‘Big Brother 26’ episode 3 recap: Which 3 houseguests were nominated for eviction? [LIVE BLOG]
Heading into the third episode of “Big Brother 26,” all 16 houseguests had moved into the house and Ainsley the AI bot already put her stamp on the game. Cedric Hodges and Chelsie Baham had their games downgraded, and won’t be allowed to play in the HOH or Veto competitions. Instead, they’ll be “BB Mascots” and won’t even be able to vote in the live eviction (but they can still be nominated). Meanwhile, Makensy Manbeck and Quinn Martin will have their games upgraded, but we still don’t know how.
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Big Brother” Season 26, Episode 3 recap/live blog to find out what happened Sunday, July 21, 2024 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite “BB26” houseguests on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the “Big Brother” winners list. Julie Chen Moonves once again hosts the series.
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9:10 p.m. — Still reeling from the shock of Cedric and Chelsie’s downgrades, the houseguests sit around the living room and get to know each other. Meanwhile, nobody is aware that Makensy and Quinn have the advantages, and we’re still not sure of what those advantages are. During introductions, a rivalry seems to develop between chefs Lisa and Tucker. It seems all fun on Lisa’s end, but something about her personality seems to be rubbing other houseguests the wrong way. Chelsie has an early crush on Cam, stating he’s “really good to look at.” Kenney the police officer lies about his job, telling everyone he works in concessions. Cedric also lies about his job as a data analyst, hoping people think he’s a stupid model. But nobody is more pumped than 50-year-old Angela, who is thrilled to have this opportunity. After seeing all the beautiful girls introduce themselves, Cam pledges to stay single so a showmance doesn’t ruin his game. We’ve heard that before!
9:15 p.m. — Following the intros, Ainsley asks for four volunteers to become the first Have-Nots. Tucker, Kimo, Cam and Quinn volunteer and head up to the Have-Not room. It looks super uncomfortable, but that’s to be expected. Later, Matt and Kenney bond over military service. Matt wasn’t actually in the service, but most men in his family were. This is a quick bromance developing here, despite the age difference. Over in the Unicorn Room, an all-girls alliance forms between Makensy, Brooklyn and Rubina. They question why women’s alliances never last on “Big Brother,” and honestly that’s exactly what I was thinking. Brooklyn wants to become the first married mother to win “Big Brother” and they discuss bringing Angela into the fold as well.
9:22 p.m. — The whole house congregates in the bathroom as Cam and T’Kor shower (separately). Rubina and Matt quickly notice Angela has a competitive edge when she tells Cam not to help Matt with his sore back “before the HOH competition.” Angela digs a deeper hole when she tells Matt he’s bound to get in a showmance and he’ll have the girls in the palm of his hand. Matt doesn’t enjoy being called out and this could put a huge target on Angela’s back. Angela is a little unhinged, which obviously makes her my favorite player at this point. Later, Matt approaches Kenney about an official alliance. They’re interrupted by Angela of all people, and after she leaves the room Matt says, “She makes me nervous.” Matt thinks Angela is playing “way too hard” and needs to go home ASAP.
9:25 p.m. — In the backyard, another bromance forms between the self-proclaimed “athletes of the group,” which consists of Cam, Matt and Tucker. They put Lisa in their crosshairs as someone who “is smart” and must be targeted.
9:35 p.m. — Ainsley asks the houseguests to gather in the living room. She announces the winners of the Upgrade competition will soon learn their secret powers. They’ll be called to her cyber chamber anonymously, and nobody else will find out who they are. First to learn of her upgrade is Makensy. She wins America’s Veto. At the end of the Veto meeting she can use America’s Veto and save someone from the block. The player America chooses to replace the nominee will be announced live on eviction night and Makensy has four weeks to use this power. Next to win power is Quinn, who was upgraded with a Deepfake HOH. He can strip the HOH of all their power and secretly control their nominations. The Deepfake will look and sound identical to the real HOH, but it will be Quinn who controls what it says. He has four weeks to activate this power and it can only be used once. Whichever HOH he chooses to Deepfake will still remain safe.
