T. Green
Frankie and Caleb get to check out their new HOH digs for the first time. There, they decide to work together. Another case of no one expecting opposite personalities to align together. The HOHs (mainly Caleb) decide to come up with an alliance called the Bomb Squad. They recruit Devin, Derrick, Cody, and Zach to be a part of it. A couple of them are wary of starting this thing so early, but they roll with it for now.
Devin still plays the charade that he’s tight with Donny, but in truth, he’s abandoned the Double D pact. Meanwhile, Christine and Nicole bond as two regular girls who get along well. But Christine gets pulled into another alliance after Devin makes a power play. Devin decides the Bomb Squad needs a feminine touch, so he gets Christine and Amber to join them. The other guys aren’t exactly thrilled with him going rogue, but they have to go with it.
The HOHs try to stay on the same page as they make their nominations. Caleb nominates Donny and Paola, while Frankie picks Victoria and Brittany. The first ever Battle of the Block contest is the “Pouring 20s”. While swinging in the air, one partner has to collect colored liquid from a fountain and transfer it from their glass to their partner’s glass. The second partner has to transfer the liquid to a giant flute. First team to fill up their flute wins.
Paola had a rough go of it at the start, which put her team behind. Once she got the hang of it, she was able to get the liquid to Donny, who did really well in getting the liquid to the flute. Brittany and Victoria got off to a hot start, but were fading fast. They were able to hang on and win however, keeping them safe in the game. Their victory also caused Frankie to be stripped of his HOH status. Paola and Donny are still on the block.
Donny shows his emotional side because of the support he’s getting from his housemates. Devin isn’t buying his act however. In fact, the Bomb Squad in general views Donny as a threat. For some reason, Caleb and Devin get fixated on this idea that Donny is secretly ex-military.
Later on, the HOH names the first “have-nots” of the season. Hayden, Joey, Brittany and Cody all volunteered, which may have not been the wisest move. They were reduced to eating “slopsicles” (don’t ask) and sleeping in rooms that resembled freezers.
Elsewhere, the El Cuatro alliance was falling apart. Joey was trying to keep it together, but the others were lukewarm to that alliance. Derrick saw the girls gathering and knew something was up. Eventually, Amber let the cat out of the bag and said that Joey was the ringleader. The Bomb Squad was not down with that and focused their attention on taking Joey out. Admitting defeat, Joey came clean to other people in the house.
For the power of veto competition, Donny, Paola, and Caleb were already in. Victoria, Zach, and Cody were picked randomly as the other contestants. Paola was freaking out over the tough competition, but Jocasta comforted her with prayer.
The game was called “Miami Lice”. The players had to grab letters made of “lice” and place them on a “comb” to spell a word. The person with the longest word in the quickest time would win power of veto. Zach strategically hid letters in hard-to-find places to mess with his opponents. It paid off, as some of the players had incomplete words due to missing letters they couldn’t find. Other players failed by flat-out misspelling their intended words. Zach came up with warning as his word. It was a tough one to beat, but Donny bested him by spelling splitters. It was a much-needed win for him.
When it came time for the veto meeting Donny decided to save himself (Note: I half-thought he would save Paola out of the goodness of his heart). It was Caleb’s choice to find a replacement for Donny, and he unsurprisingly went with Joey, calling her the worst player in the game.
Caleb reassured Paola that she was safe. Meanwhile, Devin kept inquiring about the Bomb Squad vote. He wanted to make sure that everyone was on the same page in voting for Joey. The other alliance members were a little taken aback. They didn’t think it was necessary for him to keep lobbying, considering that even a couple dissenters wouldn’t turn the tides anyways.
There was a small chance that the non-alliance girls could keep Joey around though. Brittany was friends with both girls on the block, but thought Joey might be more reliable as an ally. Nicole didn’t think much of Joey, but figured keeping a targeted player around might help her.
Joey noticed that the people in the house seemed afraid to go against Caleb and Devin. She was tired of them running the show, so she threw one last Hail Mary to try and gain favor with the others. Joey proceeded to dress as “Alex”, her manly-man alter ego, and run around the house shouting about everyone being scared of the guys and that they shouldn’t be trusted. It was quite the bizarre scene. A couple people were amused, but the rest just saw her as a lunatic. Sadly, it did not help her cause.
Finally, the live voting portion began. Joey stated her case one last time, saying that she was mentally and physically stronger than Paola. Paola didn’t have much to say other than she had positive energy and still had a lot of fight left in her. As it turned out, she didn’t need to say anything at all. All 13 voters unanimously picked Joey to be evicted. They certainly played it safe and smart with that vote, unlike Joey who made missteps all game long. Some were sad to see her go, however.
In her interview with Julie, Joey admitted than she screwed up by trying to start an alliance too early. She figured everyone knew about it, which was why she confessed to everyone. Joey said she didn’t care for the whispers and the cliques going on. She was hoping that some people would grow a pair and shake things up in the house. Joey also learned about the Bomb Squad alliance that ultimately took her out. (Note: Joey was one of my favorite people in the house, but unfortunately, her lack of game knowledge cost her. At least she went out swinging.)
It was then time for the next HOH competitions. This time, Greek Week was the setting and the house guests are playing BB Rager. The players cross a balance beam, picking up kegs (six total) and bringing them back to the other side. Players are out of the game if they fall or drop a keg. Also, to make it a bit harder, the non-competing people throw discs from a balcony at the players. There was a girls’ heat and a guys’ heat.
For the “sorority sisters”, Amber impressed by bolting out in front and dusting the competition. Brittany was the only one even marginally close to catching up, but she dropped a keg towards the end, eliminating herself. Amber won and was now one of the two new HOHs.
The “fraternity brothers” were up next. This round was a lot more competitive with not much distance separating the guys. Hayden was set to win, but fell off his beam just a few feet from the final buzzer. That gave Cody the opening to win the other HOH spot. But hold the phone; Julie informed everyone that there may have been a foul at the end. After reviewing the tape, it was determined that Cody’s foot touched the ground before he hit the buzzer. Therefore, the next person in line, Devin, was the actual winner and the other new HOH.
Even though Joey was eliminated, the Team America portion of Big Brother was still in play. It was revealed that Donny was the next member of the secret alliance selected by the fans. Donny became emotional (again) when he found out he was chosen. There would still be two more Team America players to be determined.
