Big Brother 7 (MATT DB)

Big Brother 7 (MATT DB)
Season Information
Season	Big Brother 7 (MATT DB)
No. of Days	86
Winner	Ashley Jeong
Production
No. of Episodes	37
Series Chronology
Previous Season	Big Brother 6 (MATT DB)
Next Season	Big Brother 8 (MATT DB)

Big Brother 7 (MATT DB), also known as Big Brother All-Stars, is the seventh season by MATT DB. It features 16 of the most memorable and iconic houseguests from the six previous seasons returning for another shot at the half-million dollar prize. Each week, one houseguest will nominate two others for eviction, where the House will vote to evict one of its own. This continues until only one houseguest remains to claim the $500,000 cash prize.

The houseguests entered the house on Wednesday, August 25, with the season premiering on Thursday, August 26. The season finale will take place on Day 86, or Thursday, November 18.

Gameplay

• Head of Household: Each week, one houseguest will win the title of Head of Household (HOH for short). His or her duty is to nominate two houseguests for eviction. This power cannot be won two rounds in a row.
• Eviction: At the end of each week, the houseguests that are not nominated for eviction will vote to evict one of the nominees. The nominee that receives the most votes will be evicted from the Big Brother House. If there is a tie, the Head of Household will break it.
• Power of Veto: After the Head of Household makes his or her nominations, six houseguests (the HOH, the two nominees, and three houseguests chosen by random draw) will compete for the Golden Power of Veto. The houseguest that wins the Power of Veto has the option of saving one of the nominees from the block - including themselves.
• Jury of Nine: The last nine houseguests to be evicted from the game will make up the Big Brother jury, which will vote for one member of the final two to win the game.
• Haves & Have-Nots: Each week, a few houseguests will be named "Have-Nots" and will only be able to eat slop, can only take cold showers, and must sleep in the uncomfortable Have-Not bedroom.

Twists

• Returning Players: For the first time since Big Brother 2, houseguests from previous seasons in the series will return to the House. However, unlike BB2, these houseguests will be competing as full-on players instead of coaches and there will be no new houseguests. 10 of the returning houseguests will be chosen by the audience, while the remaining 6 will be chosen by production.
• Double Eviction: Twice during the season, a second round will take place immediately after the live eviction. This means that two houseguests will leave the House during this week. As always, an outgoing Head of Household cannot compete in the HOH competition during this additional round. The first Double Eviction took place during Week 6.
• Secret Groups: Each houseguest will be randomly placed into a group of four: 2 men and 2 women. They will only know their own group, not anybody else's, but they are free to discuss these groups with one another. The last group to remain fully intact will receive a $20,000 cash prize each, while the first person to be the last one standing in their group will receive a to-be-announced advantage.
• Sort the Deck: The first HOH is given eleven cards, which are marked simply with the letters A through K. They will then put the cards in whatever order they choose, but will not be told what the order means. Each card corresponds with a past houseguest who was not chosen for All-Stars but is still memorable in their own right. Each past houseguest is tied to a weekly twist that will be unleashed into the House.
  • Christian Bischoff Card: On BB6, Christian had very strong friendships with season winner Indira as well as with Austin and Natalie. This card will automatically come first regardless of the HOH’s order, and will establish four secret groups of four members each. On the week where there is only one group fully intact, those four people, along with two houseguests of their collective choosing, will be the only ones competing in HOH. This twist came into effect Week 1.
  • Irene Wallace Card: Unleashes a twist where various previously dormant screens in many of the rooms will at random times air brief segments with audio and video from another room in the House. Potentially, a houseguest could catch another gossipping about them, and this twist is sure to cause drama just like Irene did on her season. This twist came into effect Week 2.
  • Brett Collins Card: Unleashes a dynamic duos twist, where the HOH will nominate one pair instead of two individuals (like from BBUS13). This is based off of Brett's close bond with Jennifer Clark. This twist came into effect Week 3.
  • Veronica Kelly Card: One houseguest will receive immunity for the week and will give immunity to another houseguest. This is based off of Veronica's multiple stints as a Safety HOH during Big Brother 5. This twist came into effect Week 4.
  • Miranda Bailey Card: Unleashes a twist where each houseguest votes for two others to receive an unknown punishment. The four with the most votes will be Have-Nots and must compete in a special competition, with the two losers receiving disadvantages in that week's HOH and POV competitions. The vote/special competition will occur in the week before the twist is set to be active (and therefore, cannot be active the first week). This twist is based on Miranda's vindictive gameplay and hatred of Danielle Kenny to the point where she'd do anything to weaken her game. This twist came into effect Week 5.
  • Greg Andrews Card: A previously evicted houseguest will return with immunity, much like Greg did in season 2. This twist came into effect Week 6, meaning the first five evicted houseguests competed to return to the game.
  • Wendy Lewis Card: There will be no Have-Nots the week this card is active. This is based on Wendy baking slop cookies to make the Have-Nots' lives easier. This twist came into effect Week 7.
  • Melanie Chao Card: Reinstates the Consolation Ticket twist from Big Brother 3 (MATT DB) - the houseguest who finished second in the HOH competition will receive immunity. This is based on Melanie winning the CT twice during her season. This twist came into effect during Week 8.
  • Anna Smith Card: Unleashes a twist where each houseguest is assigned another houseguest to get evicted that week. If a houseguest's target is evicted, that houseguest gets immunity for the following week. However, if a houseguest guns too hard for somebody else, it could backfire and cause their eviction instead. This twist is based off of Anna ruining her game by announcing her desire to see Earl Jones, Nick Chang, and Quinn Pierce eliminated from the game during the first Double Eviction in Big Brother 1 (MATT DB). This twist came into effect during Week 9.
  • Liam Asfour Card: The card corresponding to Liam from BB6 will unleash his iconic power to sequester yourself or another houseguest of your choice for the week, giving that HG immunity but not allowing them to compete, vote, or talk with the others for the week. Whoever gets this power must use it immediately. This twist came into effect during Week 10.
  • Connor O'Reilly Card: This twist will give all houseguests - not just the HOH - a letter and gifts from home. This is based on Connor's kindness that he showed during his stay in the House. The HOH will instead receive a video call with their loved ones. This twist came into effect Week 11.

HouseGuests

Winner    Ashley	Runner-Up    Emma	Jury: Ashley    Luke	Jury: Ashley    Tanner
Jury: Emma    Nick	Jury: Ashley    Indira	Jury: Ashley    Jennifer	Jury: Emma    Summer
Jury: Emma    Ryan	Jury: Ashley    Quinn	Jury: Ashley    Rhonda	Evicted    Austin
Evicted    Chase	Evicted    Reilly	Evicted    Jackson	Evicted    Aidan

Voting History

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6		Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10		Week 11	Week 12
						Day 37	Day 44				Day 65	Day 72		Day 79	Day 86	Finale
Ashley	Aidan	Reilly	Jackson	Vetoed Reilly	Chase	Ryan	Rhonda			Summer	Jennifer		Nick	Rep.	Luke	Winner
Emma	Austin	Quinn	Jackson		Indira	Ryan		Quinn	Luke	Vetoed Summer						Runner-Up
Luke	Aidan	Quinn	Jackson	Reilly	Chase	Austin	Rhonda			Nick		Indira	Emma	Vetoed Tanner		Ashley
Tanner	Austin	Vetoed Quinn	Rep.	Reilly	Chase	Austin	Quinn	Quinn	Ryan			Indira	Nick			Ashley
Nick	Aidan	Reilly	Vetoed Jackson	Reilly	Chase		Rhonda	Ashley	Luke		Tanner	Ashley				Emma
Indira	Aidan	Reilly	Jackson	Reilly		Ryan	Rhonda	Quinn	Ryan	Summer	Jennifer					Ashley
Jennifer	Austin	Quinn	Vetoed Jackson	Reilly	Chase	Austin	Vetoed Quinn	Quinn	Ryan	Summer						Ashley
Summer	Aidan	Quinn	Jackson	Reilly		Austin	Rhonda	Ashley	Vetoed Ryan	Rep.						Emma
Ryan	Aidan	Reilly		Rhonda	Indira		Rhonda	Ashley	Rep.							Emma
Quinn	Aidan					Ryan	Rep.									Ashley
Rhonda	Austin	Quinn	Jackson		Chase	Austin										Ashley
Austin		Reilly	Jackson	Rhonda	Indira
Chase	Aidan	Reilly	Jackson	Rhonda
Reilly	Austin	Rep.	Jackson	Rep.
Jackson		Quinn	Rep.
Aidan

Key:

HOH

Nominated

Rep. Post-POV Nominee

POV Holder

Immune

Evicted

Sequestered

Jury Member

Have/Have-Not History

Week
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2			+
3									+
4		+
5								+
6					+
7			+
8	+
9				+
10			+
11	+
12		+

Story

Week 1

HOH    Jackson

POV    Tanner

Nominee 5 votes    Austin

Evicted 8 votes    Aidan

Episode 1 (Premiere/HOH)

The season opens to the series host, Matt, standing eagerly on the stage in front of the entrance to the Big Brother house. Matt briefly discusses the history of the series, including the evolution of gameplay from Season 1 to Season 6. A montage of the six sets of finalists is shown, with Nick, Chase, Wendy, Danielle, Cole, and Indira being crowned the first six Big Brother champions. Also included in the montage are some of the most memorable moments across the entire series, like Greg’s fight with Aidan in Season 2, Brett’s shocking eviction in Season 1, Wendy baking slop cookies in Season 3, Brady and Danielle’s rather toxic showmance in Season 4, and Irene wreaking havoc in Season 5. Matt is sure to stress that this season is a celebration of the previous six seasons, and that there’s no better way to celebrate than by bringing back some familiar faces.

The intros for the 16 all-stars then play. Jennifer is shown first, with her pledging to manage her threat level more carefully this time around to avoid becoming as big of a target as she did in Season 1. Jackson is next; he wants to avoid the confrontational gameplay style he had and play a better social game, while still standing up for himself if he needs to. Nick, the first Big Brother champion, speaks next; his strategy is to try and lay low, but he knows he’ll need allies to avoid being picked off early. Summer then says that she felt she played the game as well as she could have in her original season, but that she needs to be careful with surrounding herself in too many big threats. Quinn then talks about how she wishes she had thought through her nominations more carefully when she was HOH, promising to the viewers that she won’t make impulsive decisions this season. Austin is thrilled to be back on Big Brother, and wants to not play such a good social game that he becomes a target for it, preferring to be a little more under the radar. Rhonda wants to continue her strong social play from her original season, but wants people to underestimate her even more than last time. Luke’s biggest regret from Big Brother 5 is being too focused in a showmance, but since he has a girlfriend outside of the house now, he’s ready to put his head 100% into the game. Tanner laments his early exit in Season 1, and is hungry for redemption. He is certain he’ll stop at nothing to win this time around. Ashley recognizes that her game was cunning and cutthroat, and that she might enter the house with a reputation, so she wants to force other people to get blood on their hands instead. Ryan believes his social game worked well for him in BB3, so he doesn’t plan on changing his gameplay much, but wants to perform better in competitions this time around. Indira is worried she could be a huge target as the most recent winner, but knows she has the skill to go untargeted anyways as long as she is cautious with the moves she makes and trusts her gut. Aidan groans when his BB2 gameplay is mentioned, since he believes he made himself a huge threat way too early and wants to avoid that this season. Emma still believes in the importance of having a ride-or-die, and wants to find one this season as well. Reilly admits she often didn’t have great picks in allies on BB3, so she wants to be certain she can trust someone before feeding them information. The final all-star is Chase, who knows he can’t play the same “float in the middle” game he did on BB2 without people wanting him out. He wants to play a more loyal game this time around, while still cutting allies when he has to.

Jennifer, Jackson, Nick, and Summer are the first four to enter the house. Since all four are fans of Big Brother, those that didn’t play together know decently well how the others played. Both Jackson and Summer say they’re big fans of Nick’s gameplay, but are also worried about him since he is such a strong player. Summer isn’t so thrilled to see Jackson there, as she wasn’t a big fan of him on his original season. Jennifer and Nick aren’t sure what to think about seeing each other, since they went out on bad terms due to lies told by Brett. They both say they’re hesitant to trust each other, but aren’t ruling out a possible alliance. The four all find a space-themed bedroom with four beds to place their stuff in before heading back to the living room.

Quinn, Austin, Rhonda, and Luke are the next four to enter the house. Nobody is surprised to see Quinn, Austin, or Rhonda there, but Luke’s inclusion in the cast raises a few eyebrows. Summer is thrilled that Luke is back, hugging him as tight as she can as soon as she sees him. Jackson, however, isn’t sure if Luke deserved the spot, since he spent most of his season being Veronica’s showmance. Austin is beyond excited to be there with so many legendary players, and is curious to see who else will walk through the doors. Nick leads Quinn upstairs and shows her one of the other bedrooms, and once they both head inside, he promises her that he has her back just like in Season 1. Quinn is happy that Nick is with her again, but doesn’t want to tie herself to him just because they worked together on a previous season.

The next four to enter the house are Tanner, Ashley, Ryan, and Indira. Nick breathes a huge sigh of relief when he sees Indira, as her presence means that he isn’t the only winner in the house. He’s not so delighted to see Tanner, who he helped ruthlessly blindside on Season 1. Tanner is similarly wary of Nick, promising in the Diary Room that he’s not stupid enough to fully trust him this time around. Ashley and Ryan are delighted to see each other, admitting in one of the bedrooms that they’re both big fans of one another. Ashley believes she and Ryan will be a strong pairing, but she still wants to branch out to more of the house this season. Both are also happy to see Austin in the house, agreeing that he’s a 10/10. Austin greets them both warmly, grabbing both of them a drink. In the DR, Austin informs the viewers that he wants to play a more flirty game this season, as his aversion to flirting with anyone other than Sonia in Season 6 led to him passing up quite a few potential alliance opportunities that he was unaware of.

The final houseguests to enter are Aidan, Emma, Reilly, and Chase. When Aidan, Chase, and Emma all enter simultaneously, the other houseguests raise eyebrows. The three are well-known for their successful final three alliance, and most of the houseguests fear they will stick together a second time. Reilly is thrilled she’s entering with those three, though, as she knows very few people are paying attention to her in comparison. In the DR, Chase is open that he has no automatic allegiance to Aidan or Emma, especially not Aidan who played a rather snake-y game towards the end. Emma feels similarly, knowing that if she did the same Aidan and Chase alliance she did on Season 2, the three of them will be very easy and immediate targets. The four new arrivals realize that all of the beds are taken, so they decide to share beds; Nick offers to share with Chase, Ashley with Emma, Rhonda with Reilly, and Ryan with Aidan.

With all 16 all-stars now inside the house, a quick round of introductions is held, even though the houseguests all know quite a bit about each other. Not many new things are revealed during these intros, nor do many perceptions change; however, Austin shares that he came out as bisexual since Season 6 aired, catching the attention of a very interested Ryan. Ryan tells the viewers that he doesn’t have much luck in his love life since the gay population in his town is fairly slim to none, so he’s definitely looking for love in the house if he can find it. Many of the intros help to cement people’s perceptions of the other players; for example, many are put off by Jackson’s gruff demeanor, while people like Austin, Ryan, Summer, and Chase are viewed positively for their cheerful and sociable personalities.

As the houseguests sit together in the living room, sipping on glasses of champagne, the screen suddenly turns on to reveal Matt. He welcomes the all-stars to another season of Big Brother, but the niceties end there. Since all of the houseguests have competed before, Matt promises them that he’s not going to go easy on them. He proceeds to announce that the first Head of Household of the season will have a very important decision to make immediately after winning the competition - a decision that will be done in secret and have a monumental impact all season long. Filled with adrenaline, the 16 all-stars are sent to the backyard, where Jackson proceeds to win the first HOH competition of the season by a large margin.

Episode 2 (Nominations)

Jackson celebrates on his own in an empty room following his HOH win. He is well aware that he’s entering the house with a negative reputation following his Big Brother 4 stint, where he was one of the most confrontational houseguests in the series. Having safety is hugely important to him, even telling the viewers that he’s 100% certain he would have been the first target had he lost the competition. He wants to use his first HOH to set himself up for a deep run into the game, but before he can even begin considering possible nominations, he is called by Big Brother into the Diary Room to make the aforementioned huge decision.

In the Diary Room, Jackson finds a deck of 11 cards, each with a letter on it (ranging from A to K). Under this deck of cards is a piece of paper explaining the decision that Jackson must make. He is informed that each card represents a different weekly twist based on a previous houseguest who failed to make the cut as an all-star. However, the houseguest each card represents, as well as the associated twist, is a mystery. Jackson is told that he must order the cards in whatever order he chooses, as long as the “A” card is at the top of the deck. Having virtually nothing to go off of, Jackson chooses an order that feels right to him, putting all of the vowels (A, E, I) first, followed by J, C, and K, all consonants that are in his name. He puts H seventh, D eighth, G ninth, B tenth, and F last. In the Diary Room, Jackson admits his order was mostly arbitrary, since he suspects that the letters have nothing to do with the twist or houseguest the card stands for.

Immediately after locking in his order, the 16 all-stars are called into the living room. There, Matt explains that Jackson, as the first HOH, was presented with a deck of 11 cards, each representing a weekly twist. He had to order them in whatever order he chose, with that order determining which week each twist comes into effect. Matt stresses that Jackson had no idea which twist was associated with which card or even what any of the twists are, simply being presented with cards holding letters from A to K. After being given a few seconds to take that all in, the houseguests are told that Jackson put card “A” first. This card is based on Christian from Big Brother 6, and will establish four secret groups of four in the House. Matt tells the houseguests that, once only one of the groups has all four members still in the house, those four houseguests and two additional houseguests of their collective choosing will be the only people eligible to compete for HOH that week. Matt explains that the houseguests will be called into the Diary Room one-by-one to be informed of their group members. The groups are: Emma, Jennifer, Ryan, & Tanner (Group 1); Ashley, Austin, Jackson, & Reilly (Group 2); Chase, Indira, Nick, & Quinn (Group 3); and Aidan, Luke, Rhonda, & Summer (Group 4).

Shortly after the whirlwind of an announcement & the group assignments, Chase, Indira, and Nick meet in one of the bedrooms. Indira explains that she already wanted to work with them both even before the group assignments, since she’s pretty sure the winners will end up being targets sooner rather than later. Chase and Nick both agree, believing that keeping each other safe is the best move for their games as long as they keep the agreement private. The three of them agree it was a godsend that they all managed to get in the same group, especially alongside Quinn, who they know would be down to work with them as well. The new alliance names themselves the Winners’ Triangle, becoming the first official alliance of the season. In the DR, Nick explains that he feels good about his spot in the house so far, as he has Quinn and the winners’ alliance to help him survive the first few weeks.

Rhonda is the first houseguest to enter Jackson’s HOH room for a chat. In the Diary Room, she explains that she’s entering the house without any pre-existing friendships, and she and Jackson had a rocky history on BB4, so she’s a bit worried about where she might stand. She’s pleasantly surprised, however, when Jackson almost immediately promises her safety. He explains to her that they are the only representatives from Big Brother 4, and he doesn’t have many pre-existing relationships either. He promises that he’s willing to leave the events of BB4 in the past and work closely with Rhonda, since he knows she’s a level-headed player who he can trust. Rhonda is thrilled to hear this, promising Jackson that she will keep him safe as well and that they can do serious damage in the house without anybody expecting it. Rhonda admits in the DR that it was way easier than she expected to keep herself safe, happy that Jackson wants to play the game on a clean slate.

Tanner is the next houseguest to make his way up to the HOH room, having similar motivations to Rhonda. Jackson quizzes Tanner, asking him if he has any lingering loyalty to his Big Brother 1 housemates. Tanner laughs this off, reminding Jackson that Nick and Quinn were part of the plot to backdoor him, and that he didn’t have much of a relationship with Jennifer to speak of. This is the answer Jackson is looking for, so he confesses that he wanted Tanner to be his ride-or-die since the second he walked into the house. Tanner is relieved, agreeing wholeheartedly to the alliance offer. Tanner does say that he would prefer other allies to Jackson, but that he is willing to take what he can get and does like the idea of a strong physical player winning competitions to keep them both safe. The men discuss possible nominations together shortly thereafter. Jackson is upfront, wanting to get rid of a dangerous social player early, especially one who is able to get themselves out of sticky situations with ease. He says that “the A’s” (Aidan, Ashley, and Austin) are all perfect examples of this kind of player, to which Tanner suggests Aidan as the target. Jackson agrees, certain that Aidan, Chase, and Emma will eventually reignite their alliance if they’re all left in the game for too long.

Big Brother calls the houseguests into the living room, informing them that Haves and Have-Nots will be returning this season. Jackson, as the HOH, must name five houseguests to be the first five Have-Nots of the season. Without really thinking about it, Jackson chooses Nick, Chase, Quinn, Aidan, and Emma, stating that the first two seasons didn’t have Have-Nots, so none of them have had to be a Have-Not yet in their Big Brother careers. While all five of them accept Jackson’s reasoning, Aidan expresses his worries in the DR, since himself, Chase, and Emma were all selected by Jackson as Have-Nots. Immediately afterwards, the doorbell rings, and inside walks Tatianna Roach and Helen Pope, the first evictees from Seasons 6 and 4 respectively. Austin is less than pleased to see Tatianna back even if it’s just for a few moments, questioning Big Brother’s taste. Both of them proceed to show off the hideous Have-Not room that they designed, a horrifying room filled with glitter and other shiny decorations. Quinn is despondent at her living quarters for the next week, knowing she’ll be finding glitter in her clothes for the rest of her stay in the house.

With the nominations approaching, Ashley makes her way to the HOH room, wanting to get into Jackson’s ear. In the DR, Ashley explains that she was somewhat of a house pariah on her season, constantly finding herself as a target; the same could be said for Jackson on his season, so she hopes they have common ground there. She is frustrated, however, when the conversation doesn’t really go anywhere. She gets the vibe that she could be going on the block, not sure why Jackson seems so unwilling to talk game to her when she’s two steps short of offering him an alliance right then and there. Ashley shares her fears with Austin, who admits that he also hasn’t had very productive talks with Jackson. The pair grow worried that they are both in his crosshairs, knowing they were walking into the season with big targets on their backs. To rectify this, Austin speaks with Jackson in the HOH room, asking him straight-up about his plans. Jackson dodges the question, but mentions that he is worried that Aidan, Chase, and Emma will continue their alliance from season 2. Austin lays into this, claiming (lying) to have seen Aidan and Emma have a hushed conversation in the backyard earlier in the week. In the DR, Jackson says that he’s alarmed that Aidan and Emma appear just as close as on Season 2 thus far, wanting to eliminate any pre-game alliances before they can blossom into a force to be reckoned with.

Aidan also tries his hand at buddying up with Jackson, preferring to do so by being his workout buddy throughout the first few days of the game. The two men form a genuine bond early on, discovering that they have a lot of shared interests and appreciate each other’s senses of humor. Jackson eventually talks strategy with Aidan, including the fact that Austin mentioned seeing Aidan and Emma having a strategy talk. Aidan truthfully denies this, though he is upfront that he and Emma have retained their friendship outside of the house. Jackson asks Aidan about his relationship with Chase; although the two are friendly, they haven’t hung out much since Season 2 and haven’t really talked much since the season began. Aidan then argues that Austin proved himself to be incredibly persuasive and social on his original season, accusing him of being a dangerous player that Jackson might want to consider taking out of the game this week. Jackson tells the viewers that he has a lot to think about, as he feels there are a lot of terrifying players to deal with on this season and the lies are already spreading fast.

Luke and Summer predictably keep their alliance from Season 5 intact, though both of them have different outlooks on the games they wish to play. Summer wants to align with the less threatening players in the house, seeing Luke as one of those players. She reaches out to Indira, having a ton of respect for her game but also expecting her to continue to be underestimated despite winning the previous season. Indira is a fan of Summer’s gameplay as well, as she was loyal and intelligent. Both women pledge to have each other’s backs, and Luke joins them to discuss who they believe will end up on the block. Luke wouldn’t be surprised if a sneakier player ended up on the block, such as Ashley or Aidan, which Indira agrees with. Summer, however, speculates that a physical player like Tanner could also be in his crosshairs. The trio agrees that they are all probably safe, as they’ve had good talks with Jackson and know that they’re not in his radar. Indira tells the viewers that she doesn’t want to replicate her under-the-radar strategy from Season 6 throughout the whole game, but that it’s beneficial for everyone to lie low at the start of the game.

Jennifer feels fairly alone during the first few days of the game, worried this could crystallize into a nomination Week 1. To rectify this, she has a chat with Rhonda, wasting no time in saying that she had a ton of respect for her gameplay and believes the two older women should band together to keep each other safe. Rhonda is absolutely on board, similarly loving Jennifer’s game on Season 1. Rhonda then states that Dr. Nick simply cannot be trusted, knowing that Jennifer likely feels the same way. Jennifer is cautious about keeping grudges from Season 1, but is aware that, in all likelihood, Nick and Quinn will take a shot at her eventually. Rhonda then tells Jennifer that she and Jackson had a great chat, and she’s happy to put a word in to him to keep Jennifer off the block. Jennifer is ecstatic, glad that she made the right choice in going to Rhonda as her number-one ally for the time being.

Just before the nomination ceremony, Jackson goes over his options in the Big Brother Control Room. There, he must first narrow down his nominations to four houseguests before choosing which two he would like to nominate. Jackson first considers Aidan, threatened by his potential pre-game alliance with Emma and Chase, as well as his very backstabbing gameplay on Season 2. Next considered is Austin, who Jackson believes has already been caught in a lie and is trying to manipulate many others in the house with his strong social play. Ashley is considered as a nominee as well, with her sneaky gameplay on Season 5 making Jackson very wary of trusting her whatsoever. The final consideration Jackson makes is Emma, who he believes would work well as a pawn against Aidan should he go the route of splitting a potential pre-game alliance up.

At the nomination ceremony, Jackson explains how the ceremony will work. He will turn his first key, which will reveal his first nomination. He will then turn his second key, revealing his second nomination. With the explanation out of the way, Jackson turns his first key, which reveals that Aidan is his first nominee. Aidan nods his head, understanding Jackson’s decision and taking a seat in the nomination chairs. Jackson proceeds to turn his second key, which reveals Austin as the second nominee. Austin is a bit surprised, but keeps his composure as he sits beside Aidan. Jackson explains that he nominated Aidan because he proved in the past to be a dangerous and untrustworthy player, and he is entering the house with two of his closest previous allies. He then explains to Austin that he doesn’t want to keep liars in the house, and he has reason to believe that Austin has been lying to him to avoid the block. With that, Jackson adjourns the first all-star nomination ceremony.

Episode 3 (POV)

Immediately after adjourning the nomination ceremony, Jackson gives a DR about how he did his best to remove personal feelings from the equation in his nominations, wanting to put up two people he saw as genuine threats to his game. However, his impassioned speech against Austin riles up the barista, who pulls Jackson into the pantry to get answers from him. Jackson can sense Austin’s anger, explaining that he told Aidan about what Austin said regarding Aidan and Emma, only for Aidan to deny ever talking strategy with her. Austin questions why Aidan can’t be the one who’s lying, to which Jackson rolls his eyes and says “come on, man.” Jackson argues that Aidan wouldn’t lie about talking strategy with Emma, since if he was lying, it would be very easy to tell given the expectation of Aidan and Emma working together. Austin is confused by Jackson’s logic, even though Jackson is right that he was lying. He says in the DR that if he didn’t know he was lying, Jackson’s piss-poor justification would make him think he wasn’t, before declaring that the personal trainer is his number-one target once he survives this week.

Aidan, meanwhile, is more disappointed than angry, especially since he thought he formed a good relationship with Jackson. He vents to Emma about the situation, and how he would hate to be the first person evicted on an all-stars season he’s been waiting years to compete on. Emma comforts her long-time friend, pointing out that Austin is, in a lot of respects, a bigger threat - his social game was scary good on season 6, and his previous BB game is fresher in people’s minds than Aidan’s. In the DR, Emma is unhappy that she is in the position she’s in - while she loves Aidan dearly on a personal level, she knows that sticking by him will make her a target by association. However, she can’t bring herself to leave Aidan on the block without any emotional support, as much as she’s worried it could hurt her game down the line. Emma says that this all-star season is already a test of head versus heart, and she’s torn up thinking about what to do.

Now several days into the game, Reilly feels like she needs to start making some connections fast. She has a good bond with Ryan due to being on the same season, learning that Ryan is close with Ashley thus far. The three of them meet together, forming an agreement to work together throughout the game. While Reilly and Ryan are happy with the new arrangement, Ashley is conflicted. She trusts Ryan a lot so far and really wants to work with him, but doesn’t feel the same way about Reilly. She believes Reilly is a far more dangerous player than many might think, as she is very skilled at getting herself out of sticky situations. Additionally, she formed many different conflicting alliances on season 3, so Ashley doesn’t trust her at all to be loyal to her at the end of the day. While she likes Reilly on a personal level enough to agree to the alliance for now, she promises not to let Reilly out of her sight. Ryan can sense that Ashley doesn’t trust Reilly, so he makes her feel more comfortable, promising to be loyal to Ashley over Reilly if it ever comes down to that. This works in easing Ashley’s worries, as Reilly is firmly on the bottom of the trio and, as of now, does not have power over her or Ryan.

Austin knows he might be in deep trouble, so he starts putting work in to stay in case the POV doesn’t go his way. He goes to Ashley first, as the two have had a lot of good personal conversations with each other so far. Ashley admits to finding Austin attractive, but more importantly, finding him to be a great person to bounce ideas off of. Ryan soon joins the pair in the backyard, with himself and Ashley both pledging to Austin that they want to save him this week. Austin is thrilled, thanking them both for having his back so early on. Once Austin leaves the backyard, Ryan tells Ashley that he has a bit of a crush on Austin already, which makes Ashley laugh. She tells Ryan to never change, before pointing out that he also had a crush on Jacob on season 3, asking him why he likes guys with curly hair so much. Ryan blushes, embarrassed by the conversation, yet eventually laughing along with Ashley. They both promise each other to go to the end together, already feeling like they’re close friends just days into the game.

Jackson and Aidan find themselves working out together once again, the day after the nomination ceremony. Things are awkward between them at first, with neither saying a word to one another. Eventually, though, Aidan asks Jackson for honesty, wanting to know if he’s the target that week or not. Jackson pauses for a moment, not having thought about who exactly he wants gone. He eventually says that no, Aidan isn’t his main target, and that he believes Austin is the more dangerous player. Wanting more security than that, Aidan asks the HOH if he has the numbers to ensure Austin leaves; Jackson says he doesn’t have all the numbers yet, but he does plan on making a case for Austin to go to some houseguests he believes are more influential in the house. Hearing this makes Aidan feel a little better, thanking Jackson for not wanting him out just yet, and promising to look past the nomination in the future should he survive the week. Jackson states that everything he told Aidan is the truth; even though Aidan is tight with Emma and Chase, he would still prefer Austin to go, as Austin has the potential to form even more alliances with his strong social gameplay.

In the Have/Have-Not room, Chase and Emma discuss the fact that Aidan is on the block. Both are keenly aware that Aidan being nominated is bad news, since Jackson could very easily put one of them up if somebody comes down via the Power of Veto later in the week. Chase says that Aidan’s nomination in Week 1 is a sign to him that he may have to distance himself even further from his season 2 allies, as he already has a target on his back because of them. Emma, however, wants to stick by Aidan 100%, since she’s afraid she’ll be easy pickings once he is gone. Chase tries to convince her that she can fly under the radar more effectively by branching out beyond him, which offends her. She says that she can’t abandon Aidan like that, urging Chase to understand that she is still very good friends with Aidan outside of the game. Chase admits that his falling out with Aidan after season 2 may have impacted his stance, but adds that Big Brother is ultimately about self-preservation. Emma admits in the DR that Chase doesn’t seem to be the loyal guy he was in season 2, since he is already discussing the possibility of cutting Aidan loose. Chase promises Emma that he still has her back, but Emma has trouble believing him after the conversation they’ve just had.

Jackson meets with Rhonda and Tanner, informing them both that he trusts them the most out of the entire house. Both of them expected as much, and aren’t surprised to see that the other is also trusted by Jackson. He tells them that he wants Austin gone this week, asking them for their help in gathering votes for him to leave should he not come down from the block. Both of his allies are on board, sharing Jackson’s mindset that Austin is too dangerous of a social player to keep in the game. Rhonda points out that both Ashley and Ryan spend a ton of time with him, and would almost definitely vote for him to stay on eviction night. However, Tanner believes the other votes are all up for grabs, as long as he has the necessary conversations. Jackson tells them not to discuss the vote right away, since Austin could very well win POV, urging them to only begin their campaigns after the POV ceremony. However, he does want them to start planting seeds in people’s minds to prepare them for the true campaign later on.

Tanner goes to Jennifer, believing there’s a potential for an alliance there due to the bond his closest ally Kyle had with her on season 1. The two get on effortlessly, having an incredibly productive and deep personal conversation for several hours. Jennifer talks about her work as a motivational speaker, and how she feels great inspiring other people and changing their lives for the better. Tanner then discusses the challenges that come with being a stay-at-home dad and having to take care of the house, which is a lot more work than he expected it to be at first. The two bond over both being parents in a house filled with young 20-somethings, and pledge to have each other’s backs moving forward. They are delighted to find out that they both have good bonds with Rhonda, creating even more common ground for them to work with. Tanner then informs Jennifer that he’s in good with the HOH, enough so that he knows that Jackson wants Austin out this week. Jennifer finds this a bit surprising, but isn’t against the idea at all, knowing Austin is a big threat.

Nick and Quinn have an urgent chat in the hot tub, trying to give the impression to everyone else that they’re far more relaxed than they actually are. In reality, Aidan being a target this early on has them scared. The reasoning for targeting Aidan are his relationships from previous seasons, something that Nick and Quinn also share with one another. With that in mind, the two devise a plot to keep each other safe - distancing themselves from each other. As good friends, the plan makes them both sad, but they know that staying as tight as they were on season 1 will only find themselves targeted. Instead, they can form their own separate alliances and report back to one another to continue working together in secret. Both of them feel cautiously optimistic about the plan, as long as they play things well enough to avoid suspicion from the rest of the house.

Rhonda also begins forming some bonds that she can use to execute her plans later on. She wants to reach out to somebody that she feels doesn’t have many connections so far in the game, believing Reilly to be a good candidate. Reilly wastes no time in informing Rhonda that she was a huge fan of her gameplay, hoping that they can work together this season. Rhonda is thrilled, telling her that she was going to propose the same thing. Rhonda shares that she’s also good with Jennifer, suggesting that the three older women in the game can band together to run the show. Reilly loves the idea, pointing out that older women haven’t always done very well in Big Brother, and that she would love to see three kickass older women in the final three. Rhonda strongly agrees, which results in the formation of a new alliance. Reilly wants them to call themselves The MILFs, which Rhonda thinks is hilarious. Jennifer is informed later, and although she hates the name, she likes the alliance itself enough to (reluctantly) agree to join.

Each week, the HOH, the two nominees, and three houseguests chosen by random draw will compete for the Power of Veto. The winner of the competition is given the right to remove one nominee from the block; if they choose to do so, the HOH must name a replacement nominee. Jackson explains this to the all-stars, even though they all know the information already. He then draws the first chip, getting Tanner’s name. Aidan draws next, getting Ashley’s name. Ashley is thrilled to be drawn, hoping she can win and take Austin off the block. Austin then draws, getting Nick’s name. Nick wants to fly under the radar, so he plans on throwing the competition, then jokes that he’d probably lose anyways. Jackson can then choose a host for the competition, picking Ryan. A few hours later, Jackson, Aidan, Austin, Tanner, Ashley, and Nick compete in the first POV competition of the season; in a narrow battle against Ashley, Tanner manages to come out on top.

Jackson is relieved that Tanner managed to beat Ashley, who he suspects could have taken Austin off the block. Jackson congratulates him on his win, with Rhonda joining them shortly after in the pantry. Jackson calls Tanner a real one, promising him that he owes him one for the clutch victory. With full power in the hands of their alliance, the trio talk about the best way to enact their plot of sending Austin home. They could always keep the nominations the same to avoid getting more blood on their hands, although Jackson does admit that he has been thinking about replacing Aidan with a better pawn. While Aidan is well-liked in the house, many are still worried that he is loyal to Chase and Emma above everybody else. Jackson wonders if putting someone up who hasn’t even been mentioned as a target, such as Luke, would be the better plan. Rhonda thinks this would be a good idea, since she can’t picture Luke going home, and Aidan would be loyal to them moving forward. Tanner, however, is more hesitant, as he doesn’t want Luke and, by proxy, Summer coming after them, especially since both of them are pretty popular in the house.

Both Aidan and Austin make their cases to Tanner as to why they should be removed from the block. Aidan argues that he is fully willing to work with him moving forward, and that he’s not as beholden to Emma or Chase as the house seems to believe. Tanner counters that he doesn’t want to go against the HOH’s wishes, to which Aidan says that he knows Jackson is targeting Austin anyways, additionally arguing that there are other people, like Ryan, who would work better as a pawn against him. Tanner admits in the DR that Aidan makes a convincing case, feeling a lot more on the fence that he did before. Austin’s case isn’t as successful since Tanner still wants him out, but he does pledge to keep Tanner safe, which he views as better than nothing. The real debate Tanner feels is whether to use the POV on Aidan or to not use it at all, not really seeing how saving Austin would help his game.

At the POV ceremony, Aidan and Austin again give arguments as to why they should stay, although these arguments are a bit different since they are in front of the whole house. Aidan argues that people are too preoccupied by the possibility of a pre-game alliance that doesn’t even exist, while Austin argues that his threat level is overstated at best. He isn’t a comp beast by any means, and wants Tanner to give him a chance. Tanner pauses for a moment, thinking his decision through one last time. He then announces that he isn’t using the Power of Veto on either nominee, leaving Aidan and Austin as the final nominees for the week. With that, he adjourns the season’s first POV ceremony.

Episode 4 Part 1 (Eviction)

Following the Power of Veto ceremony, Austin retreats with Ashley and Ryan into the pantry. There, he admits to them that he feels like he might be going home, pointing out that he has seen Jackson and Aidan work out together on multiple occasions across the week. Although Ashley and Ryan agree that they feel Austin is Jackson’s target, they promise him that they can easily secure the votes to ensure he survives regardless of what Jackson wants. In the Diary Room, Ashley states that she wants to be cautious with campaigning for Austin to stay, as she knows the reputation she’s carrying into the season and doesn’t want to be seen as too sneaky. Ryan, knowing this, offers to do much of the campaigning work, as he feels he’ll be more underestimated by the other houseguests.

Aidan also plans his campaigns, speaking with Emma and Jackson about how he can best save himself from eviction. Jackson says he can gather a few votes to help out, obviously wanting his HOH to go the way he has envisioned it (Austin’s eviction). Keeping his cards close to his chest, Jackson refuses to reveal who these votes are specifically, which sets Emma on guard a bit. Emma talks with Aidan after the conversation, sharing her suspicions. Aidan agrees with her, but does trust that Jackson wants Aidan gone; they’ll just have to secure 7 votes themselves, instead of relying on any mysterious votes Jackson may have gathered. Emma agrees, stating that she is one of those 7 (obviously). They also assume Chase will be a second vote in their favor, though to be sure, they pull him into the room they are in to get confirmation. Chase tells them almost instantly that he will be voting for Austin to be evicted, securing them a second vote. In reality, though, Chase tells the viewers he’s not sure. While he and Aidan aren’t on bad terms, they drifted apart over the years and he is well aware of how sneaky Aidan can play the game. He says he wants to hear Austin's arguments out before making a final decision.

