It wasn't surprising to those who follow the feeds to see Julia evicted from Big Brother 17 on Thursday's live episode, but it was still sad — kind of. Julia's eviction from the Big Brother house means Austin has won this round, as he still remains in the house with his new princess of the castle, Liz. So while it was expected to see Julia meet Julie, I was still looking forward to seeing how Liz and Austin reacted to Julia's eviction. Julia leaving the house is the first real blow Liz and Austin have faced in their games, plus there was a lot emotionally invested in Julia's eviction, so I planned on judging their reaction closer than I judge their relationship, which is a lot.
Liz losing Julia in this game is probably the biggest split to happen thus far into the season. The two of them were each other's ride or dies since birth, and we knew they would never turn on each other. As Liz said during her (shockingly eloquent) speech, no man can get between Liz and Julia — sorry, Austin. Liz also said that they've learned a lot about each other during time inside the house, and that "true love is when you love someone more than you love yourself," and that she was very lucky to have that with Julia. Even if you don't like Liz, you have to give it to her for being very well spoken about losing her sister to the game.
I secretly thought Austin would celebrate Julia's eviction (quietly, as we saw how well his celebrating his Veto win went), but he seemed to actually hate to have to vote Julia out. Whether it was because his alliance was down one member, or he was actually sad to see his friend go, I'm not sure. When Julia was announced as the evicted houseguest, she gave her tearful (OK, sobbing) sister a big hug. Her hug to Austin was quick, but meaningful, as she knows that he is really the only person Liz has left in the game. (She even told Julie she thinks Austin and Liz will "make it to Christmas." OK, Julia.)
Everyone else in the house just kind of went along with their lives, as usual, as Liz continued to sniffle and mourn her sister. For Liz and Austin, Julia's departure is going to really cause them to reevaluate their game and pray to the Big Brother gods that they can come out on top this week.
For more on this season of Big Brother, check out Bustle's podcast The Diary Room.
Image: Sonja Flemming/CBS
