Jerry, god love him, is falling apart. Or, at least that's the impression I've been getting. It's been torturous watching the 75-year-old grandpa slowly lose his marbles inside the
Big Brother house. He has grown more irrational, lost almost all of his patience and has begun talking to himself over the past couple of weeks. Like most viewers, my opinion of Jerry has changed drastically over the
Big Brother season. He started as the lovable old man, a father figure in the house, a calm and wise voice of reason. Then the whole hypocritical Judas business got going, and I lost most of the respect I had for the man. Now, after witnessing Jerry crumble to pieces, I almost feel bad. Being on slop week after week can't help his state of mind. I know I'd be cranky in his situation. But, my question is this: How much should we be prepared to forgive Jerry, on account of his age and situation?
I've come to the conclusion that Jerry is and always was a blowhard and never the wise sage we wanted him to be early on in the season. Frankly, he's just kind of out of it. He's that cliché old guy who has lost his filter and goes off, doing and saying whatever pops into his brain. His sucking up to
Dan last episode, apologizing for the Judas comments only when his
Big Brother life was put in danger, was downright pathetic. Not only is he capable of accusing people of outlandish things, but he's also willing to sell himself out if the time is right.
Can we really blame him, though? It's a bizarre situation for a man of his age to be placed into. I can't tell if, given everything, he's acquitted himself nicely or been a disgrace. There are surely thousands of people his age watching
Big Brother this season who fall on both sides of this debate. I haven't encountered anyone lately who thinks Jerry is a great guy worth completely rooting for. I have, however, come into contact with those who think Jerry is great for pure entertainment value, and that he's essentially harmless.
His increased madness has directly coincided with him being on slop. Being a person known to lose their mind when hungry, I can understand the mental fatigue that he must be going through. That doesn't excuse all of his actions, but it does help explain them. I've been open in vilifying Jerry for the last couple of weeks, but after some thought I think the treatment has been a tad too harsh. He probably can't help himself and is doing the best he can in a situation not suited for people of his ilk. All things considered, the mere fact that he remains inside the
Big Brother is mighty impressive. That doesn't mean I'll be rooting for him, or choose to ignore any future discretions from the old man, just that I'll do my best to give him the benefit of the doubt.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of BigBrotherCaps.com)