T. Green
It’s Day 63 in the Big Brother house, and Nicole has won her way back into the game. But she could be thrown right back out if the house majority gets its way. Donny was the only person who was thrilled to see her return. Everyone else was at least a little worried because Nicole was a good player.
Even with Nicole back the game, Donny was still public enemy number one for the chief alliance. Donny tried a divide-and-conquer strategy on the Bomb Squad/Detonators in hopes of getting the numbers on his side. Derrick was not about to let that happen, so he gathered his troops to try and keep everyone calm. He even ordered that no one converse with Nicole alone, or else he or she would be singled out.
The next HOH competition had a boxing theme to it. Players were quizzed on events that happened in the first 50 days of Big Brother. Each person would then run to one side of their area and literally punch their numbers in. Whoever was the last to get the answer was eliminated. After six rounds, a single HOH would be crowned.
Nicole’s sense of time was surely affected by being out of the house for awhile. She struggled with the first question and was eliminated. Now, the Detonators only had to worry about Donny. Victoria, Christine, Caleb, and Derrick respectively were the next ones out of the game. Donny only had to defeat one more person to save himself and virtually assure that one of his enemies would get evicted.
But Cody had other plans. He figured the correct number and managed to beat Donny to the punch. Cody became the first person this season to be the only head of household for a week. Nicole and Donny were officially in trouble (again). To be honest, any returning player from the jury house probably would’ve found themselves in the same position as Nicole.
The Detonators knew they were going after Donny, but needed to start thinking long-term. The men in the group discussed getting rid of Christine, with the convenient excuse that she wasn’t pulling her weight. The Hitmen (Derrick/Cody) also talked about Christine, saying that she was playing both sides and could be bad for their game.
Nicole was resigned to her fate as a future nominee, but she spoke with Cody anyways since there was nothing left to lose. She tried convincing him that he would be the first person in his alliance to get the boot. Donny also told a similar story to Cody, saying that the others would protect even Victoria over him because she had no chance of winning. Cody only paid lip service to those suggestions, however.
Derrick and Donny have had an uneasy relationship. Derrick is part of the main alliance trying to get Donny out of the game. But, these two are part of the Team America alliance. Derrick told Donny that he really wanted him to stay in the game, but had to think about the house’s wishes. Also, Derrick heard talk of Donny targeting him and Frankie. It seemed like Derrick was trying to give Donny the run-around and justify getting rid of him. Donny just wanted to play his own game.
No matter what the chatter was in the house, this week’s nominations were always going to be Donny and Nicole. Sure enough, that’s who Cody picked to be on the block. The only thing left is to see how the veto competition plays out. Cody claims that if one of his original nominees wins the veto, he’ll consider making a big move and naming Frankie or Christine as the replacement nominee. I don’t believe the numbers add up for him to do that, but it’d certainly be a rare bold move.
A phrase that’s popped up lately is “I’m not playing for fifth place” (or any other place that isn’t first). But each week has been predictable, with everyone playing to appease others instead of looking out for him or herself. At some point, hands will be forced and people will have to turn on each other. I doubt Cody will shake things up (he may not get a chance to anyways), but next week could be that time where something big happens.