9:45 p.m. — Makensy and Leah are chopping it up in the pantry when Leah confesses her love of “dad bods.” The chubby chaser is so disappointed with the array of male models in this house. Later, as everyone sits in the backyard, Ainsley asks them to gather in the living room. She explains the first HOH competition is coming up, and the HOH will name THREE nominees. The three nominees will then duke it out in Ainsley’s AI arena, where just one will emerge victorious and save themselves. The houseguests won’t know who the final two nominees are until eviction night! This adds a whole new twist to the game, and I’m here for it!
9:55 p.m. — It’s time for the HOH competition! In “New Rule,” each round will have a completely different rule than the previous. The last player standing will become the first HOH of the summer and will be responsible for naming three nominees for eviction. Cedric and Chelsie waddle out in their mascot outfits to cheer everyone on. Ainsley gives the players a series of commands each round, with losers being eliminated. The order of elimination is: Tucker and Makensy in Round 1; Brooklyn, Kimo and Rubina in Round 2; Matt, Quinn, Cam, Lisa, T’Kor and Joseph in Round 3. The final round is Angela vs. Kenney vs. Leah.
10:05 p.m. — In the final round of this HOH contest, Angela, Kenney and Leah will slide discs onto a playing board hoping to land on the highest scores. Only odd numbers count in this round, and all even numbers count as 0. Leah lands on 26, so she gets no points. Angela is next and scores a 23. Kenney goes last and misses the board. Angela is the first HOH this season! The 50-year-old is emotional and thrilled about her victory.
10:12 p.m. — Kenney is concerned about going up on the block. He says he’s talked no game with Angela, but approaches her in hopes of earning some good will. Angela is nice to his face, but shares in the Diary Room that Kenney would be easy for her to put on the block because he just got third place in the HOH contest. Next, Chelsie and Cedric promise Angela their loyalty even though they have no power this week. Surprisingly, Angela wants to form an alliance with these two! They’ll bring in T’Kor and Jonathan as well. That’s an alliance I can get behind (for now). Later in the backyard, Jonathan overhears Matt talking smack about Angela. Will this make Matt an easy target? Jonathan immediately relays the info back to Angela, hoping to be considered her number one advisor. It seems to have worked. Angela admits she was never even considering putting Matt on the block, but now she is.
10:25 p.m. — Despite this being a 90-minute episode, we didn’t get to see Angela’s HOH Room “reveal.” But she’s up there now and Quinn decides to make his move. He tells Angela that he won the Deepfake HOH. Was it smart of him to tell her? She’s beyond elated. Will she use it to team up with him or will she use this info against him? It looks like she’s decided to play it smart and forms an early alliance Quinn — the BB Guns! Cam is next to sit down with Angela. He reveals he doesn’t trust Lisa. Leah, Makensy and Tucker echo Lisa’s name. Angela is now sure she wants to put up Kenney and Lisa, but she needs a third nominee. Next, Angela wants to clear the air with Matt and ensures him she never wanted to put him on the block. She apologizes for putting a target on his back and promises she didn’t mean it. Matt confesses it bothered him, and Angela appreciates his honesty. Matt continues talking and sort of threatens Angela, saying it’s not smart to put him on the block if he has two opportunities to take himself down. Now Angela’s annoyed by Matt’s cockiness. Big mistake Matt, huge.
10:30 p.m. — It’s time for the nomination ceremony. Angela has decided to nominate Lisa, Kimo and Kenney. Wow! Where did Kimo come from? Angela breaks down in tears and said, “There just wasn’t enough game talk.” Angela reveals in the Diary Room that her true target is Kenney. That’s it for tonight!
SEE exclusive predictions: Who will win ‘Big Brother’?
Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the eviction episode airs live on CBS. You’ll compete to win a $100 Amazon gift card and a spot on our “BB26” leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
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