Meanwhile, Ryan begins his campaigns for Austin’s safety, first going to Reilly. Since the two promised each other that they would work together, Ryan is upfront with her, informing her that he and Austin are working together and that it would benefit both of their games to save him this week. Reilly, committed to her deal with Ryan, happily agrees to the plan, offering her vote against Aidan on eviction night. Thrilled to have her agree so easily, Ryan hugs her tightly before discussing with her who the other votes to save Austin would be. He reveals that Ashley is also voting for Austin to stay, so they need four more votes. Reilly says she has bonded with Jennifer and Rhonda quite a bit over the first week, so they would be two additional votes in their favor should they agree to the idea. Thinking through the other houseguests, the Season 3 veterans believe Luke and Summer could vote in their favor as well, along with possibly Indira, Nick, and Quinn, giving them plenty of possible options for the majority.

Jackson holds a meeting in his HOH room, knowing that Ashley and Ryan are likely working to try and save Austin. Rhonda, Tanner, and Jennifer all make their way to the HOH room, where they all pledge to Jackson that they will be voting Austin out that week. Jackson adds that Emma also unsurprisingly pledged her vote, bringing them up to four already. Jennifer states that she and Reilly are close, so Reilly could very well be their fifth vote. Chase is a likely sixth vote, meaning they would just need one of Luke, Summer, Indira, Nick, or Quinn to secure a majority. Seeing these votes as the kingpins, the alliance prepares to campaign hard to them to vote Austin out of the game.

Luke and Summer, a duo just like on Season 5, receive their campaigns as a pair. Aidan campaigns to them first, arguing that the “pre-game” alliance everyone is going on about doesn’t really exist. While he and Emma are close, and do talk game, he doesn’t talk game at all with Chase minus to campaign for his safety. Additionally, he is willing to work with whoever votes to save him, including Luke and Summer; his loyalties aren’t strictly to Emma at the end of the day. The pair have trouble believing him, with Aidan’s betrayal of Hailey in Season 2 fresh on their minds. They know he will say and do whatever he can to put himself in a better position, so they’re wary of saving him. However, this feeling extends to Austin as well, who campaigns for himself by arguing that he proved loyalty on Season 6 by using the POV on his allies over the course of the season. While intrigued by the idea of having a decently strong competitor on their side, the pair is wary of Austin as well, knowing how cunning he is in getting people to trust him when they really shouldn’t. Truthfully, Luke and Summer are just glad that one of Aidan and Austin are leaving first, as they view both of them as very dangerous and untrustworthy players.

Unlike Luke and Summer; the other swing votes (Reilly, Chase, Indira, Nick, Quinn) receive their campaigns individually. Reilly, who initially felt very strongly in favor of voting Aidan out, is unhappy to learn that her main alliance (Jennifer/Rhonda) wants to see Austin leave the game. However, she isn’t sure how to explain to her alliance the reasoning behind why she would rather see Aidan go, so instead, she silently agrees to the idea. As for the other four, they reconvene following the campaigns, learning that all four of them received similar arguments as to why Aidan/Austin should leave or stay. Chase leans towards keeping Aidan around, only because he thinks that Aidan could serve as a shield, while the others lean slightly towards Aidan leaving, though not enough to be set on it. They find Aidan more cutthroat and conniving than Austin, though recognize that not much separates them in the grand scheme of things.

On the day of the eviction, Jackson tells Aidan that he believes he has secured the votes he needs to ensure his safety - Rhonda, Tanner, Jennifer, Reilly, Emma, Chase, Luke, Summer, Indira, Nick, and Quinn. While this scene seems to suggest that Austin is leaving the game, Ryan later informs Austin that he also believes he has enough votes - himself, Ashley, Reilly, Rhonda, Jennifer, Chase, Luke, Summer, Nick, Indira, and Quinn. With both sides believing they have 11 votes in their favor, it’s clear that a lot of dishonesty is floating around the house about the vote. Austin tells Ryan that he finds it cute how hard he has worked to save him, which makes Ryan blush. Austin admits in the DR that he has grown fond of Ryan, and can tell that he likes him back. However, he wants to wait until after the eviction to pursue anything, since being caught flirting could result in the vote switching against him.

At the live eviction, both sides are confident they have the votes. Matt explains to the all-stars that they will all vote except for the nominees (Aidan/Austin) and the HOH (Jackson). With that, they go one-by-one to cast their votes to evict. Once the votes are all tallied, Matt reports the results, and as soon as he states the margin of the vote, both nominees appear extremely nervous that their time is up. By a vote of 8-5… Aidan is evicted from the Big Brother house. Aidan gasps, unsure how the plan failed or who flipped, while Jackson and his allies are similarly shocked. Aidan hugs Chase and Emma goodbye, but ignores the others, unsure who betrayed him or not. He wishes his fellow all-stars good luck before leaving the house as the first all-star evicted. However, when he makes his way outside to Matt, he is informed that one of the weekly twists is a previously evicted houseguest returning to the game. Per Jackson’s order, this twist will come into effect before the jury phase begins, so Aidan is eligible to return some time within the next few weeks. With that, Aidan is sent to sequester.

Votes for Aidan: Ashley, Chase, Indira, Luke, Nick, Quinn, Ryan, Summer

Votes for Austin: Emma, Jennifer, Reilly, Rhonda, Tanner

Week 2

HOH    Luke

POV    Rhonda

Pre-Veto Nominee    Tanner

Post-Veto Nominee 6 votes    Reilly

Evicted 7 votes    Quinn

Episode 4 Part 2 (HOH)

Following the shocking eviction of Aidan, the remaining houseguests (except for Jackson, the outgoing HOH) compete to be the second HOH of the season. In this quick elimination-based quiz competition, Luke is able to secure victory, earning his first HOH reign in his Big Brother career.

Episode 5 (Nominations)

At the beginning of the episode, Matt reminds the viewers that, each week, a new weekly twist will come into effect based on the order in which Jackson sorted the deck at the start of his HOH reign. He then explains that the second weekly twist is based on Irene Wallace from Big Brother 5. Irene was known for causing a lot of drama and hard feelings during her short stint in the game, and in her name, Big Brother is also looking to cause some drama. Unbeknownst to the houseguests, at certain points, hidden screens in random rooms in the house will activate, allowing houseguests to see (but not hear) live feeds from other rooms in the house for a short period of time. Matt then calls for the houseguests to gather following Luke’s HOH victory, informing them all that the weekly twist has come into effect - but he won’t tell them what it actually is. Luke gives a DR confessional about how he’s excited to be HOH, but is nervous by the mysterious twist that isn’t being revealed to him.

Despite his apprehensions, Luke still celebrates his victory in one of the bedrooms, with Summer joining him to celebrate. Luke immediately tells her that, obviously, she will not be going on the block under any circumstance, so she has nothing to worry about this week. Summer is proud of Luke that he finally got a chance to be HOH after not having any reign on Big Brother 5, a feeling shared by Luke as well. The pair then discusses Aidan’s eviction. While they expected him to leave, they didn’t expect the vote to be so close that they had the power to flip their votes and send Austin home instead. Summer partly wishes they had flipped, since Aidan was in their secret group with Rhonda, but Luke feels they still made the right decision. While having the last intact secret group would be helpful, he feels that Aidan was too dangerous and untrustworthy of a player to keep around, and he didn’t like that Aidan was buddying up with Jackson towards the end of the week.

While Luke may be at peace with the result of the eviction vote, the same cannot be said for the majority of the other houseguests. Ashley, Austin, and Ryan meet the day after the HOH competition, discussing the unexpectedly close vote margin. Ryan says that he was certain he had 11 votes against Aidan, not 8, wondering which three people flipped and voted with Emma and Tanner. Ashley notes that Tanner and Jennifer seem to be close, making her a potential candidate; Ryan theorizes that this means that the loose alliance of Jennifer, Rhonda, and Reilly could be the culprits. This annoys him, as he informs Ashley and Austin that he had a deal with Reilly and she specifically promised to vote Aidan out. Austin urges them both not to jump to conclusions without asking people first, especially since they aren’t in a position of power this week. Ashley, however, tells Ryan that she never thought it was a good idea to trust Reilly, speaking matter-of-factly that she hopes this is a lesson to him to be more careful with who he aligns with. Ryan side-eyes her, but ultimately understands her point.

To get to the bottom of the situation, Ryan pulls Reilly aside, point-blank asking her who she voted for on eviction night after a few minutes of pleasantries. Reilly dodges the question at first, but Ryan keeps pressing, eventually leading her to confess to the lie. Ryan, while happy to hear some honesty, isn’t happy that Reilly went against her word at the first available opportunity. He gives a DR in which he says that he’s fine being friends with Reilly, but isn’t foolish enough to keep working with her. Reilly, meanwhile, is nervous now that Ryan caught onto her double-dealing, hoping that the incident doesn’t cause her to go on the block down the line.

Emma is reeling after Aidan’s eviction, sitting on her lonesome in one of the bedrooms. Chase soon joins her, believing he owes her an explanation as to why he voted to evict Aidan from the house. He is completely honest, promising to still want to work with Emma while pointing out Aidan’s season 2 gameplay, their weaker relationship, and the huge target on Aidan’s back from the beginning. He felt that he had to cut him loose for his own game, knowing that it sounds cruel but not wanting to mince any words. Emma, while appreciating Chase for explaining the situation and wanting to work with her, is hurt by how quickly Chase dropped Aidan, asking if she can expect him to drop her just as fast. Chase swears that he doesn’t want to do that to her, since they are genuinely good friends outside of the house. Emma is wary, though. She knows that Chase is a savvy player, and his ability to cut Aidan without hesitation is proof to her that he will do whatever it takes to win another season of Big Brother. Still, she’s desperate for an ally at this stage, so she agrees to have his back in return.

Matt calls the houseguests into the living room, informing Luke that he must choose five houseguests to be Have-Nots for the week. Luke chooses Jackson first, not hesitating at all since he was the previous HOH. He then chooses Jennifer, Tanner, Ryan, and Indira to round out his picks (Jennifer, Tanner, and Ryan were either never or rarely Have-Nots, and Indira volunteered). Tanner is scared to be a Have-Not, having no idea how bad it will actually be due to his season’s lack of Have-Nots. However, he is happy to be sharing the Have-Not room with Jennifer and Jackson, who are his two closest friends and allies in the house.

Sure enough, Jackson, Jennifer, and Tanner talk strategy in the Have-Not room once Ryan and Indira are gone, wanting to have a plan of action to keep them and Rhonda safe from the block this week. However, none of them are sure who the best target would be, as they have no concrete idea of where Luke stands in the house, other than that he voted Aidan out at the previous eviction. Jennifer volunteers to talk with him to hear where his head is at. During the conversation between Luke and Jennifer, Luke is upfront that he doesn’t see her as a target, as he doesn’t think she is coming after him in any way. However, he is considering nominating strong physical players who could win a lot of competitions, which Jennifer interprets as Jackson and Tanner. She promptly informs her allies that they might be in danger because of this, though adding that Luke never said specific names. Jackson gives a DR about how he might regret being the first HOH if it means he goes on the block right afterwards, since he wanted to play a bit more lowkey and under-the-radar this time around.

The secret groups, while not having a huge impact on strategy during the first week, definitely begin to impact people’s thought processes as the second week continues. Despite their secret group already losing a member, Luke and Summer pull Rhonda aside and inform her that they don’t want to nominate her that week, since they believe she is a good person to align with and like the vibes she gives off. Rhonda feels the same way towards Luke and Summer, especially Luke. In fact, Luke’s HOH reign cements their strong friendship, as Rhonda spends a lot of time in his HOH room - first to campaign for her safety, but, as time goes on, to hang out with him and talk scenarios. It is here where Rhonda learns that Luke feels he is seen as a less deserving candidate for an all-stars season, a reputation that he wants to shed this week. He really wants to establish himself as a player to be reckoned with and make a big move this week. However, he isn’t sure what this entails just yet - it could mean going after big physical players, or possibly somebody who is already playing very well strategically. Rhonda steers the conversation towards people she isn’t working with, citing the fact that nobody has mentioned any of the former winners as possible targets. Luke, wanting to protect his bond with Indira, focuses on how both Nick and Chase were exceptionally good at flying under the radar on their seasons, and seem to be doing just as well this season. Rhonda agrees, arguing that sending one of them home this early would absolutely establish Luke’s reputation in a positive manner. In the DR, Luke says he’s intrigued by the idea, but also feels he can work with both men, so he’s a little apprehensive about putting them on the block.

Ashley has her own agenda she wants to accomplish, inviting herself into Luke’s HOH room as the nominations approach. There, she shares with him the drama surrounding Reilly and how she promised to vote for Aidan, only to go against that promise. She further explains that Reilly and Ryan had a tight alliance, but Reilly went against that alliance the first chance she got by flipping her vote. In addition, Ashley points out that Reilly is tight with both Rhonda and Jennifer, making her a well-connected, sneaky double-dealer. Luke mentions to her that he wants to make a big move this week, to which Ashley argues that Reilly is playing the game harder than anybody else, and taking her out would definitely allow him to make a name for himself in the game. Luke is overwhelmed with all of the complicated house dynamics and pitches he’s receiving, but thanks Ashley for the insight before sending her out of the room.

Luke’s not done receiving pitches, though, as Indira is the next to enter the HOH room. There, she learns that Luke is contemplating nominating Nick and/or Chase this week, which she absolutely wants to avoid due to her winners’ alliance. Instead, Indira shifts the attention to a few different targets, namely Jackson, Tanner, and Ryan. Jackson and Tanner have both won comps early in the season, and Luke doesn’t think either are really on his side. Ryan, meanwhile, has strong bonds with most of the house, and did a lot of legwork into saving Austin from eviction last week. This interests Luke, who didn’t really see Ryan as a strong strategic player, but realizes that he is just that through his skill at campaigning and his strong social game. He thanks Indira for her insight, now having even more to consider as nominations draw nearer.

With so many potential targets, Luke and Summer have to figure out not only who they want to go after, but who would work best as a pawn or alternate target to go up alongside them. The two rule out the idea of backdooring their main target, instead wanting to reserve that option for an additional target should the main one win POV. Luke believes somebody like Quinn would work well as a pawn, since she is well-liked by most of the house and isn’t seen as that dangerous by most of the houseguests. Another potential pawn is Ryan, who is similarly popular in the house, though Luke also considers the option of getting rid of him for being such a social threat. Summer wishes Luke good luck on his difficult decision, as the strategy at play is already far deeper than in any other season thus far.

Before the nomination ceremony, Luke heads into the control room to finalize his nominations. First, he is asked to narrow his options down to four houseguests, before choosing two nominees among those four. His first consideration is Jackson, a strong physical threat who Luke doesn’t think is on his side. Luke also considers Tanner, another strong player who is tight with Jackson and not with Luke. Third considered is Reilly, who has gotten herself into drama for playing both sides and lying to people’s faces about the eviction vote. Finally, Quinn is considered, with Luke believing she could serve well as a pawn against his main target.

At the nomination ceremony, Luke explains briefly that he will turn his first key to reveal his first nomination, and will then turn his second key to reveal his second nomination. With the explanation out of the way, Luke turns his first key, revealing Quinn as his first nominee. Surprised, Quinn raises an eyebrow before standing to take her seat in a nomination chair. Luke proceeds to turn his second key, which reveals Tanner as his second nominee. Tanner isn’t as surprised, simply nodding and sitting beside Quinn with a smile on his face. Luke explains that he doesn’t feel Tanner is on his side in any way, and that he’s a strong physical player who could power his way to the end. He then assures Quinn she’s just a pawn before adjourning the ceremony.

Episode 6 (POV)

Following the nomination ceremony, Quinn pulls Luke aside, wanting an explanation as to why she specifically is being used as the pawn. She tells Luke that she thought they had a good bond, but she’s worried that she’s mistaken. Luke does damage control, promising that he feels the same way towards her, stating that he picked her as the pawn because she was one of the few people in the house whose names weren’t mentioned as a target, leading him to believe that nobody wants her gone. This helps put Quinn at ease, as she can tell Luke is being honest, though she is still aware that pawns are never safe in Big Brother. She is fully prepared to fight for POV and to campaign for her safety regardless of what Luke or anyone else tells her.

Meanwhile, Tanner feels even less secure than Quinn. He is very aware that he is Luke’s target, and is frustrated as he doesn’t feel he had made a mistake bad enough to make him a target so early on. Jackson comforts him, reminding him that he has won the only POV thus far and can easily win again; in addition, he has the support of himself, Rhonda, Jennifer, and Reilly. Tanner doesn’t feel any better, though, since four votes of 12 isn’t nearly enough to stay. Rhonda, Reilly, and Jennifer then join the room, discussing their worries for the week with regards to losing an ally. However, in the DR, Reilly is secretly relieved to not have been nominated herself after getting into drama with Ryan, knowing that he probably spilled information to Luke to try and get her on the block.

Quinn meets with her alliance of Chase, Indira, and Nick to discuss what their plan should be for the rest of the week now that she is on the block. Although her allies all share her prediction that Tanner would get the votes to leave over her, they are a bit more concerned about what might happen if Tanner happened to win the Power of Veto or otherwise found his way off the block. Indira informs Chase and Nick of some bad news: Luke discussed the possibility of putting one of them on the block this week, and she had to convince him to not put them up and to go after Jackson or Tanner instead. Both male winners grow worried that they are on Luke’s radar, especially when Indira adds that Luke talked at length about making big moves to establish himself as a worthy all-star. Quinn, however, raises an eyebrow at this. In a DR confessional, she explains that Indira fought for Nick and Chase to survive the block, but clearly didn’t put that same effort into saving her. She begins to worry that, in the eyes of Indira and possibly Chase, she is on the bottom of the alliance, and that if Nick or Chase ended up on the block beside her, her alliance would leave her in the dust. She admits that she only truly trusts Nick, even sharing her concerns with him later on in the day. Nick understands where Quinn is coming from, and promises her that he would not accept either Chase or Indira coming after her and will stick by her no matter what.

Reilly, thankful to not have been nominated, visits Luke’s HOH room to personally thank him for keeping her safe. Luke is honest, not promising Reilly outright safety for the week in case somebody wins POV, which Reilly understands. He then explains to her that people were in his ear the past two days, trying to get her nominated, to the point where he felt it might be better for his game to keep her around since other people clearly want to take a shot at her down the line. Reilly guesses that Ashley and Ryan were the main two to throw her under the bus, which Luke confirms with a nod. Although not surprised, Reilly is frustrated, deciding to talk with them both and hash things out. She tries to explain that she did not mean to lie about her vote against Austin, and that Jennifer and Rhonda were the ones who were fighting for Austin to go. Ashley and Ryan nod along, but once Reilly leaves the room, Ashley tells Ryan that she’s going to tell Jennifer and Rhonda everything Reilly said about them, tired of Reilly’s blatant dishonesty and double-dealing. Ashley does just that, surprising both women. They both agree that they don’t think they can trust Reilly any longer if she’s willing to throw them under the bus to do damage control, and additionally resolve to send her packing at the earliest possible opportunity.

In one of the bedrooms, Chase and Emma discuss Aidan’s departure. It is then that Chase apologizes to Emma for his role in the eviction, as he knows that Emma must be hurt and confused by how easily Chase tossed Aidan aside. Chase again reiterates that he would never do the same thing to Emma, and regrets doing it to Aidan (who he was a lot less close to). They both have a heartfelt moment of bonding, happy to have talked through everything that happened in Week 1. However, this moment is interrupted when, out of nowhere, one of the walls in the room lights up. It takes the pair a bit to understand what they are looking at - a live feed to the pantry. Curious, the two go silent and watch. They eventually witness Ryan walking into the pantry, innocently scooping up some slop for his lunch. However, things take a turn when Austin walks into the pantry shortly afterwards. The two talk for a few minutes before sharing a kiss, causing Emma to gasp. The hidden screen then shuts off, leaving Emma and Chase reeling. Chase states in the DR that couples are extremely dangerous in Big Brother, especially ones that have been so good at hiding it like Austin and Ryan apparently have. He is convinced that one of them should go sooner rather than later, before they can gain too much power.

This is not the only incident of the hidden screen twist that happens that day, however. A few hours later, in the Have-Not bedroom, Jackson and Jennifer have a casual chat about their lives outside of the game and what they miss about everyday life. Sure enough, though, another hidden screen activates, perplexing them both. This time, the screen shows a live feed to the backyard. Things seem normal at first, with Tanner working out, Rhonda and Reilly lounging by the pool, and Summer relaxing in the hot tub. However, in the corner of the backyard, they can see Chase, Indira, and Nick sitting closely together, with their mouths just barely moving. Jennifer immediately surmises that they are strategizing, pointing out that all three are previous winners. She suspects they could have some sort of winners pact, a theory that Jackson doesn’t agree with. However, Jennifer then brings up the secret groups, sharing that she’s in one with Emma, Ryan, and Tanner. Jackson says his is with Ashley, Austin, and Reilly. Jennifer then states that she knows Rhonda is in a secret group with Luke and Summer, with Aidan formerly part of it, meaning the three winners and Quinn comprise their own secret group. Jackson immediately declares that this is awful, especially with Tanner possibly going home; already, a secret group with none of their alliance members is close to being the last intact group. Jennifer nods, glad Jackson is catching up, before pointing out that they need to split that group up this week, especially since they are all clearly working together beyond just the group.

Not long after their “secret” kiss, Austin and Ryan head to the backyard to talk about what just happened. A flashback is given, showing the leadup to the kiss, this time with audio to hear their conversation. There, Austin reveals his feelings for Ryan, which leads to the kiss that Chase and Emma saw. In the backyard, Austin tells Ryan that he’s never been with a man before, and he’s glad to have gotten confirmation that he is indeed attracted to both men and women. He admits that he doubted his sexuality a lot even after coming out, since bisexuality is so often erased and treated as a “phase”. Ryan is sad that Austin would feel that way, but knows partially how he feels, having doubted his own sexuality for a while as well. He then asks if they should make things official, or if they should just stick to flirting. Austin is obviously conflicted, wanting to go out with Ryan but not forgetting the game that they are playing. Ryan feels the same way, promising that they can feel things out and don’t have to make any sudden decisions. However, he does say that he wants at least a few more kisses throughout the season, causing Austin to blush.

Later in the day, Luke calls the houseguests into the living room, as it is time to pick players for the second POV competition of the season. Luke draws the first token, getting Jennifer. Next to draw is Quinn, who is (secretly) happy to draw Chase’s name. Finally, Tanner draws, getting Rhonda. Tanner is thrilled that both Jennifer and Rhonda are playing, as he feels he has a 50% chance of having the POV used on him. In the proceeding competition, Rhonda takes the POV home, becoming the first woman to win a competition this season.

Luke knows that Rhonda is close to Tanner, fearful that she will use the POV on him and force Luke to nominate a third person. However, as they are both in the same secret group with Summer, he at least feels he has some common ground to work with. Luke calls Rhonda and Summer into the HOH room, asking Rhonda what her plans are for the POV. She isn’t sure what to say, but eventually goes with the honest route, admitting she’ll probably use it on Tanner since she doesn’t want him to go home and doesn’t have the votes to keep him over Quinn. Luke understands, expecting as much, but tries his hand at dissuading her. He is worried about getting too much blood on his hands, and says he will probably nominate Jackson or Jennifer as the replacement target if Tanner goes down. Rhonda shakes her head, telling Luke he’d be silly to do that, when Reilly has been throwing everyone under the bus. She explains that she used to be working with Reilly, but as soon as Reilly sensed any sort of danger, she threw Rhonda under the bus hard. Luke nods, having heard that Reilly blamed Rhonda and Jennifer for her vote against Austin. He admits that Rhonda offers a good argument, feeling Reilly is the least trustworthy person in the house.

Reilly is not the only potential replacement nominee given to Luke; not by a long shot. Chase and Emma invite themselves into the HOH room, and Luke is happy to hear them out. They say that the house expects Rhonda to save Tanner, as they are quite close; and they have their own ideas of a replacement nominee: Ryan. They first argue that he has been part of some of the drama in the house, feuding with Reilly and spreading gossip about her to the rest of the house. In addition, though, they talk about the hidden screen that lit up in one of the bedrooms, showing Austin and Ryan kissing in the pantry. This shocks Luke, who had underestimated how close the two men truly are to one another. Chase just nods, admitting to being just as shocked as Luke is. Emma adds that Reilly (assuming her to be the person Luke is most likely considering as a replacement) will always be a huge target moving forward, urging Luke not to waste his HOH on getting her out. This gives Luke a lot to think about, as he feels Chase and Emma have given a really good case for Ryan to go on the block.

Luke receives yet another pitch for a replacement nominee, this time from Jennifer. She tells a similar story to Chase and Emma about a hidden screen turning on, but this time, she witnessed Chase, Indira, and Nick talking to each other in such a manner that it was clear they were strategizing. She believes that there could be a winners’ alliance, additionally revealing that she suspects they are all in the same secret group as Quinn. Luke admits that he can’t fully trust any of those four (lying about Indira to an extent), and wouldn’t feel super safe with them being the only ones eligible to compete for HOH. Jennifer suggests to Luke that he nominate one of those three former winners, as it would prevent that secret group from being the last intact group. Luke is conflicted about Jennifer’s pitch, as he is worried about the all-winners’ alliance, but trusts Indira a decent amount and suspects Jennifer just wants her group or her allies’ groups to be the last intact instead. Still, both Chase and Nick are massive threats, and Luke is tempted to get one of them out to send a message that he’s there to play Big Brother to its fullest extent.

At the POV ceremony, Rhonda asks for the nominees to explain why she should use the POV on them. Quinn argues that she has a lot more game to play, and is willing to work with Rhonda should she save her. Tanner, on the other hand, argues that him staying is good for Rhonda’s game, but he can’t stay if he stays on the block beside Quinn. Rhonda then announces that she’s using the POV on Tanner, saving him from eviction. Luke is then required to name a replacement nominee. He pauses, looking around the room, before naming Reilly as the replacement. Not surprised in the slightest, but very worried about going home, Reilly nods with a sad expression on her face as she sits down next to Quinn. Rhonda then proceeds to adjourn the POV ceremony, ending the episode.

Episode 7 (Eviction)

Immediately after the POV ceremony, Reilly stands and shakes her head, wanting to head to a nearby room to process her nomination. However, on her way out, she notices Ashley bearing a smug grin and hugging Luke with deliberate, overexaggerated enthusiasm. Fed up with Ashley’s passive aggressive behavior over the week, Reilly calls her out, accusing her of acting disrespectfully and taking things beyond the game. Ashley retorts that Reilly is blowing things out of proportion, and is projecting onto her, calling her out on her various lies and alliances throughout the first two weeks of the season. She specifically tells the entire house that Reilly made an alliance with Ryan, only to backstab that alliance and try to vote one of Ryan’s closest allies out just a few days later. Reilly defends herself, reminding Ashley that lying is part of Big Brother and that she is no saint either. She accuses her of calling Emma “Aidan’s puppy” in private conversations; a flashback then plays, showing Ashley saying exactly what she has been accused of. Of course, Ashley denies this, though Emma doesn’t seem to buy what she’s selling. With emotions flaring, the houseguests begin retreating away from the living room to escape the stressful environment developing between the two women.

Reilly is eventually able to find some alone time, but she feels even worse after starting the altercation with Ashley. With drama surrounding her, she is certain she will be evicted that week. When nobody comes into the room to comfort her after nearly an hour, she realizes the gravity of her terrible position in the house, and the foregone conclusion that she will be leaving the game. Eventually, however, Jennifer enters the room, not knowing Reilly had been in there the entire time. Seeing Reilly at an all-time low, Jennifer ignores her personal suspicions and consoles her, promising her that, regardless of the game, she views her as a friend and doesn’t believe she deserves the treatment she’s receiving. Jennifer states that Ashley and Ryan are both acting like brats, confused why they, and not Austin, are so furious that Reilly voted against him. Reilly comments that Austin must have some amount of maturity that Ashley and Ryan are sorely missing, especially focusing on Ashley’s vindictive behavior. Jennifer agrees, but gives no promise with regards to Reilly’s safety. Despite the personal comfort Reilly feels from Jennifer, on a strategic level, she also recognizes the lack of any promises or deals, suspecting that she’s still just as screwed as before.

Quinn, meanwhile, feels a lot safer now that she’s on the block against Reilly instead of Tanner; despite that, she doesn’t feel completely safe. Nick comforts her by counting out the votes that are in her favor - himself, Chase, and Indira would never vote her out; Ashley, Austin, and Ryan despise Reilly; and Luke clearly wants Reilly out, meaning Summer will be voting her out as well. This is already 7 votes to save Quinn, a majority without even considering that Jackson, Tanner, Jennifer, and Rhonda likely feel betrayed that Reilly made other alliances without telling them. Quinn tells Nick that she feels pretty safe after hearing the numbers out loud, but urges him (and herself) to not get complacent. Her one mantra going into the game is to expect the unexpected, so she’s still planning on her campaigns to stay regardless of how certain the eviction might seem on paper. Nick agrees with her approach before challenging her to a game of Go Fish. The two longtime friends have a blast taking time away from the game to play a silly, low-stress card game. Quinn says that she would hate to play Big Brother without Nick, since he’s better than anyone else she knows at comforting people when they’re at a low point.

Quinn might be planning her campaigns, but Reilly is already starting to put them into action, knowing she has no time to waste. She first talks with Jennifer and Rhonda, laying everything out on the table. She explains that everything Ashley and Ryan said are true; she formed an alliance with them before joining the alliance with Jennifer and Rhonda, and she did promise to vote Aidan out at eviction. However, she promised this before Jennifer and Rhonda informed her the target was Austin, emphasizing that she’s loyal to them, not to Austin, Ashley, or Ryan - even before the three of them began to lash out against her. While Jennifer and Rhonda both sense that Reilly is telling the truth, they are apprehensive. They find it concerning that Reilly promised her vote without consulting the people she supposedly trusted the most, wondering how much they can rely on her moving forward. Still, they get the impression that Reilly wants to work with them, enough so that Rhonda explains her and Jennifer’s theories about the secret groups. Specifically, they believe Quinn is in a secret group with Chase, Indira, and Nick, as they know who is in the other three groups since Tanner revealed his group to Jennifer. Jennifer explains to Reilly that, if she goes, that secret group has an easy opportunity to become the last intact group, leaving them all in jeopardy. Hearing Jennifer and Rhonda give tangible reasons to save Reilly gives her a ton of hope, as she has an angle to play to secure more votes in her favor.

Rhonda, hearing Jennifer’s full plot for the first time, decides to discuss the idea with Jackson and Tanner, wanting to know how much they know about the situation. She learns that Tanner knows quite a bit, while Jackson is more out of the loop (but still has understood the gist). With the secret groups all out in the open, Rhonda is upfront: she would rather vote Quinn out of the house. Jackson is shocked, but Tanner sees Rhonda’s logic, agreeing that the move would benefit them. While Jackson has his arms crossed in disapproval, Rhonda and Tanner discuss who they could get to vote with them besides Jennifer - they think Emma might after the Ashley drama, but are stuck on who else to get. Tanner eventually suggests that their only hope is a 6-6 tie, since they don’t see the winners, Ashley, Austin, or Ryan voting Quinn out. If they can get Luke and Summer on board, Summer will get them to six votes, with Luke breaking the tie to send Quinn home. Jackson then chimes in, stating they would need his vote as well, but he doesn’t agree at all with the idea. When asked for an explanation, he argues that Reilly has already made conflicting alliances a week into the game, and is bound to continue this streak moving forward. Tanner concedes that Jackson has a point, as Reilly was notorious for her double-dealing gameplay even back on Season 3, and there’s no point in making a flashy move to save her if she won’t be firmly loyal to them. With that, the alliance is completely stuck on what to do on eviction night.

Quinn begins putting in her pitches, first going to the votes she’s certain about - Ashley, Austin, Chase, Indira, Nick, Ryan, and Summer. She is short and to the point with them; instead of kissing any ass, she simply explains that she isn’t going after any of them and has always been a loyal person, while Reilly being shady is nothing new. She meets little pushback in her campaigns, with all seven outright promising that they want to save her. With that, she feels fairly confident, but still talks to the other five voters. She gets similar but less enthusiastic responses; she doesn’t feel put off by this, though, as she knows that the five question mark voters have potential reasons to second guess their decision. Emma, though, does promise Quinn that she’ll keep her, leaving Quinn with 8/12 votes in her favor.

On the morning of the eviction, Reilly speaks with Luke and Summer. There, she informs them of everything she has learned in the past few days - most importantly of all, the secret groups. When Reilly tells them that one group consists of them and Rhonda, Luke and Summer begin to believe that Reilly’s information is accurate. Reilly further explains that, while the two of them may have good bonds with the Chase/Indira/Nick/Quinn group, those four have proven themselves to be tight. Luke and Summer agree, pointing out that they saw Chase, Indira, and Nick strategizing together in the backyard through a hidden screen, convinced that they are working together and are in good with Quinn. Reilly nods emphatically, having the same theory. She says that she knows she’s been caught in some lies, but she’s willing to own up to her schemes and play a more honest game; in addition, she’s all alone in the house and is willing to work with Luke and Summer if they save them. Reilly explains that she has Emma, Jackson, Jennifer, Rhonda, and Tanner, meaning Summer is the sixth vote with Luke breaking the tie. Reilly appeals to Luke by calling this a “massive move” unlike anything in Big Brother history. When Reilly leaves the HOH room, Summer pushes back against her arguments, admitting she has some good points but emphasizing her dishonesty thus far. Luke agrees with Summer, but is deeply conflicted, as he wants to nip a potential power alliance in the bud before they can seize too much power. On the other hand, while he does want to make big moves, he’s worried that being the deciding vote against Quinn would be such a huge move that he’d end up going out the door the very next week, and even if he doesn’t Indira will be furious with him for going against her so early.

Just before the eviction, Reilly gives a campaign to Emma, feeling her vote could be shaky. Emma confirms these fears by saying she is leaning towards voting Reilly out due to the drama surrounding her, but Reilly counters this, pivoting towards Ashley. She argues that Ashley (and Ryan to an extent) have been the ones stirring the pot, with Ryan spreading info that people give him to anyone who will listen, and Ashley antagonizing people (such as Emma herself) with rude, inflammatory comments. Emma confesses to Reilly that she brings up a lot of valid points, and admits that she wouldn’t mind seeing Ashley go home soon after what she said about her. Reilly promises that she’s gunning for Ashley and Ryan 100% if she wins HOH, and that Emma would have nothing to worry about. This deal tempts Emma, but she isn’t confident that the votes are there, and is worried about getting too much blood on her hands after already losing her closest ally in the first week. Additionally, Chase would never want Quinn gone, so she would be burning a major bridge in the house but possibly forming a new one in its stead.

On eviction night, Quinn and Reilly nervously await the results of the vote. However, from body language, it is clear that Reilly is way more nervous than Quinn. Eventually, Matt tallies the votes and delivers the news to the houseguests. Shockingly, by a vote of 6-6, there is a tie between Quinn and Reilly. Chase and Indira are in disbelief after hearing this, while Nick puts his head in his hands, upset that his best friend’s fate lies in the HOH’s hands. Luke then stands, staying silent for a few moments. Indira looks at him intensely, and he makes eye contact with her briefly. He then motions at Quinn, voting to evict her from the house. Quinn’s jaw drops in shock, with no clue of what just happened. Reilly has her head in her hands and remains seated, but the other houseguests stand to hug her goodbye. Reilly gives Quinn the final hug after processing that she’s survived, while Quinn politely yet sadly leaves the house as the second evicted all-star. Fortunately for her, she’s informed that she will be given a chance to re-enter the house within the next few weeks.

Votes for Quinn: Emma, Jackson, Jennifer, Rhonda, Summer, Tanner, Luke

Votes for Reilly: Ashley, Austin, Chase, Indira, Nick, Ryan

Week 3

HOH    Ryan

Immune    Reilly

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    Jennifer

Pre-Veto Nominee    Nick

Post-Veto Nominee 0 votes    Tanner

Post-Veto Nominee Evicted 11 votes    Jackson

Episode 8 (HOH/Nominations)

Following Quinn’s shocking eviction, the house erupts into chaos. Ashley, Austin, and Ryan range from annoyed to furious that Reilly survived, pulling Luke and Summer into the pantry to demand an explanation. Since their rivalry with Reilly was so public, the trio assumes that Luke and Summer have turned on them specifically, and are confused to learn that this isn’t the case. Instead, Summer discusses the secret groups in the house, and how Quinn was in one with Chase, Indira, and Nick, with those four also having a tight alliance. This is news to the three of them, who suspected a possible winners’ pact but had no idea it was a full-fledged alliance and secret group. Still, Ryan openly admits that he will have trouble trusting Luke or Summer in the future, as they didn’t bother to fill him or his allies in on what the plan truly was. The pair understands, knowing that the move would ruffle feathers in the house. Austin gives a confessional about his surprise that Luke would pull such a shocking blindside, admitting to having underestimated him earlier in the season.

The winners’ alliance is reeling from Quinn’s surprise eviction, worried that they have been found out or turned against. Nick is especially worried, having just lost by far his best friend in the house. Indira and Chase comfort him, but he jokes that he’s used to it, having experienced something similar in Season 1 with the loss of Earl and Quinn. He thanks them both for having his back, but says they need to distance themselves from each other, at least in the eyes of the rest of the house. He’s worried they could all be targeted if the house catches onto their alliance, so they need to pretend like no alliance ever existed or at least that they have stopped working closely together. Chase agrees, as does Indira, though none of the winners are happy to have to spend most of their time away from each other. In a DR, Indira says she’s grown very fond of Nick and Chase, but knows she has to branch out for the sake of her own game.

Just then, the 14 remaining houseguests are called into the living room. They are told that they will be competing for HOH shortly, but before they do, they need to receive some very important information. They are again reminded of the weekly twists, which clues them in that a bomb is about to be dropped on them. Sure enough, Matt announces that this week, dynamic duos are being unleashed into the house. Each houseguest will be paired up with another houseguest decided at random, and the HOH can only nominate a pair. This creates a lot of surprised reactions, with none of the houseguests having any clue how the week will play out. In alphabetical order, houseguests are called up to draw their partner. Ashley is first, drawing Indira. Ashley is perfectly fine with this, having a positive opinion of Indira thus far. The two ladies hug upon finding out that they are in the same pair before taking their seats. Austin then goes next, drawing Emma. Neither have interacted much, so they’re neutral, if not a bit uneasy, about their pairing. Next up is Chase, who draws Luke. Chase is unhappy to be assigned Luke - not only did Luke vote out his ally, but he also can’t compete in the HOH comp, meaning Chase has to win it for the pair to be safe. The rest of the houseguests, even Summer, appear relieved to not be a pair with Luke for that same reason. Jackson is next to draw, luckily drawing his buddy Tanner. The two men don’t hide their excitement and being paired up, giving each other a bro-hug before sitting down. Jennifer draws next, getting Nick; she appears satisfied, but not overly excited, about the pairing. Reilly draws next, with Rhonda, Ryan, and Summer as her possible partners. Much to her chagrin, she draws Ryan, who appears equally unhappy with the outcome. This means that the final pair consists of Rhonda and Summer, who are glad to be paired up together.

