Big Brother recap: Finally, a veto winner willing to shake up the game
Exclusive look at the new 'Big Brother: All-Stars' stage
'Big Brother' host Julie Chen previews the new front-of-house stage, and more.
Much like previous HOH winners, Dani came into the last week talking a big game about maybe changing the dynamic of the house, and specifically targeting her alliance member Tyler. She'd been betrayed by him and this looked like her opportunity to get him out. Alas, it was all talk and no action. Instead, Dani continued to stick with The Committee and put Kevin and David on the block. Another week of nominations and The Committee running the show. In a beautiful bit of karma though, there's no real safe choice this week because not only is there a secret power out there for David to use, but a new veto winner is about to make a move.
At the beginning of the episode, The Committee talks about how the nominations really need to stay the same because voting anybody else out is bad for their game. More specifically, Cody and Enzo are worried that if someone comes off the block because of a secret power or the veto, Dani will want to go after Tyler. He's probably the biggest threat in the game right now, and that's exactly why Cody and Enzo want to keep him around. He's a great shield. If he goes, suddenly there's the possibility of the girls recognizing them as threats and voting them out next.
It's hilarious watching them go on and on about how the nominations absolutely must stay the same when we know that David is about to use his power. What's also great is that the power is used in secret, so when everyone is called into the dining room and informed about the "Disruptor" power that's made David safe for the week, no one can be totally sure it was him that used it. David pulls out all the Da'Vonne-inspired acting chops he can to look shocked. He does an alright job, but then later on he starts asking people if they saved him and nobody believes that he didn't save himself. As usual, David goes one step too far in his gameplay. Then, right then and there, Dani must pick a replacement nominee. She immediately puts Tyler up but tries to convince him that she doesn't want him gone and that he can win the veto and save himself. I don't think Tyler is buying it at all. He knows Dani could easily start going after him for real.
Tyler isn't Dani's only problem. By putting him up, she's scared the rest of her alliance. They don't understand why she wouldn't nominate Ian or Da'Vonne or Enzo, all people who they aren't as tight with. It is a rather baffling gameplay decision if Dani truly isn't targeting Tyler. Like she said in the previous episode, you only get one chance to go after a player like that, and you have to make it count. So her wishy-washy response here does little to assuage her alliance or convince us that she's thinking all that hard about what she's doing.
That brings us to the veto competition, where Dani, Tyler, and Kevin play alongside Ian, Da'Vonne, and Enzo. It's a pretty interesting challenge: the players have to use large tweezers to stack 15 very tiny cans of beer in a little Big Brother dollhouse. It's all about patience and staying calm. It's an incredibly difficult challenge, but there are a few hilarious moments. One is Enzo just being truly terrible at the challenge; he can't get a single layer going. Then there's Tyler, who's doing really well, and decides to take a moment to calm himself down. That involves taking a deep breath and letting it out...only to blow down the three layers of cans he'd built.
Thankfully, this time around, we get a legit winner who could change things once again this week. After a ton of drops from everyone, Da'Vonne comes away with the win!
That creates all sorts of chaos and hurt feelings in the house. When Da'Vonne starts to float the idea of using the veto to save Kevin, Dani gets super upset with her. She can't believe that she would ruin her game. It's the same playbook that The Committee has annoyingly been using all season. When they win power, they force everyone to get in line with what they want. When someone else has power, they shame those people for not playing with them (despite having every intention to vote those people out!). It's maddening! You can't be mad at Da'Vonne for playing her game, and for doing something that secures her an ally going forward. This is the simple truth in the house, and everyone knows it: Da'Vonne, David, Kevin, and Ian are on the outside of the main alliance, and Enzo is kinda floating. So of course Da'Vonne is eager to use her first win to make sure Kevin is on her side in future weeks and maybe start to gather numbers to take on The Committee.
And that's exactly what she does. She pulls Kevin off the block and Dani puts up Ian, announcing to the group that she still plans on campaigning for Tyler to go home. That's not the truth though. She's backed down from that idea because The Committee is against it, and now Ian is the target. But can Da'Vonne, David, and Kevin potentially swing votes in his favor? After all, Nicole considers Ian a friend and she doesn't want him out of the house. Could she act as a swing vote to tie it 4-4 and make Dani choose who goes home? That's certainly possible. At the very least, this feels like a week where things could seriously change in the house if someone from The Committee decides it's time to shake things up. We'll find out on Thursday!
Related content: