Big Brother 20 recap: A surprise engagement brings the houseguests closer to reality

Haleigh, party of one. After Scottie’s second bizarre eviction on Thursday, our girl Hales is officially on her own, and with Kaycee crowned our newest HoH, seemingly all out of luck. She’s managed to elude the door many times in the past, but will this week’s double eviction be a double whammy for her chances?

The house is in good spirits after Kaycee’s Head of House win, but Brett is frustrated about losing HoH in a close finish. He tells the diary room that he was hoping to use a win to shake up the house, but now that Kaycee’s HoH he’s hopefully safe and without any blood on his hands. Also annoyed by the competition’s outcome is Haleigh, who saw an HoH win as her only shot at safety this week. Resigned to being on the block again, she now wonders who’ll be there next to her and vows to stay positive and “keep swimming.” Sam’s spirits are in flux as the reality of being in the final 7 sinks in. She tells the diary room it’s tough being alone in the house, but she’s trying to stay optimistic as another week approaches. In the game room, Kaycee and Angela see that they only have one last threat to get out of the house: Haleigh. Asked what reason she’ll give for putting her up, Kaycee tells Angela she’ll just say it’s an eye for an eye as Haleigh put her up twice.

The reveal of Kaycee’s HoH room is an energetic affair, as everyone’s giddy overseeing her family photos. However, a letter from her brother brings Kaycee to tears as he reveals his engagement and asks her to be his best woman at his wedding. This is a really touching moment as we’ve seen Kaycee discuss the difficulties she’s had with some family members over her sexuality. Kaycee tells the diary room this letter was the fuel she needed to drive her to the end and win the $500,000. We get a segment with Angela bringing up her acute sense of smell and how it’s an annoyance for her in the house as everything and everyone stinks. Apparently, Sam smells like Angela’s grandmother, who knew? Speaking of Sam, Level Six weighs the risks and awards of putting up her up as a pawn this week. Brett takes it upon himself to fill Sam in on the possibility of her being this week’s pawn, telling her that Haleigh is the clear target this week. Brett’s thinking is to keep her calm and collected so that he’ll be out of the woods if Sam is HoH next week. The plan seems to work as Sam tells the diary room she trusts Brett and has a bit of a laugh about her past paranoia.

Tyler and Angela chat on the hammock as Angela talks her about her life before the house, namely her hyper-focus on gymnastics as a child. “Nothing I remember from the sport was ever good,” she tells the diary room as she expands on how monotonous the training and competitions were. It’s this focus on the sport that led to resentment between Angela and her mother, and later between her and her brother. It’s these family strains that ultimately caused her to leave gymnastics at 17 and move to pole vaulting. We’ve only really seen the icier side of Angela, and it’s a real eye-opener to see her share so much about herself. Haleigh meets with Kaycee to figure out where she stands this week and Kaycee tells her that she’s looking to get the least amount of blood on her hands — which means Haleigh’s definitely nominated. Haleigh wonders if she’s a pawn or the target, but Kaycee says she personally has to target and that, after the veto, it’s all up to the house. Alone and emotionally spent, Haleigh feels like her fate is sealed and that she’s a goner; Kaycee hugs it out with her and tells her that whatever happens, everything will be okay. In the diary room, Kaycee says that while she’s got nothing but love for Haleigh personally, she’s looking at the grand prize now and Haleigh merely an obstacle to pass through to win.

When the nomination ceremony arrives, it’s no surprise to anyone that Sam and Haleigh are the nominees. The reason given by Kaycee is to simply go for the path of least resistance, which is code for not biting the hands that feeds you (a.k.a. Level Six). We’ll find out on Wednesday if either Sam or Haleigh are able to get out of harm’s way and win the power of veto, but with only 17 (!) days to go until finale night, the road to the grand prize is nearing its final destination. It’ll be interesting to see what speedbumps emerge for the seven remaining houseguests.