In the HOH competition, Matt acknowledges the game disadvantage that Chase is saddled with, since his partner cannot compete for the power. To rectify this, the HOH competition will have two rounds - in the first round, houseguests will face off against their partner, meaning Chase will advance to round two automatically. Despite this advantage, Chase does not end up winning the competition - instead, it is Ryan who comes out on top, much to the surprise of most of the house. He is asked to choose Have-Nots; he picks Reilly, Jackson, Summer, Luke, and Rhonda. Jackson is furious, pointing out that he was a Have-Not the previous week while Austin and Ashley have never been Have-Nots. Ryan shrugs, clearly not caring what Jackson thinks. In the DR, Jackson calls Ryan a punk, claiming his picks for Have-Nots were weak and emotional.

Ryan feels mixed (but mostly positive) emotions about his HOH victory. First and foremost, despite how far he made it on Big Brother 3, he never won an HOH, so even being in the position he’s in is unprecedented for him. Additionally, the previous vote didn’t go his or his alliance’s way, so he’s happy to be able to keep them all safe this week. Unfortunately, his desired target, Reilly, is immune due to being his dynamic duo partner, a regret that Ashley and Austin share. Ashley jokes that Ryan should have thrown to allow Reilly to be nominated, but Ryan painfully admits that he’d rather guarantee his own safety even if it means coexisting with Reilly for another week. Ryan has no idea what he wants to do with nominations, but promises Ashley and Austin that their duos are both safe and even suggests that they try to work their duo partners onto their side beyond just this week. Ashley loves this idea, having a ton of respect for Indira’s gameplay, but Austin is conflicted. He likes Emma on a personal level, but has no idea where she stands in the game - plus, she voted for him to leave Week 1.

Reilly spends the rest of the night after the HOH competition by herself, wanting to center herself after such a stressful previous week. She is very happy to be safe, even with one of her enemies, Ryan, being the HOH. While she’s worried that her allies could be in trouble, she feels she really needs a few hours to relax and be happy with her own safety instead of worrying about anyone else. The next day, feeling a lot better, she talks with Ryan in the HOH room. She acknowledges that they don’t get along, and she understands why Ryan is frustrated with her and can’t trust her. However, she thinks it would be beneficial for them to work together at least for this week, seeing as they are a dynamic duo, after all. Much to Reilly’s surprise, Ryan agrees with her, pointing out that despite how personal things got, his issues with her were game-related. Ryan is careful in what he says, not trusting Reilly all that much, but does share that he won’t be putting Ashley or Austin on the block. This leaves Chase/Luke, Jackson/Tanner, Jennifer/Nick, and Rhonda/Summer as the pairs he is considering for the block. Reilly would greatly prefer to see Chase and Luke on the block, since Tanner, Jennifer, and Rhonda all put in work to keep her safe the previous week. However, Ryan admits he’s not sure, since he doesn’t think those two would come after him. Still, he does feel Luke is a wildcard, willing to pull off flashy big moves left and right.

While excited at first to be paired up together, Ryan’s HOH win changes a lot for Jackson and Tanner. Neither of them have a very good relationship with Ryan, and know that they are decently big targets in the house. They fully expect to be thrown up on the block, and their allies seem to agree with them. However, Jackson tells Tanner later on that he has a plan to save them both from nominations, but it will involve them being a bit snakey. He is confident that their only hope is to throw Jennifer or Rhonda under the bus to save their own skin. Tanner sadly agrees that’s their best bet, but he is apprehensive about throwing his allies under the bus so callously. Jackson decides to be the one to talk with Ryan, and during their talk, Jackson doesn’t mince any words. He says that he knows they aren’t on great terms, but argues that Jennifer and Rhonda are both playing much smarter games, even accusing them of being the masterminds behind Reilly staying in the game. Jackson goes into detail, truthfully claiming that he wasn’t on board with the idea, but Jennifer and Rhonda were able to convince Tanner to do it, which made Jackson feel forced to go along with his best friend in the house. This intrigues Ryan, who does find it plausible that Jennifer and Rhonda, two very intelligent woman, would be the strategic masterminds behind a big move that saved their ally. He thanks Jackson for the insight, having a lot to think about as nominations approach.

Wanting to be a cohesive pair, Chase and Luke talk about strategy with each other, but the conversation proves to be awkward and unproductive. Luke discusses his reasonings for voting Quinn out, but has to lie in order to not scare Chase off. He claims that Quinn is a very smart under-the-radar player who could have made it far, while Reilly is embroiled in drama, making her a good shield that takes the attention off of Luke. Chase understands this false argument, but he gets the vibe that Luke isn’t telling the full story. He surmises that if Luke can’t be fully honest when their in a “dynamic” duo, he can’t expect him to ever have his back in the game. Chase admits that he wouldn’t mind seeing Luke or Summer leave the game, as he views them as two of the shadier players in the house. Of course, he can’t really go after them this week, or he’ll end up on the block himself, but he has plans to target them in the future.

Ashley and Indira are arguably more happy about their pairing than anyone else, since it brings them a lot closer together. Indira is grateful that Ashley has such a close bond with Ryan, since it means she’s sitting pretty for the week. Additionally, the two ladies form a close bond of their own over the first few days of the week, spending almost all of their time together. They gossip quite a bit about the other houseguests, but mostly have nice things to say. However, both reach the same conclusion that Jackson is bothersome to live with. A montage then plays of Jackson’s more annoying moments - mostly, being very loud and showboating during his workouts, and having a negative, bristly attitude a lot of the time - especially while on slop. The women also talk about Emma, noting that while she is a good person, she has had a “woe is me” attitude since Aidan left, making her not so fun to be around.

With nominations happening soon, Jennifer and Nick head into the HOH room to hear about Ryan’s potential plans for the week. Ryan is decently honest with them, admitting that he won’t be putting Ashley or Austin up, and that he’s debating between Jennifer/Nick, Jackson/Tanner, and Rhonda/Summer for the block. Jennifer makes a case for Chase and Luke to go up, however, arguing that Luke may have done what she hoped he would last week, but he is hard to predict. Ryan agrees, not liking the move Luke pulled last week in the slightest. However, while he can’t trust Luke, he doesn’t think Luke would target him, which he can’t say the same about some of the other houseguests. Nick doesn’t love the idea of Chase going on the block, but deep down, he knows that Luke would most likely be evicted in that scenario, and by not fighting against the nomination, he can possibly hide the winners’ alliance.

Rhonda also knows that she could be in jeopardy this week, so she is sure to have her own chat with Ryan. In the HOH room, Rhonda promises that she isn’t coming after him - he’s not even in her radar. She argues that, if she had the choice, she would nominate Chase and Luke for eviction, making her yet another person to advocate for the former HOH on the block. However, Rhonda admits that she would want to see Chase go, as he’s an incredibly smart player who is a crucial member of a rumored winners’ alliance/secret group. Ryan tells Rhonda that Chase and Luke were brought up fairly often as possible nominations, but his one concern is that he thinks those two men aren’t after him at all, even less so than, say, Jackson or Tanner. Rhonda disagrees, however, claiming that she’s talked enough with them both to know that they would rather see one of the former winners go home. This causes Ryan to think; as enticing as Jackson and Tanner are as targets, he might be better off targeting a strategically strong player as opposed to a physically strong one.

Prior to the nomination ceremony, Ryan goes to the Big Brother control room to narrow down his nomination choices. He must first narrow down his options to two pairs before selecting one of those pairs to go on the block. Ryan first considers nominating Chase and Luke. They were both brought up multiple times as targets by the house, and since the game is still in its early phases, Ryan is wary of causing too many waves. Additionally, he doesn’t think he can trust Luke moving forward, and Chase seems shady to him as well. The second pair Ryan considers is Jennifer and Nick. Both are intelligent players who are playing good strategic games, which Ryan feels more threatened by than brute physical strength. Additionally, Ryan feels Jennifer would nominate him if she won HOH, so he wouldn’t mind taking the first shot at her.

At the nomination ceremony, Ryan explains that, this time, he will only turn one key. This key will reveal which pair he has decided to nominate for eviction that week. With that, the houseguests watch nervously as Ryan turns the key. This reveals Jennifer’s and Nick’s faces on the living room TV, meaning Ryan has nominated them for eviction. Both politely take their seats on the block, accepting the nomination. Ryan says that he feels Jennifer would nominate him if she won HOH, and that he sees her as a strong strategic player. He says similar things about Nick, calling him intelligent and cunning. With that, the nomination ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 9 (POV)

Following the nomination ceremony, Jennifer and Nick both give Ryan a hug, not wanting him to believe that they hold the nomination against him. However, when the two retreat to a nearby room to cool off, it’s clear that they aren’t happy about his decision. Nick is confused, as he assumed Ryan would be on his side after he tried to send Reilly home last week. Jennifer agrees that the decision is confusing; while she acknowledges she and Ryan don’t have a close bond, game or personal, she was truthful about not going after him and feels there are bigger threats Ryan could have gone after. Nick nods, suspecting Ryan’s nominations were geared towards pissing off the least people as possible. The nominees feel better after venting about their frustrations with Ryan’s decision, though. Nick tells Jennifer that he does want to work with her moving forward, an idea that she fully agrees with. She comments that she’s glad she got to know Nick better so far this season, since she’s realized that he’s a really good guy who will have your back if you have his.

Ashley and Austin speak with Ryan after the nomination ceremony, assuring him that he did a good job with his speech and avoided pissing off his nominees. Still, Ryan feels bad about putting them up, since both of them have been a lot nicer to him than, say, Jackson. Ashley, though, feels Ryan made the right decision, since Jennifer and Nick are much stronger players overall than Jackson is, even if he can win more competitions. Austin agrees, though he admits that he would really like to see Jackson go home after he put him up during the first week. Ashley then mentions that she has formed a great bond with Indira, to the point where she thinks she can reel her into their broader alliance. Ryan is thrilled that the plan to expand the alliance is working, but Austin shares that bonding with Emma has been harder. Still, he wants to keep feeling her out to see where she stands, which Ryan urges him to do. He views Emma as a free number just waiting to be nabbed up, unsure of who she is even aligned with thus far.

Chase and Indira aren’t happy to see Nick on the block, though they at least feel that he would stay over Jennifer on eviction night. Indira tells Chase that she has bonded a lot with Ashley, and could possibly use that connection to convince Ryan to keep Chase safe if Nick comes off the block. Chase hopes this plot works, since he’s worried Ryan could want vengeance against Luke for not evicting Reilly, which would result in Chase going on the block as well. Indira admits she’s surprised that Jennifer and Nick of all people were the ones to go up, since she can think of much better reasons to nominate a lot of other pairs; alas, they have to deal with Nick being on the block. Nick joins them shortly afterwards, promising them that he’s not stressing too much - just the normal amount when you’re nominated. He guesses that Ryan wants Jennifer out, believing her to be Reilly’s closest ally, but that’s just his theory. He can’t come up with another reason as to why Jackson and Tanner were spared, a decision that Indira and Chase also find confusing.

With the initial fallout of Quinn’s eviction fading, Luke and Summer hold a meeting with Indira to smooth things over. They apologize to her for not filling her in on their plan, admitting that they made it last minute and weren’t sure how she would react. This latter point doesn’t sit well at all with Indira, saying that, as an alliance, they should be discussing decisions together instead of hiding things from each other. Summer snaps back, asking Indira why she hid the existence of her winners’ alliance from them. Indira is shocked, pretending that such an alliance doesn’t exist. Luke crosses his arms and points out that a hidden screen turned on, revealing Indira, Chase, Nick, and Quinn holding a very obvious alliance meeting in the backyard. Indira is at a loss for words, but continues to deny the alliance; Luke and Summer, however, are not convinced. The conversation ends on a sour note, with Indira asking them to trust her before leaving the room. In the DR, she expresses her worries now that her alliance has been exposed, as she understands a lot more why Quinn was sent home last week. She grows fearful that Nick could be Ryan’s target after all, hoping she can do something to get him off the block. Luke and Summer, meanwhile, are both done with Indira, feeling they can’t trust her and she doesn’t trust them, either.

Indira immediately rushes to Chase and Nick, finding them conversing together in the backyard. She urges them to follow her to a more private area, and once they find a room alone, she shares with them what Luke and Summer told her - they know about the winners’ alliance, alleging they saw a hidden screen that revealed them talking. Chase and Nick are confused, but grow worried that they are far from the only two people in the house who know about the alliance. Nick feels especially insecure, as he wonders if this knowledge was a factor in Ryan’s decision to nominate him. Regardless of what Ryan’s intentions are, the three of them know they’re in huge trouble moving forward, feeling the need to make strong connections outside of their grouping in order to secure any sort of safety in the house.

Needing new connections after learning that Luke and Summer are against her, Indira makes those connections via an unexpected source - Jackson and Tanner. Despite her reservations with both of them (especially Jackson), she hangs out with them every so often, hoping to establish some sort of bond. She is surprised by how much she enjoys their company, though, especially when she tries to exercise with them. Not being in terribly good shape, Indira struggles to keep up, but both Jackson and Tanner encourage her throughout the workout. She admits that she finds their encouragement sweet, and proceeds to talk with Tanner at length throughout the day about his kids and their lives back home. Having formed a genuine connection, the two new friends promise to have each other’s backs.

Chase wants to broaden his horizons beyond the winners and Emma, so he spends time with Austin. The two men have gotten along thus far, but haven’t had a lot of personal talks together. Finally having the chance to bond, they take it, and discover that they get along even better than they thought. Eventually, the conversation topic turns to Emma, with Austin admitting that he has been trying to get close with her since they’re in a duo together, but Emma has been a bit closed off. Chase nods, having gotten the same vibe; he suspects that she’s a bit wary of the house after the first week, and that she feels she’s a target. Austin shakes his head, saying he hasn’t heard her name brought up once; Chase shrugs, chalking it up to paranoia. Austin tells Chase that he’s a far better person to talk with than Emma, thanking him for hearing him out. Chase nods, happy to have formed a new connection in the house.

Ryan calls the houseguests into the living room, as it’s time once again to pick players for the Power of Veto competition. Ryan, as HOH, and Jennifer and Nick, as the nominees, will compete, and will be joined by three other players chosen via random draw. Ryan draws first, drawing his duo partner, Reilly. Jennifer then draws, getting Chase. Finally, Nick draws, getting Luke. A few hours later, Ryan, Jennifer, Nick, Reilly, Chase, and Luke compete in the third Power of Veto competition of the season. Jennifer, Reilly, and Chase are the frontrunners, but in the end, it’s Jennifer that manages to secure victory and her safety for the week.

Following the competition, Jennifer, Nick, Reilly, and Rhonda gather in the pantry, where they jump for joy at Jennifer’s win. With her holding the POV, both herself and Nick are safe for the week, much to their relief. Reilly and Rhonda both pledge Nick loyalty beyond this week, having gotten to spend good time with him through his connection to Jennifer. However, Rhonda admits that she’s worried she and Summer could go up in Jennifer and Nick’s place. Ryan refusing to nominate Jackson and Tanner gives her bad vibes that they won’t go up as a replacement either, although Reilly does point out that Ryan could be trying to backdoor them. Rhonda hopes this is the case, at this point wanting her, the MILF alliance, and Nick to remain safe more than anything else.

Ryan isn’t too upset to see Jennifer and Nick safe, since he wasn’t dead set on one of them leaving the game. He gathers Ashley and Austin to discuss which pair should go up as the replacement. The options are quickly narrowed down to Rhonda & Summer, Jackson & Tanner, and Chase & Luke, similarly to Ryan’s initial nominations. Austin shares that he gets really good vibes from Chase, which confuses Ashley. She reminds him that the winners are expected of colluding together, but Austin doesn’t believe this to be the case, at least not anymore. Ryan backs Austin up, also believing the alliance to be dead. Ashley is confused as to why they think this, as the winners still socialize frequently, but drops the issue. She thinks Jackson and Tanner are both bigger threats than Rhonda or Summer, advocating for the men to go on the block. Austin and Ryan have no problems with this idea, though Ryan is sure to point out how smart Rhonda is, with that being a possible reason to nominate her.

Jackson and Tanner are the first to advocate for their continued safety, meeting with Ryan in the HOH room. There, they argue that, as established physical threats, they are both massive targets and potential shields to Ryan should he keep them safe. They are certain they would be targets before Ryan ever would, so keeping them around would nearly guarantee Ryan several more weeks in the house. In addition, the men pledge to use their competition strength to help Ryan out, saying they would owe him one for keeping him safe. Ryan admits that they make good points, promising to hear them out before making his final decision. Jackson and Tanner are worried about Ryan’s non-committal answer, but hope that they gave a good enough case to stay safe.

Rhonda and Summer also make their case to Ryan, knowing they are under consideration for the block. They point their fingers straight at Jackson and Tanner, arguing that they are threats that need to be neutralized before they can win their way deep into the game. Summer specifically reminds the HOH of how badly Jackson wanted Austin out, knowing that Ryan is close to him. Similarly to the men they are throwing under the bus, Rhonda and Summer also pledge loyalty to Ryan should he save them, which Ryan listens to with open ears. He’s thrilled to have two separate alliance offers; he just needs to pick which duo would be better to work with for his game.

At the POV ceremony, Jennifer wastes little time in announcing that she is saving herself and Nick from the block. With that duo now safe, Ryan must name another duo to go up in their place. Ryan stands and takes a breath before naming Jackson and Tanner as his replacement nominees. Both men appear unhappy, but aren’t too surprised. They nod respectfully as they take their seats before Jennifer adjourns the POV ceremony.

Episode 10 Part 1 (Eviction)

After the POV ceremony, Ryan gives both nominees a hug, promising them that there are no hard feelings. However, during the hug with Jackson, Jackson whispers “you made a terrible decision” in his ear. Ryan rolls his eyes, not too interested in what Jackson thinks about his decision. The HOH later shares this exchange with Austin and Ashley, who are unsurprised yet irritated by Jackson’s sore loser behavior. Ashley jokes that the decision to send Jackson home over Tanner was already easy, but Jackson has managed to make it even easier by scolding Ryan for his decision-making.

Despite the friendship they have with each other, Jackson and Tanner waste little time in campaigning against each other. Tanner first goes to his other allies (Jennifer, Reilly, and Rhonda) to secure their votes. They quickly agree, believing him to be better for their games than Jackson. Jackson’s confrontational nature attracts unnecessary attention that could get one of them nominated alongside him, while Tanner is a lot more well-liked by the house. The women do briefly consider that Jackson could win competitions for them more often than Tanner, but reason that Tanner is strong himself and the gap between the men isn’t too great to be worth flipping the vote.

While Jackson’s own allies might be set on voting him off, he finds more success in campaigning to the rest of the house. While most feel set on voting him off, many find themselves doubting that idea when Jackson argues that he could be a shield for them. Emma in particular likes the idea of saving Jackson, as he will continue to be targeted as she slides under the radar. Chase, Indira, and Nick see the merit to this argument as well, mostly because they’re worried they will be the new house targets as soon as Jackson leaves. Jackson makes his case to every single voter in the house, telling the viewers that if he still goes, he at least did everything he could to save himself.

Ryan talks with those voting, hoping to confirm that Jackson will be leaving the house that week. He is shocked, however, to hear that many are having second thoughts, pointing out how big of a target Jackson is. Ryan finds this absurd, countering that Jackson can’t possibly be everyone’s shield, and that he will undoubtedly be coming after some of them despite promising to protect them. Unfortunately for Ryan’s goals, however, Jackson’s frantic campaigning has led many of the voters to believe he’s a free agent that they can pick up via a vote to save, while Tanner is loyal to people like Rhonda and Jennifer. The view some houseguests have of Jennifer and Rhonda as intelligent strategic players creates a compelling reason to send Tanner home as a bigger overall threat to their games.

In a panic, Ryan meets with Ashley and Austin to discuss which votes they do have to send Jackson home. The have two votes in the room, in addition to the votes from Jennifer, Rhonda, and likely Reilly as well, making five. They need just one more vote to ensure that Jackson leaves the game, but struggle to nail down who exactly would vote Jackson out. Ashley believes Indira would, pointing out the numerous times throughout the week where they gossiped about him. Austin says the same about Chase, who has also complained about Jackson’s behavior to him. Ryan grows paranoid that these two players will see the strategic reasons to keep Jackson over the emotional reasons to vote him off, however, urging his allies to convince them to vote Jackson out. Ashley admits that Ryan as HOH isn’t the prettiest sight, since he tends to get paranoid and has been siding with Austin on strategic decisions over her. She hopes this fades once he’s out of power, as she didn’t sign up to be the third wheel in an alliance.

The undecided voters (Chase, Emma, Indira, Luke, Nick, Summer) find themselves in a room together, discussing which way they want to go. Emma is the biggest proponent of evicting Tanner, believing he has established alliances while Jackson is going it alone. Luke disagrees, however, knowing from his HOH that Jackson and Tanner have mostly the same allies. Emma clarifies that while Jackson might be aligned with them, Tanner has the stronger connection, making him the bigger threat. Nick is thrown off by how hard Emma is fighting for Jackson to stay, as he assumed that, despite some strategic reservations, Jackson would be leaving unanimously. Not letting it go, Nick later informs Jennifer of what Emma has been saying. Jennifer admits that she doesn’t trust Emma at all, as she is a total wildcard that nobody can get a good read on. Nick fully agrees, even admitting that Emma’s points only made him want to vote Jackson out more. He suspects she must have some sort of agreement with Jackson to fight for him so hard, which he finds strange since they don’t interact very often.

Nick shares his doubts about Emma with the other winners as well. Chase, despite not having much of a strategic connection to Emma this season, still pulls her aside to let her know that several people have found it suspicious that she’s fighting hard for Jackson to stay. Emma is confused, unaware that the house had this perception of her. Chase adds that people see her as wishy-washy and hard to predict, and that she needs to make it known where she stands in the house soon or she’ll be evicted. Emma is horrified to hear this, but is thankful to Chase for having her back. He promises it’s no sweat off his back, seeing her first and foremost as a close friend that he wants to protect if he can. Emma tells the viewers that her relationship with Chase has been up and down so far this season, but that she trusts him more than ever before now that he’s giving her advice on how to improve her standing in the house.

With the eviction fast approaching, Jackson and Tanner spend the last few days of the week mostly with each other, wanting to enjoy their company as much as they can before they are split up. Tanner laughs about how excited they were to be duo partners at the start of the week, not expecting it to end like this. Jackson nods, wishing they had been separated so that there was at least a chance they could both survive if one of them was on the block. Jackson, believing he will go, urges Tanner to fight in his name, wanting him to go after Ryan and his allies first and foremost. Tanner nods, having little trust in them either. In case he leaves, he urges Jackson to keep fighting and to not sacrifice who he is, regardless of whether or not the houseguests like it.

At the eviction, Jackson and Tanner nervously wait as the votes are cast. By a unanimous 11-0 vote, Jackson is announced to be evicted from the Big Brother house. He’s not surprised at all to be going home, but acts a lot more gracious than before. He hugs everyone goodbye, even Ryan, although many don’t seem pleased to be hugging him. He then grabs his things and leaves the house with his head held high. He’s thrilled to learn from Matt after the eviction that he has a shot to earn his way back into the house at some point soon. Just like that, he is sent to sequester along with Aidan and Quinn.

Votes for Jackson: Ashley, Austin, Chase, Emma, Indira, Jennifer, Luke, Nick, Reilly, Rhonda, Summer

Votes for Tanner: None

Week 4

HOH/POV    Emma

Immune    Austin

Immune    Ryan

Pre-Veto Nominee    Ashley

Nominee 3 votes    Rhonda

Post-Veto Nominee Evicted 7 votes    Reilly

Episode 10 Part 2 (HOH)

Following Jackson’s eviction, the remaining houseguests head to the backyard for the next HOH competition. Before the competition begins, however, it is explained that, as the final secret group to remain intact, only Emma, Jennifer, Ryan, and Tanner can compete for HOH. However, since Ryan is the outgoing HOH, he also cannot compete. With this news out of the way, Emma, Jennifer, and Tanner compete in the fourth HOH competition of the season. In the end, it’s Emma that secures the crown, leaving most of the houseguests unsure of how the week will play out.

Episode 11 (Nominations)

Although Emma is extremely happy to have secured the title of HOH, she isn’t given any time to celebrate. Immediately after the competition, she and the rest of the houseguests are told to gather in the living room. As they expected, they are informed of the week’s twist, this time inspired by Veronica from Big Brother 5. Luke’s face lights up when he hears Veronica’s name, reminiscing on the time they spent together on that season. Ashley notices this and laughs, jokingly telling him to snap back into reality. After the playful banter, Matt explains that Veronica won the Safety HOH power twice on her season, and with that, had the power to save herself and other houseguests from eviction on multiple occasions. Keeping in line with her early game, this week, a competition will be held where the winner will be granted immunity. In addition, that houseguest can assign immunity to another houseguest of their choosing. While Emma is a bit apprehensive about a twist potentially putting a wrench in her plans, the other houseguests are very excited. None of them except Chase feel safe with Emma as the HOH, so the possibility of immunity is incredibly alluring. Emma is then asked to choose four Have-Nots for the week; she picks Ashley, Austin, Chase, and Nick, as they’ve gone the longest since the last time they were Have-Nots.

Jennifer, Nick, Rhonda, and Tanner discuss Emma’s win in one of the bedrooms. They are conflicted - on one hand, she voted with them against both Austin and Quinn, so they have some history of working with her in the past. However, prior to winning HOH, she was widely seen as the biggest floater in the house, or at the very least somebody who didn’t make it clear where they stood. Although they’re happy that Emma will have to put her foot down and make a statement in the game, none of them are sure if they will be safe or not, or what Emma’s priorities even are. Nick shares that he has a bit of a connection to Emma since she’s friends with Chase, but he isn’t sure if those two have had any game relationship after Aidan’s eviction. Nevertheless, he promises to put a word in to the others in the room, as he believes they’re his best shot of going far in the game. Tanner is very wary of trusting Nick after the events of Season 1, but gets the vibe that, at the very least, the former winner isn’t gunning for him at this stage in the game. Still, when Nick leaves the room, Tanner tells Jennifer and Rhonda that they can’t fully trust Nick, since he is willing to cut people who are big threats to his game. Jennifer and Rhonda agree that he’s dangerous, but for now, they want him on their side, which Tanner ultimately agrees with.

In another room, Austin and Ryan find themselves alone. After checking to ensure nobody is approaching the room, they shut the door and let their guards down. While cuddling, the two open up about their feelings for each other, liking each other far more than just the occasional kiss. Austin outright says that he would like to date Ryan outside of the house, admitting he has a thing for small town guys. This makes Ryan laugh hard enough to ruin the mood between them, but Austin doesn’t mind. He explains that while he likes Ryan on a sexual level, what really makes him a great ally and partner in the game is that they have a genuine friendship on top of that. As fond as he is of the heavier stuff, he likes being able to share a laugh with a partner more than anything else. Ryan’s DR reveals that he feels the exact same way, and that he prefers to take things slow and form a strong platonic bond first, with some more romantic moments mixed in to spice things up. This works well for both men, as neither wants any other houseguest, not even Ashley, to discover just how close they are.

However, while Ashley might not know the romantic feelings that Austin and Ryan share, she is well aware that they are far closer to each other than to her. After keeping these gripes to herself for a while, she eventually confides in Indira, expressing her slight frustration that they always listen to each other’s ideas before her own. Indira comforts Ashley on a personal level, but on a strategic level, she does whatever she can to extract information out of Ashley. Ashley reveals that Ryan admitted to having a crush on Austin at the start of the game, and that while she noted that Austin has curly hair like Jacob from Season 3 as a joke, she’s wondering if Ryan does have a type and that attraction is clouding his judgment. Indira shrugs, saying that, either way, Ashley seems to be the third in the alliance, meaning Austin and Ryan would cut her to save each other if it came down to it. Ashley sadly nods, agreeing with Indira. She admits that she would rather have Indira as her closest ally than Ryan or Austin at this stage; Indira says the same about Ashley, which cements their strong partnership. Ashley is very thankful to have somebody like Indira in the house who she can bounce ideas off of and vent to without worrying about the info being used against her later.

Before Emma’s HOH room opens, the houseguests are called into the living room once more. There, they are informed that the Safety Competition will commence in just a few moments. Every houseguest is eligible to compete except for Emma as the HOH. Unlike the Safety HOH competition from Big Brother 5, there is no punishment for placing last, meaning there is no opting out of the competition. The 12 eligible houseguests then compete for safety, with Austin ultimately winning. He is then told by Matt that he must save another houseguest right away; he chooses to save Ryan, not really surprising anyone. Ashley, however, isn’t pleased, as she remains the only person in her core alliance vulnerable for eviction that week.

With Austin and Ryan now immune, Emma’s HOH room opens, leading to her bedroom doors becoming revolving doors fairly quickly. Chase gets up there as quick as he can, wanting to pitch his case to Emma about who he wants to see on the block. Chase advocates for Luke and Summer to be the nominees, as they have been floating between the other groups in the house and are hard to read. He believes them to be the strongest pair in the house, and believes strong pairings like them are incredibly dangerous to keep in the game. Emma tells Chase that he has a point, as the two of them are indeed more difficult to get a read on than a lot of other houseguests. She’s especially worried about Luke, who she thinks could and would do anything to get himself further and isn’t afraid of making huge moves (such as evicting Quinn). Emma thanks Chase for the insight, but clarifies that she’ll end up doing what she wants at the end of the day, which Chase respects. In the DR, Chase explains that he is certain Luke and Summer are against him and the other former winners in the house, and for that reason, he needs one of them to go this week to benefit his own game.

Jennifer, Rhonda, Reilly, and Tanner all make separate pitches and have separate conversations with Emma, but seem to narrow down the same few targets. Reilly very much wants to see Ashley on the block, seeing her as the biggest threat to her game. The two ladies don’t get along on a personal level, and on a game level, Reilly believes that Ashley going will make Ryan more loyal to her, which she desperately needs for her gameplay. Ashley is mentioned by Jennifer, Rhonda, and Tanner as a potential target as well, but they also throw Indira into the mix. They know Emma won’t nominate Chase and are close with Nick, so Indira leaving is ideal as it breaks up any potential remnants of a winners’ alliance. Plus, since Indira and Ashley are close friends, Emma could easily claim to be nominating them as a duo or even as pawns. Emma finds the reasons to target Ashley to be fairly strong, as she believes Ashley to be a sneaky player who isn’t working with her whatsoever. She additionally sees Indira as a strategic threat and a good pawn to use since she is well-liked in the house.

Ashley, Austin, and Ryan make their own pitches as well, first naming Reilly due to lingering mistrust, before stating that they would prefer to make a bigger move. Reilly is an easy target, but Jennifer and Rhonda are not only tight with her, but each other as well, along with being strong competition threats and incredibly strategic. Ryan in particular advocates for Jennifer and Rhonda to hit the block, partly because of his secret connection to Reilly and partly because he genuinely sees the two ladies as bigger threats. Ashley’s pitch is the most interesting. She lays everything out on the table, admitting she doesn’t like how tight Austin and Ryan are, and would rather work with people who are more “free agents”, such as Chase, Emma, and Indira. Intrigued by the idea, Emma gathers Ashley’s proposed group into her HOH room. All four of them seem on board with working together, even if Chase has a few lingering doubts about Ashley. Emma, however, isn’t sure if Ashley is being genuine or is desperately trying to save herself, and additionally wonders if she can get away with not putting Ashley on the block when so many people brought her up as a target.

Although Ashley’s already thrown them under the bus, she still spends time with Austin and Ryan, wanting confirmation that they will still support her if she ends up on the block. However, she is frustrated when they mostly talk about how excited they are to be safe, and spend relatively little time comforting Ashley who is very much vulnerable. She cracks a bit, letting the frustration show by asking why they are so certain all three of them will stay. The two men don’t seem to believe that Ashley is much of a target, but she is aware that people are throwing her name out to Emma and have been all week. Growing annoyed with her allies not listening to her, Ashley storms out of the room, leaving Austin and Ryan confused. They figure they could have offered her more support, but Ryan speculates that Ashley’s mad Austin saved him instead of her, shrugging it off. This doesn’t sit well with Austin, who really doesn’t want to lose Ashley as an ally. He does his best to smooth the situation over later in the day, apologizing to her for not showing her as much concern as he should have. He then complains about Ryan’s attitude about the situation, wishing he had saved Ashley instead - while he might have a closer bond to Ryan, the guy is beginning to get cocky with his continued safety over the past two weeks. Ashley agrees, thanking Austin for understanding where she was coming from and apologizing herself for being irritable earlier in the day. With that, the two allies are back on good terms, though Ashley is still well aware that Austin is closer to Ryan at the end of the day.

Luke and Summer are the last two to give their campaigns to Emma, believing that Indira, Nick, and Jennifer are the three biggest threats in the house as it stands. Emma’s not surprised to hear Indira’s or Jennifer’s names, as they have come up before as options, but inquires further into Nick’s inclusion. The pair argues that everybody loves Nick, and he seems to have a lot of strong connections in the house; by nominating him, Emma can make a big move and establish herself as a player to be reckoned with. Luke argues that things have been too easy so far in the house, and Emma has the perfect opportunity to shake things up this week. Emma thanks them both before dismissing them from the HOH room, having a ton to think about as nominations occur in just a few hours.

Prior to the nomination ceremony, Emma is called into the Big Brother Control Room to first create a shortlist of four potential nominations, before narrowing those four down to her two nominations for the week. The first houseguest Emma considers nominating is Ashley, a smart strategic player who has formed a lot of strong connections in the house. However, Emma wonders if she can work with Ashley instead of nominating her. Emma next considers Luke, who she admits is hard to get a read on or trust in any way. She would love to see Luke go to remove a wildcard from the house and earn favor among a lot of different groups in the house. Third on Emma’s shortlist is Rhonda, who Emma recognizes as a Big Brother legend - sadly, this makes her a huge threat to Emma’s game, since she can mastermind plots with almost no effort and has already won a POV. Lastly, Emma considers nominating Reilly. She views Reilly as a skilled strategist who is very difficult to trust, and has strong connections to other smart players. Emma also believes that ousting Reilly would earn her the trust of Ashley and Indira, but also wonders if Reilly is too easy of a target to be worth going after this week.

At the nomination ceremony, Emma explains briefly how the ceremony will work. She will turn one of the keys in front of her, revealing her first nomination on the living room screen. She will then do the same for her second key to reveal her second nomination. Emma reminds the house that Austin and Ryan are both safe from being nominated this week prior to turning her first key. When the key is turned, Ashley’s face appears on the screen. Ashley doesn’t look surprised at all, keeping her composure perfectly as she gently sits down on the nomination chair. Emma then turns her second key, revealing Rhonda as her second nominee. Rhonda’s eyes go wide with shock as she quickly takes her seat beside Ashley. Emma explains that she nominated Ashley because she is a dangerous strategic player in this game. She then calls Rhonda a Big Brother legend, but admits that Rhonda’s skill at the game’s strategy and her strong social gameplay are why she is on the block. With that, the nomination ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 12 (POV)

After the nomination ceremony, Ashley gives Emma a very quick hug before walking off out of the room, appearing upset with Emma’s decision. However, once she has retreated into one of the bedrooms, she does a little dance, indicating that she isn’t quite as upset as she is letting on. In the DR, Ashley explains that Emma is using her as a pawn this week; while she’s not too pleased about it, Emma’s reasoning is that she wants to hide their brand new alliance with Indira and Chase. Ashley hopes she or Emma can win POV to ensure her safety, though, as she is aware that pawns are never truly safe in Big Brother. Austin and Ryan later join her, consoling her and promising her that they would take her off if they win POV. Ashley thanks them, pretending to be furious with Emma for her poor decision.

Rhonda, on the other hand, is more genuinely worried about the nominations. Jennifer, Nick, Reilly, and Tanner try to console her by saying that she’s probably not the target, but Rhonda disagrees. She believes there are a lot of better pawns than herself, such as Summer - somebody who hasn’t made any waves in the house yet and who is being overlooked due to Luke’s more shady gameplay, or Indira, who Ashley is close with on a personal level. Upon thinking things through, Rhonda’s alliance seems to agree that she is Emma’s target, which makes them worry as well. However, they argue that they have a good amount of numbers on their side, and that the only people to have won a POV this season are all in the room. Rhonda thanks her allies for her support, wanting them on her side as she goes to war against Emma and anyone she’s working with.

Chase meets with Emma after the nominations, wanting to hear her full plans for the week - guessing that she wants Rhonda out. Chase still thinks Luke and Summer are better targets, but Emma strongly disagrees. While they are hard to trust, she points out that Rhonda is tight with Jennifer, Reilly, Tanner, and Nick, which is already enough people for a dangerously powerful alliance to form. Really, Emma wants one of those five out this week, but believes Rhonda is the biggest threat out of all of them. Chase understands Emma’s reasoning, but warns her that the survivors of that alliance will be gunning for her hardcore for the rest of the game. Emma shrugs this off, urging them to bring it on. Chase laughs, loving Emma’s brazen attitude towards the game. He congratulates her on making a stand like she said she would, and Emma thanks him for having her back and ultimately supporting her decisions even if he doesn’t fully agree with them.

Wanting to gather some support, Rhonda speaks with Luke and Summer in the hot tub. She tells them that they’ve had a good bond with each other thus far into the season, and she wants to keep working with them. She suspects Ashley is the decoy target, and that Emma wants her (Rhonda) gone this week. Luke and Summer agree, not seeing why Emma would put Rhonda up unless it was to get rid of her. Neither Luke nor Summer trust Emma at all, and would have preferred to see her go this week had she not won HOH. Rhonda feels the same way, having Emma firmly on her hitlist. Luke and Summer promise Rhonda that they have her back and won’t let Emma get her way, thanking Rhonda for being on their side so far during the game. Rhonda says the same about them, feeling even more fired up to win POV and turn the tides of the house against Emma and co.

The split forming in the house does not go unnoticed by Emma, though. She gets the vibe that herself, Chase, Ashley, Indira, Austin, and Ryan comprise one side of the house, while Luke, Summer, Jennifer, Rhonda, Reilly, and Tanner are the other side, with Nick in the middle. She’s concerned that Rhonda leaving won’t be the slam dunk she originally envisioned, as she did not expect Luke and Summer to spend as much time with Rhonda and her allies as they have been lately. She calls everyone on “her side” of the house into the HOH room, admitting that she would like to see Ashley leave the block that week, with either Luke, Jennifer, or Reilly taking her place against Rhonda. Emma explains that she wouldn’t really want to see Nick, Tanner, or Summer go this week, not seeing them as massive threats just yet. However, with the other three on the block, she can live with it even if Rhonda manages to save herself from eviction. The group seems mostly on board with the mentioned targets, although Ryan does say that Reilly isn’t that big of a threat either, at least not compared to Jennifer or Luke. However, he qualifies that he dislikes Reilly, so he can’t be too upset if she goes. Emma says she likes this new alliance of six, but not everybody feels that way. Austin and Ryan are less enthusiastic about it, as they don’t know how much they can trust Indira and definitely don’t trust Chase or Emma. However, if those two claim to be working with them, maybe they can live with working with them for a few rounds.

Despite being seen as part of the other side of the house from Emma, Summer views herself more as a player in the middle. She’s tight with Luke, but not so much with any of the other players in the house. While she likes that she’s changed things up from being in a dominant alliance on her original season, she does want a few more people to rely on - specifically for her to rely on, not her and Luke. She reaches out to Nick, believing him to also be lacking truly strong connections in the house (while having many that aren’t as strong). Nick feels the same way about Summer, and believes the two of them could work together as a secret duo of sorts. Summer fully agrees, telling Nick that she gets the feeling she can trust him, then explains that she isn’t going to tell Luke about their deal. Nick is happy to have Summer on his side, since she’s a strong and loyal player. However, he is worried what might happen if Luke finds out that they are working together, so he plans to keep his distance from Summer to keep the entire thing under wraps.

