T. Green
It’s about time for another eviction. Donny is on the ropes, but can the tide shift towards evicting Nicole instead? Probably not, but the viewers are going to be led to believe it could happen anyways. It started with the Detonators questioning whether it was safe for them keep Nicole around another week. Derrick hedged his bets by talking to Nicole to build trust while also keeping up the Team America narrative with Donny.
Frankie had become suspicious of Nicole buddying up with Christine and Victoria. He also kept up the facade of wanting to keep Team America together. Caleb was the wild card in the equation to possibly flip the votes around. Caleb said he wouldn’t mind either one going, though Donny was his main target. Cody was adamant against keeping Donny around but couldn’t vote as current HOH.
Julie came on screen to inform the houseguests that have-not punishments would soon be over. She also let Team America know that America voted an “overwhelming no” to them passing this week’s mission. Perhaps the most emotional moment of the season occurred afterwards when every houseguest was shown videos of their families giving words of encouragement.
We then cut to a segment where Christine and Cody’s families reacted to their ongoing relationship. Christine’s husband tried to play it cool but did say that Christine and Cody holding hands was “a little odd” and that a couple boundaries had been crossed. Christine’s mom was not happy and part of her wanted her daughter out of the game to stop the nonsense. Christine’s dad was also uncomfortable with the flirting going on.
On the flip side, Cody’s family was more lax about the situation. Cody’s dad explained that they were an Italian family that tended to be touchy-feely with everyone. He viewed Cody flirting with Christine as good strategy. Cody’s sister agreed but also wished he would back off a little.
Back at the house, it was time to cast the votes. Despite some last-minute “efforts” to save him, it was game over for Donny in another clean sweep of the voting. Despite being targeted for weeks (including being put on the block a whopping seven times), Donny left in a classy manner. On stage, he did admit to Julie that his feelings were hurt though. Donny hoped that Team America would save him, but didn’t blame Derrick and Frankie for looking out for their own games.
Donny knew he was different coming into the game because of his age and looks. He didn’t have anything in common with the others, which was why he didn’t do more to strategize with them. He was able to befriend some people, but those people got evicted one-by-one, leaving him with no allies. Donny wasn’t leaving empty-handed though. Besides the Team America money, Julie told Donny that The Bold and the Beautiful (another CBS plug!) asked him to be a guest star on their show.
Next up was the long-awaited endurance HOH competition. The fans always look forward to it, and so do the players. This one was called “Sloppy the Snowman”. The houseguests had to go back-and-forth across a slippery surface, transferring liquid from a pool to a snowman’s head on the other side. A piece of coal in the head was only accessible after the water level rose high enough. The first person to get their coal would be the next HOH.
Everyone was carrying the water in a small, plastic shovel, so this was sure to be a lengthy contest. Caleb was out to an early lead when the CBS broadcast ended. On the live feeds, play continued with Christine and Frankie catching up to Caleb. Nicole, who needed to win HOH more than anyone, was a little behind that group.
There was another component to this competition. Players could opt to fill up a smaller snowman’s head to win a reward of 5,000 “dollas” but also a punishment of 5,000 “hollas”. The hollas were annoying shout-outs that would periodically blare throughout the house until the end of the show. Derrick was lagging way behind, so he decided to go for the money.
The rest of the competition was littered with bloopers guaranteed to make the next episode. Victoria couldn’t take five steps without falling on her ass. Christine’s shoes blew out at one point. Nicole took a particularly nasty spill that would surely make the highlight (lowlight?) reels. Even Beastmode Cowboy stumbled around at times.
After about two-and-a-half hours, the game mercifully ended with Caleb holding onto the lead and getting his coal first. The Detonators/Bomb Squad had the power again with Caleb as HOH. But for the primary alliance, armageddon is looming. Earlier, Julie announced that next week would have a double eviction. With the numbers dwindling down, sides will soon have to be taken.
