVING IT. And as for who's going to jury? It doesn't seem super clear, but if I had to call it, that Jersey girl is going to be reuniting with Paulie on Thursday night.