Soon afterwards, Emma calls the houseguests into the living room to pick players for the fourth Power of Veto competition of the season. Emma, as the HOH, and Ashley and Rhonda, as the nominees, will compete along with three other players chosen by random draw. Emma draws first, getting Chase. Next to draw is Ashley, who ends up with Summer. Lastly, Rhonda reaches into the bag and draws Luke. A few hours later, Emma, Ashley, Rhonda, Chase, Summer, and Luke compete for the Power of Veto. In the end, it’s Emma that winds up winning, earning herself full power for the week.

Following her POV win, Emma celebrates in her HOH room, thrilled to be the first houseguest to win both HOH and POV in the same week this season. However, once the excitement dies down, she realizes that she needs to make a decision on what to do with her unprecedented power this week. While she likes her original nominations, she has the unique option to backdoor a potential big threat; however, she needs to make sure that such a threat would actually go home, and she needs to be cautious about getting more blood on her hands. Still, Emma tells the viewers that she wanted to use this week to shake off any accusations that she’s a floater, and pulling off a huge backdoor would do that while also setting Emma up for the future.

Ashley is quick to head up to the HOH room, wanting Emma to use the POV on her. She argues that she fully trusts Emma, but can’t say the same about a lot of the other houseguests. Ashley believes that if she were to stay up against Rhonda, then Jennifer, Reilly, Tanner, Nick, Luke, and Summer would all vote Ashley out - enough votes for a majority of six. Emma doesn’t want Ashley out, so she takes this argument very seriously. She promises Ashley that, if she reaches the same conclusion that she would go home if she stayed on the block, she’ll use the POV without hesitation to prevent that from happening. Ashley thanks Emma for having her back, urging her to make the right decision. She says that Reilly is the ideal replacement nominee, as she’s a strategic threat and a close ally of Rhonda’s; plus, the new six-person alliance they formed with Chase, Austin, Ryan, and Indira would have full control of the vote. Emma thanks Ashley for giving her a lot to think about before dismissing her from the HOH room.

Rhonda also makes a case to Emma to be taken off the block, even if she feels she’s the target for the week. Her main argument is that her threat level is being overstated, as she only really has connections to a few people in the house. She points out that people like Luke, Summer, and Indira are tight with most of the house, and could easily sway back and forth between alliances to reach the end. Moreover, she believes Ashley is a bigger threat than her, pointing out her skill in competitions during Big Brother 5. Rhonda accuses her of purposefully downplaying her physical threat level this season, arguing that Ashley is incredibly cunning and difficult to trust. These arguments get Emma’s gears to turn, as she realizes Rhonda is right about Ashley’s competition performance in Season 5 versus this season. Emma wonders if trusting Ashley is the right thing to do after all, or if she should switch gears and gun for Ashley instead. With a lot to think about, Emma thanks Rhonda for her insight, prompting Rhonda to leave Emma alone in her thoughts.

At the Power of Veto ceremony, Emma gives Ashley and Rhonda both the chance to argue why they should be taken off the block. Ashley argues that she thinks she and Emma could work together, and that she isn’t as big of a threat as people claim. Rhonda says the same about her threat level, while also arguing that there are far more untrustworthy people in the house that should be dealt with first. After a few moments, Emma announces that she is using the Power of Veto on Ashley. Very pleased with Emma’s decision, Ashley hugs her before allowing her to place the Veto necklace around her neck. Emma then explains that she must replace one of her own nominations, before asking Reilly to take a seat beside Rhonda. Reilly shakes her head in disappointment before sitting beside her friend. With that, Emma adjourns the POV ceremony.

Episode 13 Part 1 (Eviction)

After being saved during the POV ceremony, Ashley dances her ass off in the pantry for a few minutes, overjoyed to be guaranteed safe for the week. Emma soon joins her, and the two ladies dance like no tomorrow. However, Ashley soon loses it, seeing in a mirror just how bad Emma’s dancing skills are. The two ladies laugh for a while before shifting the conversation to game. Ashley again states that, with herself, Austin, Ryan, Indira, and Chase, they can at the very least tie the vote, with Emma being able to break the tie. Therefore, they have control over the vote for the week. However, a DR from Ashley reveals that this isn’t the true reason she’s so happy. In reality, she’s thrilled to see Reilly on the block, explaining that she’s worried Reilly could slip through the cracks to the end unnoticed while big players continue to get taken out. While not outright saying she wants Reilly out, Ashley admits she wouldn’t mind seeing her go whatsoever, and at the very least, Reilly will have to squirm this week - a sight Ashley enjoys seeing.

Jennifer and Rhonda aren’t so pleased about Emma’s move, however, as a member of the MILF alliance will undoubtedly be going home in just a few days. Rhonda is annoyed with Emma’s unnecessary move, as it’s obvious to her that she’s still the target, not Reilly. Jennifer agrees, but believes Emma’s move to be a foolish one, since not very many people in the house like Reilly enough to want to save her. Rhonda sadly agrees; while she likes Rhonda, she knows many don’t, especially not Ashley, Austin, and Ryan. Nick and Tanner soon join the conversation, also unhappy with the result of the POV ceremony. They’re peeved since they were certain they had the votes to send Ashley home, but Emma was one step ahead of them. Jennifer, Nick, and Tanner all promise Rhonda their votes, seeing her as more useful to their games than Reilly. Rhonda thanks them, promising to campaign to get the three more votes she needs to stay in the house.

Reilly is scared to be on the block again, as she only narrowly survived the previous time she was nominated. However, Austin and Ryan are quick to find her, assuring her that Emma wants Rhonda gone, and that they both agree with her in that regard. Reilly is a bit surprised, but thanks the men for having her back. Austin and Ryan refuse her thanks, explaining that they think they can work with her moreso than they can with Rhonda, making the decision fairly easy for them. Reilly asks if anyone else is planning on voting Rhonda out; the two men believe Chase will, and that Ashley and Indira might, which would be enough to ensure Reilly’s safety come eviction night. Reilly hopes the men are right, but urges them to talk to those people to see where their heads are at. In the DR, Ryan explains that Reilly staying is great for his game, as she wouldn’t come after him down the line. Rhonda, however, absolutely could, meaning she has to go before she gets the chance.

Emma calls her new power alliance of Austin, Ryan, Chase, Ashley, and Indira into her HOH room, making the case for Rhonda to go home. With the five votes in the room, they have full power to force a tie that Emma would break to eliminate Rhonda from the game. She argues that this is the best move for them to make, as Rhonda is an incredibly savvy player who can make it far if given the chance, while Reilly’s gameplay has been a lot messier this season. Indira, however, admits she’s not fully sold, pointing out how impossible Reilly is to predict, and that her messy gameplay poses a threat to the entire house. Emma acknowledges this, but counters that Reilly threatens the entire house, yes, but Rhonda threatens the six of them specifically, so eliminating her gives them the upper hand. Indira nods, seeing where Emma is coming from, though it’s not sure if she’s convinced or not. Still, the alliance agrees that Rhonda should go before breaking up their meeting.

Ashley and Indira discuss the vote, as they’re the two that are the least on board with voting Rhonda out. While they don’t see it as a bad move, they feel uneasy with Reilly still in the house, knowing she would probably nominate either the two of them, or Austin and Ryan. Rhonda, however, could very easily toss Chase and Emma on the block, sparing the two ladies and their closer allies. Indira points out that ousting Rhonda is best for Emma’s game, but not necessarily for theirs, although she’s worried that voting differently from what Emma wants will backfire on them. Ashley agrees, worried about the possible backlash they may face from the move. Still, she believes that Jennifer, Nick, and Tanner are definitely voting for Reilly to go, and Luke and Summer might as well, giving them the ability to control the vote if they so choose. In the DR, Indira explains that the decision to evict Reilly or Rhonda is a massive one, and that she and Ashley must be very certain they’re making the right move.

To get some more information, Ashley speaks with Luke and Summer, wanting to know what their plans are for the vote. They both admit they’re conflicted, seeing good reasons to vote Rhonda and Reilly out. Ashley agrees, saying herself and Indira are in the exact same spot. They see Rhonda as a huge strategic threat, but also see Reilly as hard to predict. Additionally, Ashley explains her theory that Rhonda would probably go after Emma, while Reilly would go after herself, so she’s worried she’s leaving herself vulnerable to being nominated again by keeping Reilly around. While Luke and Summer don’t think Reilly would go after them, they do agree with Ashley’s point about her being a wildcard, and wonder if Rhonda’s better competition skill and strategic reliability make her the preferable ally in the future. It’s unclear what conclusion any of the three of them make.

With one of their members leaving the game later that night, the MILF alliance spends the final day of the week together, wanting to have a proper send off to either Reilly or Rhonda. The three ladies talk about their lives in the backyard, play card games with each other throughout the day, and avoid any sort of chores like the plague. Jennifer jokes that she and Rhonda do a vast majority of the cleaning around the house, so this much-needed day off will definitely test the resolve of the younger houseguests. Sure enough, the house quickly turns into a sty, with dishes overflowing the sink. Jennifer notices this and turns her nose up, before assuring herself that it’s not her problem. This clip is played to the houseguests during the live eviction, causing them all to laugh. They promise Jennifer and Rhonda to pull their weight around the house in a lighthearted manner.

Following this humorous moment, the mood immediately shifts, as it’s time for the eviction vote. Rhonda and Reilly are given one more chance to make a pitch for safety before the vote occurs. Reilly argues that she’s been an easy target for most of the season, meaning she’s a good shield and doesn’t pose much of a threat to anyone. Rhonda argues that she is a more steady and reliable ally than Reilly, apologizing to her but stating that people who want a trustworthy and steadfast partner in the game should save her and evict Reilly. With that, the houseguests go to vote. By a vote of 7 to 3, Reilly is evicted from the Big Brother house. Reilly isn’t shocked, nodding with a smile before hugging the other houseguests goodbye. She then leaves the house as the fourth all-star to be evicted, only to be informed that she has a shot at making it back into the house. Reilly is then sent to sequester.

Votes for Reilly: Ashley, Indira, Jennifer, Luke, Nick, Summer, Tanner

Votes for Rhonda: Austin, Chase, Ryan

Week 5

HOH    Summer

POV    Tanner

Nominee 3 votes    Indira

Evicted 6 votes    Chase

Episode 13 Part 2 (Punishment)

The houseguests are called into the living room soon after Reilly’s eviction. They believe that they might have to face a double eviction, or that Matt is simply announcing the next weekly twist. The latter theory proves to be correct, as Matt announces that the twist based on Miranda from Season 4 is coming into effect. This twist requires the houseguests to vote for two other houseguests that they wish to see incur a to-be-revealed punishment. With little information to go off, the houseguests vote one-by-one in the Diary Room. Matt then explains that the four houseguests with the most votes will be eligible to receive the punishment, which is a disadvantage in the next HOH and POV competitions this week. In addition, all four will be Have-Nots for the week. The four with the most votes are Tanner (6 votes), Ryan (4 votes), Austin (3 votes), and Chase (3 votes).

Austin, Chase, Ryan, and Tanner are told that they will compete right then and there, with the two losing houseguests receiving the punishment. In the end, Tanner dominates the competition, while Austin narrowly beats Chase and Ryan. This means that Chase and Ryan will both receive a disadvantage in the next HOH and POV comps, which worries them greatly. They are shown being comforted by the house before the episode concludes.

Episode 14 (HOH/Nominations)

The episode opens to a flashback prior to the eviction of Reilly at the end of the previous week. Ashley and Indira are shown speaking with Chase, Emma, Austin, and Ryan, arguing that it makes little sense for their games to send Rhonda home when Reilly is the bigger wildcard and is harder to trust. The rest of the alliance’s arguments that Rhonda is the bigger strategic and physical threat fall on deaf ears, with Ashley and Indira refusing to budge on their position. This leads to frustration among their other allies, but ultimately, they accept that Ashley and Indira will be voting Reilly out. Despite this, Austin, Chase, and Ryan all still vote for Rhonda to be evicted, as they indicated they would all week. In the DR, Ashley explains that she can’t keep playing Austin and Ryan’s games for them, and that it’s time she took a stand for herself and made a big move in the game. Austin then speaks in the DR about being unable to trust Ashley as much as he used to, since she appears to be doing her own thing with Indira instead of being with himself and Ryan.

After this flashback, the scene returns to the present, where Reilly has been evicted and Chase and Ryan have both received disadvantages in the upcoming HOH competition. In said competition, the houseguests all compete except for Emma as the outgoing HOH. For their disadvantage, Chase and Ryan are both given a two-minute time penalty, meaning that even if one of them finishes the competition first, that person must wait two minutes for anyone else to finish before securing his victory. In the end, though, the disadvantages are inconsequential; Summer blazes well ahead of the competition to win her first HOH of the season.

Summer is pleased to have won HOH, as she had been a bit more under the radar before securing the position. She and Luke celebrate together, believing that they have both made it to the jury phase of the game thanks to her victory. Right away, Summer promises her closest ally that she’s not playing this week safe whatsoever, and is ready to shake up a house that desperately needs to be shaken up in her opinion. Luke fully agrees, admitting a lot of fake, shady people have been coasting by so far, and are in for a rude awakening. The pair are actually overwhelmed by how many people they do want out, unsure how they are going to narrow it down to just two nominations. Summer is unhappy thinking about how fake everyone is about to act to her, but admits it’ll be amusing watching certain people backpedal out of desperation. Luke jokes that Indira is probably squirming, knowing she is rightfully in trouble this week. Summer nods in agreement, but admits that she’s not set on putting her up just because they haven’t been getting along as well recently. She wants to ensure she’s getting out somebody who is both against her and who needs to go this week specifically.

While the winners’ alliance still holds meetings, these chats have been getting rarer over the course of the game. However, Summer winning HOH results in Chase and Indira both feeling an alliance meeting is necessary, as they feel they could be in trouble. Nick, having a secret deal with Summer, does his best to pretend to be worried as well, but mostly listens as Chase and Indira vent. Indira talks about how she was initially working with Summer, but they had a falling out after Quinn was evicted. Chase never felt he could trust them, and with each passing week has grown to trust them less, so he feels vulnerable with Summer as HOH. Additionally, he believes that Summer and Luke are both still worried about a winners’ alliance existing, and could go after them for that reason, too. In the DR, Nick explains that he would prefer to see his former winners safe, since he believes they would be targets over him in the future and he enjoys spending time with them. However, in the end, he’s happy that he’s most likely safe this week, finishing his DR with a cheeky shrug.

Summer calls Nick into her HOH room, wanting to see where he stands. She shares that she’s leaning heavily towards putting Indira on the block, explaining the distrust that has formed between them over the last few weeks. However, despite not trusting Indira at all, she would rather use her as a pawn than get rid of her, which Nick is secretly relieved to hear. Instead, she wants to go after somebody she trusts even less, of which there are many candidates. She specifically names Austin, Chase, and Ryan as these untrustworthy figures, admitting that she was happy to see them all in contention for a disadvantage as, quite frankly, she believes they deserved it for their shady gameplay. She explains that Austin and Ryan are way too close for her comfort, even closer than she is to Luke. Chase, meanwhile, floated through Season 2 for an easy win, and seems to be trying to do the same this season. She’s tired of the way he plays the game, and would love to put him up this week to interrupt that. Nick zeroes in on Austin and Ryan, inflating their threat level by hammering home how often they are together. Summer is really enticed by the idea of putting just one of them up, to see how that impacts their partnership. Nick laughs, loving that Summer is ready to cause some serious waves in the house. Summer shrugs, saying it’s All-Stars, not the playground, and she doesn’t want her HOH to be wasted.

Despite the shaky ground they’re on after Reilly’s eviction, Austin and Ryan still meet with Ashley and Indira, figuring that at least one of them will most likely end up on the block. None of them think Summer will nominate Jennifer, Rhonda, or Tanner, and obviously will not be putting Luke up, so the remaining options are limited. They reason that it’s either a combination of two of them going up, or it’ll be Chase and Emma, and they’d all greatly prefer the latter. With that, each of them go up to the HOH room at different points, making their separate pitches to Summer. Ashley, Austin, and Ryan all make the case for Chase and Emma to be the nominees, arguing they’re ultimately the bigger threats to Summer’s game. Ashley reveals that Emma strongly considered putting Luke on the block, and has called him and Summer threats at multiple points. Indira, however, tries to protect Chase, instead arguing for Austin and Ryan to go up. She points out that they are a tight pair, tighter than any other pair in the house. Splitting them up would be great for Summer’s game, as it would weaken several of her competitors. Summer has trouble trusting anything Indira says, but does see the merit to her arguments. Austin and Ryan are certainly a duo, but Summer also acknowledges that splitting them up would leave herself and Luke as the biggest duo, which she isn’t sure if she wants.

Jennifer, Rhonda, and Tanner feel pretty safe with Summer as HOH, but feel they should still talk to her to see where her head is at. She and Luke assure each one safety for the week, saying that they have no problem with them and that they have proven to be loyal, trustworthy players so far in the game. All three thank Summer and Luke for having their backs, and promise to protect them in return. Summer feels confident in her people, being those three, Luke, and Nick. However, she can’t bring herself to really trust any of the other six, and that the house split is very real this season. Despite the split, though, she does keep in mind that Jennifer, Rhonda, and Tanner are all closer to each other as a loose trio of sorts, and that she might be in trouble if she goes to final six with them, Luke, and Nick. Luke talks about the house split with her, but does remind her that, often, the house splits only last a few weeks, so Summer shouldn’t feel too comfortable with her “side” of the house. She agrees with him, promising him that at the end of the day, her loyalties are with him and not anybody else.

Prior to the nomination ceremony, Summer is called into the Big Brother Control Room, where she must narrow down her options to four houseguests. From there, she will choose two of them to nominate for eviction, finalizing her decision. Summer first considers Indira for the block, both believing her to be a good pawn while also not trusting her whatsoever. She is also considering Ryan, who is a big player in the house and is very tight with Austin. She similarly considers Austin for the block, as he is part of a duo with Ryan and is an incredibly good social player in the game. Finally, she considers nominating Chase, who she struggles to get a good read on at all. She thinks he’s more than a floater - he’s a mastermind at slipping between alliances, and used that strategy to easily win Big Brother 2.

At the nomination ceremony, Summer explains how the ceremony will work. She will turn the first key, revealing her first nominee. After that, she will do the same with the second key to reveal the second nominee. With the explanation out of the way, Summer turns her first key, revealing Indira as her first nominee. Indira’s not surprised in the slightest, taking her seat on the block with a smile on her face. Summer proceeds to turn the other key, which reveals Chase as the second nominee. Chase sighs and nods, not happy about the position he’s in. Summer explains that she didn’t nominate them both because they won the game before, basing the decision solely on the games they have been playing this season. She explains to Indira that they used to have mutual trust, but Indira broke that by forming secret pacts behind her back. She then accuses Chase of floating between different alliances and being hard to get a read on, but says she has a feeling that he might be after her down the line. With that, Summer concludes the nomination ceremony.

Episode 15 (POV)

The fear of god is struck into both Chase and Indira after the nomination ceremony. While both had a suspicion that Summer would nominate them, they didn’t expect to go up on the block together, and are crushed that it might come down to one of them going home. Indira doesn’t believe Summer’s story, pointing out how it looks to have two former winners on the block together. Chase nods, also believing that Summer is coming after the winners, whether she wants to admit it or not. Nick soon joins them in the room, hearing Chase and Indira bashing Summer for her decision. Pretending to not have had any part in it, Nick expresses worries that he could go up that week as well if Summer really does have an anti-winner agenda, which Chase and Indira think is likely. However, they tell Nick that he has a better rapport with her than they do, so he is their best bet at getting them all out of their current situation. In the DR, Nick can’t help but chuckle, winking while saying he’ll definitely put a good word in to Summer. Nick does concede, however, that Chase and Indira clearly still want to work with him, so it might not benefit him for one of them to go this week.

Despite this, Nick fills Summer in on the conversation, including how Chase and Indira wanted him to do the brunt of the campaigning work. Summer finds this even funnier than Nick, laughing at how little Chase and Indira truly know about the house dynamics. Luke soon enters the room, catching up with what happened and finding it just as funny. He admits that he liked seeing the look on Chase’s face specifically, as he knows that Chase had been throwing his name out as a possible nominee in the past. Nick confirms this, telling Luke that Chase wanted Emma to put him and Summer up last week, cementing Luke’s desire to see Chase go home. In the DR, however, Summer isn’t so sure. While she gets the reasons for ousting Chase, and wouldn’t mind seeing him go, she worries that Indira is the more dangerous player overall, as she is just as untrustworthy as Chase but hides it a lot better behind a better social game.

Ashley is sad to see Indira on the block, doing the best she can to comfort her close friend. She immediately unravels Summer’s reasoning - if Austin and Ryan go up and are split apart, then Luke and Summer are the next biggest duo. Ashley shrugs, believing Summer’s move is cowardly, but ultimately smart, pledging to have it fail regardless. Indira agrees with Ashley’s suspicions, while adding that the nominations are emotional as well, since Summer is mad that Indira didn’t accept the Quinn vote lying down. Ashley rolls her eyes, saying this is typical for Summer, who likes to play pretend that she’s part of the “moral” group of houseguests and villainizes her strategic opponents. She is certain that Indira will survive the week though, urging her that she has little to worry about. Indira thanks Ashley for the support, promising to pull through in the POV competition so that it’s not even a possibility she goes home that week. In the DR, Indira explains that she was on the block multiple times on Season 6 and still won, so she’s not too afraid of Summer.

Animosity is clearly growing amongst the houseguests, but not much has boiled over just yet. However, on the day of the Power of Veto competition, tensions suddenly explode. Ashley and Luke are in the backyard, when she asks him what the deal is between Indira and Summer, pretending to be clueless. Luke is confused, certain Indira must have mentioned something. Ashley denies this, wanting Luke’s side of the story. Luke explains that Indira snapped at him for evicting Quinn, to which Ashley points out that Indira must have been under the belief he was voting for Reilly. Luke shrugs, conceding that this is true, to which Ashley points out that this means Luke and Summer were the untrustworthy ones, and that Indira didn’t do anything. Luke rolls his eyes, explaining that he isn’t playing the game of who is the most moral, but who is a threat to his own game, which is why he wanted Summer to nominate Indira. Ashley tells Luke that this is why she’s been respecting his gameplay this season, but that Summer isn’t the same way. Luke stays quiet, but later in the day, tells Summer everything that Ashley said to him.

Furious, Summer marches down to the backyard, confronting Ashley with Luke in tow. Ashley defends herself and refuses to back down to the HOH, accusing her of playing a backstabbing game while talking down to others for their “betrayals”. Summer calls Ashley a snake, which riles Ashley up. She yells back at Summer that she was the one that helped backstab Quinn and proceeded to get all pissed off at Indira for not agreeing to it. She urges Summer to stop playing the victim and own up to her own dishonest gameplay. Summer refuses to back down, however, pointing out that she and Luke discovered Indira was part of an all-winners alliance before the Quinn vote happened, so in reality, it was Indira that broke their trust first by not informing them about the deal. Ashley calls her paranoid and argues that no such alliance ever existed, before urging Summer to admit that she’s going after the winners because she feels threatened and nothing more. Luke backs Summer up, and claims to have the same reasoning. Ashley, frustrated with the conversation, storms off. Summer snickers to herself, pointing out that Ashley had no real comeback. Luke agrees, stating that Ashley has sealed Indira’s fate this week with her outburst. Summer fully concurs, telling the viewers that she’ll be overjoyed to watch Indira walk out of the doors come Thursday evening.

The drama does not go unnoticed by the rest of the house, with Jennifer and Rhonda discussing what happened later in the day. They are both thrilled to see fighting between houseguests that doesn’t involve them, especially after Rhonda very nearly left the house just a week ago. Jennifer tells Rhonda that it’s smart to keep them at each other’s throats, proposing that they stir the pot a little to keep tensions high and the spotlight off of them. The two women enlist Tanner to “kick the wasp’s nest”, per Rhonda’s words. Tanner heads to the HOH room, lying to Summer that Ashley claimed she’s plotting a backdoor against an unknown target. Summer rolls her eyes, growing increasingly fed up with Ashley’s (alleged) behavior. She admits that, yes, she is considering a backdoor, but that the person she wants up is Ashley herself. She then wonders why Ashley would only make things worse for herself by badmouthing the HOH. Tanner shrugs, guessing that Ashley has no sense of subtlety. He also claims that Austin and Ryan were allegedly the ones to spread this idea to Ashley, at least according to her. This piques Summer’s interest, as she is already wary of the pairing. While she thinks keeping them intact for a few more weeks is smart to put a target ahead of herself, she’s unsure if that’s a good idea now that they are apparently dragging her name through the mud. Tanner admits that throwing Austin and Ryan under the bus was solely his own idea, since he would greatly prefer to see one of them leave this week. None of his allies seem as on board with that, so his only option is to stir the pot to get what he wants.

Before the Power of Veto competition can be played, three players must join Summer, the HOH, and Indira and Chase, the nominees, selected via random draw. Summer, as the HOH, draws first; she draws Ryan’s name. Next up is Chase, who draws Jennifer. Lastly, Indira goes, drawing Tanner. A bit later, Summer, Chase, Indira, Ryan, Jennifer, and Tanner compete in the fifth POV competition of the season, although both Chase and Ryan are given disadvantages in the competition. Their disadvantage is yet another time penalty, this time lasting five minutes due to the increased length of the competition. In the end, Tanner pulls through and secures his second POV win of the season.

With Tanner winning POV, Summer feels fairly confident that she has a significant say in how the POV is used, since she and Tanner are (loosely) working together. She calls him up to the HOH room, wanting to hear his targets for the week. Having built some momentum against them earlier in the week, Tanner is honest that he would rather see Austin and Ryan split up than to have Indira or Chase leave the game. Summer nods, agreeing that they are a dangerous dynamic duo, but she’s honest as well about her stance on them. Despite not trusting them, she is considering keeping them intact for another week, since she’s worried that she and Luke will be targeted as the next “dynamic duo” once Austin and Ryan are split up. Tanner understands the predicament Summer is in, not pressuring her to put either of them up. He does say that he’s not using the POV if neither of those two are going up, as he wouldn’t gain much from, say, Ashley replacing Indira on the block. Summer understands, ultimately telling Tanner that it’s his decision at the end of the day.

Despite Tanner not really wanting Ashley on the block, Summer still has it in her mind that she must go home this week after the drama that has unfolded. To get the ball rolling even further, she has Luke inform Austin and Ryan of what Tanner told Summer in the HOH room. The two men are shocked to hear that Ashley claimed they spread a rumor about a backdoor that they never even heard, having assumed that Indira was the target all week. Luke admits he’s confused by the story as well, but assumes that Ashley must be trying anything to keep herself and Indira safe this week. The idea that Ashley threw him under the bus to save Indira infuriates Ryan, to the point where he confronts her about the situation. Ashley is just as confused as Ryan is, having no idea what this “rumor” is that she has allegedly been spreading. She promises that she would never throw him under the bus just to save Indira when they could easily get the votes against Chase, which does cause Ryan to have second thoughts. While Ashley might be playing shady, he does agree that it might be too farfetched that she would stoop this low. However, he still doesn’t trust Ashley nearly as much as he did at the start, and only fully trusts Austin at this stage in the game. Austin, on the other hand, fully believes Ashley’s innocence. He does what he can to convince Ryan that Luke is making shit up to turn them all against each other, and that he is playing a hell of a game so far. Ryan is stuck, unsure who to believe.

With Ashley’s reputation only falling, Summer talks to Tanner again, this time bringing in Austin, Ryan, Luke, Emma, and Chase, most of whom advocate for Ashley to hit the block alongside Indira. While Tanner gets why Emma, Chase, Summer, and Luke would want Ashley on the block and Chase off, he’s surprised to see Ryan advocating for her nomination as well. The group all accuses Ashley of being untrustworthy and shady, as well as causing drama that is splitting the house apart. Tanner admits that the arguments he received only make him want to keep the nominations the same, since if Ashley is such a huge target, he only benefits by keeping her around. He also knows that most of the transgressions Ashley is accused of were things he made up earlier in the day, so he doesn’t see Ashley as quite the dangerous player everyone thinks. However, Tanner acknowledges that he doesn’t want to ruin his own standing in the house just to save Ashley, who he isn’t even aligned with. If the house would get pissed at him for not saving Chase, he feels he might be forced to just to make peace with the house.

At the Power of Veto ceremony, Tanner asks the two nominees why he should use his power to save them. Chase outright states that Ashley has been wreaking havoc throughout the house and should go up against her best friend in his place, prompting Ashley to roll her eyes dramatically from the couch. Indira’s case is that she has a lot more game to play and will be fully loyal to Tanner if he saves her. In the end, Tanner decides not to use the Power of Veto, surprising and disappointing a large portion of the house. He argues that while he understands why people want him to use the POV, he doesn’t see how his personal game benefits from doing so. With that, the POV ceremony is adjourned, with Ashley sporting a wide grin at having escaped the block.

Episode 16 (Eviction)

Summer is pissed off about the POV Ceremony. She wastes no time in pulling Tanner aside and demanding an explanation from him, feeling betrayed by his decision not to use the POV. Tanner repeats that it’s not good for his game to have Ashley leave this week, as he’s worried he could be the next target in the house once she is gone. Summer assures Tanner that he will be if he continues going against the house, but Tanner doesn’t appreciate this threat from Summer. He promises her that running the house like a dictator during her HOH isn’t doing her any favors either, and that she should watch her back as well. Frustrated, Summer storms off, wanting to cool off in the HOH room before she says anything she might regret. In the DR, Tanner tells the viewers that Summer is blowing her game up right now, and he’s eating it up. He gives a hearty chuckle to the camera as Summer is shown looking furious in the HOH room.

A bit later, Ashley and Indira meet with Tanner, celebrating the result of the ceremony. Both women thank him for his decision, as Ashley would have undoubtedly gone home if she made it to the block. Indira is still worried about going home, however, but Tanner is quick to tell her that she’s not going anywhere on his watch. He believes Chase to be far sneakier and a far bigger threat than Indira, especially after the events of the week where he and Emma have largely escaped the drama. As nice as this is, Ashley and Tanner are only two votes in Chase’s favor, while Luke and Emma are two votes that are almost definitely going in Indira’s direction. Tanner promises to help them campaign, and the three group hug before heading their separate ways.

Ashley first goes to Austin and Ryan, wanting to get them on board to send Chase out the door. During their conversation, the two men are quick to agree that Chase is the bigger threat, and that they want to keep Indira around since they’re closer to her. However, once Ashley leaves the room, the men reveal their true feelings. Lately, they’ve lost a lot of trust in Ashley, and they suspect that Indira is trying to pull her away from them. Ryan believes Indira could nominate him and Austin if she won HOH in the future, or at the very least would sell them out to save herself, Ashley, and Emma should Chase stick around. With that, they feel that keeping Chase would be better for their games, but they know that they need to play it carefully to avoid having Ashley turn on them. Austin offers to talk to Luke and Summer to see where their heads are at.

In the HOH room, Austin learns that, surprisingly, Summer is targeting Chase this week. He admits he’s confused, since Ashley, Indira’s closest ally, has made herself a huge target in the house. Luke admits that he personally feels less certain about sending Chase home after everything that’s happened surrounding Ashley, which Summer agrees with. She admits that Indira is a very smart player who she has trouble trusting, so her departure wouldn’t be very bad at all for Summer’s game. Austin argues that it’s best for her game, since it weakens her biggest adversary, being Ashley, and eliminates a dangerous strategic player. Summer tells Austin that he brings up very good points, and that her only reservations are getting the votes and that Chase is harder to predict in the game. She admits she’s still put off by the way he cut Aidan week 1, believing him to be capable and willing to do anything if it gets him one week further. Austin agrees, but still argues that the pros of voting Indira out outweigh the cons of keeping Chase around.

Chase and Emma also fight to get the votes on their side. They first go to Nick, believing that getting his vote will help them get votes from Jennifer, Rhonda, and Tanner as well. Chase’s argument is that the house as a whole is turning against Ashley and Indira, so the votes aren’t there to save Indira anyways; plus, saving Ashley and Indira will only put Nick on the bottom with them, and will involve him in unnecessary drama. Nick nods, admitting that there’s a cloud of negativity surrounding the two women that needs to be dissipated. However, Nick is honestly unsure of what to do. He wants both Indira and Chase to stick around, as he has connections to both of them. Indira is in a bad position, and Nick doesn’t want to risk his game by sticking his neck out for her. However, Nick also thinks Chase is the bigger threat, so if there were no repercussions, he would vote Chase out in a heartbeat despite his bond with the guy. Nick knows he needs to talk to Jennifer and Rhonda to see if he can convince them to vote Chase out.

Nick meets with the two ladies and Tanner, realizing quickly that the four of them, if they vote together, will decide the result of the eviction. Tanner is the most vocal about keeping Indira, as that will cause the rest of the house to fight amongst themselves while the four of them continue coasting by unharmed. Nick agrees, adding that Chase is the bigger threat since he is better at flying under the radar and not making waves in the house. Jennifer and Rhonda aren’t so sure, as they feel their relationship with Luke and Summer will be over if they go against their wishes this week. Nick and Tanner agree that this is a downside to the plan, to which Jennifer says she’s wary about making herself and the rest of the alliance a target down the line. Tanner is unhappy that his allies are hesitant, though, as he thinks Ashley and Indira would work with them if they save Indira, which will make up for possibly losing Luke and Summer. The alliance’s ultimate decision is not reached by the time the cameras cut away.

At the eviction ceremony, Chase and Indira are both given the opportunity to give a speech about why they should stay in the house. Chase argues that there is a negative energy that needs to be removed from the house, and that he is not the nominee that has been contributing to that negativity. Indira rolls her eyes before standing, arguing that Chase is a much bigger threat than she is because he is good with everyone and can fly under the radar with ease. With that, the houseguests vote. By a vote of 6 to 3, Chase is evicted from the Big Brother house. Chase nods, accepting his fate, though he appears a bit surprised to be evicted. Emma hugs him tightly, and he urges her to win for him. He says goodbye to everyone else, but refuses to hug Ashley. He then walks out of the house, only to be told that in just a few moments, he and the other evicted houseguests will battle to return to the house. In addition, Matt later tells the audience (with Chase not present) that next week will be the season's first Double Eviction week.

Votes for Chase: Ashley, Jennifer, Luke, Nick, Rhonda, Tanner

Votes for Indira: Austin, Emma, Ryan

Week 6 (Round 1)

Reentered    Quinn

Evicted    Chase

Evicted    Reilly

Evicted    Jackson

Evicted    Aidan

HOH    Nick

Immune/POV    Quinn

Nominee 4 votes    Ryan

Evicted 5 votes    Austin

Episode 17 (Reentry/HOH/Nominations)

The episode opens to the outside of the house, where Matt explains that, in just a few moments, one of the first five evicted houseguests will be returning to the game with a week’s worth of immunity. Matt then delivers this news to the remaining houseguests as the weekly twist based on Greg from Big Brother 2. The houseguests are incredibly nervous about what might happen. In the DR, Emma hopes that either Aidan or Chase returns, since she knows that both of them would have her back and help her advance further in the game, while also being targets ahead of herself. Aidan, Quinn, Jackson, Reilly, and Chase proceed to compete in the re-entry competition, which is a difficult endurance comp. Reilly is the first one out, officially ending her time on Big Brother All-Stars. Chase and Aidan are the next two to fall, leaving Quinn and Jackson battling it out for a chance to re-enter the game. In the end, Quinn manages to outlast Jackson and earns her way back into the house.

Meanwhile, back inside the house, the houseguests nervously await for somebody they helped evict to return to the game, and with immunity to boot. After some suspense, the doorbell rings, prompting the houseguests to direct their attention to the front door. Just then, Quinn waltzes back inside the house, shocking a lot of the houseguests. They expected one of the strong men to return, but are a bit relieved to see Quinn back. Most of the houseguests wanted her back more than any of the other potential returnees, as she was involved in the least drama and wasn’t meant to go on the week that she left. Nick gives her a huge hug as soon as she walks in, thrilled that his close friend has another shot at the grand prize. However, he admits in the DR that he’s worried what Quinn’s return will mean for his game, as he was off people’s radars due to not being part of a duo up until that point.

Not long after Quinn re-enters, the houseguests are told that they will be competing in the sixth Head of Household competition of the season. Summer, as the outgoing HOH, will not compete. In the competition, the eleven eligible houseguests give it their all, but it is Nick that reigns supreme, earning his first competition win and HOH of the season.

Quinn follows Nick into one of the bedrooms after the competition, celebrating his HOH victory with him. She’s thrilled that they finally have power as a duo, before asking Nick to catch her up on everything that has happened since she left. He informs her that he drifted away from Chase and Indira, instead working with Jennifer, Rhonda, and Tanner. He also mentions that he and Summer are on good terms, although she was unhappy that he wanted to vote Chase out earlier that night. Nick explains the drama between Ashley and Summer, and how Indira was nearly evicted due to her close bond with Ashley. Quinn nods, absorbing all of the information she’s being given. She’s thrilled to have a second chance on her second chance, promising the audience that she won’t let them down and get evicted this time around.

Ashley and Indira discuss the eviction, specifically trying to figure out who the three votes were against Indira. Emma is obviously one of those votes because of her bond with Chase. Since Tanner wanted Indira to stay and lobbied to Jennifer, Nick, and Rhonda to get it to happen, they figure that all four of them voted for Chase to go, and since they assume Austin and Ryan voted together, they must have been the other two to vote for Indira. Ashley is annoyed with the betrayal, wasting no time in finding them in a bedroom to call them out. They deny the vote at first, but Ashley is clearly not buying their story, so they end up confessing to it. Ashley is furious, asking them why they would do such a thing without consulting her. Ryan snaps back that Ashley was the one throwing him and Austin under the bus, to which Ashley again denies doing anything of the sort. Austin chimes in that he felt it was better for his game for Indira to go, since he doesn’t think he can trust her. Ashley shrugs, accepting this reasoning, before telling Ryan that it’s great that Austin can be mature about things. She tells Ryan that his days in the house are numbered before storming off. Ryan calls Ashley a menace in the DR and prays that she goes home this week, but he doesn’t have high hopes. He is worried he’s in a bad position after voting the wrong way, hoping Nick sees their side of the story this week. Austin, meanwhile, complains about Ryan’s behavior in the DR, as he is only making things worse with Ashley by engaging in the way he does.

The next morning, the houseguests are called into the living room, where they will be competing in a Have/Have-Not competition. Nick, as the HOH, will not compete. The other eleven houseguests will be randomly divided into three teams, two of four and one of three. The teams are Ashley/Austin/Emma/Rhonda, Indira/Ryan/Summer/Tanner, and Jennifer/Luke/Quinn. The houseguests will compete in rounds, with one teammate competing in each round. Each round, the houseguest who does the best wins 2 points for their team, second place wins 1, and third wins 0. One houseguest on team 3 will go twice due to having fewer teammates. In the end, the team of Ashley, Austin, Emma, and Rhonda are the Have-Nots for the week.

Summer heads to the HOH room, wanting to get some answers from Nick as to why Chase had to be the one to go. She thanks him for giving her and Luke a heads up so they could avoid voting the wrong way, but asks him to explain his reasoning. Nick admits there was some pressure on him to vote Chase out, but his personal reason was that Ashley is a huge target in the house, so her and Indira both staying puts the target squarely on their backs and not his. Summer gets this, but points out that Ashley and Indira are probably going after her, so it makes her worried that Nick doesn’t have her back as much as he claims. Nick denies this, saying that if he didn’t have her back, he wouldn’t have told her about the vote in the first place. Summer isn’t convinced, but ignores this to appease the new HOH. She says that she would obviously like to see Ashley and Indira go up, but asks Nick who was pressuring him to save Indira. Nick shrugs, putting the blame squarely on Tanner. Summer nods, pointing out that Tanner not using the POV was shady. She theorizes that he must be working with Ashley to put that much work into saving her and her ally. Nick nods, agreeing with this theory. Summer expresses her opinion that two of Ashley, Indira, and Tanner go on the block this week, which Nick promises to think through carefully. In reality, though, Nick is good with Tanner, and doesn’t see Ashley and Indira as threatening to his game. However, he’s worried Summer and Luke would be mad at him if he keeps them around again, not wanting to burn that bridge just yet.

Later, Tanner and Luke find themselves working out together in the backyard. While initially they are mostly just spotting each other and making small talk, they eventually discuss the game. Luke admits that he felt a bit sketched out by him refusing to use the POV last week, and that he heard Tanner campaigned for Indira to stay. Tanner owns up to all of it, but tells Luke that it’s good for his game. Ashley and Summer are at each other’s throats, and all that drama will result in one of them going, leaving Luke relatively safe. Luke shrugs, guessing it’s not too bad that Summer is a bigger target than he is, but adds that he would prefer neither Summer nor himself to go. Tanner nods, saying he’s willing to help Luke out in the game, and by proxy, Summer as well. Luke is receptive to what Tanner is saying, believing a strong competitor and upfront guy like him would be great as an ally. However, he is still wary, since Tanner’s actions last week proved that he isn’t the type to try and get rid of drama in the house.

Jennifer and Rhonda want to get in Nick’s ear, which they have no trouble doing since they are close with him. The three of them and Quinn talk in the HOH room, with Nick admitting that he wants to go after a duo this week. He sees these duos as Ashley/Indira, Luke/Summer, and Austin/Ryan. Jennifer immediately says that she would love to see Austin and Ryan on the block, admitting that she doesn’t like them at all or trust them whatsoever. Rhonda nods in agreement, saying Ryan specifically has it coming. Nick doesn’t disagree, but admits that he’s stuck on what to do. He wants to see Austin and Ryan on the block, but is worried that the rest of the house, minus Tanner, would be pissed off with him for not putting Ashley and Indira up. Jennifer shakes her head, telling Nick to not give a shit about what they think, and that she might lose it if she’s with Ryan for another week, annoyed that they have had so many things thrown their way to help them out. After Jennifer and Rhonda leave, Quinn tells Nick that she sees where they are coming from, since Austin and Ryan are tighter than any of the other pairs, and aren’t involved in nearly as much drama. Nick nods, but knows that it would be an unpopular decision, especially in the eyes of Summer. Still, he begins to wonder if it’s time for him to stop trying to please people in the house, and to make some real waves in the house.

Emma knows she might be in a tough spot after losing Chase, so she appeals to Nick for safety. Nick is quick to promise that she isn’t going up as long as the POV isn’t used, but that she could end up as a pawn if he has to pick a replacement. He explains that the reason for this is that he wants to split up a duo, and between the duos he’s considering, he doesn’t see a way that Emma would go home against anyone. Emma thanks Nick for the safety from initial nominations, but argues that she is easy to take out if she’s a pawn because she’s good in competitions and there aren’t many people who would by angry if she left. Nick agrees that this is true, wondering if a houseguest with better social standing would be a better pawn choice. However, he doesn’t have to consider this for a few days, so for know, he just tells Emma he’ll think about it.

Austin and Ryan also want to secure their safety, meeting with Nick in the HOH room as well. Nick is upfront that he’s considering both of them for the block, since he wants to split a duo up this week. Austin and Ryan nod, keeping their cool and instead arguing for that duo to be either Ashley/Indira or Jennifer/Rhonda. For the first pair, they feel the reasoning is obvious in that they can’t be trusted and most people want them up. For the second pair, they argue to Nick that while he thinks he can trust them, they are both very cunning players who are each other’s number ones. Even though they’re a tight duo, nobody has been able to split them up, and not for lack of trying. Nick does see Jennifer and Rhonda as threats down the line, and wonders if he should strike this week. However, since he is aligned with them, he’s worried it would only hurt his game to backstab them like that at the first opportunity. Still, he thanks them for their pitch and says he will consider what they have told him.

Prior to the nomination ceremony, Nick must head to the Big Brother Control Room to create a shortlist of four potential nominations. From there, he will choose two of those four people to go up on the block. Nick first considers nominating Ryan. All of Nick’s close allies want Ryan out of the house, and he is part of a tight duo with Austin. Nick wants a duo split up this week, so Ryan is an attractive choice to nominate. Next considered is Austin, Ryan’s right-hand man. Nick doesn’t think he can trust Austin, and acknowledges how savvy of a social player he is. While people had tons of complaints about Ryan’s personality, nobody seems to have a problem with Austin, which makes him a huge threat. Nick’s third consideration is Ashley, who has found herself embroiled in drama upon drama throughout the past two weeks. He wants to put her up because her leaving would cause a lot of the drama to dissipate, and since Ashley is hard to predict at times. Finally, Nick is considering Indira for the block. While he and Indira have a good relationship, she’s tight with Ashley, so putting her up alongside Ashley would ensure that the duo is split up.

At the nomination ceremony, Nick explains that he will turn his first key, revealing his first nomination. He will then turn his second key to reveal his second nomination. Additionally, due to the weekly twist, Quinn is immune from nominations for the week. With all of that out of the way, Nick turns his first key, revealing Ryan as his first nominee. Ryan shakes his head, unhappy to be going on the block. Nick then turns his second key, which reveals Austin as the other nominee. Austin is devastated to be going up alongside Ryan, sporting a glum look as he sits down. Nick explains that the two men are incredibly tight, and that he doesn’t think he can work with them going forward. He wants a duo split up this week, and believes Austin and Ryan are the best duo to break up for his game. With that, the nomination ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 18 (POV)

Now on the block together, Austin and Ryan are completely crushed. In a separate room, Ryan complains about the situation, as he thinks it’s a longshot for either one of them to make it out of the week alive. Austin nods in agreement, but stresses that it’s still possible. One of them can win the Power of Veto, and then they can fight for whoever the replacement nominee is to go home instead. Ryan acknowledges this is true, but points out how many votes they would need to gather. He gets that being negative won’t change anything, but he’s frustrated about his game falling apart. Austin gets it, comforting Ryan and promising to have his back. Ryan thanks Austin for being so supportive, sharing a kiss with his secret showmance in the pantry. In the DR, Ryan admits he’d lose his mind without Austin in the house, so the thought of him possibly leaving the game is bumming him out, to say the least.

Ashley and Indira, meanwhile, are in very high spirits after the nomination ceremony. While they may have preferred for Luke and Summer to hit the block instead, they have no problems with seeing Austin and Ryan up there either, especially with Ryan fighting with Ashley earlier in the week. The two ladies thank Nick for keeping them off the block, and for putting up two people that they are glad to see on the block. Nick points out that they weren’t the only ones to think that, as a lot of people wanted to see Ryan in particular on the block. Ashley nods, saying Ryan is the one that has had problems with her, while Austin has only been kind and kept things to the game. Indira agrees, telling Nick that Ryan has been playing the game harder than just about anyone. Nick says that Ryan has to go, and that he’s absolutely on the same page as they are. Ashley and Indira thank him again, saying they see a future working with him if he’s down for it. Nick is pleased, as his HOH reign thus far is only seeming to help his position in the house even further. However, he knows that he needs to lay low after this week, since he’s worried he is starting to become a threat now that Quinn is back in the house.

Despite feeling fairly isolated from the rest of the house, Austin and Ryan do find solace in one other houseguest: Emma. She admits that she hated to see them both on the block, as she thinks they’re the only two people she can trust at this point. However, she believes everyone else will work together to split the duo up, as they are all good with Nick. Ryan is frustrated, wishing he was in a much better position than he’s in currently. Austin agrees, asking Emma if she has any info on how they can improve their standing in the house. Emma nods, believing that if Austin and Ryan go hard against Ashley and Indira, they would gain the support of Luke and Summer; this could help them get the ball rolling to save themselves and their games. Austin loves the idea, and thinks it’s their best bet at improving their position. Ryan agrees, though he asks Austin to be the one to initiate things, knowing the reputation that he is carrying for starting drama in the house.

Austin speaks with Luke and Summer, wanting to know if there’s any way that both he and Ryan could survive that week. At first, the two admit that things look bleak, but are intrigued when Austin says that he’s going firmly for Ashley and Indira, and wants Luke and Summer on his side. They both admit that they would love to see Ashley gone at some point, as they know she is coming after them. Austin nods, recognizing that he would be next on her hitlist after them. Austin points out that if he or Ryan comes off the block, then that person, Emma, Luke, and Summer would hold four votes already, only needing to convince one more person to vote with them to switch things around. Of course, this all hinges on the POV, but Luke and especially Summer are on board with the plan. Luke does urge Summer to exercise some caution once Austin leaves the room, since he’s aware of how desperate Austin must feel. Summer agrees, but finds it much better for her game to have loyal allies willing to take Ashley and Indira out, as they are the main two people throwing her name out.

Quinn is pleased to be back with Nick, but knows that she needs connections of her own to get further in the game. She reaches out to Ashley and Indira, believing that joining up with them would be the best move for her game. She tells them both that they are all very different people, which is why them working together as a three would be beneficial to their games. She argues that nobody would expect her to work with them, especially with the drama surrounding them recently. Indira is worried by how Quinn phrases this, as it makes it sound like she and Ashley are massive targets on the bottom of the house. Still, the women agree that working together would help out their games. However, Ashley admits to Indira later that she doesn’t like Quinn all that much, and finds her a bit desperate. Still, she’s willing to look past that if it gets her further, which Indira agrees with.

Prior to the Power of Veto competition, three houseguests must be chosen via random draw to join Nick, the HOH, and Austin and Ryan, the nominees, to compete in the competition. Nick draws first, and manages to draw Houseguest Choice. He chooses Quinn to compete, shocking absolutely nobody. Austin then draws, getting Indira. Finally, Ryan draws, selecting Tanner. Just a bit later, Nick, Austin, Ryan, Quinn, Indira, and Tanner compete in the sixth POV competition of the season. In the end, Quinn powers through and wins her first POV of the season. In the DR, she explains how ecstatic she is to win a competition right after returning, as it proves that she’s on the same playing field as the other houseguests.

Nick pulls Quinn aside after the competition, congratulating her on her win. He is quick to tell her his intentions with the POV: for her not to use it, and to keep Austin and Ryan on the block together. He does stress that she can do whatever is best for her game, but requests that she doesn’t use the POV. Quinn nods, not wanting to screw over her closest ally’s plans for the week. However, with her side alliance with Ashley and Indira, she doesn’t want to leave it to whatever Nick wants. She promises the audience to talk to everyone to get a gauge of what is best for her game, not for Nick’s. Quinn believes Austin and Ryan as a duo are big targets in the house, and that she can slip under the radar by keeping them intact. Individually, they aren’t big threats, which worries Quinn. She knows she carries a big target on her back as a previously evicted houseguest, and doesn’t want that target to grow even further by ousting the few people in the house that are bigger targets than herself.

Quinn talks with Ashley and Indira, wanting to know their opinion about the POV. Both women admit that they wouldn’t mind seeing Austin and Ryan split up at this point, since they seem to have turned against them. However, they also would much rather see Luke and Summer split up, believing them to be bigger threats in every way to Austin and Ryan and knowing they would nominate them both. Quinn considers this; Austin and Ryan might nominate Ashley and Indira, but Luke and Summer definitely would, which is bad for Quinn’s game. Still, Quinn isn’t sure that Nick would put Luke or Summer up as a replacement, since he has a good bond with them. If she was to use the POV and didn’t get the outcome she hoped for, she’s worried she’ll grow to regret her decision. Quinn thanks Ashley and Indira for the advice, promising to keep it in mind as she makes her ultimate decision.

At the Power of Veto ceremony, Quinn gives Austin and Ryan the chance to argue why she should use the POV to save them. Austin argues that he’s not a threat, and isn’t coming for Quinn - there are better people for her to get rid of. Ryan gives a similar argument, but adds that he’s a bigger target than Quinn, so she would stay safe by keeping him around. Quinn then announces her decision - she is not using the Power of Veto on either nominee. Austin and Ryan aren’t surprised, and accept Quinn’s decision. With that, the POV ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 19 Part 1 (Eviction #1)

Although they understand the game move and aren’t angry with Quinn or Nick, Austin and Ryan are upset to find themselves still on the block together. They know they’re being split up, so they don’t bother to hide the true nature of their relationship any longer. A lot of the house is surprised that they managed to hide being a showmance for so long, but others, specifically Ashley, saw it coming. She admits that despite the differences they’ve had in the game, Austin and Ryan do make for a cute couple - just one that she would like to split up for the sake of her own game. Ryan tells the viewers that it’s freeing to not have to make his relationship with Austin a secret any longer.

While some in the house had their doubts about splitting Austin and Ryan up before, the revelation of their relationship eliminates those doubts. The idea of splitting up a showmance thrills them all, as that’s the last thing any of them wanted to deal with on an all-stars season. However, the decision of which person to send home is a lot more difficult. Both can win competitions, but neither is a beast; both have strong social games as well, so neither stands out as a clear threat to the house. Jennifer, Rhonda, Nick, Quinn, and Tanner discuss the possibilities of what would happen depending on which member of the showmance stays. Rhonda believes that Austin should go, believing he has the stronger social game while Ryan has pissed people off at various points throughout the season. However, her allies seem to think that Ryan is more skilled in competitions overall, routinely placing fairly high in most of the ones he’s competed in. It comes down to whether competition skill or social game is more dangerous to go against later on.

Ashley and Indira discuss the vote as well, really wanting Ryan to go home. They believe that Austin is willing to work with them, but Ryan is stopping him from doing so by pitting him against them. Indira points out that she and Austin made it far together in Season 6, and formed a strong friendship from that experience. She would hate to see him go this week, believing he would be useful to her game especially with Ryan out of the picture. Ashley adds that Ryan is stronger in comps, so overall, he’s far more dangerous to them as a duo than Austin ever could be. Quinn walks into the room, and is filled in on the reasons as to why Ryan should go. Wanting to help Ashley and Indira out to prove her loyalty, Quinn promises to vote Ryan out on eviction night. In the DR, she explains that Nick might not be happy that she made a promise so early, but she knows what she needs to do for her own game.

Ryan knows he’s probably the bigger target compared to Austin, so he goes into overdrive to campaign for his safety. He first goes to Luke and Summer, believing he can get their votes fairly easily. He argues that he wants Ashley and Indira gone, as well as Jennifer, Rhonda, and Tanner, all people that Luke and Summer see as threats to their games. Summer admits that she, Luke, and Ryan appear to be on the same page, thanking Ryan for talking game with them. After the talk, Luke admits that he’s surprised to be agreeing with a lot of what Ryan says, as he previously was deadset on evicting the Nebraska resident just a few minutes ago. Summer agrees, but is still hesitant. While Ryan makes good points, she thinks he’s the bigger threat overall, and has trouble trusting him all that much. Luke admits that Ryan is harder to trust, stuck on what they should do.

The final person campaigned to is Emma, with both Austin and Ryan vying for her vote. Emma is very stuck, considering them both her closest allies in the house. In the end, she has to make her decision based on which of them would help her get further in the house. Austin’s pitch is that he has more connections in the house than Ryan, which would help Emma improve her stock in the house. Ryan argues that he can win more competitions than Austin, allowing himself and Emma to seize more power in the house. Emma struggles to make a decision, telling the audience in the DR that she hates to make this decision before the jury even starts. She’d much rather be with the two men in the final three than voting one of them out in the final 12. Still, she knows she has to make a decision that can have massive ramifications on the rest of the game.

At the eviction, Austin and Ryan are given the chance to give one more speech on why they should stay. Instead, both give speeches on what they appreciate about the man they’re nominated against in a heartfelt moment. They then hold hands as the house votes to evict one of them for good. After everyone votes, Matt announces the result to the houseguests. By a vote of 5 to 4… Austin is evicted from the Big Brother house. Sad to have his second chance at Big Brother squashed, Austin frowns when hearing he’s evicted, while Ryan appears shocked to have survived. The two men hug for a long time before Austin leaves the house as the final person evicted pre-jury.

Votes for Austin: Jennifer, Luke, Rhonda, Summer, Tanner

Votes for Ryan: Ashley, Emma, Indira, Quinn

Week 6 (Round 2)

HOH    Emma

POV    Tanner

Pre-Veto Nominee    Jennifer

Post-Veto Nominee 2 votes    Quinn

Evicted 6 votes    Rhonda

Episode 19 Part 2 (Eviction #2)

Not long after Austin’s eviction, the houseguests are called back into the living room. They are told that, being the final eleven houseguests, all of them have officially made it to the jury phase of the game. This earns loud cheers from the houseguests, especially Tanner, who failed to make it to the jury phase on his original season. However, the good vibes are immediately destroyed when Matt then announces that another houseguest will be leaving the house that night and heading to the jury house. Shocked, the houseguests are told to head to the backyard for their next HOH competition. There, they all (except for Nick as the outgoing HOH) compete to be the seventh Head of Household of the season. In the end, Emma secures her second HOH win of the season.

During a commercial break, Ryan pulls Emma into the pantry, jumping for joy before urging her to put Jennifer and Rhonda on the block. Jennifer then walks in the room, and notices how silent Emma and Ryan get. She asks Emma what she’s thinking, to which Emma admits she’s thinking of putting her up. Jennifer promises her this would be a mistake, instead saying that Luke and Summer need to go up. They’re the tightest duo in the house at this stage, and would come after Emma if given the chance. Ryan accuses Jennifer of being full of shit, leaving her speechless. She tells Emma that it’s her decision at the end of the day before leaving the room. Summer then rushes in, learning from Ryan that Jennifer just came in to throw her and Luke under the bus. Summer rolls her eyes, before urging Emma to nominate either Ashley/Indira, or Jennifer/Tanner. She argues that Tanner can easily win POV to save Jennifer or Rhonda, which would leave Emma in a sticky situation. Emma nods, considering this option as well.

In the living room, Emma is asked for her two nominations, right then and there. Emma stands, saying that her first nomination is Jennifer. Jennifer nods, not surprised to be on the block, but clearly unhappy about it nevertheless. For the second nomination, Emma names Rhonda, throwing Jennifer’s closest ally right up beside her. With the nominations decided, players are then picked for the POV competition. Emma draws Tanner, Jennifer draws Indira, and Rhonda draws Houseguest Choice, choosing Quinn. In the ensuing competition, Tanner is able to win, giving Jennifer and Rhonda some hope to survive the double eviction.

During another commercial break, Emma pulls Tanner aside and asks him what he’s doing. He says he’s using the POV on Jennifer, and that nothing Emma can say will get him to change his mind. Using the limited time she has, Emma gathers Ryan, Luke, and Summer to figure out who she should put up as the replacement to ensure Rhonda leaves the game. Summer immediately argues for Quinn to be the pawn, worried that any other option would be evicted beside Rhonda. Ryan thinks Nick would work as a pawn also, but could be a riskier decision since he has some blood on his hands after just being HOH. Emma nods, knowing one of those two has to go up or Rhonda could easily stay in the game.

At the POV ceremony, Tanner makes true on his word, announcing that he is using the POV to remove Jennifer from the block. With Jennifer now safe, Emma must name a replacement nominee right then and there. She takes a deep breath, thinking through her decision for a few moments before naming Quinn as her replacement nominee. Quinn frowns, unhappy to be back on the block right after returning to the game. With that, Quinn and Rhonda are the final nominees for the double eviction.

Just before the vote, Jennifer, Rhonda, and Tanner pull Nick aside, wanting to know what he’ll do. He knows they want to save Rhonda, so he apologizes, admitting that he can’t bring himself to evict Quinn and doesn’t think doing so would benefit him. Jennifer and Tanner are disappointed, not sure what they can do to save Rhonda. They need two more votes to tie things up, hoping Ashley and Indira could be those votes. When the two ladies refuse, though, things appear bleak for Rhonda, who struggles to keep her emotions in check. Jennifer and Tanner comfort her as she braces herself for her likely eviction.

The eviction vote is then held, with Quinn and Rhonda nervously awaiting the results. Eventually, all of the votes are cast, and Matt prepares to announce the first juror of the season. By a vote of 6 to 2… Rhonda is evicted from the Big Brother house. Rhonda isn’t surprised, knowing her eviction was inevitable. She hugs everybody goodbye, even the people who targeted her. She then leaves the house, disappointed she couldn’t pull out a win for a second season in a row. However, she is happy to have a say in the final outcome of the season as the first member of the jury.

Votes for Rhonda: Ashley, Indira, Luke, Nick, Ryan, Summer

Votes for Quinn: Jennifer, Tanner

Week 7

HOH    Luke

POV    Summer

Nominee 3 votes    Ashley

Evicted 4 votes    Quinn

Episode 20 (HOH/Nominations)

With a surprise double eviction sending Rhonda to the jury house, the ten remaining houseguests experience mixed emotions. Jennifer is furious about Rhonda’s eviction, venting to Tanner about the entire round. She is open in wanting Emma out of the house, partially out of revenge and partially because of how skilled she is in competitions. Tanner also believes Emma is a threat, and struggles to balance being happy to have finally made jury and being upset to see Rhonda go. He views himself as the first casualty of when things got real on season 1, so it’s a weird feeling for him to be on the other side of the start of more cutthroat gameplay.

Before the houseguests can really process the double eviction, they are called into the backyard for the next Head of Household competition. Emma, as the previous Head of Household, is not eligible to compete; therefore, Ashley, Indira, Jennifer, Luke, Nick, Quinn, Ryan, Summer, and Tanner are the nine competitors in the eighth HOH competition of the season. When it’s all said and done, Luke is the winner of the competition, securing his second HOH reign of the season. Summer hugs him tightly, overjoyed to be safe for another week. Immediately after the HOH competition, the houseguests are told that the next weekly twist has been activated. Fortunately for them, this twist, based on Wendy Lewis from Big Brother 3, is a temporary shutdown of the Have-Not bedroom - meaning all of the houseguests are Haves for the week.

With Luke as HOH, Ashley and Indira know that they are likely in trouble this week. Ashley curses at herself for being unable to take the competition home, especially with the winner being pretty close to the worst possible outcome for her game. Indira consoles her as much as she can, despite being extremely worried for her own safety as well. In the DR, Indira is thankful that Ashley stood up to Summer during her HOH reign; sadly, that has only bitten her on the butt now that Summer and Luke are in power again. After having some time to process Luke’s win, Ashley points out that she only ever had beef with Summer, so she could potentially convince Luke to spare them both to go after a bigger threat. Indira nods, adding that Luke’s hunger for big moves might be enough to convince him to go after somebody else. In the DR, Ashley explains that, even though things look bleak for her now, she can’t give up hope until she’s walking out the front door of the house.

In the HOH room, Luke and Summer talk about their preliminary plans. Summer doesn’t waste a second in suggesting that Ashley and Indira go on the block, since the past week proved that nobody else seems willing to nominate them. Luke agrees, mostly because he knows that Ashley and Indira would nominate him and Summer if either of them won HOH. However, to the audience, Luke admits that he wishes he could make a bigger statement of a move now that the houseguests have entered the second half of the game. Sure, Ashley and Indira being nominated is a good move for his game, but he also views them as easier targets in comparison to some of the other houseguests. In the end, Luke resolves to make the best move for his game, even if Summer might not agree with it.

While most of the house seems to know what Luke will do, they still talk to him to make sure that they’re good. Tanner has a good chat with Luke, tightening their bond and strengthening the deal they have with each other. Tanner promises Luke that he wouldn’t nominate him or Summer if he were to win HOH in the future, and that he would only use the POV this week if Luke asks him to. Luke thanks Tanner for being a stand-up guy throughout the first six weeks of the game, admitting that he’s the person he trusts most after Summer. Tanner nods, feeling the same way about Luke after Jennifer. Tanner then admits that he is sure Ashley and Indira are going up, but that he would rather see Emma and Ryan on the block. When Luke asks why, Tanner explains that they have both performed better in competitions overall (especially Emma), and they could very easily put Luke and Summer on the block if they won HOH. Luke isn’t sure if he believes that Emma would nominate him, but he wouldn’t put it past Ryan to. He thanks Tanner for the advice, promising to keep it in mind for nominations.

Quinn finds herself talking with Ashley and Indira in the backyard, with none of the three women feeling secure at all in their positions in the house this week. Quinn feels vulnerable because she went home during Luke’s first HOH thanks to his tiebreaking vote, so she has no clue if he’s planning on putting her up again. Ashley and Indira encourage her to talk to Luke, not only to save her own skin but to put a good word in for them without seeming suspicious. Quinn agrees to the plan; later that day, she approaches Luke in his HOH room. During their conversation, Luke tells Quinn that her leaving was never his plan, but that things came to light about a possible winners’ alliance that Quinn was suspected of being affiliated with. However, no such alliance exists anymore, so Luke is honest that he has no reason to put her on the block this week. Quinn thanks Luke for the promise, before making a case for Jennifer to possibly go up this week. She explains that Jennifer has deals with a lot of the house, and is playing the game incredibly hard without being seen as that big of a threat. Quinn even confesses that she thinks Nick’s gameplay relationship with Jennifer is stronger than his with Quinn. This shocks Luke, who hadn’t realized that the two were working together so closely. Quinn nods, admitting that Nick is good at hiding that kind of thing, before adding that she wants to play her own game this season. Luke thanks Quinn for the insight, but is conflicted about the conversation. On one hand, it brings a lot to light about how well Jennifer and Nick are playing the game; on the other hand, he’s a bit caught off-guard by Quinn throwing Nick under the bus. If anything, the conversation makes him think that Quinn is the one playing hard, but he doesn’t know if it’s worth it to chuck her up on the block for this shady behavior.

Ashley finally gets a chance to talk to Luke herself, separate from Indira. A few minutes prior, she and Indira made a pretty weak plea for safety, arguing that they aren’t coming after Luke in the game at this stage. Once Indira leaves the room, though, Ashley stays behind, pointing out that her issues have always been solely with Summer, and not with Luke. Luke nods, but points out that Summer is his friend, and that it hurt to hear the harsh things Ashley had to say about her. Ashley understands, and is open that she was harsh, but says that she always speaks her mind even if what she has to say isn’t the nicest. She then explains that she would actually like to work with Luke in the future, pointing out that Luke can’t just ride Summer’s coattails all season. Luke is offended, pointing out that he has won more competitions than Summer; Ashley shrugs, saying that, while that might be true, the house’s perception is that Summer is the one calling the shots, while Luke gets the blood on his hands and wins the competitions for her. Luke is rattled by this, knowing that an all-stars jury would never vote for him to win if he keeps that perception. While always having planned to go against Summer’s wishes eventually, Luke is worried that he might have to do so this week to save his reputation amongst the rest of the house.

Emma and Ryan both want to secure their safety with Luke as well, so they schedule their own chats with him and Summer in the HOH room as well. During Emma’s chat with Luke, she tells him that he’s not on her radar as a target whatsoever; in fact, she claims that her ideal final four is herself, Ryan, Luke, and Summer, since the other houseguests are either too big of threats or too irritating for her own liking. Luke believes that Emma is telling the truth, and promises her right then and there that she is safe for the week. However, Luke does not give the same promise to Ryan. Ryan gives a similar story to Emma, not having Luke and Summer as targets in his mind for future weeks. However, while Luke and Summer believed Emma to be telling the truth, they don’t feel the same about Ryan. During Ryan’s HOH, he didn’t nominate the consensus targets of Jackson and Tanner until after Jennifer pulled herself and Nick off the block, and Luke believes Ryan would pull something similar and go after people other than who he is claiming to be targeting. Summer agrees with Luke, and believes that Ryan is a dangerous player to keep in the game for much longer. She wouldn’t mind seeing him touch the block, although she still believes Ashley is the most immediate threat to her survival in the house.

Just before nominations, Summer pulls Nick aside into one of the bedrooms, wanting to speak with him about something that concerned her. She informs Nick that Luke has been filling her in on what people have been saying to him in the HOH room, and the conversation he had with Quinn has left her concerned. Summer tells Nick that Quinn claimed he’s closer to Jennifer in a game sense than to Quinn, and even referred to Nick as a threat. Nick is shocked to hear this, and quite hurt as well. While he knows Big Brother is an individual game with just one winner, he doesn’t understand why Quinn would throw him under the bus this week when Luke isn’t going after her at all. Summer theorizes that Quinn’s loyalties must lie elsewhere, but whatever the reason, it was seriously shady on her part. Nick thanks Summer for filling him in, and she urges him not to tell Luke that she shared this info with him. Nick promises secrecy to Summer, as well as loyalty moving forward in the game. In the DR, Nick is still stunned by Quinn’s betrayal, now completely unsure if he can trust her at all. He never thought he would doubt Quinn’s loyalty, but he has been given a very good reason to now.

Prior to the nomination ceremony, Luke must head to the Big Brother Control Room to narrow down a shortlist of four potential nominees. From that shortlist, he will select his two nominations for eviction. Luke’s first consideration is Ashley, since she has been gunning for Summer for a few weeks now. He’s fairly confident he would go up next to Summer if Ashley won HOH. Indira is also considered for similar reasons; she has proven to be hard to trust, and would also nominate Luke and Summer if she won HOH, meaning she is a major obstacle to Luke’s game. He considers nominating Quinn, since she has been acting very shady recently. Throwing Nick under the bus was very unexpected from her, and proves that she’s willing to cut anyone down to get herself ahead - a trait that Luke finds very threatening and dangerous. Lastly, Luke adds Ryan to the shortlist. In the eyes of the HOH, Ryan is a strong strategic player who is difficult to get a good read on. He claims to be loyal to Luke, but he’s not so sure if that’s the truth or not. Luke explains that the game is starting to get real, and he knows that, no matter what, his decision will cause shockwaves through the house. He wants to establish himself as his own player separate from Summer with his own agency, while getting a threat to his game out of the house.

At the nomination ceremony, Luke explains that each of the two keys represents one of his two nominations - he will turn the first key to reveal the first nominee, before turning the second key to reveal the second nominee. With the explanation out of the way, Luke turns the first key, revealing Ashley as the first nominee. She isn’t surprised at all to be on the block, calmly taking a seat in the nomination chair. Luke proceeds to turn the second key, revealing Quinn as the second nominee. Quinn is shocked, but accepts the nomination. Luke explains to Ashley that she is a strong player who he believes would put him up if she won HOH, so he’s saving his own ass by putting her up. He then tells Quinn that she is just a pawn to go up beside Ashley, but does inform her that he has trouble getting much of a read on her. With that, Luke adjourns the nomination ceremony.

Episode 21 (POV)

Following the nomination ceremony, Quinn asks to talk with Luke, wanting to know why she was used as the pawn instead of the more obvious choice in Indira. Luke tells her that she is the better pawn because she’s more likely to beat Ashley in POV than Indira would be, and she has more connections in the house than Indira does. Quinn is ultimately satisfied with the explanation, but Luke tells the viewers the real story in the DR: Quinn is no pawn; she’s his target. He can’t look past how quickly Quinn threw her closest allies under the bus at the first sight of danger, believing Quinn to be a sketchy player and a wildcard that he would rather not have to deal with moving forward. Quinn buys Luke’s story, but accuses him of overplaying the nominations. While she might have more alliances than Indira, there’s still little chance in her eyes that Indira would go home over Ashley on eviction night.

Ashley is fully convinced that she’s the target until Luke explains to her what his true plans are in the HOH room (with Summer not present). When Ashley hears about Quinn’s sketchy gameplay, she’s conflicted. On one hand, Ashley knows Quinn said all of that to get Jennifer on the block instead of Ashley or Indira, but on the other hand, she would greatly prefer for Quinn to leave the game instead of herself. Despite her mixed emotions, Ashley commends him for the move, especially when he tells her that Summer is completely in the dark about his true plans for the week. Most of all, she’s happy to possibly be safe this week, or at the very least to not be the intended target. She stresses to Luke that he needs to work on getting votes against Quinn, since as it stands, most of the house probably wants Ashley gone should the nominations stay the same. Luke promises Ashley to work on votes, but encourages her to do the same as well.

Indira finds herself in an awkward position. She finds herself consoling Quinn and Ashley about Luke’s nominations, promising them that she will fight for their safety at the Power of Veto competition if she is selected. Inside, however, Indira is jumping for joy at the fact that she somehow managed to evade the block with Luke as HOH. She does her best to hide this, but lets it slip around Ashley by smiling a bit too widely as they chill in one of the bedrooms. Ashley calls her out, to which Indira admits she’s happy she isn’t on the block. Ashley doesn’t blame Indira, telling her that it’s good news Quinn is up since Luke wants her out. Indira is confused, but Ashley explains that Quinn threw Nick under the bus in a conversation with Luke, which led the HOH to target her for being shady. Indira isn’t happy that Quinn could be leaving, but is far more ecstatic about the idea of both her and Ashley staying in the game. However, she is aware that gathering enough votes to save Ashley is a tall order, so she needs to win POV to keep them both safe this week.

Elsewhere, Emma knows she needs to work on making more connections in the house. She is aware that Jennifer and Tanner are not big fans of her, so she reaches out to Nick, who she thinks is working with them. She tells him that she thinks they could work together, and that she doesn’t view him as a target to go after any time soon. She explains that herself, Nick, and Quinn could easily team up to take control of the house. Nick is open to the idea, but explains that he isn’t sure if they should include Quinn in their deal. Despite being friends, Nick believes he and Quinn’s interests in the game are starting to diverge, so he’d much rather form an alliance consisting of just himself and Emma going forward. Emma’s shocked to hear this, but happily agrees, as she won’t be the third wheel in the grouping if Quinn isn’t included. Nick states in the DR that he knows Jennifer and Tanner would save each other over him, so he needs to have as many people in the house as possible to want to help him out if he ends up in a tough spot. Emma has a similar motivation, wanting to strengthen her social game in the event she ends up on the block.

Ryan is confused by Luke’s nominations, so he talks with him in the HOH room to get some answers. While he’s thrilled to see Ashley as the target for the week, he doesn’t understand why Luke would put Quinn on the block instead. Luke spins the truth, saying he heard rumors about Quinn also being in cahoots with Ashley and Indira, and that he put her up so this fact would be revealed to Nick, splitting their close duo up. Ryan isn’t 100% sure if he buys this, but does admit it’s a good reason to put Quinn up, adding that it makes her shady if the rumors are true. Luke believes them to be true, and adds that he wouldn’t mind Quinn leaving due to being so untrustworthy; however, he lies that Ashley is ultimately his target, since he knows she would come after him. Ryan is happy to hear Ashley is still the target, and urges Luke to fight hard in the POV, especially if Indira happens to get selected. Luke nods, pretending to care about the “importance” of the POV to get rid of his “target”. When Ryan leaves the room, Luke calls him clueless, and says it’s a matter of time before he is packing his bags.

Later that day, the houseguests gather in the living room. There, Luke informs them that they must pick players for that week’s Power of Veto competition. Luke, as the HOH, and Ashley and Quinn, as the nominees, will compete alongside three other houseguests chosen via random draw. Luke draws first, getting Indira, which causes Ryan to grimace. Ashley draws next, getting Ryan. Ryan’s happy to be competing, mostly to prevent Ashley, Indira, or Quinn from getting the power for their alleged alliance. Quinn then draws, getting Summer. Summer’s also happy to be competing, wanting to respect her best friend’s nominations. Later, Luke, Ashley, Quinn, Indira, Ryan, and Summer compete in the eighth POV competition of the season; in the end, Summer manages to surge ahead of the competition and wins POV.

Luke and Summer exchange a hug in the HOH room, happy to have seized full power for the week. Once the initial excitement wears off, they begin discussing their decision. Summer admits that she is considering using the POV on Quinn, only because she thinks Ashley and Indira are tight as a duo. Luke nods, understanding Summer’s reasoning; however, he tells her that he would prefer if the POV wasn’t used. He is careful in his wording, explaining that keeping Quinn on the block would cause a lot more waves in the house, adding that they won POV and HOH, and have 3 HOH reigns between them, making them a huge target as a duo. Summer nods, understanding Luke’s rationale that creating a distraction is necessary, and pitting Nick against Ashley and Indira is a good distraction. Still, she isn’t sure it’s the smartest move, as she’s worried Ashley could rally the votes against Quinn with enough effort.

Quinn meets with Summer alone, without Luke present, wanting to convince her to use the Power of Veto. She explains that she doesn’t understand Luke’s nominations, when Ashley and Indira are such an obvious duo. Additionally, Ashley is very good with her words and at manipulation, so she could easily convince the house to vote her out if the nominations stay the same. However, with Indira next to Ashley, she has a lot less ammo to work with, since Indira is the less threatening duo partner. Summer, wanting Ashley out badly, finds these points hard to counter. She does think there’s a merit to the idea that Ashley’s eviction is more certain against Indira than against Quinn; for one, Indira will vote for Ashley to stay, but Quinn probably wouldn’t. Quinn ends her campaign by promising loyalty to Summer if she used the POV, which gets Summer’s gears to turn. Her only hang-up is that Luke doesn’t want the POV to be used, so she’s caught between keeping her closest ally happy or making a big move to get what she wants.

At the Power of Veto ceremony, Summer gives both Ashley and Quinn the chance to argue why they should be saved with the POV. Ashley goes first, acknowledging that she and Summer have a rivalry and that she doubts the POV will be used to save her, but she would love it if it was. Summer laughs and nods, acknowledging the rivalry. Quinn then explains that Summer would have a better chance at evicting Ashley with Indira up beside her, meaning Summer should use the POV on Quinn to get Indira on the block. Indira crosses her arms, with Quinn’s pitch leaving a poor taste in her mouth. After a pause, Summer announces her intent to not use the POV on either nominee, leaving Ashley and Quinn as the final nominations for the week. She explains that she wants to respect Luke’s nominations, wishing both women the best of luck in their campaigns. With that, she adjourns the POV ceremony.

Episode 22 Part 1 (Eviction)

Immediately after the POV ceremony, Ashley and Indira retreat to the pantry, discussing Quinn’s brutally honest speech. Indira is annoyed that Quinn threw her under the bus not only to Summer, but to the entire house with her present to see it. Ashley nods, calling the move “tacky”, even if she gets why Quinn said what she said. Just then, Quinn knocks on the door and asks to come in. The women let her in, only for Indira to call her out on her speech. Quinn promises it was nothing personal, and that it was the only argument she could make to get the POV used on her. Indira understands, but points out that, by throwing Indira under the bus to the entire house, she’s putting a target on all three of their backs - an even bigger one than was already there. Ashley nods in agreement, telling Quinn that they wouldn’t have cared as much if she only told that speech to Summer and possibly Luke, not to the entire house. Quinn apologizes, which Indira insincerely accepts. In reality, Indira comments that Quinn has dug her own grave this week, and she’ll be happy to cast her vote to evict her come eviction night.

While Indira’s vote may be set in stone, the same can’t be said for everyone else, who is debating on which person to send home. The obvious target is Ashley, a decently strong competitor who has caused drama after drama in the house over the past few weeks. Ryan and Emma discuss their desire to send Ashley home with Luke and Summer in the HOH room, pointing out that they would only need one more vote to ensure Ashley leaves the game. Emma shrugs, confident Nick will vote to save his close friend and ally, which already gives them the four votes they need to seal Ashley’s fate. The group is pleased to have figured out the vote so early on, intending to spend the rest of the week relaxing. In the DR, Luke grows concerned about Ashley’s fate in the game, as she faces an uphill battle in getting the votes to stay. However, he’s committed to getting those votes, feeling Ashley is too important to his game to let her go this early. He can’t let Summer know about his plotting, though, telling the viewers that he has to be careful to get what he wants out of his HOH week.

Luke first goes to Indira and Tanner, believing they will be the easiest votes to secure. The three of them meet, hearing again from Luke that he wants to see Quinn go this week, but that Quinn, Summer, Emma, and Ryan are all in the dark. Indira grows worried, however, as Emma, Ryan, and Summer voting for Ashley means they would need to get Nick to vote Quinn out to save her. Luke nods, admitting it’ll be difficult, but he’s pretty sure he can get into Nick’s ear. He tells Indira and Tanner that Nick knows about Quinn’s shadiness in the house, and that it is clearly bugging him quite a bit. If they can play into that, they could very well convince him to commit to voting Quinn out. While Tanner loves the idea, Indira tells the viewers that she doesn’t see the plan working; however, unless she can get Emma or Ryan to have a change of heart, there’s nothing else she can do about it.

Tanner talks with Jennifer and Nick in one of the bedrooms later that day, wanting to enact his agenda of saving Ashley. He reiterates Quinn acting shady and throwing her supposed secret allies under the bus during her speech, proving to him that she’s willing to cut anyone to save her own skin. Jennifer fully agrees, always believing Quinn to be a snake from the moment they stepped foot in the house. Nick, while agreeing that Quinn has been untrustworthy, admits that it’s a big leap for him to vote her out this week, even with everything that has happened. Both Jennifer and Tanner try to convince him that keeping Ashley is ultimately better for his game. Quinn probably wouldn’t nominate Nick, but she is willing to mention his name as a potential target, meaning she is just fine with having somebody else get his blood on their hands. In addition, Jennifer argues that duos often become targets at this stage in the game, and Nick and Quinn is one of the oldest, most iconic duos in the entire franchise. This point really gets to Nick, who feels the target on his back has expanded significantly since Quinn re-entered the house. He acknowledges that they both bring up really good points, but that he’ll need a lot more time to think about it before he backstabs her like that.

Quinn does some campaigning of her own, talking with Emma and Ryan about their plans for the vote. Ryan is open that he and Ashley do not get along, and that she would probably put him on the block if she doesn’t put Luke and Summer up as a duo. Emma isn’t as strong in her desire to see Ashley go, as the two ladies have a decent relationship; still, she’s a threat to her and not on her side, so she’s good with voting Ashley out as well. Quinn thanks them both, offering them loyalty in the future in exchange for their votes to stay. Ryan’s happy to have Quinn on his side now, but Emma is rubbed the wrong way by this comment. She knows that Quinn said something similar to Ashley and Indira before, only to throw them under the bus to keep herself safe publicly to the entire house. While Emma still believes that Ashley is the bigger threat, she keeps in mind that Quinn’s “promise” of loyalty is most likely empty. Emma even tells Ryan this after Quinn walks away; while Ryan agrees, he doesn’t see that as reason enough to reconsider the vote, which Emma nods along with.

With Nick supposedly being the fourth vote to save Ashley, Indira is worried that something will go wrong, Nick will get cold feet, and Ashley will still leave the game. To combat this, she reaches out to Emma, making a case for Ashley to stay. Indira mostly focuses on Quinn reaching out to form an alliance with them just a week ago, only to publicly campaign for her nomination during the POV ceremony. While Indira gets that it was a last-ditch effort, she argues that it proves Quinn doesn’t always mean what she says in the game. Emma agrees, revealing that Quinn came up to her and Ryan, offering them loyalty if they save her this week. Indira rolls her eyes, promising Emma that Quinn will break that “loyalty” as soon as it’s convenient for her. This really gets Emma thinking, as she begins to believe that Quinn’s game is even more manipulative than Ashley’s. She thanks Indira for the information, and is honest that it will have an influence on her decision at the end of the week. Indira views the conversation as a success, thanking Emma for being so open-minded.

At the eviction ceremony, Ashley and Quinn are each given a chance to make a case to stay in the house. Ashley mainly focuses on Quinn’s unreliability and conflicting alliances, outright saying that any promise Quinn makes is done for her own convenience and will not be upheld. Quinn argues that Ashley is a strong physical competitor and strategist who has a tight duo with Indira, and that she should go for those reasons. With the speeches out of the way, the seven eligible houseguests cast their votes. By a vote of 4 to 3… Ashley is SAFE, meaning Quinn has been evicted from the Big Brother house. Quinn, Summer, and Ryan are all shown looking absolutely flabbergasted, while Nick, Luke, and Ashley feign surprise at the result. Despite being at a loss, Quinn keeps her head held high as she wishes the remaining nine houseguests the best of luck. She then leaves the house for the second time this season, becoming the second member of the jury.

Votes for Quinn: Emma, Indira, Jennifer, Tanner

Votes for Ashley: Nick, Ryan, Summer

Week 8

HOH    Ashley

Immune    Jennifer

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    Summer

Nominee 2 votes    Luke

Post-Veto Nominee Evicted 4 votes    Ryan

Episode 22 Part 2 (HOH)

Following Quinn’s shocking blindside, the remaining houseguests head outside for the next HOH competition. Luke, as the outgoing HOH, is ineligible to compete. Ashley, Emma, Indira, Jennifer, Nick, Ryan, Summer, and Tanner all battle it out for HOH. In the end, it’s Ashley that takes the crown, resulting in her celebrating her heart out right there in the backyard. Ryan and Summer both struggle to hide their distaste at the result of the competition, but have little time to stew in their emotions. Seconds after Ashley’s victory is confirmed, the houseguests are called into the living room, where they are told about the week’s twist, based on Melanie Chao from Big Brother 3. On her season, Melanie managed to secure immunity twice in a row via the Consolation Ticket twist, where whoever places second in the HOH competition is safe from nominations. Matt reveals that this twist is returning, meaning Jennifer, the second-placer in the HOH competition, is safe for the week. With Jennifer earning a spot in the final 8 alongside Ashley, the episode concludes.

Episode 23 (Nominations)

The episode starts with a flashback to 45 minutes before the previous live eviction. There, Quinn is giving a final campaign to Emma, as the house has become aware that her vote is up in the air. Out of desperation, Quinn promises Emma a final three with herself and Nick, which Emma finds tempting due to being by far the strongest physical competitor out of those three. However, Nick is caught off-guard when Emma mentions this deal to him a few minutes later, as Quinn hadn’t consulted him about it whatsoever before bringing it up. Emma finds this suspicious, telling Nick that she was promised an alliance with herself, Ryan, and Quinn just a few days prior. On top of Quinn’s alleged alliance with Ashley and Indira, Nick states that Quinn’s gameplay is all over the place, and that she has to leave the game. Emma nods, but tells Nick that he cannot vote Quinn out, as he would lose a tremendous amount of respect and trust among the house and the jury. Emma promises Nick that she will take the heat for it and cast the deciding vote, allowing Nick to escape repercussions. Nick swears to Emma that they can make the decision together, but Emma refuses, arguing that, by voting separate ways, they conceal their alliance. Nick ultimately agrees, which is what causes the 4-3 vote margin that narrowly sent Quinn packing.

The episode then jumps forward in time, to immediately after Ashley’s HOH victory. Ryan frantically pulls Emma into the pantry, knowing she was responsible for the fourth vote against Quinn. Emma doesn’t deny it, telling Ryan that Quinn tried to make a final three with her and Nick, which she saw as the final straw. Quinn had too many conflicting deals and alliances, to the point where she was on the cusp of gaining control of the game. Ryan is pissed off at Emma, scolding her for leaving him out to dry and not informing him of her decision. Now, the woman Ryan tried to vote off, that has been coming for him and vice versa, is HOH, putting Ryan in a bind. Emma apologizes, not predicting that Ashley would win HOH after winning nothing all season. Ryan accepts the apology on a personal level, but admits that, game-wise, he’ll have trouble trusting her going forward. In the DR, Emma says she doesn’t regret her decision, but wishes she had the chance to talk to Ryan about it before the vote. In the end, though, she was fully prepared to take the heat for the vote, as in the long run, the heat she’s taking pales in comparison to what would have happened if Nick also voted Quinn out. Ryan, meanwhile, feels like he’s in grave danger, as he and Ashley are far from being friends to say the least.

The mood is far more positive in one of the bedrooms, where Tanner congratulates Jennifer on earning the Consolation Ticket. He shares that he doesn’t think Ashley would nominate him after he saved her by not using the POV during Summer’s HOH; however, he does suspect she would nominate Jennifer, so her CT essentially guarantees both of them safety for the week. Things get a bit awkward when Nick enters the room, though, as the pair believe that, even with his differences with Quinn, he wanted her to stay. Nick plays this up, saying he understands their decision and isn’t angry with them, but is sad that Quinn had to leave the game. Now, he feels he could be going up as one of the three people who voted against Ashley earlier in the night. Tanner refuses to allow this to happen, though, informing Nick that he has a good enough rapport with Ashley to possibly convince her to forego nominating him this week. In any case, he suspects that the new HOH would rather see Luke or Summer leave, as Summer is the main person that wants her gone. Nick agrees, but still acts as nervous as he can, wanting to sell Jennifer and Tanner on the idea that he didn’t want Quinn to leave. Jennifer, however, is one step ahead of him, admitting in the DR that Nick is acting a bit fishy. She doesn’t think he would have a reason to suspect being a target when Summer is still around, wondering if he’s overcompensating for something. While she has a good relationship with him this time around, she hasn’t forgotten how well Nick played socially on his first season, and is aware that he could have a lot more connections than he’s letting on.

The next day, the houseguests are called into the living room bright and early, with many feeling exhausted from the previous night. They are very delighted to learn that they will be competing in pairs in a Have/Have-Not competition, and that Ashley, as HOH, gets to decide those pairs. She pairs up Indira & Tanner, Emma & Nick, Jennifer & Luke, and Ryan & Summer. The pair that places last will become Have-Nots for the week. Indira & Tanner place first well ahead of the competition, while Ryan & Summer, much to their dismay, end up losing. They are given a silver lining: they can choose a third Have-Not, but can’t choose Indira or Tanner since they placed first. They choose Jennifer as the third Have-Not, as she hasn’t been one in the longest time of everyone that is eligible. Ashley is thrilled that her plan to make Ryan and Summer Have-Nots was successful, giggling in the DR about the outcome of the competition.

Soon afterwards, Ashley’s HOH room is opened, and like any other week, she invites the rest of the houseguests to come see it. Most of them oblige as usual, even Summer, but Ryan - knowing Ashley deliberately chose the pairs to make him a Have-Not - refuses to see the room. When the rest of the house notices he isn’t up there, Emma leaves to grab him. Ryan continues to resist at first, until Emma calls him an immature brat and a poor sport. In the end, Ryan decides that he should at least pretend to play nice, and reluctantly heads into the room. Despite Ryan eventually going up, Ashley doesn’t forget that he wasn’t there initially, disgusted at his poor sportsmanship. She brushes it off, though, continuing to show off her room and maintaining a positive attitude.

Ashley and Indira discuss possibilities for nominations together, easily narrowing it down to just a few different names. Ryan is at the forefront of the conversation after his stunt with the HOH room, with Indira especially finding his behavior unacceptable and deserving of a nomination. Ashley, while absolutely agreeing and feeling a bit miffed herself, sighs before saying that, as tempting as it is to throw Ryan on the block, she does unfortunately have to think about what’s best for her game, not just who she personally dislikes the most. Indira nods, joking that she is thinking of reasons beyond how annoying he is to justify putting him up. The conversation turns more serious, with Ashley pointing Summer out as one of, if not the, biggest threat to her personal game. Summer wants her out just as badly as Ryan does, but is more capable at winning competitions to get that to happen, and has way better social relationships in the house. Indira agrees, believing Summer to be an influential and downright threatening player who could very easily win the whole game. Ashley nods, believing Summer would win against anyone in the jury vote, and would even earn her vote in that situation (unless she was against Indira in the finals) despite their personal differences. Still, both women agree that they should hear Summer’s case, as well as the cases for the rest of the houseguests, before making a final decision.

Summer knows she is in danger, and Luke (despite having a side deal with Ashley) pretends to feel threatened as well. They decide that they might as well campaign as a duo, since it’s no secret that they’re playing as one at this stage in the game. Both of them head up to the HOH room, where Ashley and Indira share that they are strongly considering them both for the block. Summer nods, not surprised at all, and not taking it personally even if there are harsh personal feelings between them. She makes the argument that she isn’t deadset on sending Ashley to the jury, especially with the way the house dynamics are shaking up. She believes that, if she or Luke goes this week, then Jennifer, Tanner, Nick, Emma, and Ryan would all put Ashley and Indira on the block next week. Therefore, Ashley’s only chance at safety is for Indira or Luke/Summer (whichever survives) to win HOH. However, if Ashley were to spare Luke and Summer from nominations, then they would return the favor if they won HOH, and would probably get targeted over Ashley and Indira by the rest of the house. In the DR, Ashley admits her shock at how convincing the arguments are, to the point where she is legitimately considering not targeting Summer this week. Duos have been targeted left and right for quite a while now, and Ashley and Indira would become one of the few duos remaining after this week if Luke or Summer is evicted. Indira is a bit more skeptical however, finding the deal too good to be true. She doesn’t trust that Summer would actually go after anybody else other than Ashley, and herself by proxy. Eventually, Summer leaves the room, satisfied with her pitch. Luke stays behind, and once Indira decides to go make some food, Ashley promises him that, while he might be going up, he won’t be leaving the house that week if she has anything to do about it. Luke understands that it might be suspicious for Ashley to not put him up depending on who her target is, so he puts his trust in her before leaving the HOH room as well.

Ryan knows he needs to talk to Ashley, as if he doesn’t, he’s definitely going up this week and is possibly going home. The talk is very awkward and somewhat hostile, with Ashley admitting that she is hurt by Ryan’s initial refusal to see her HOH room. She tells him that, despite her differences with him, she wouldn’t have thought twice about seeing his HOH room, or anyone else’s for that matter. Ryan apologizes to Ashley for the way he behaved, calling it immature of him to make things so personal. Ashley isn’t sure if she believes Ryan’s apology, but moves past it, wanting to hear Ryan’s pitch for safety. Ryan essentially argues that he’s a free agent at this point, having lost trust in everyone, even Emma, after the last eviction vote. Ashley then adds, “you mean the one where you tried to vote me out?”, to which Ryan nods, acknowledging that he did want her out of the house. However, priorities shift, and he would rather work with Ashley if he could. In the DR, Ashley laughs at Ryan’s pitiful attempt at campaigning, almost insulted by how poor she finds this argument to be. Still, she has trouble seeing Ryan as a big threat, since his competition skill shown earlier in the season has mostly dissipated, and he has very little influence at this stage. Whether Ryan stays or goes has nothing to do with his campaign, and everything to do with who Ashley believes to be her biggest threat. Ryan does make one good argument, though (in Ashley’s perspective): it might be time to go after a strong social player, and both Nick and Emma fall into that category. Nick has a strong social bond with everyone in the house, and Emma is second place when it comes to being on good terms with the other houseguests. Ryan knows Ashley is probably thinking of a pawn to go up beside Summer, believing those two are good choices, both as people who would stay against Summer and as possible alternate targets if something goes wrong.

Prior to the nomination ceremony, Ashley must head to the Big Brother Control Room to create a shortlist of four potential nominees. From the shortlist, she will narrow it down further to her two nominees for the week. Ashley first considers Summer for the block, as she is a strong competitor in each facet of the game and has tried to get her evicted on multiple occasions. Next, Ashley considers putting Luke on the block. While she doesn’t want Luke to go, she might have to put him up for optics reasons, specifically if she decides to target Summer this week. If he didn’t go up beside her, people would start asking questions, potentially exposing their secret deal. Ashley’s third consideration is Ryan, who is also coming after her and has become a thorn in her side. She feels that, to some degree, he deserves go up after the HOH room fiasco. Finally, Ashley considers putting Nick on the block. While she likes Nick, she is also aware that he has a lot of connections, making him both a good pawn option and a good target due to being a possible jury threat.

The houseguests are called into the living room for the nomination ceremony, where Ashley explains how the ceremony will work. She will turn the first key in front of her, revealing her first nomination. Afterwards, she will turn the second key to reveal the second nominee. Ashley reminds the house that Jennifer is immune from nominations for the week due to earning the Consolation Ticket. She then turns the first key, which reveals Summer as her first nominee. Completely unsurprised, Summer smiles as she sits in the nomination chair. The second key is then turned, revealing Luke as the second nominee. Again, this comes as no surprise, so Luke has little reaction as he sits beside his closest ally. Ashley explains that the two are strong competitors and a tight duo that are working against her in the game, so it benefits her to split them up. With that, the nomination ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 24 (POV)

The mood after the nomination ceremony is very mixed among the houseguests. Most of the house is sad to see Luke and Summer both on the block, as they are pretty popular in the house. On the other hand, many of those same houseguests are also thrilled, since as a duo, the two are incredibly threatening. Luke and Summer spend the minutes after the ceremony assuring one another that things will work out for them and that they can get themselves out of the situation they are in. Luke explains to the audience that while Ashley did promise him that he wouldn’t get evicted this week, the only way he can ensure that is by winning POV. In addition, he would rather both himself and Summer survive the week if possible, so his mind is 100% focused on taking himself off the block. Summer feels the same way, not confident enough in her relationships to feel safe against Luke. She is aware that she is Ashley’s main target, but promises that she won’t let her win in their ongoing rivalry.

Indira, meanwhile, is beyond happy to see Luke and Summer finally on the block, as both had avoided the block entirely up until that point. She talks about them being huge threats to Jennifer and Tanner, wanting to get the ball rolling to evict one of them even if the other manages to win POV. Jennifer’s relationship with Luke and Summer has been fairly strained for a while now, so she is similarly happy with the outcome of the ceremony. Ashley soon joins the group, where they all exchange high-fives and celebrate another week of safety. The HOH expresses her desire to see Summer go specifically, and that she wants them all to do whatever they can to stop her from winning POV. Indira and Tanner agree wholeheartedly, but Jennifer raises an eyebrow at this. In the DR, Jennifer explains that she has sensed the intense rivalry between Ashley and Summer, and knows they would continue to target each other. However, she suspects that, with Summer gone, Ashley might switch gears to go after other houseguests - possibly including herself. She would much rather keep Summer in the game to continue pitting her against Summer. Moreover, she doesn’t like being told what to do by Ashley, somebody who she doesn’t trust.

Emma, Nick, and Ryan find themselves in a bedroom together, discussing the nominations and the future of the game. They’re all on the same page that while Luke and Summer are both big threats, they also think the pair would keep them safe. Both Emma and Ryan believe Jennifer & Tanner would be more likely to put them on the block, and Ryan additionally adds that Ashley and Indira would nominate him as well. Nick suggests that the three of them watch each other’s backs, and that they pledge to work with Luke and Summer moving forward. Ryan fully agrees, wanting to support them in getting Ashley and Indira out of the house. Emma, however, voices concern that they are both huge threats, and would rather join up with whichever one of them survives this week. Although Nick and Ryan both understand where Emma is coming from, they argue that they need as many strong physical players on their side as possible.

In the backyard, Luke and Tanner do another workout together, which is quickly becoming part of their daily routine. After they’re finished, they have a conversation about strategy in the corner of the backyard. Tanner tells Luke that, if the nominations stay the same, he will vote to save him without a doubt, as would Jennifer, Nick, and most likely Indira as well. He assures Luke that he has nothing to worry about, and that he’ll probably be safe even if the POV is used. Luke doubts this last part, but thanks Tanner for promising his vote. Tanner nods, explaining that he needs connections outside of Jennifer, but feels he can’t fully trust Ashley, Indira, Emma, Nick, Ryan, or Summer, all of whom are shady in one way or another. Luke nods along, claiming he doesn’t have Tanner on his radar whatsoever, even after Ashley and Indira are out of the house. Tanner adds that Jennifer probably wants Emma out next, since she's still furious over Rhonda’s eviction during the Double; he’ll probably go after her as well, but is open to targeting a more dangerous player: Nick. Luke says he thinks Nick is far more likely to win a second time than Indira, since he is such a good player. Tanner agrees wholeheartedly, admitting that he wishes Nick was on the block this week, but Ashley would likely never go for it. Luke shrugs, telling Tanner it’s worth a shot if the POV is going to be used this week. This convinces Tanner that he should plant the seed in Ashley’s mind, hoping she would be willing to go through with it.

Ryan mostly hangs out with Summer, comforting her and promising her that he would use the POV on her if he were to win it. In actuality, Ryan isn’t sure if he would, as he wouldn’t want Emma or Nick to go up, but he wants to forge a deeper connection to Summer that he can exploit moving forward. Summer, while appreciating Ryan’s company and believing he has her back, isn’t convinced he would go as far as to use the POV on her. She thinks Ryan is very skilled at saying whatever people want to hear one moment, whether or not he’ll hold himself to that at the next moment. She knows deep down that the only way she can really save herself this week is to win the POV, and hopefully rally enough votes to save Luke come eviction night. In addition, while she suspects Ryan is on her side for now, she doesn’t expect him to stay on her side for very long, especially if Ashley and Indira leave the game soon. Once those two ladies are gone, Summer expects Ryan to turn on her, promising the audience that she will take the first strike.

Prior to the Power of Veto competition, six players must be chosen to compete. Three players will be chosen by random draw to join Ashley, the HOH, and Luke and Summer, the nominees, in competing for the Power of Veto. Ashley draws first, picking Emma. Luke draws next, getting Ryan. Lastly, Summer draws, selecting Houseguest Choice. She surveys the available options before choosing Jennifer to compete. Summer explains that she chose Jennifer because she thinks she can beat her, and Indira might team up with Ashley in the competition to prevent herself or Luke from winning POV. A few hours later, Ashley, Luke, Summer, Emma, Ryan, and Jennifer compete in the ninth Power of Veto competition of the season. Empowered by the knowledge that she could be going home, Summer dominates the competition and earns her second POV in a row.

As Summer rushes inside the house with Luke, the rest of the houseguests are a range of emotions, from shocked, to scared, to furious. Ashley’s jaw hits the floor as soon as the results are announced, but she quickly starts steaming over her worst enemy winning their way through her HOH week. Indira comforts Ashley, promising her that it’ll be all right and that Summer’s days are numbered in the house. Ashley agrees, but points out that she and Luke now have a chance to take her out next week, which scares her to death. In addition, she has to put somebody else on the block, and she’s not sure at all what to do. Indira stays with Ashley in the HOH room for a while, making sure her close friend and ally is okay after the unfortunate (for them) turn of events. This is juxtaposed by Summer loudly cheering due to her safety, sometimes loud enough for Ashley and Indira to hear from the HOH room.

A bit after the POV ceremony, Tanner informs Luke that he’s putting his plan in action. Tanner then marches up to the HOH room, wanting to speak to Ashley and Indira. The two ladies are quick to tell him that he has nothing to worry about, but this isn’t enough for him. He explains that he understands that Ashley might want to put Ryan up, but Nick is the better strategic option. When Ashley asks why, Tanner outlines how Nick has gotten in the good graces of everyone in the house, and has alliances or agreements with nearly everybody. If he stays around, he’ll easily win the season; Tanner shrugs, having no other way to put it. Indira nods, acknowledging that Nick is a threat, but she counters that Nick probably wouldn’t put any of the three of them on the block. Tanner isn’t so sure, as he suspects he and Ashley could be in Nick’s firing line as strong physical and strategic players who don’t have as strong of connections to him. Ashley sees where Tanner is coming from, recognizing that Nick is playing the game very well, perhaps better than anyone else in the house. She admits that she doesn’t really want Luke to go, as a solo Summer could very easily sneak her way to the end. Therefore, whoever she puts up is going to be her target, most likely. Tanner nods, urging Ashley to make the right decision.

With Tanner’s pitch completed, Ashley and Indira have a lot to talk about. Indira doesn’t think Ashley should do it, even suspecting that Tanner and Luke could be working together. Ashley agrees that this is a pretty strong possibility, but adds that Tanner’s influence in the house isn’t as big as he likes to think, so getting rid of Nick isn’t a terrible idea. Indira tells the viewers that she can’t have Nick leave just yet, since he could save her down the line due to the lingering winners’ alliance. Indira argues that Nick wouldn’t put either of them up, but Ryan would, so they’re better off nominating someone who is actually opposed to them. Ashley sighs, stuck on going with the safe option with Ryan or the risky option with Nick. She thinks taking Nick out would be good for her game, but can’t risk having tons of people in the house want to go after her the very next week.

At the Power of Veto ceremony, Summer asks Luke to give an explanation as to why she should save him with the POV. Luke is straight to the point, telling Summer to use the POV to save herself, since she won it fair and square. Summer does just that, shocking nobody by removing herself from the block. With Summer now safe, Ashley must name a replacement nominee, and cannot choose Jennifer due to her Consolation Ticket. After thinking things through carefully, Ashley asks Ryan to take a seat beside Luke. Ryan nods, not surprised at all, but he does flip Ashley off as he sits down. With that, the POV ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 25 Part 1 (Eviction)

Ashley immediately calls Ryan out for flipping her off once the ceremony is over, fed up with his rude behavior towards her. He accuses her of making her nominations based on personal feelings instead of an actually smart game decision. Ashley refutes this, arguing that Ryan is clearly out to get her, so she benefits tremendously from seeing him leave the house. He refuses to accept this, however, instead countering that he’s far from the only one who wants her gone, and that the entire house is sick and tired of her attention-seeking, dramatic behavior. Ashley scoffs, telling Ryan that he has no idea what is actually going on in the house, and that his hatred for her has blinded him from playing a competent game. She sarcastically wishes him luck in the upcoming eviction before storming off, with Indira following closely behind. In the DR, Ryan explains that he’s had it up to here with Ashley’s dramatics, and that he urgently wants to survive the eviction solely to have the chance to watch Ashley walk out of the house in a future week.

During the confrontation between Ashley and Ryan, Summer and Luke manage to sneak off into the pantry, where they celebrate the possibility of both surviving the week. With Ryan picking fights already, they feel like they have a chance, even if it’s slight, to move forward as a duo. Despite this, Luke still feels anxious about the upcoming eviction. He knows that Summer wouldn’t vote him out, and that he has Tanner on his side, but everyone else remains a mystery. Ashley promised him safety, but that was when Summer was beside him on the block; with her now safe, Ashley’s plans could have easily changed. Right away, Luke promises Summer that he’ll fight like he’s never fought before to save himself so they can keep working together, to which Summer pledges to help in any way she can. The two friends hug each other tightly before leaving the pantry.

Once he’s cooled off, Ryan hangs out with Emma in the backyard, upset to see himself on the block. Emma agrees that it’s unfortunate, but she shares that she’s confident Ryan can survive the vote, especially against Luke, who has won two HOHs already. Nick soon joins the two in the discussion, wanting to know how he can rally votes to save Ryan. Emma points out that they already have two votes, and just need one more to force a tie. Nick figures he can get Jennifer and Tanner to vote in Ryan’s favor, since they view Luke as a threat. If that’s not enough, they can also talk to Ashley and Indira to see if splitting up the Luke/Summer duo is still their plan for the week. Ryan feels a lot more comfortable now that potential numbers have been laid out, expressing out loud that Ashley will grow to regret her decision when he stays in the house with a vengeance. Nick laughs, wanting to see Ryan’s fiery side even more, while Emma avoids being so certain the vote will go their way. In the DR, Emma expresses her sadness that so many of the eviction votes have gone the opposite way from what she expected, so she’s not going to be complacent this time.

Luke is the first to talk to Tanner, with Jennifer also being included in the conversation. He explains to them that he understands that he’s a tempting target to vote out this week, but he doesn’t think that would be the best move for their games. He goes on to state that he only has Summer in the house, while Ryan, by virtue of being a free agent, can establish more fluid alliances and float between different groups. In addition, he and Summer wouldn’t even dream of putting Jennifer or Tanner up if they saved him this week, and they are two strong players that the Season 1 veterans should want on their side. After the conversation, Jennifer admits to Tanner that Luke brings up some good arguments, but she’s just not sure if it’s the right move to keep him. Tanner softly pushes for Luke to stay, knowing that he himself is a big physical player, and Jennifer is a strong strategic force in the game. By surrounding themselves with bigger threats, such as Luke and Summer, they can protect themselves moving forward in the game. In the DR, Jennifer acknowledges that she’s likely to be a target sometime soon, as she has been targeted in the past and has survived mostly due to clutch POV wins or being saved by an ally. She doesn’t want to have to be in that position again, and if what Tanner’s saying is true, then keeping Luke would benefit her significantly.

Knowing that Ryan wouldn’t make any progress talking to Ashley himself, Emma decides to be the one to speak with the HOH and Indira about keeping Ryan in the house. From the get-go, Emma acknowledges that she doesn’t agree with or condone Ryan’s behavior in the house, and that she finds him to be unnecessarily rude and confrontational. However, she believes that it’s the better game move to keep him in the house, since Luke is a strong player who most people in the house seem to really like. If he’s allowed to stay in the house, he could very well be a contender to win the entire game. Indira agrees, feeling threatened by Luke in a lot of different ways, and acknowledging that Ryan’s gameplay isn’t the strongest. Still, Indira points out that she almost feels that Ryan would be more likely to put her up than Luke would, words she never thought she would say. Ashley nods, feeling torn between the bigger threat overall and the bigger threat to her game specifically. Emma nods, understanding their perspective. She pushes back against it, though, by arguing that Luke might be slightly less likely to put the two ladies up, but he’s far more likely to win another HOH, so in the long run, he’s still the bigger threat to their games. Indira is shown nodding along, finding herself pretty convinced by Emma’s arguments. Noticing this, Ashley grows worried. She wants Luke to stay because she has a secret deal with him, but can’t exactly explain that to Indira without losing her trust. She admits that she regrets putting Luke up now that he has a strong chance of leaving the house, especially with other houseguests pushing hard to keep Ryan around.

Meanwhile, Nick and Ryan speak with Jennifer and Tanner, working the other angle in the house. Nick tells his fellow Season 1 alumni that the decision this week is a no-brainer: Luke needs to go. He is tied for the most HOHs with Emma, has an incredibly strong ride-or-die in Summer, and is a very likable player in the house. With that in mind, he’s a triple threat. Nick even says, with Ryan in the room, that Ryan isn’t a threat whatsoever, to which Ryan jokes that he’s offended, but can’t really argue against what Nick is saying. Jennifer laughs, but Tanner struggles not to visibly cringe, telling the audience in the DR that the entire campaign felt rehearsed to the point where it was painful to listen to. Once the campaign is over, Tanner tells Jennifer outright that he would much rather see Ryan go. Jennifer doesn’t necessarily disagree, but does point out that the two men are right in saying Luke is a massive threat. Tanner doesn’t deny this, but argues that Nick is a far bigger threat than Luke or Summer ever could be, even together, and that he suspects Nick and Ryan have some sort of agreement. In fact, Tanner believes Nick is good with everyone in the house, and is on the cusp of steamrolling through the second half of the game. Jennifer nods, acknowledging that Nick is indeed a threat, but not believing him to be the ultimate threat to end all threats. She urges Tanner to ease his paranoia a bit, understanding that he got backstabbed by Nick during their original season, but that it doesn’t mean Nick is secretly pulling all the strings. Annoyed with Jennifer’s condescension, Tanner denies ever implying this, simply stating that he has noticed that Nick has a great relationship with everybody, and nobody ever has anything negative to say about him. Jennifer shrugs, urging Tanner to not get into his own head, which only frustrates him further.

With the eviction fast approaching, Ashley grows more and more worried that Ryan could survive the week. In a last-ditch effort to fix this, she goes to Luke and Summer, telling them outright that, despite their differences, she would much rather compete against both of them next week than to have Ryan stay in the house, covering this up by saying that she respects them far more as players. Knowing Ashley took a similar approach to her former allies in Eliza and Olivia back on Season 5, Summer buys this reasoning hook, line, and sinker, thanking Ashley for ending up on their side this week. Ashley then states that Indira isn’t so convinced, and that she’s scared they won’t have the votes to save Luke. Hurriedly, Luke and Summer pull Indira aside, promising her safety moving forward if she votes in their favor. Indira doesn’t buy into this right away, pointing out that she has been burned by them already, and wouldn’t be surprised to be burned by them again. Summer argues that they have bigger fish to fry at this point in the game, viewing a lot of the other houseguests as bigger threats than Ashley or Indira. This gets Indira thinking, as she starts to feel that the pair could be being genuine after all. Still, she isn’t sure if saving Luke is the right move, since it’s a golden opportunity to split up a powerful duo in the house.

At the eviction ceremony, Luke and Ryan are given one final chance to argue to the rest of the house why they should stay in the game. Luke thanks the house for the wonderful experience thus far, and shares that he would be thrilled to get to stick around for longer. Ryan argues that he is only after Ashley, so the rest of the house would be guaranteed another week if they keep him and he wins HOH. Ashley rolls her eyes at this speech, while Indira has her arms crossed. The eviction vote then takes place. By a vote of 4 to 2… Ryan is evicted from the Big Brother house. Ryan is shocked, unable to fathom why the house would evict him over Luke. He hugs everyone goodbye, skipping over Ashley and Indira, before leaving the house as the third member of the jury.

Votes for Ryan: Indira, Jennifer, Summer, Tanner

Votes for Luke: Emma, Nick

Week 9

HOH    Tanner

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    Emma

Nominee 1 vote    Nick

Post-Veto Nominee Evicted 4 votes    Summer

Episode 25 Part 2 (HOH)

Following Ryan’s blindside, the eight remaining houseguests head to the backyard for the tenth HOH competition of the season. As the outgoing HOH, Ashley is ineligible to compete. Therefore, Emma, Indira, Jennifer, Luke, Nick, Summer, and Tanner compete to be the next HOH. In the end, Tanner powers through and secures his first HOH reign of the season.

Episode 26 (Nominations)

Immediately after Tanner’s HOH victory, the remaining eight houseguests are called by Matt into the living room. Once they’ve all gathered, they are given the news they expected to get: the next weekly twist is coming into effect. This twist, based on Anna from the first season of the show, activates an Assassins twist for the week. With the exception of Tanner, each houseguest is assigned another houseguest randomly that they must “assassinate”. If a houseguest’s target is evicted at the end of the week, that houseguest earns immunity for the next week. With the number of houseguests remaining quickly dwindling, this chance at immunity is seen as critical by all of them. Tanner laments in the DR that since he is not being assigned a target, he can’t keep himself automatically immune next week, nor can he compete for the next HOH. Each houseguest is called into the Diary Room one-by-one to be told their targets in secret; Ashley’s target is Jennifer, Jennifer’s is Luke, Luke’s is Emma, Emma’s is Nick, Nick’s is Summer, Summer’s is Indira, and Indira’s is Ashley.

Immediately after the targets are given out, people waste little time in revealing who their target is to people they trust. Jennifer informs Tanner that her target is Luke, and since Tanner is HOH, he might as well try to get Luke evicted to ensure one of them is safe next week. This is very unwelcome news to Tanner, who sees Luke as useful to his game moving into the endgame. Tanner is open that he and Luke have something good going, and that he thinks Luke will stay true to his promise to work with them in the future. Jennifer nods, but adds that Luke is a huge threat as well, and they’ve been given a golden opportunity to take him out on a silver platter. Tanner sighs, not sure how to convince Jennifer that Luke has to stay. In the DR, Jennifer comments matter-of-factly that Tanner must choose between his deal with Luke or his promise to her, hoping he makes the “correct” decision.

Ashley, Indira, and Tanner talk in the HOH room once it is opened, wanting to learn from Tanner who Jennifer’s target is. Indira reveals that hers is Ashley, and that she doesn’t plan on getting her target out for obvious reasons. Ashley nods and laughs, saying her target is Jennifer, who Tanner is obviously not going to target this week, so she and Indira are both out of the running for getting immunity next week. Tanner informs the ladies that Jennifer’s target is Luke, and that she really wants him to go this week; Tanner, however, isn’t sure if that would benefit his game at all, only Jennifer’s. Ashley nods, pointing out that Tanner has saved Jennifer from the block via the POV before, while Jennifer hasn’t done much to help out Tanner’s game in return. Tanner admits that Ashley brings up a good point, and sees it as a solid reason as to why he should do what he wants this week, not what Jennifer wants. Indira suggests that Emma or Summer goes home this week, finding both women to be strong competition threats who have overstayed their welcome in the house. Tanner is on the same page, but again reiterates his fears about Nick’s strategic and social prowess. He is honest that he doesn’t think many other people would put Nick up, to the point where he feels this week might be his one chance to get the former winner out. Ashley shrugs, not against the idea, but urges Tanner to think it through carefully - he will definitely anger Nick by nominating him, so he needs to be certain about his decision.

Emma feels insecure about her safety this week, as while she and Tanner are friendly, their game relationship is very weak at best. She shares her anxiety with Nick, hoping he has ideas on how they can shift the target away from the two of them and towards somebody else. Nick asks Emma who her target is; she says that it’s him (Nick), so she can’t exactly go that route without backstabbing her closest ally. Nick chuckles, happy that Emma wouldn’t throw him under the bus. He then shares that his target is Summer, who he feels is a more plausible person to get Tanner to target. Emma nods, believing that while she wants to work with Luke and Summer, they are far more likely to get put up than Ashley and Indira are, so that’s their only safe bet to avoid the block this week. With the added bonus of Nick being immune next week should everything go according to plan, Emma and Nick are both set on offering the two friends on a silver platter.

In the HOH room, Nick and Emma deliver their pitch to Jennifer and Tanner on why Luke and Summer should go up. They accuse them of being the strongest and tightest duo in the house, who have won tons of competitions and are great social/strategic players. Nick argues that Tanner can guarantee that one of them goes this week by putting them both up outright, so one has to stay on the block even after the POV. Unlike last week, he doesn’t foresee either of them surviving against anyone else. For transparency’s sake, Tanner asks them both who their targets are, to which Nick eventually reveals that his target is indeed Summer, which is part of the reason why he wants to see her go up. Tanner nods, keeping a straight face, but in the DR, he explains that he could tell Nick’s pitch was self-serving in some way, since he’s a smart guy who is able to convince people to get what he wants. While Tanner is definitely considering Summer for the block and for eviction, he’s worried about letting Nick have a week’s worth of immunity so late into the game. The assassins twist only puts a new wrinkle in Tanner’s decision process, and that does not go unnoticed by Jennifer. She’s pissed off that Nick’s target is Summer, since it gives Tanner even more of a reason to not go after Luke and Summer this week.

Luke and Summer are both nervous about their safety this week; Summer is worried that she could be Tanner’s target, while Luke is more worried that he’ll go up alongside her because of that. The two speak with Tanner in the HOH room, wanting to say whatever they can to get the targets off their backs. Tanner is honest with them that their names have been brought up a lot, by most of the house, in fact. Summer sighs, having expected this, yet hoping Tanner won’t go along with them. The HOH says that he doesn’t want them out as badly as everyone else, but acknowledges openly that they are, as a duo, threats, and that he can’t outright promise them safety for the entire week. They both understand, but argue that they’re such huge targets that anyone else other than the three of them would put them up if they won HOH - Ashley, Indira, Emma, Nick, and most likely Jennifer as well. Tanner can take this chance to get rid of another threat, and even after doing that, he’ll most likely be safe in favor of Luke and Summer being put up the next week. Tanner finds this argument pretty convincing, but he still has his doubts. He views Summer along with Nick as a frontrunner to win, and is worried that her successfully keeping herself safe another week would make her game even stronger in the eyes of the jury. All-in-all, Tanner is wracked with nerves as his decision approaches, unsure of which way to go.

Prior to the nominations, the houseguests are called into the living room. There, they are told that they will be selecting Have-Nots: this week, through a slop vote. Each houseguest is granted five votes that they can distribute amongst the other houseguests however they choose. The three houseguests with the least votes will be Haves, and so will the houseguest with the most votes; the other three will be Have-Nots for the week. Half of the houseguests, including Emma, Jennifer, Nick, and Summer, split their votes among multiple others, while Ashley, Indira, Luke, and Tanner put all of their votes in one houseguest’s box. In the end, the three with the least votes are Ashley (4), Indira (2), and Jennifer (4), making them Haves for the week. Luke and Nick are tied for the most at 8, so Tanner must decide which will be a Have. Tanner instantly decides on Luke, making Nick a Have-Not alongside Emma and Summer (who received 7 votes each). Nick comments that it’s strange Tanner made him a Have-Not, as he thought they had a better connection due to their Season 1 alliance. He’s not sure if he should chalk it up to keeping appearances, or if Tanner is starting to distrust him.

Prior to the nomination ceremony, Tanner must head to the Big Brother Control Room to first create a shortlist of four potential nominees. From that shortlist, he will select his two nominations. Tanner first considers nominating Summer, who he recognizes as a massive threat in pretty much every aspect of the game. He would gain a lot by getting rid of her, but also suspects that anyone else who won HOH other than her or Luke would put her up as well, meaning he could save her for a future week. Tanner next considers putting Nick on the block. He has never been able to look past Nick’s betrayal during Season 1, and considers him to be an extremely cunning player who is dangerous to keep around much longer. Tanner’s third consideration is Emma; she’s a strong physical player who’s tight with Nick, and who put Jennifer up the last time she was HOH. While Tanner likes Emma as a person, they aren’t really on the same side when it comes to the game. Finally, Tanner considers putting Luke up. While the two men have a good bond, Tanner recognizes that Luke is a threat in his own right, and that he would be a good person to put up alongside Summer. Plus, nominating him would help to conceal the extent of their strategic partnership. As Tanner finalizes his nominations, he explains that the endgame is quickly approaching, and to prepare himself for that, he needs to have people around who will have his back and protect him if he ends up in danger, while eliminating those who would oppose him.

At the nomination ceremony, Tanner explains how the ceremony will work. He has two keys in front of him, and will turn the first key to reveal the first nomination. Immediately afterwards, he will do the same with the second key, revealing the second nomination. With that, Tanner turns the first key, revealing Emma as his first nominee. Emma raises an eyebrow, but keeps a smile on her face as she sits down in one of the nomination chairs. Tanner then turns the second key, which reveals Nick as the second nominee. Nick frowns, disappointed in Tanner’s decision. He joins Emma on the block, and the two exchange a smile as he sits down. Tanner explains to Emma that she’s a very strong physical player who has put up his allies both times she was HOH, meaning he suspects she would nominate him if she won a third time. He then lies to Nick that he is on the block as a pawn, because he doesn’t think the house would vote to evict him against Emma. With that, the nomination ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 27 (POV)

After the nomination ceremony, Nick pulls Tanner aside, wanting to hear a more in-depth reason for putting him on the block. Tanner maintains his story, claiming that he wants Emma out as the biggest competition threat, and that he felt Nick would be the best pawn to ensure that happens. When Nick disagrees, pointing out that he is carrying a pretty big target on his back as the first ever winner of the show, Tanner argues that, since everyone in the house likes Nick and doesn’t want him gone, there is little risk in him leaving the house. Although Nick is confident in his relationships in the house, he still finds Tanner’s story fishy. Deep down, he knows he can’t trust Tanner because of their history, and is pretty certain that the HOH is making a pre-emptive strike before Nick can betray him again. Whatever’s going on, Nick gets bad vibes, and he wants to get to the bottom of what is really happening.

Jennifer also has a chat with Tanner shortly after the nominations, wanting to debrief on if what Tanner said in his speech was the truth or not. Tanner is upfront, saying he wants Nick out of the house this week, full stop, end of story. Jennifer nods, unsurprised to hear this. However, she adamantly opposes the idea, believing Nick would be on their side and nominate either Luke & Summer or Ashley & Indira if he won HOH. Emma, on the other hand, would definitely nominate them both, so in Jennifer’s view, it makes no sense to keep Emma and evict Nick. Tanner doesn’t counter this, knowing it to likely be true, but he believes that Nick is overall the more dangerous player and bigger threat. Emma may be skilled in competitions and isn’t on their side, but she doesn’t have the same strategic mettle as Nick, meaning with Nick gone, she would be completely powerless in the house. Jennifer disagrees wholeheartedly, and begins to get frustrated as she points out that Nick leaving would leave 3 duos in the house, with Emma easily being able to float between them. Tanner doesn’t budge, arguing that taking out a duo would pit the surviving member of the duo against them, meaning they would have to face Emma, Nick, and that person the next week, versus just Emma should Nick leave. It is clear that the conversation reaches a stalemate, with Jennifer eventually leaving the HOH room in a bad mood.

Nick sees Jennifer stewing later that day, so he decides to talk to her to see what’s wrong. She is quick to share that she’s frustrated with Tanner for putting Nick on the block, as she tried over and over to convince him not to. Nick nods, obviously agreeing that he shouldn’t be up with a chuckle. Jennifer sighs, admitting that Tanner is a very headstrong person, and it’s very hard to convince him of anything once his mind is set on what he wants. Nick promises Jennifer that he’s still loyal to her, but isn’t sure how much he can trust Tanner, even suspecting that he wants him out. Jennifer shrugs, lying that she thinks he might, but he is claiming to want Emma out. She shares that she wants Emma out as well, and is prepared to help Nick campaign to make it happen. In the DR, Jennifer says that she respects Tanner as a person the most of everyone left in the game, but that she feels going along with his plan would hurt her game. For that reason, she might have to go against her ally’s wishes, but she’s worried what the repercussions of this could be.

Elsewhere, Emma begins talking to Luke and Summer, wanting to have some support if she stays on the block. They had talked about working together beforehand, but had failed to solidify anything substantial. Emma takes the opportunity to bring this topic back up, arguing that the three of them could easily dominate competitions moving forward, with Ashley and Tanner as the only real roadblocks when it comes to winning physical challenges. Summer shares that she wouldn’t mind seeing those two go in the next few weeks, which would make the endgame much easier for the three of them. Emma nods, believing it’s absolutely time to start planning for the endgame, promising the two best friends loyalty going into the remainder of the game. Summer is absolutely on board, loving the idea of having Emma, a strong competitor, on their side. Luke, however, feels very differently. While he also likes the idea of Emma not putting him up in the likely event she wins HOH again, he has trouble fully trusting her. He sees her as a bit of a floater, willing to work with whoever to advance her own game. He’ll keep her pitch in mind, but is far from being set on working with her, preferring Ashley and Tanner as side alliances.

The next morning, Luke pulls Ashley, Indira, and Tanner aside, wanting to talk to them about Emma’s pitch the day prior. He shares that Emma explicitly named Ashley and Tanner as “roadblocks” moving forward towards the endgame, and that her ideal final four is herself, Luke, Summer, and Nick; Luke, however, hates the idea of being in that final four. Indira nods in agreement, pointing out that Emma and Nick would definitely want either Summer or, more likely, Luke out by the final five, or he and Emma would be facing an objectively stronger duo. Luke nods, acknowledging that Summer is much closer to Emma and Nick than he is, so she would benefit far more from the alliance than he would. Luke tells everyone in the room that he’d much rather go deep with them, since he knows he can trust them all. Everyone else in the room agrees, thus creating the new pact. In the DR, Tanner shares that this information changes things, as Emma is actively trying to create alliances against him, while he has no evidence of Nick doing so. This makes him see Jennifer’s points a little better - Emma is definitely more against him than Nick appears to be at this stage in the game. Still, he isn’t sure if he should change course, since he has been given a chance to eliminate Nick that he doesn’t want to pass up.

Later in the day, the houseguests are called into the living room, where three players must be selected by random draw to join Tanner, the HOH, and Emma and Nick, the nominees, in competing for the Power of Veto. Tanner draws first, pulling Luke’s chip out of the bag. Next up is Emma, who draws Summer. Finally, Nick draws, getting Jennifer. A bit afterwards, Tanner, Emma, Nick, Luke, Summer, and Jennifer compete in the tenth Power of Veto competition of the season; in the end, it’s Emma that pulls through, winning a crucial POV competition. Jennifer struggles to hide her displeasure at this, as she sees no outcome where Nick survives the week.

Soon after winning, Emma speaks with Luke, Nick, and Summer in one of the bedrooms. She celebrates her win, before pointing out the annoyed look she saw on Jennifer’s face. Emma knows that Jennifer and Tanner wanted her out, so she’s happy to have thwarted their plans. She tells everyone else in the room that they need to fight hard in the next HOH so that Jennifer and Tanner can go out the door. Summer jokes that she might have other people she wants gone first, but that those two are absolutely on her hitlist. Throughout the conversation, Luke keeps appearances, but doesn’t like that his alliances are targeting each other. In the DR, he says he sees a better opportunity for himself with Tanner and Ashley, but his other allies want those two out more than anybody else. He feels caught between a rock and a hard place, hoping he can somehow fix the situation to help his own game out.

Jennifer and Tanner meet in the HOH room during this time, talking rather desperately about who they can even put up. Jennifer again fixates on Ashley, not only seeing the benefit in getting immunity for the next week, but also wanting a major threat out of the game. Tanner is against the idea, sharing that he and Ashley have a good relationship and that she wouldn’t put Jennifer on the block if she won HOH. Jennifer isn’t so sure if she believes this, though, saying that Ashley is impossible to trust and goes wherever the wind blows. Tanner, frustrated, decides to drop the bomb on Jennifer that Emma tried to create an alliance between herself, Nick, Luke, and Summer, with their first target being Tanner; therefore, he would feel stupid if he didn’t put up either Luke or Summer, who are actively going for him. Jennifer connects the dots quickly, knowing exactly who Tanner wants to nominate. She nods, finding the plan perfectly acceptable. Tanner shares that he has been rethinking targeting Nick, since Nick, while included in the alliance, was not involved in creating it. Jennifer uses this as an “I told you so” moment, to which Tanner acknowledges that she was right that Nick isn’t really coming for him. In the DR, Jennifer smugly admits that she knew she was correct and that Tanner had to see the light eventually.

At the POV ceremony, Emma gives Nick a chance to explain why she should use the POV to save him. Nick mostly jokes during the speech, knowing Emma will use her power to save herself from eviction. Sure enough, Emma does just that, removing herself from the block and asking Tanner to name a replacement nominee. Tanner apologizes, blatantly admitting that he has only one option as a replacement. He then asks Summer to take a seat beside Nick. Summer sighs and nods, not too surprised but still upset to be on the block. With that, the POV ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 28 (Eviction)

Immediately following the POV ceremony, Luke and Tanner have a feverish conversation in the pantry, with Luke frustrated to see Summer on the block. Tanner counts out the numbers to him - he can’t put Jennifer up for obvious reasons, and made a pact with Ashley, Indira, and Luke, leaving Summer as the only possible option for a replacement nominee. Upon hearing this, Luke realizes Tanner’s hands are tied, but shares that he’s worried Summer will be the one leaving the house this week. Tanner nods, telling Luke he would prefer Nick to go, but that Emma winning POV has definitely made that outcome less certain. He urges Luke to help Summer campaign, and promises to put in work of his own as well. However, in the DR, Tanner admits that he wouldn’t mind seeing Summer leave the house this week. She’s a very strong player, and her leaving would sever Luke’s ties to the other side of the house. However, he knows Luke would at least somewhat hold the move against him, and knows that Nick would earn a week of immunity if Summer were to leave, which he really does not want. Therefore, he's conflicted on which outcome would be better or worse for his game.

Emma, Nick, and Summer are dismayed to see Summer go up instead of Ashley or Indira, but they aren’t surprised that Tanner made the decision he did. Emma admits that she feels like the people she’s close to keep leaving week after week, to the point where she feels it could be her next week. Nick shares, however, that his target is Summer and Emma’s is Nick, so regardless of who leaves this week, one of the two remainders will have immunity, giving them all a shot at turning things around. Luke soon joins the conversation, also feeling sad with the results of the renomination. The group of four believes that Tanner and Jennifer are solidly working with Ashley and Indira at this stage, and that the three of them that survive the week need to band together to counteract the opposing alliance.

Following the alliance meeting, Emma and Nick talk together, brainstorming ways to get votes against Summer. Emma immediately promises her vote to Nick, meaning they just need two more votes to get the majority. Nick hopes Jennifer would have her back, as she told him that she trusts him earlier in the week, after he got put up. Emma nods, also hoping that Ashley’s old rivalry with Summer will lead her and Indira to vote against her, giving them a 4-1 margin. Nick agrees with Emma’s ideas before talking with Jennifer one-on-one. In the conversation, Jennifer shares that she believes Summer to be the bigger overall threat, and that she wants to continue working with Nick moving forward in the game. Therefore, she feels her decision is rather easy - she will be voting Summer out on eviction night. With two votes under his belt already, Nick starts to feel a bit more confident that he can survive the vote.

Meanwhile, Summer (with Luke’s help) fights for votes of her own, hoping to get to the majority before Nick can. She realizes that, unless she can somehow pry Emma away from Nick, she’ll need either Ashley or Indira to vote on her side. Despite the hard feelings present between the women, Summer still takes the time to talk to them, sharing that she thinks she has bigger fish to fry at this stage, being Jennifer, Tanner, and even Emma. She thinks it would be cool to have herself, Luke, Ashley, and Indira battle it out at the final four as two duos, to which Ashley and Indira appear interested. However, once Summer ends the conversation, Ashley reveals that she isn’t convinced by the pitch at all, and doesn’t see why keeping Summer would benefit her game. Indira acknowledges this, as Summer has had it out for Ashley for a while now. However, she does entertain Summer’s pitch anyways, believing it would be beneficial for them to have such a strong duo on their side. Still, she has trouble trusting what Summer is saying, so she would only go that way if she had a strong reason to doubt Jennifer and Tanner’s trust.

Luke and Tanner again find themselves talking, with the conversation shifting to game fairly quickly. Luke asks Tanner what he’s thinking for the endgame; specifically, what he’ll do in his ideal final five of the two of them, Ashley, Indira, and Jennifer. Tanner shrugs, honestly stating that he doesn’t think he would be the immediate target. He shares that Jennifer wanted Ashley out badly this week, partly due to having her as her assassin target, but also due to not trusting her and finding her a strategic threat. This intrigues Luke, who had no idea Jennifer wanted Ashley out over Emma or Nick. Luke then states he feels the same way, and that Ashley and Indira, as a duo, would get targeted, and would likely go after Jennifer themselves for being more on the outside of the group. In his head, though, Luke wonders if he could somehow use this information to his advantage, to gain additional trust with Ashley moving forward.

In the end, Luke decides to speak with Ashley and Indira not long afterwards, revealing to them that Jennifer wanted Ashley out this week. This shocks Ashley, who assumed that her good relationship with Tanner translated to Jennifer as well. Hearing that Jennifer wanted her out even over Emma infuriates her, with the assassin aspect to it not helping matters at all. Indira points out that it might not be a terrible move to get rid of Jennifer next, before she can influence Tanner into betraying their new alliance. Luke agrees with the idea, arguing that, while he might be biased, Summer would go after Jennifer while Nick would not. Ashley and Indira both nod, fully agreeing with Luke’s prediction. However, in the DR, Ashley states that she’s really stuck on if this new information is enough for her to switch her vote. While Summer is more likely to go after Jennifer than Nick is, she’s also more likely to go after Ashley and Indira than Nick is, leading to a very tricky debate on risk versus reward. In the DR, Luke hopes that revealing this info to Ashley and Indira will get the two to trust him more, even hopefully to the point of saving Summer this week. He crosses his fingers, feeling he’s done everything he could to save his close friend.

For what it’s worth, Nick also campaigns to Ashley and Indira, realizing they are very much the swing votes this time around. He assumes they’re leaning towards voting Summer, but promises them that he doesn’t have them in his sights whatsoever. He would prefer to take a shot at Luke next, since even if Summer is out of the picture, the model is still a big threat in his own right. Ashley, despite her deal with Luke, is perfectly fine with this (as is Indira). They both see that as way better than being nominated themselves, even if it’s not ideal. Nick also shares that he would want to see Tanner go sooner rather than later, since he suspects that Tanner wanted him gone originally and even still might, despite his best efforts to defuse the situation. With Tanner and Luke both being big threats that Ashley and Indira are aligned with, they’re attracted to the idea of someone taking them out for them, allowing them to get through without blood on their hands. Still, Jennifer scares them both to death, and it’s clear that Nick has no intentions of cutting her any time soon. This leads the two ladies to have to decide which is the lesser of two evils: Summer or Jennifer.

At the eviction, Nick and Summer are given one last chance to argue why they should stay in the house. Nick thanks everyone for an amazing second season, claiming that, so far, it has blown his first stay in the house out of the water. Summer gives a similar speech, thanking the house for a wonderful experience and hoping she can continue it for another week. The houseguests proceed to cast their votes before the results are revealed. By a vote of 4-1, Summer is evicted from the Big Brother house. Summer keeps a smile on her face, grateful to have had the experience even if it’s being cut short. She hugs everyone goodbye, even Ashley and Indira, but saves the final and longest hug for Luke. Luke begins tearing up as he watches Summer exit the house as the fourth member of the jury. Immediately after she leaves, Matt comes on the screen, revealing that Nick, as Summer’s assassin, is immune for the next week, automatically making it to the final six. He then tells the audience that next week will be a Double Eviction week, meaning just five houseguests will remain in one week’s time.

Votes for Summer: Ashley, Emma, Indira, Jennifer

Votes for Nick: Luke

Week 10 (Round 1)

HOH    Luke

Sequestered    Emma

Immune    Nick

POV    Ashley

Nominee 1 vote    Tanner

Evicted 2 votes    Jennifer

Episode 29 (HOH/Nominations)

The episode opens to a replay of Summer’s eviction during the previous episode. She is shown hugging Luke again before heading out of the house. In the DR, Luke discusses his resolve to win the next HOH and take matters into his own hands following his best friend’s eviction. Before he can do so, however, Matt calls the houseguests into the living room, announcing the penultimate weekly twist of the season. This twist is based on Liam Asfour from Big Brother 6, who won the power to send someone, including himself, to sequester for a week. This week, the HOH competition will have 3 prizes: HOH, the Round Skipper power, and $5,000. Tanner looks unhappy to be missing out on all of these prizes, while the other houseguests are a combination of nervous and excited.

Following Matt’s announcement, the seven remaining houseguests head outside to get the HOH competition under way. Tanner, as the outgoing HOH, is ineligible to compete, therefore, Ashley, Emma, Indira, Jennifer, Luke, and Nick all compete for one of the three available prizes. A montage plays not long after the competition starts, showing Ashley falling over numerous times throughout the competition. Although she struggles, the other houseguests do decently, remaining fairly close to one another. The first person to finish is Luke, who wastes no time in picking the HOH prize. Although Luke is now crowned HOH, the competition continues, as two prizes remain up for grabs. Nick finishes second, going for the Round Skipper prize. Emma, Indira, and Jennifer remain very close throughout the rest of the competition, but in the end, Emma manages to beat the other two women, earning herself $5,000. Due to not winning any prizes, Ashley, Indira, Jennifer, and Tanner are the only people eligible to be Have-Nots. Luke chooses Indira and Tanner. Before anyone can process the results of the competition, Nick is told that he must announce who he is using his Round Skipper on, right then and there. Nick immediately announces that he’s using it on Emma. Ashley, Indira, Jennifer, and Tanner all look at one another in dismay, realizing one of the four of them is leaving that week. Emma quickly hugs Nick and waves goodbye to the other houseguests before heading to the DR to go into sequester for the remainder of the week.

After this dramatic occurrence, Jennifer and Tanner, both in a daze, pull Nick aside and demand an explanation from him as to why he essentially saved Emma for the week. He calmly explains that he has a good relationship with Emma and knew she would get evicted otherwise, so it made the most sense to save her. Jennifer counters that, now, she could very well get put on the block by Luke, and Tanner is in a similar boat. Nick apologizes, but rationalizes that they have a better chance at surviving than Emma would, so it’s the smartest play from that perspective. Jennifer, however, is unimpressed, stating that Emma has come after her both times she won HOH, and likely would if she were to win again; she accuses Nick of not valuing her safety as much as she values his. Nick again counters this, saying he would do whatever he could to convince Emma to put Luke, Ashley, and/or Indira up. In the end, though, this does little to mend the betrayal Jennifer feels. In the DR, she accuses Nick of being a snake, and admits that Tanner might have been onto something with his paranoia the previous few weeks. Nick, meanwhile, says in the DR that he told Jennifer and Tanner the truth, and that he has no desire to see Jennifer especially leave the game any time soon. However, he knows that his decision would make waves, but he shrugs it off, saying that his Season 1 alliance will just have to deal with it since it was the best move for his individual game. Tanner, in the DR, feels vindicated, now having concrete proof that Nick is not as loyal to him and Jennifer as he claimed.

Nick’s move does indeed make waves throughout the house, as Ashley, Indira, and Luke hold a panicked meeting in the HOH bedroom once it is opened. The two ladies pace, stating that the events that have unfolded are the worst case scenario and that both outsiders are now immune. Eventually, they all calm down, and Ashley states that this is their chance to evict Jennifer without burning her jury vote, and before she can strike against them. Indira nods, figuring that the outcome isn’t all bad if they can at least send Jennifer home. Luke agrees, admitting he doesn’t trust Jennifer much. However, in the DR, Luke tells the viewers that he’s considering not only what Ashley and Indira tell him, but what the entire house says. He definitely wishes he could just evict Emma and be done with it, but unfortunately, he accepts that he will have to shed a lot of blood this week. Ashley tells Luke that he got a raw deal, having to choose between two of only four options this week. With a sigh, Luke agrees, but figures he can somehow work something out to the benefit of his game. In the DR, Indira admits she’s nervous with there being nowhere to hide, but hopes that her improving relationship with Luke is enough to keep her safe.

Tanner takes a chance to speak with Luke the next morning, wanting to hear where his head is at. Luke admits to Tanner that he’s having a lot of trouble deciding who to nominate, as he feels he can trust all of the eligible nominees to an extent. Tanner agrees, lamenting that Emma and Nick both managed to earn safety for the week. Luke admits that Ashley and Indira both want to see Jennifer evicted this week, since they suspect she is coming for them as soon as Emma is gone. Tanner nods, saying their suspicions are right, but that Luke needs to do what he can to keep the remnants of the alliance together for the next week. Luke lies, saying he totally agrees, before assuring Tanner that he is most likely safe. He would only put him up if it’s alongside Jennifer, and in that instance, there’s no way Jennifer would survive the vote. Tanner gives an argument for Ashley and Indira to go up instead, calling them both cunning social players who have managed to stay a tight duo for a very long time in the game. Luke absolutely agrees, figuring that he’s still on shaky ground with the two ladies considering their history with Summer. Still, he can’t promise Tanner anything, especially since he knows Jennifer and Nick are working together.

Jennifer knows she might be in trouble, since she doesn’t have the strongest relationship with Luke. However, she thinks she can convince him to put Ashley and Indira up, so she talks with him about the idea. Luke admits his apprehension in doing so, outright telling Jennifer that he can tell she’s close with Nick, which is pretty threatening. Jennifer acknowledges this, but claims it’s more of a personal relationship than a game relationship, denying any sort of official alliance between them. Luke shakes his head, telling Jennifer that his gut tells him otherwise. Jennifer pivots, arguing that Ashley and Indira have done a tremendous job at avoiding going home even when they were at the center of drama, which makes them incredibly threatening. Luke can’t counter this, knowing it to be true. He nods, agreeing with Jennifer that the two ladies are both incredibly skilled at slipping by week after week against the odds. Jennifer adds that it’s because they’re both incredible social players, but Ashley’s confrontational nature distracts from that fact. In the DR, Luke admits that Jennifer brings up a lot of solid points. He acknowledges that Ashley has been masterful socially, and Indira has arguably been even better by dodging the spotlight week after week. He thinks he would benefit from splitting the two ladies up, since they’re undoubtedly the tightest duo in the entire house since Summer left. Still, Luke is torn, since Jennifer has connections of her own that make her a tempting target.

Jennifer and Tanner have a conversation later on, where Jennifer shares that Luke admitted to considering her for the block, citing her bond with Nick. She concedes that Tanner may have been right with wanting Nick out, as he is starting to become a liability for them. Tanner nods, though admits he didn’t expect things to turn out this badly for them with Nick sticking around. Jennifer sighs, at least hoping that Nick isn’t actively targeting them. If they can somehow all survive the week, then their group with Nick would make a three-person alliance in a six-person house, which should help them out. Tanner sighs, wondering how likely that even is. He hopes Ashley and Indira go up despite all that has happened, though he feels that everything that could have gone wrong this week has. Jennifer agrees, simply hoping that if shit does hit the fan, they have the POV to turn things around.

Prior to the nomination ceremony, Luke is called into the Big Brother Control Room, where he must create a shortlist of a few potential nominees before picking two nominations from that shortlist. Luke first considers putting Indira on the block. He explains that Indira proved herself untrustworthy with her winners’ alliance way back when, and her strong social game + tight bond with Ashley make her a huge threat to take the crown a second time. He then considers putting Jennifer on the block. Jennifer is an enigma to Luke, and is hard to get a good read on, but he can tell that she and Nick have some sort of agreement with each other. This alone is enough for her to be a threat, as her, Tanner, and Nick could control the game down the line if they play their cards right. Next considered is Ashley, who Luke has a fondness for yet recognizes as a threat. Despite her tendency to start drama and get in fights with people, she still manages to have an excellent social game and is incredibly strategic, making her a very dangerous player. Finally, Luke considers putting Tanner up. Despite being very good buddies with him, Luke recognizes that Tanner is a massive physical threat and benefits from Jennifer’s connection with Nick. By ousting Tanner, Luke faces relatively little physical competition, with only Emma as a major physical threat. As Luke selects his two nominees, he explains that the hand he’s been dealt this week means he has to stab somebody in the back. He just hopes that he chooses the right person and can set himself up to make it to the final two.

At the nomination ceremony, Luke explains how the ceremony will work. In front of him are two keys; once he finishes the explanation, he will turn the first key, which will reveal the first nominee. He will then turn the second key, revealing the second nominee. Luke then shares that, due to being Summer’s assassin, Nick is immune from nominations for the week, as is Emma due to the Round Skipper power. With that, Luke wastes little time in turning the first key, revealing Jennifer’s face on the living room TV. Jennifer frowns, taking her seat on the nomination chair. Luke then turns the second key, which reveals Tanner as the second nominee. Slight grins come across Ashley’s and Indira’s faces, while Tanner keeps a straight face as he sits beside Jennifer. Luke explains to Jennifer that she has a lot of connections in the house and is a strong strategic player, making her a major threat. He then tells Tanner that he’s a huge physical threat, and for that reason, he has to go on the block. Luke then proceeds to adjourn the nomination ceremony.

Episode 30 (POV)

After the nomination ceremony concludes, Tanner pulls Luke aside to discuss the nominations. Luke apologizes to Tanner, knowing it must sting to be put on the block, as it stung a lot for him to make the decision to nominate Tanner to begin with. He explains that he wants Jennifer to go, since he doesn’t have much of a game relationship with her and believes she’s a strategic threat. Tanner is only on the block because Jennifer would survive the vote otherwise. While understanding Luke’s reasoning, Tanner admits he feels vulnerable being on the block, since he has proven to be a strong physical competitor thus far. Luke acknowledges this, but counters that he doesn’t see a way where Tanner would get the majority of the votes; Ashley and Indira want Jennifer out more, and if she saves herself with the POV, whoever Luke puts up would go thanks to Jennifer’s and Nick’s votes. Tanner doesn’t think Nick is as loyal to him as Luke seems to think, though, so he knows that he needs to win POV to ensure that no funny business can occur.

In the backyard, Ashley and Jennifer sit near each other, but mostly do their own thing. Ashley tries to strike up a conversation with Jennifer, but gets the vibe very quickly that Jennifer wants nothing to do with her. After several instances of Jennifer side-eyeing Ashley and/or making passive-aggressive comments, Ashley calls her out on her anti-social behavior. Ashley urges Jennifer to tell her how she really feels instead of doing such a bad job at being fake. Jennifer happily obliges, calling Ashley an attention-seeking drama whore who is desperate for fame and relevance that she will never receive. Ashley tells Jennifer that she is acting incredibly pathetic and immature for her age, before calling her a washed-up old hag who nobody thinks deserved to be an all-star. Jennifer rolls her eyes before standing up and leaving the backyard, walking away from the conversation. In the DR, Jennifer rolls her eyes while informing the audience that spending ten weeks with Ashley has made her just about lose her sanity. Ashley, meanwhile, laughs at the entire interaction, believing it has done nothing except cement Jennifer’s eviction in a few days’ time.

Meanwhile, Indira tries to strengthen her relationship with Nick, believing that having him in her pocket would help her tremendously to reach the end of the game. She brings up their old winners’ alliance with him, believing it would be awesome if two winners made it to the end of the game a second time. Nick, while not hating the idea of facing Indira at the final two, finds the entire conversation disingenuous. He thinks Indira is not only a very cunning and manipulative player, but also rather annoying in how innocent she tries to act at times. However, he knows that everyone else in the house really likes her, which makes him feel like he’s going crazy. In the DR, he shares that he wants to go deep with Jennifer and Emma, believing every other houseguest is a snake through and through.

Prior to the POV competition, Jennifer, Tanner, and Nick all meet to discuss their plan of attack for the week. They quickly agree that they would prefer to see either Ashley or Indira leave that week, which they can accomplish fairly easy. All they would need to do is have one of the three of them win POV, forcing Luke to put one of the two ladies up as the replacement nominee. However, both Jennifer and Nick haven’t had the greatest luck in competitions thus far in the season, so both are nervous about losing to Ashley, Luke, or even possibly Indira. Despite the fractured trust between the Season 1 veterans, they all realize they have a shared goal this week, building some of that trust back in the process. In the DR, Tanner shares that the POV competition is do or die, especially for Jennifer. He wants to win more than ever before, as while he likes Ashley and Indira, he simply can’t allow them to evict him if push comes to shove.

However, even with trust between them increasing, Jennifer still feels the need to have a tough talk with Nick. In their conversation, she shares how she truly feels about his move to save Emma, viewing it as him choosing Emma over herself. Nick denies this, arguing that at the time, he felt Jennifer had a better chance of sticking around than Emma, so he saved the more vulnerable person. He then explains that he wants to see himself, Emma, and Jennifer in the final three, and has no intention of sending Jennifer home at any point. While she does believe Nick in that he wants to see her at the final three, she also knows deep down that Nick would most likely pick Emma to go with him to the final two, and she’s also aware that Emma has had it out for her for a long time in the game. As a result, she feels that her and Nick’s games are starting to diverge, as tough as it is to accept. Still, she sees some use to keeping Nick around, if only because he would target other people before herself.

Despite there being seven houseguests remaining, Emma’s sequester for the week means that only six houseguests are eligible to compete in the POV competition. As a result, no POV Player Pick is held for the week; instead, everyone currently in the house - Ashley, Indira, and Nick - join Luke, the HOH, and Jennifer & Tanner, the nominees, in competing in the 11th POV competition of the season. Ashley, Indira, and Luke all fight to keep the nominations the same, while Jennifer, Nick, and Tanner all fight to change them. In the end, Ashley and Tanner are the top two competitors. Very narrowly, Ashley beats Tanner, earning herself the Power of Veto.

With the POV in her possession, Ashley celebrates her safety for the week with Indira. Despite not needing to say anything, Ashley tells her closest ally that she’s not using the POV, wanting to keep them both safe for another round. Indira hugs Ashley, very happy that she was able to beat Tanner and keep them both intact another week. Luke soon joins the two ladies, congratulating Ashley on her victory. He is pleased, as it means that Jennifer’s eviction is all but certain. Ashley and Indira nod in agreement, getting the exact outcome they were hoping for the entire week. Ashley prematurely celebrates Jennifer’s eviction in the DR, thrilled to see the woman who acted passive-aggressive to her just hours prior remain on the block.

At the POV ceremony, Ashley gives both Jennifer and Tanner the chance to argue why she should use the POV to save one of them. Neither nominee expects her to use the POV, and they both say as much in their speeches; however, Jennifer argues that she has done poorly in competitions, especially recently, so she’ll be easy to take out in a future week. Tanner doesn’t give any argument in his favor, instead urging Ashley to do whatever she needs to do at the end of the day. With that in mind, Ashley wastes little time, quickly announcing her decision not to use the POV on either nominee. With that, the POV ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 31 Part 1 (Eviction #1)

With the nominations staying the same, the Season 1 returnees meet together shortly after the POV ceremony to lament their separation. Tanner is personally more unhappy that it’s either himself or Jennifer going, with Nick sitting pretty thanks to his immunity. The three make a promise to each other that the two of them that remain at the end of the week need to stick together to pick off the rest of the house. In reality, though, both Nick and Tanner only plan on sticking to the promise if Jennifer is the one that stays. If it’s just the two of them, both plan on cutting one another down the line, having almost nonexistent trust in each other. Jennifer, meanwhile, is sad about the idea of leaving Nick and Tanner behind, hoping she can switch things around and keep herself in the house another week.

Despite the strong personal bond between Jennifer and Tanner, the two allies are quick to begin their campaigns against one another. Tanner first goes to Luke, wanting to get a sense of where people stand on the vote. Luke believes that Ashley and Indira still want to vote Jennifer out, as they seemed very happy about the idea that she specifically is still on the block and failed to win POV. Tanner nods, seeing this as good news, but not a guarantee that he’ll be safe. In the DR, Tanner knows he’ll have to offer Ashley and Indira something beyond “safety”, as those kinds of promises simply cannot last deep into the endgame. He’s willing to put all of his eggs in one basket at this stage, since there are only a few rounds remaining before the end of the game.

Jennifer, knowing she has Nick’s vote locked, focuses all of her attention on getting Indira to vote her way. She pulls Indira and Nick into one of the bedrooms, outright stating that she knows Indira and Nick were aligned with each other, at least during the start of the game. Both houseguests admit to the existence of the winners’ alliance, but claim that it died as soon as Chase left the house during Week 5. Jennifer nods, sharing that, if Tanner has to go this week, she would want to move forward with the two of them. She just can’t bring herself to trust Ashley or Luke, and would hate to see either of them win the game. While Indira doesn’t appreciate the trash talking of Ashley, she overlooks it, liking the idea of Jennifer and Nick (and, by proxy, Emma) being on her side. She thinks she could easily make it to the end with that final four. All of a sudden, Indira feels that she might gain a lot by keeping Jennifer around. Ashley would be pissed at her, but she would gain three new allies in the process, a trade that she doesn’t see as too bad at all. Still, she wants to see what Ashley thinks before committing to any sort of deal.

Tanner, meanwhile, speaks to Ashley, wanting to get her support first and foremost. Ashley promises Tanner that he has nothing to worry about, since she knows he’s not after her while Jennifer very clearly is. Additionally, she knows that Jennifer is the glue holding Nick and Tanner together, believing she would be splitting up a potential trio by evicting Jennifer. Tanner is happy to hear that Ashley is on his side, hoping this means that Indira would be as well. Ashley nods, saying that Indira should be voting Jennifer out as well, but that he should talk to her just in case. In the DR, Ashley states that keeping Tanner around helps her game a lot, as he’s a human shield for her (as evidenced by him being put up instead of her this week) and would win competitions to help her out down the line.

Ashley’s comfort is quickly dashed, though, when she talks to Indira about the vote. She’s absolutely shocked to hear that Indira is heavily considering voting Tanner out instead of Jennifer, claiming that it’s because Tanner is a physical threat. Ashley urges Indira to get some sense, as Jennifer staying would mean they’d be facing a three-person alliance of Emma, Jennifer, and Nick for the rest of the game. If Jennifer goes, Emma and Nick will be on their own, while both Luke and Tanner would remain on their side. Indira tells Ashley that their current groups aren’t necessarily going to stay static during the endgame, and that both Jennifer and Nick expressed a desire to cut Emma out if Indira voted with them. Ashley is flabbergasted, telling Indira that they are obviously lying and are just trying to use her. Indira nods, figuring this is possible, but still arguing that voting Tanner out isn’t necessarily bad for their games. Ashley is confused at who possessed Indira to say what she’s saying, but regardless of why Indira wants Tanner gone, it gives Ashley very bad vibes. She wonders if Jennifer gave Indira some sort of deal that Ashley isn’t included in; if this is the case, Ashley feels that Indira would be dead to her.

Tanner gets the chance to talk to Indira, hoping that she will go with what Ashley wants. He quickly learns, however, that Indira is on the fence, stuck on who to vote for. Tanner points out that he only ever worked with Nick because Jennifer essentially made him, and that, once Jennifer goes, Tanner would have no loyalty to Nick or to Emma (who he never had any loyalty to). In fact, he claims he would put them both up, as he did last week. Indira believes Tanner, but can’t shake the deal she was offered by Jennifer and Nick. She doesn’t want to keep playing in Ashley’s shadow and wants to make a statement for her own individual game, but the chat with Tanner helps her put some things in perspective. She doesn’t want to burn bridges or make a bad move solely to vote separately from Ashley, instead only wanting to make the move if it truly benefits her individual game.

At the live eviction, before the vote occurs, Matt announces that Emma will be returning to the house from sequester to watch the eviction go down. However, she will not be eligible to vote; only Ashley, Indira, and Nick will vote. The houseguests all greet Emma on her return; she sees Jennifer and Tanner on the block and smiles, fairly happy with the week’s outcome. The two nominees are then given a chance to get some final words in before the vote. Jennifer argues that Tanner is a huge physical threat while she is not, so they should take Tanner out before he can win his way to the end. Tanner argues that he’s not nearly as strategic as Jennifer, and doesn’t have the same connections that she does. With the speeches out of the way, the vote commences. By a vote of 2-1… Tanner is SAFE, meaning Jennifer is evicted from the Big Brother house. Jennifer hugs everybody goodbye with the exception of Ashley and Emma; Indira apologizes to Jennifer during their hug, to which Jennifer promises that it’s okay. Jennifer does not smile, unhappy to place 7th yet again. However, she leaves with her head held high as the fifth member of the jury.

Votes for Jennifer: Ashley, Indira

Votes for Tanner: Nick

Week 10 (Round 2)

HOH    Emma

POV    Tanner

Nominee 1 vote    Ashley

Evicted 2 votes    Indira

Episode 31 Part 2 (Eviction #2)

Immediately after Jennifer leaves the house, Matt calls the six remaining houseguests back into the living room. There, he announces that another houseguest will be leaving the house that night, as this week is the second Double Eviction week of the season. Without wasting any more time, the houseguests all make their way to the backyard for the HOH competition. As the outgoing HOH, Luke is ineligible to compete. Therefore, Ashley, Emma, Indira, Nick, and Tanner all battle it out to become the 12th HOH of the season. In a close competition, it’s Emma that manages to win, earning her third HOH of the season, and the second during a Double Eviction week.

With Emma as HOH, Nick feels pretty secure, but the other houseguests begin scrambling. Tanner manages to get to her and Nick first, arguing to them that Ashley, Indira, and Luke proved the past week that they have something with one another, and that Ashley and Luke need to go on the block. Emma points out that Tanner put both herself and Nick up just a week ago, so she isn’t sure how she’s supposed to trust him. Tanner shrugs, saying he’s made his case, and that he has nobody in the house at this point in time. Ashley and Indira come to her next, throwing Tanner under the bus as hard as they can. The ladies argue that he’s the strongest physical competitor in the house, and now is a great chance to get him out before he can even collect his thoughts to win POV. Finally, Luke’s argument is that Ashley and Indira are a duo, and now is the best time to finally split them up. Emma is delighted to see the four houseguests who were formerly in a powerful position scramble and turn on each other without a moment of hesitation.

After a commercial break, Emma is told to nominate two of her fellow houseguests for eviction, right then and there. Emma takes a deep breath before pointing at Ashley, naming her as the first nominee. Ashley puts her head in her hands, worried about her safety in the game. Predictably, Emma then names Indira as the other nominee, inviting the two ladies to join each other on the block. No POV Player Pick occurs since only six houseguests remain. Instead, Luke, Nick, and Tanner automatically join Emma (the HOH) and Ashley & Indira (the nominees) in competing for the 12th POV of the season. Nervous about what may happen otherwise, Tanner absolutely destroys everyone else and wins by the biggest margin of any competition all season, picking up his 4th POV win of the season.

Luke speaks with Tanner in the pantry shortly after the win, wanting to know what his plan is. Tanner scoffs, insulted that Luke would even be worried about what he’s going to do. While Tanner likes both Ashley and Indira, he’s been wanting them split up for weeks now, but didn’t want to be the one to get the blood on his hands. Luke agrees with Tanner’s decision (obviously, since he’d be going up otherwise), and thanks him for having his back even after the previous week. Tanner nods, thanking Luke in turn for helping him stick around despite Indira’s waffling. Emma then walks in, asking the two men if Tanner will be using his power. Tanner shakes his head adamantly, assuring Emma that her nominations will remain the same.

Following another commercial break, Tanner is asked by Matt to announce his decision right then and there. Tanner apologizes to both women on the block, stating that he has loved to get to know them, but doesn’t see how using the POV would benefit his game. With that in mind, he refuses to use the POV, keeping Ashley and Indira on the block together. The two women hug tightly, knowing they’ll be separated in just a few minutes. Emma and Nick, meanwhile, are incredibly pleased with the outcome, while Luke appears relieved more than anything.

Emma, Nick, Luke, and Tanner all talk feverishly in the pantry, excluding Ashley and Indira from their talk. Emma says that Ashley needs to go, since Indira has flopped hard in every competition thus far. Nick agrees with Emma, to which Luke and Tanner nod in agreement as well. Emma and Nick leave, with Ashley rushing in shortly afterwards. With intensity, she asks the two men if Emma and Nick just told them to vote her out. They both nod, to which Ashley says they’d be stupid to do that, since she can actually win a competition for them, while Indira, bless her heart, couldn’t win to save her life. She argues that, with Indira staying, Luke and Tanner are essentially a team of two against Emma and Nick, but will have a 75% chance of getting the next HOH with Ashley still around. The men both find her argument compelling, but also recognize that they would want Ashley gone sooner rather than later as well, so it’s a huge tossup for them.

After what feels like forever to the nervous houseguests, Matt finally announces that it’s time for the eviction vote. Beforehand, however, Ashley and Indira can both give a pitch as to why they should stay. Ashley comes out guns blazing, reiterating her argument that she can win challenges for Luke and Tanner to get rid of Emma and Nick, while Indira can’t. Indira, not expecting Ashley to throw her under the bus, is caught off-guard, arguing meekly that she’s by far the lesser threat, and with the endgame approaching, they might not get another chance to send Ashley home. Ashley and Indira hold hands tightly as the three men vote to decide their fates. By a vote of 2-1… Indira is evicted from the Big Brother house. Nick’s jaw drops in shock, while Emma appears upset by the outcome. Ashley leaps into the air in excitement, unable to contain her happiness at surviving so narrowly. Indira hugs her goodbye, urging her to win in her stead. She hugs everyone else goodbye too before leaving the house as the sixth member of the jury.

Votes for Indira: Luke, Tanner

Votes for Ashley: Nick

Week 11

HOH/POV    Ashley

Nominee 1 vote    Emma

Evicted 2 votes    Nick

Episode 32 (HOH/Nominations)

Following the dramatic double eviction, the five remaining houseguests all leave the living room to decompress. Luke and Tanner meet in one of the side rooms, wondering if they made the right decision by sending Indira home. Luke is certain that they did, confident that Ashley not only can win challenges to keep them safe, but would also be less likely to switch allegiances down the line. Tanner agrees with the latter point, acknowledging that Indira could have gotten in with whichever group claimed power, while Ashley siding with Emma or Nick seems unlikely. However, he is worried in the sense that Ashley is a bigger overall threat than Indira was, so they might be in trouble if either of them is facing her in the finals. Luke nods, but points out the drama Ashley has started throughout the season, believing her to have poor jury management. Just then, Ashley walks into the room, hugging both of them tightly for voting to save her just a few minutes ago. In the DR, she admits that she can’t believe she actually managed to save herself, but is thrilled to still be around. More than anything, she wants to avenge Indira’s eviction by sending Emma or Nick out the door this week.

Meanwhile, Emma and Nick aren’t quite as happy with the outcome of the eviction, frustrated that Luke and Tanner went against their predictions. Emma thinks they made a stupid decision, unable to fathom why they would want to keep Ashley around when she’s so volatile. Nick disagrees, though, thinking it makes sense. He points out Ashley’s strength, and that Luke and Tanner are probably banking on her feeling indebted to them for saving her. Emma groans, as this only means that they’re facing a tight alliance of three, and she can’t even compete in the next HOH. Nick sighs, knowing he has to somehow come out on top against three much stronger physical competitors in order to have much of a chance at surviving the week. Nevertheless, both allies know that they need to keep a positive outlook and that they cannot give up until one of them is walking out the door, officially evicted from the house.

Moments later, the houseguests are called into the backyard, where they will compete in the 13th HOH competition of the season. As the outgoing HOH, Emma is not eligible to compete, meaning only Ashley, Luke, Nick, and Tanner will be in the running for the title of HOH. In the ensuing competition, Nick is able to outlast Luke, but falls shortly afterwards, leaving just Ashley and Tanner battling it out for HOH. Subtitles are shown, revealing that Tanner is offering to give up HOH in exchange for safety, even if the POV is used. Ashley is shown nodding, prompting Tanner to drop and making Ashley the next HOH. Nick is disappointed in himself for coming up short, while Emma appears terrified that her target from just a few hours ago is now in the most powerful position in the house. Ashley is asked to select two Have-Nots for the week. She first chooses Luke, as he hasn’t been a Have-Not in forever; she then chooses Emma, as she got to skip the last week due to the Round Skipper, making it impossible for her to have been a Have-Not.

Ashley and Tanner talk shortly after the HOH competition, with Ashley thanking Tanner for offering to give up HOH. She feels that she needed another win to help out her resume, while Tanner acknowledges that he’d benefit from not winning too often and making himself a huge target. The two then discuss the Sort the Deck twist, realizing that the eleventh and final weekly twist is going to come into effect soon. Both are scared of what the twist could be, as the previous twists have, to varying degrees, drastically shifted the strategy in the house. Ashley admits that she doesn’t care too much what the twist is, as long as it doesn’t grant Nick or Emma immunity this week. Tanner feels the same, confessing that he wants the twist to involve some sort of monetary prize, as he would feel better being guaranteed a certain amount no matter how well he does in the last two weeks of the game.

Just then, Matt calls the houseguests into the living room for an announcement. Sure enough, the Sort the Deck twist is coming to an end, with the final weekly twist coming into effect in just a few moments. However, Matt does not reveal the twist, instead telling the houseguests that they’ll learn of what it is when they go up to see Ashley’s HOH room. Minutes later, Ashley calls the houseguests into her new HOH room, to which they all head up with a mix of excitement and nerves. Upon entering the HOH room, they immediately notice a large screen that was previously hidden throughout the season, as well as a basket of envelopes. Ashley investigates the envelopes, only to see that they have the names of the other four houseguests on them. Emma begins to cry, realizing that she and the rest of the house have all received letters from home. The big screen then lights up, revealing the twist based on Connor O’Reilly from Big Brother 4: every houseguest except the HOH gets a letter from home, instead of just the HOH getting one. Ashley crosses her arms, as she did not receive a letter. Her mood quickly shifts, though, when the screen transitions to a video call from her brother, Carson. In a rare emotional display from Ashley, she begins crying as she tells her brother how much she’s missed him and introduces him to the other remaining houseguests. The two catch up for a few moments before the video call ends, to which all of the houseguests are either crying or otherwise deeply emotional. In the DR, Ashley thanks Big Brother for the love from home, admitting that it’s easy to forget sometimes how important certain people are in your life, and how easy it is to take them for granted.

In high spirits, the houseguests mostly neglect strategy talks for the rest of the night, instead deciding to hang out in the hot tub together. Luke shares how amazed he is to be in the final five of an all-stars season, as when he first entered the house, he felt major impostor syndrome being surrounded by so many Big Brother legends. Ashley laughs, fully admitting that she was surprised to see him cast, but that he’s more than proven himself worthy of the slot on the cast. Tanner is happy to have lasted much longer than in his first showing, especially while co-existing with one of the men responsible for his early exit on season 1. Nick laughs, fake apologizing for evicting Tanner way back when, before discussing how pleased he is to still be around despite carrying the huge target of being the first winner on his back. Emma is surprised to still be in the house as well, not because of the reputation she carried into the season, but because she struggled to get her footing early on in the game. The other houseguests acknowledge this, telling Emma that she had an unlucky start, but managed to fight her way this far regardless. Ashley is happy to have officially placed higher than on Big Brother 5, especially since most people she knew expected her to get evicted pre-jury after her strong first showing. All-in-all, the houseguests are grateful and happy to reach Week 11, and have their eyes set on making it all the way.

The next day, however, the niceties mostly dissipate. Ashley, knowing she needs to make a decision on nominations soon, talks with Luke in the HOH room. He points out what he sees as obvious: Emma and Nick need to go up, guaranteeing that one of them will leave the game this week. Ashley nods, having no qualms with the plan. However, she does ask Luke which of the two he would vote out on eviction night if the nominations were to stay the same. Luke shrugs, admitting he hasn’t given it a ton of thought, but is leaning towards voting Emma out because of her physical strength. Puzzled, Ashley raises an eyebrow, confessing that she views Nick as the greater overall threat. While Emma is much more capable of winning competitions, Nick’s strategic mind is on another level, and he has played yet another incredible social game. While acknowledging that what Ashley says is true, Luke feels that Nick can be evicted at any time, especially with everyone else in the house being so much stronger than him. Emma, however, is very capable of winning her way to the end, which Luke views as the more immediate threat. In the DR, Ashley shares that there are a lot of good reasons to evict both Emma and Nick, which is making the week harder than she expected it to be.

Despite feeling fairly certain they’re going up, Emma and Nick know that they need to at least talk with Ashley to see what she’s thinking. Nick is the first to speak with her, congratulating her again on her HOH win and on surviving the last eviction vote. Ashley nods blankly, then states that she knows he voted for her to leave. Nick nods confidently, stating that he felt she was the bigger threat compared to Indira due to being strong physically and strategically, while Indira’s strengths were mostly just social. However, Nick respects Ashley’s game a lot, and believes there is a lot she can do beyond the obvious choice of nominating the two outsiders. Intrigued, Ashley asks Nick to explain; Nick argues that Luke and Tanner have both been far more influential players in the house than he or Emma ever have, making them far more likely to pick up a lot of jury votes. Ashley doubts this at first, so Nick continues to argue, this time adding that Luke and Summer dominated the game together for quite a while, and once Summer left, Luke continued to exercise influence without even being nominated. Tanner, on the other hand, has constantly won clutch competitions and has several locked jury votes due to winning POVs to save his allies. In the DR, Ashley admits that Nick’s points are hard to argue against, and that she has been worried that she’d struggle to get votes in the final two against Luke or Tanner. However, she is further worried that betraying either of them would just make her lose even more votes, so she’s very conflicted on what she should do.

Emma also tries her hand at talking to Ashley, hoping she can influence her in some way. Emma starts by pointing out that the women have been dropping like flies since the jury phase began, and that she’s worried Luke and Tanner specifically are incredibly tight. She points out having seen the two men work out together on numerous occasions, and that they always appear to be looking around the backyard while talking, indicating that they don’t want people to overhear their conversations. This gets Ashley thinking, as she is aware that the two men have a lot more in common with each other than either of them do with her, leaving her worried that she’s the third wheel in the group. Emma then adds that she and Tanner have won the same number of competitions, but Luke has won much more than Nick, meaning Luke and Tanner are the overall stronger duo than herself and Nick. Again, Ashley cannot refute this, as it is mathematically accurate; this leaves her stumped, as her preconceived notion of Luke and Tanner being less of threats might not be as true as she once thought. Ashley thanks Emma for the chat, admitting that it has her rethinking some things. This gives Emma hope that she can avoid the block this week, though she’s not certain it was enough to change Ashley’s mind entirely.

Before making her nominations, Ashley must head to the Big Brother Control Room to create a shortlist of potential nominees. From that shortlist, she must choose two people to go on the block as her official nominations. Ashley first considers putting Nick up, as she believes he has one of the strongest cases to the jury at the end of the game. He is a very strong social player who has been in a pretty poor position in the house, yet he has continually leveraged his social bonds to get further and further into the game. Next considered is Emma, a strong physical threat who, similarly to Nick, has beaten the odds to make it as far as she has without many allies. Third considered is Luke, who Ashley believes is a much bigger threat than he likes to let on. He and Summer controlled a lot of the game, and despite that, Luke hasn’t been looked at as a person to nominate much throughout the season. Finally, Ashley considers Tanner. Even though she promised to keep him safe, she admits that she won’t keep a promise if it doesn’t benefit her to do so. Tanner is a massive physical threat on par with Emma, who has a very tight bond with Luke, another strong physical player. He also has a good story to give to the jury: one of rectifying his mistakes in season 1 to go from a pre-juror to a potential winner. As Ashley finalizes her nominations, she explains to the audience that her decision could make or break her game, and that she needs to eliminate people who stand in her way of grabbing the grand prize once it’s all said and done.

At the nomination ceremony, Ashley explains how the ceremony will work. In front of her are two keys; after the explanation, she will turn the first key, which will reveal her first nomination. She will then proceed to turn the second key to reveal the second nominee. With that, Ashley turns the first key, which reveals Emma as her first nominee. Emma sighs, unhappy that her arguments weren’t enough to keep her off the block. Ashley then turns the second key, which reveals Nick as the other nominee. Once Emma was announced as a nominee, Nick knew he would go up alongside her, so he isn’t surprised to be in the position he’s in. Ashley explains to them that she didn’t make her decision based on loyalty, instead nominating the two people she views as the biggest threats to win, nothing else. With that, the nomination ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 33 (POV)

Following the nomination ceremony, Emma and Nick retreat to one of the bedrooms after accepting hugs from the other houseguests. While they’re not angry or surprised to be on the block, neither of them are very pleased. Even though both have survived being up against each other before, this seems like much less of a possibility to both of them this week. Emma says out loud what they’re both thinking: even if one of them wins POV, Luke and Tanner aren’t going to vote each other out, and it’s highly unlikely in their opinion that Ashley would break the tie in their favor. Nick, however, thinks they have one avenue left: continuing to push how close Luke and Tanner are, to convince Ashley that she’s dead in the water if she doesn’t get one of them out this week. Emma hopes the plan will work, but mostly keeps a more pessimistic (in her mind, realistic) view that they’re pretty boned this week. In the DR, she emotionally states that the pressure of the game is seriously getting to her, especially with her potential eviction looming.

Meanwhile, Luke and Tanner are both happy with the nominations, discussing them together in the backyard. Tanner believes that the noms are proof that keeping Ashley was the right decision, as she proceeded to win HOH and keep them both safe another week. Luke agrees, especially since, unless something crazy happens, both of them can compete in the next HOH competition, further increasing their odds of making it to the end together. Despite these lofty promises, however, both men begin to think about their prospects of winning alongside the other. Luke is certain he’d lose against Tanner, as he has won a lot of people over with his clutch POV wins and hasn’t gotten very much blood on his hands in the process. Tanner feels similarly about Luke, who has been a major player the entire season yet hasn’t been a target much at all. Both know they’ll have to turn on the other eventually, yet also think their opponent isn’t planning the same thing that they are.

In her HOH room, Ashley sits in her bed alone, very much enjoying her relaxation time away from the other houseguests. This is interrupted, however, by Emma asking to have a chat with her. Ashley invites her in, and the two ladies begin talking strategy. Emma shares that she doesn’t believe herself to be a threat; while she admits she’s very good at physical competitions, she doesn’t see how this translates into winning the game. She argues that she hasn’t had much power in the house and has struggled to get her footing, which makes her overall gameplay unimpressive in the eyes of the jury. Ashley nods, telling Emma that she has been thinking about that, and that she isn’t sure if she benefits from Emma going. However, Ashley shares that both Luke and Tanner have been leaning towards keeping Nick this week, which is against what she wants. Emma nods, urging Ashley that Nick will be staying and she will be leaving unless Ashley does something to change the nominations or get Luke and Tanner to change their minds. In turn, Emma promises that she would be loyal to Ashley moving forward, openly admitting that she thinks she has the best chance against her at the end. In the DR, Ashley again comments on Emma making a lot of good points, and especially liking the idea of a strong physical competitor wanting to keep her around. Still, she knows Emma is saying whatever she can to survive, so she takes the promise with a massive grain of salt.

Nick, meanwhile, focuses his efforts more towards those voting in the eviction, in the event he stays on the block (which he sees as likely due to his subpar challenge performances). He speaks with Luke first, believing he has a better chance at influencing him than Tanner. Their conversation starts out like any other, but gradually shifts to the game. Nick admits that he feels his back is against the wall, which Luke acknowledges. Still, Nick doesn’t think that him going home would be the right move for Luke, as he has no plans of targeting the model any time soon. Beyond that, he would struggle to win an HOH or POV to eliminate Luke even if he wanted him out, while Emma can easily win the next HOH or POV to save herself. Luke agrees with Nick’s points, admitting that he already felt that Emma leaving would be the smarter option due to her strength. He also suspects that Nick would want Ashley and Tanner out first, especially the latter, who Luke knows has wanted Nick out for quite a while due to their history. Nick sighs, but thanks LUke for having his back even with Tanner apparently not. In the DR, Luke explains that he only benefits from pitting Nick and Tanner against each other, since it takes him out of the spotlight.

Nick also has a conversation with Tanner, wondering if the stay-at-home dad is still set on his multi-year vendetta over the events of Season 1. Of course, Nick doesn’t phrase it this way, instead gently asking what Tanner is thinking for the rest of the week. Tanner admits that he is conflicted, since the trust between the two of them has been fractured, but at this stage in the game, he views Emma as the more immediate threat. This brings Nick a lot of relief, though the physician shares that Luke seems to think Tanner wants Emma to stay, and told him as much earlier that day. This confuses Tanner, who explains that he has been honest with Luke about where he has been leaning, so he’s not sure why this was said. Nick shrugs, claiming that he is just saying what he’s heard. In the DR, Nick grins, believing he may have accidentally started a bit of drama between the majority alliance and hoping it will blow up even further. Tanner, on the other hand, is peeved in the DR, weirded out that Luke would lie about him to Nick of all people. He admits that this whole fiasco has reduced his trust in Luke quite a bit, as much as he hates to say it.

Since only five houseguests remain, there is no POV Player Pick; Luke and Tanner will automatically join Ashley, the HOH, and Emma & Nick, the nominees, in competing in the 13th POV competition of the season. Emma and Nick are especially motivated to win in order to take themselves off the block, but so too are the other houseguests, who want to prevent one of them from winning to keep the nominations the same. In the end, it is Ashley that wins the comp, earning herself full power for the week.

Following her win, Ashley celebrates with Luke and Tanner, who are both thrilled to most likely be avoiding the block this week. They both congratulate Ashley on clutching the win out, since Emma and Nick were a close second and third in the competition. Soon after, Ashley leaves the room, wanting to decompress in the HOH bedroom; Luke and Tanner stay behind. Tanner wastes little time in confronting Luke on what he told Nick earlier, confused as to why he lied to Nick to make Tanner look bad. Luke, realizing he’s been caught, quickly gets defensive, arguing that he was under the assumption that Tanner did in fact want Nick out of the house. Tanner crosses his arms, pointing out that, A, they already discussed who they want gone and he was pretty clear that he wanted Emma gone, and B, even if he did want Nick gone, he doesn’t understand why Luke would tell Nick that to his face. Luke apologizes to Tanner, promising he didn’t mean anything bad by it and was just trying to tell Nick what he thought was the honest truth. Tanner makes nice with Luke in the moment, but in the DR, he explains that he doesn’t buy Luke’s story whatsoever. He thinks Luke intentionally lied to get on Nick’s good side, knowing Emma would likely be leaving at the end of the week. Luke, meanwhile, is terrified that Tanner might be against him now because of this, hoping he hasn’t shot himself in the foot by playing too hard.

Ashley’s relatively calm afternoon is ruined by Tanner storming into her room, demanding to talk with her alone. Ashley agrees, but is confused as to why Tanner wants to talk so urgently and without Luke present. Tanner quickly fills Ashley in on the details with the Luke-Nick situation, adding that it leads him to have a lot of doubts about what to do this week. Raising an eyebrow, Ashley asks if Tanner is saying that he wants Luke on the block. Tanner shakes his head and shrugs, saying “maybe” without much conviction. Moreso, he’s upset that Luke would do something so shady out of nowhere, as the two men had a very strong trust between each other beforehand. Ashley agrees that it’s shady, and even says she’s afraid of Luke because of how hard he has been playing this season and how well he has done at hiding it before now. Tanner nods in agreement, thinking Luke might be an even bigger threat than Emma or Nick. In the DR, Ashley acknowledges that things change fast in Big Brother, but usually not quite as fast as this. Still, Tanner has given her a lot of reason to consider using the POV to toss Luke on the block, or at least to kill off any Luke-Nick alliance before it can do too much damage.

Emma, despite losing the POV, still doesn’t give up on trying to save herself. She speaks with Ashley in the HOH room shortly after her talk with Tanner, only to learn that something has clearly gone down. Ashley admits that, as much as she wants Emma to stay over Nick, she was deadset on not using the POV until recently. She fills Emma in on the long and short of what happened, to which Emma argues that this gives Ashley even more of a reason to keep her around. Ashley nods in agreement, with her main reservation being the terrible optics of saving Emma and throwing Luke on the block. Ashley tells Emma that she already feels she’d struggle to get a majority of the jury votes against anyone, but betraying Luke like that could very well eliminate any chance of winning whatsoever. Emma sighs, urging Ashley to do what she has to do, as long as she thinks through what she’s saying.

At the POV Ceremony, Ashley gives both Emma and Nick a chance to argue why they should be saved from the block. Nick goes first, arguing that he’s not a physical threat at all, so Ashley can get rid of him at any time. Emma, meanwhile, argues that saving her benefits Ashley more than not using the POV due to recent events that have come to light, a comment that makes Luke raise an eyebrow in confusion. Ashley pauses for a moment, thanking both Emma and Nick for their speeches. She then announces that, as much as she respects both of them as people and as players, she thinks it’s better for her game not to use the POV on either nominee. WIth that, the POV ceremony is adjourned.

Episode 34 (Eviction)

The result of the POV ceremony leaves a very bittersweet mood among the houseguests. While Ashley, Luke, and Tanner have spent the past few weeks trying to get Emma or Nick out, they’re still sad on a personal level that one of them has to go, having bonded with them a lot due to surviving the second Double Eviction together. Of course, Emma and Nick are the most sad of all, spending the first few hours after the ceremony commiserating their situation together. In the DR, Emma is saddened by the thought of leaving the game, but gets almost as sad thinking about moving forward without Nick by her side. Nick feels similarly in the DR, feeling grateful to have gotten to know Emma so well during his time in the house, only wishing they could have gotten all the way together.

Although the two nominees have a strong personal bond, in the end, they’re there to win the game. Therefore, they quickly begin campaigns to stay. Nick first talks to Luke, hoping that their conversation about voting Emma out is still the plan. Luke nods in agreement, while adding that he’s talked to Tanner, who has changed his mind about wanting him out. Nick breathes a deep sigh of relief (mostly for show), happy to hear that the votes seem to be in his favor. In the DR, however, Nick says that he gets the vibe that Luke wants him to think he convinced Tanner to change his vote, when he knows that’s not the case. Still, Nick knows it benefits him to shut up and accept the vote as it lies, as trying to rock the boat further could just get him voted out.

Nick also has a chat with Tanner, just to confirm that what they’ve talked about earlier still stands. Tanner seems still on board with the idea of voting Emma out, focusing on her status as a physical threat. Nick claims that he’ll be after Ashley should he stick around, since it will be because of Luke and Tanner that he is still in the game in the first place. Tanner isn’t quite sure if he believes this, not sure if Nick would actually be on his side even if he saves him. In reality, Tanner has a lot of doubts about saving Nick at all, mostly worried that allowing such a strong strategic player to survive another round could be what ends up destroying his game. He wants to talk with his alliance before making a final decision, but is worried about what Nick could do if he feels he’s going home.

Ashley, Luke, and Tanner discuss the vote together, wanting to reach a consensus on which houseguest should leave. It becomes clear that Luke feels strongly towards Emma leaving, while Ashley leans heavily towards Nick being the one evicted. Luke argues that Emma could very easily win out to the end, while Nick would struggle to win even one competition against the three of them. Ashley counters that Emma doesn’t have the same strategic prowess as Nick, making her less of an overall threat at the end of the day. She doesn’t think that Emma could do anything to disrupt their alliance of three, while Nick would be more skilled at turning things around in his favor. Tanner remains very conflicted, seeing the arguments both of them are making. He is terrified of making the wrong decision and having it cost him the entire game, especially with his two allies disagreeing on which way is the right way to go.

As the eviction approaches, Luke and Tanner have a feverish discussion about the vote, realizing they still haven’t reached a consensus on what to do. Tanner restates his reservations about keeping Nick in the game, since he is so good at Big Brother. Luke goes on again about Emma’s physical strength, seeing no reason to vote out the weaker of their two adversaries; Emma winning the next HOH would mean one of them or Ashley goes, asking Tanner if he wants that. Feeling like he has no counterargument, Tanner shrugs, agreeing with the idea of voting Emma. In the DR, Luke is thrilled to have convinced his ally to oust Emma, seeing his game having a bright future with Nick still around and on his side. Tanner, meanwhile, feels that Luke may have ulterior motives in keeping Nick around, suspecting that the Luke-Nick alliance may be even more real than he originally thought. Still, he is hesitant to go against his word to his closest ally, and does think Luke has a good point about Emma’s strength.

Emma asks to talk with Ashley and Tanner in the HOH room shortly afterwards, having her own campaign to give. There, the three of them discuss the drama surrounding Nick and Luke, and how there is suspicion that the two of them are working together. Ashley points out that Luke was very adamant about voting Emma out, to the point where they agreed to his face that they would do it, but in reality, are open to making the opposite decision. Emma fights hard for herself, pointing out that, if Luke and Nick really are working together, then that needs to be addressed now while they still have the chance. Emma shrugs, saying she has nobody except for Nick, which will be split up by the end of the week, so it’s much smarter for them to save her and vote Nick out while they still have the chance. Tanner finds the argument fairly convincing, but isn’t fully committed to the plan. He did agree to Luke to vote out Emma, and is nervous to betray that when he might have to rely on Luke to survive further into the endgame. Ashley tries to coax Tanner into making the move, as it will prevent Luke from waltzing to an easy victory at the end. Keeping somebody around who will protect Luke is dangerous in Ashley’s eyes, which Tanner sees the validity of.

Knowing they’ll be split up in just a few hours, Emma and Nick spend the remaining time until the eviction together, talking about what they want to do once the game is over. Specifically, they talk about making plans with one another for after the game, including hitting up some bars and sharing a few drinks. Emma tells Nick that she’s excited to meet his friends, as Nick is excited to meet hers. Both grow emotional as they realize their separation is only moments away, thanking each other for being by each other’s side throughout the experience. In the DR, Nick states that the hardest part of Big Brother isn’t the strategy and the length of the game, but having to say goodbye to people who have become your friends over your time in the game. He sees Emma as a lifelong friend, and she feels the same way about him.

At the eviction, Emma and Nick are given one more chance to argue why they should stay in the game. Emma argues that she’s not as strategic or cunning as Nick, making her, overall, the smaller threat. Nick counters that he’s not as physically strong, meaning the other three should have no trouble getting rid of him down the line. With the speeches out of the way, Luke and Tanner head into the Diary Room to cast their votes. Matt announces shortly afterwards that the vote is a 1-1 tie, greatly confusing Luke. He looks over to Tanner, who does not return the glance. Because of the tied vote, Ashley must make the tiebreaking vote publicly. She tells the two nominees that she has to make the decision that best benefits her individual game. For that reason, she is evicting Nick from the house. Nick is flabbergasted at the result of the eviction, having been assured he would be safe. Luke appears deeply frustrated, crossing his arms and refusing to look Ashley or Tanner in the eyes. Despite Nick’s shock at being evicted, he still leaves graciously, wishing the final four the best of luck before leaving the house as the seventh member of the jury.

Votes for Nick: Tanner, Ashley

Votes for Emma: Luke

Week 12 (Round 1)

HOH    Emma

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    Luke

Post-Veto Nominee    Ashley

Evicted 1 vote    Tanner

Episode 35 (HOH/Nominations)

After Nick leaves the house for good, Luke demands to speak to Ashley and Tanner in the pantry. The two nod, prepared for what is likely coming. As the three of them break off, Emma sits by herself on the couch in the living room, taking a few deep breaths and smiling after narrowly surviving eviction moments ago. The scene cuts to the pantry, where Luke awaits an explanation from his “allies” as to why they went behind his back to save Emma. Tanner turns the situation around on Luke quickly, reminding him of the fiasco with Nick, where he lied that Tanner wanted Nick out to try and get Nick on his good side. Ashley nods, arguing that she had reason to believe Luke and Nick could work together in the final four, so she had to cut that possibility out. Luke calls this bullshit, and adds that he doesn’t know why the two of them couldn’t just be upfront with him about what they wanted to do. Tanner argues that he tried to, but Luke refused to hear anything other than “I’m voting Emma out”, meaning he had to go with what was best for his game anyways. In the DR, Luke is frustrated that his allies backstabbed him and are trying to turn it on him, as well as furious with their choice to save Emma at all. Meanwhile, Tanner is annoyed with Luke for acting like a diva, stating that he brought this all upon himself.

A few moments later, Matt informs the houseguests that it is time to compete in the 14th HOH competition of the season. As the outgoing HOH, Ashley is not eligible to compete. Therefore, only Emma, Luke, and Tanner will compete for the title. The three fight their hearts out, with Emma and Luke being the top two. In the end, much to the dismay of the rest of the house, Emma is able to come out on top, becoming the next HOH and earning her spot in the final three. Luke appears beyond frustrated that Emma has won, especially after wanting her out the entire previous week. In the DR, Emma is thrilled to have earned her safety for the week, since she is well aware that she would have been target #1 if she hadn’t.

Luke and Tanner sit together in the backyard the next morning, with Luke commenting on Emma’s victory in the HOH competition. Tanner calls it a shame, as one of the three of them will have to go this week. Luke rolls his eyes, pointing out that this is exactly why he wanted Emma out last week, and that he’s frustrated they’re in this position because Tanner wouldn’t listen to him. Tanner doesn’t appreciate Luke’s “I told you so” attitude, calling him on it straight away. Luke promises he isn’t trying to be smug, but is simply expressing how he feels about the situation. Tanner doesn’t want to hear it, however, quickly storming off. In the DR, Tanner calls Luke immature, understanding his frustration but explaining that it’s not helpful at all to harp on it and act smarter than everyone else because of it. Luke, meanwhile, is only more pissed off at Tanner and to a lesser extent Ashley, finding their decision incredibly stupid and a possible reason that he will end up leaving the game.

Emma excitedly shows the other houseguests her HOH room, even though she got the chance to earlier in the season as well. Despite the fear the other houseguests all feel with Emma in power, they’re excited for her on a personal level and gladly enjoy the tour. A note is placed on Emma’s bed, which she reads out for the rest of the house: it announces that, to celebrate making the final four, all of them are Haves for the rest of the season, and the Have-Not bedroom is officially closed. This results in cheers from the houseguests, who are beyond fed up with the terrible conditions of the room. In the DR, Ashley comments on her excitement to have reached such an important milestone, hoping it will fuel her to make it through the final week of the season.

Tanner is worried about what Emma might do, so he talks with her in her HOH room to see where she stands. Emma is open that the nominations in the final four aren’t all that important, and that the POV will be the real deciding factor this week. Still, she wants to nominate the two people she sees as the biggest threats, admitting that Luke is definitely one of those people. Tanner asks who the second is, to which Emma admits that she’s not fully sure. She views Ashley as more strategic, yet as having worse jury management than Tanner, who is also the bigger physical threat. Tanner makes the case that he mostly hid behind bigger players like Jackson, Rhonda, and even Jennifer throughout the season, not believing himself to be the massive threat some claim he is. Emma nods, promising to keep this in mind when she makes her decision later that day.

Ashley also gets a word in to Emma, reminding the HOH of their pact from the previous week. Emma thanks Ashley for having her back last week, crediting her as a large part of the reason she survived the eviction. However, she points out that the POV will be the real deciding factor, repeating what she said to Tanner just hours earlier. So, she isn’t 100% sure if she will keep Ashley off the block or not, saying she wants to pick nominations where the person who isn’t on the block would vote a target of hers out. Ashley asks if she’s a target, to which Emma says she’s not; Ashley argues that, as a result, she shouldn’t go up, since if she’s off the block, she can’t go home. Emma nods, not necessarily refuting Ashley’s argument but qualifying that she doesn’t want to make hard promises if she can’t keep them. In the DR, Ashley is confused by Emma considering her for the block, assuming she would be safe because of their deal. She hopes Emma is just overthinking things and isn’t going to betray her, as she’d feel silly to save someone only for them to backstab her the very next week.

Luke swallows his pride and goes to talk to Emma as well, wanting to see where she stands. Emma talks about how Luke and Tanner are a pretty tight pairing right now, so she’s thinking of putting them up together and seeing what happens with the POV. Luke counters this, explaining that the past eviction vote has frayed their relationship, and that Ashley and Tanner are now a lot more close to each other than either of them are to him. This intrigues Emma, who has noticed Luke spending less time with his allies since Nick left the house. Luke argues that he’s burned bridges with his allies due to disagreements on who should go, and that they will probably take each other to the end at this stage, and not him. In the DR, Emma admits that Luke makes a lot of good points, and that what he’s saying seems to ring true from what she’s observed. However, she hasn’t forgotten that the disagreements with Luke and his allies are because of how badly Luke wanted her out, which makes it very difficult for Emma to trust him at all.

Before the nomination ceremony, Emma is the final person to head to the Big Brother Control Room in order to create a shortlist of potential nominations. With only three options, Emma considers all three of them for the block. She first considers Tanner, someone she recognizes as a strong strategic threat and somebody who might try to take Ashley to the end. Emma recognizes Tanner as a very strong player, and likes the idea of sending him home at the end of the week. Emma also considers nominating Luke, who clearly wants her out at the next possible opportunity. However, the one factor working in Luke’s favor is that his actions have drawn Ashley and Tanner closer together, possibly leaving Luke as the third wheel in the alliance. Finally, Emma considers putting Ashley on the block. She and Ashley have a deal, but Emma doesn’t fully trust Ashley because she is such a cunning strategic player. Additionally, Emma isn’t sure who Ashley would vote out if she remained off the block, and wonders if she can influence her into voting who she wants to go at the end of the week. When making her nominations, Emma acknowledges that the POV is far more important than who she puts up, so she’s trying not to overthink things too much and shoot herself in the foot in the process.

At the nomination ceremony, Emma explains for the final time how it will work. She will turn the first key in front of her, revealing her first nomination. She will then turn the second key to reveal the second nominee. With the explanation out of the way, Emma turns the first key, revealing Tanner as her first nominee. Tanner nods, taking a seat in one of the nomination chairs. Ashley and Luke both appear stressed as Emma turns the second key; in the end, it’s Luke that is nominated, while Ashley is safe. Luke sits beside Tanner with a smile on his face. Emma explains to the two men that they are fairly tight, and are both major threats, so it makes the most sense to nominate them. However, she points out that the POV will really decide what happens, so she wishes them the best of luck in saving themselves down the line. With that, the final nomination ceremony of the season is adjourned.

Episode 36 (POV/Eviction #1)

Following the nomination ceremony, the houseguests all disperse, not having much to discuss. Both Luke and Tanner remain squarely focused on the upcoming POV competition, desperately wanting to save themselves and avoid putting their fate in Ashley’s hands. The two men even begin exercising separately, and focus their efforts on training for whatever the competition may be. In the DR, Luke theorizes that the competition will involve the events that occurred over the last 11 weeks, so he’s been studying every last detail of what has happened throughout the season. Tanner has a similar strategy, admitting to studying every night for the last several weeks to fit as much information as he can in his brain.

In the backyard, Ashley and Emma sit together as Luke and Tanner work out on opposite sides of the backyard. Ashley comments on how nervous both men are, to which Emma laughs, saying she’s also noticed and thinks it’s kinda funny. She has been in that position many times throughout the season, so she likes giving them both a taste of their own medicine. Ashley admits to Emma that she’s nervous as well, though, since both of the nominees are very capable of winning POV. Emma nods, believing this is a rational fear; however, she promises Ashley that she has no plans of using the veto if she wins it, so they just need to prevent one of the men from winning to keep the nominations the same. In the DR, Ashley is thankful to have Emma on her side, but knows that her support won’t matter if Luke or Tanner wins POV. Instead, she needs to convince both to keep her in the event that the nominations do change.

Ashley speaks with Luke first, who has a similar agenda to her in wanting to secure her vote. Both quickly come to an agreement that Tanner has a very high chance of winning Final HOH if he survives to the final three, and from there, he has a good shot at taking the crown in the jury vote. Luke comments that Tanner is dangerous, and last week has shown his ability to outplay many of the other houseguests. Ashley nods in agreement, playing up Tanner’s threatening nature by mentioning his ties to the jury through Rhonda and Jennifer - two locked votes in his favor. Luke nods, saying his only locked vote is Summer, while Ashley’s only guarantee is Indira, leaving both of them at a disadvantage. Ashley continues to agree with Luke, arguing that, after crunching the numbers, Tanner may be the biggest jury threat. In the DR, Luke likes the way the conversation is going, as he believes he’s convinced Ashley to spare him should the nominations not change. However, he’s not certain how on board Ashley is, and coldly admits that he would strongly consider voting her out over Tanner if he gets the chance, since she is so strategic and persuasive.

Ashley also talks to Tanner shortly thereafter, wanting to get him on her side as well. The two discuss Luke’s attempted move last week to align with Nick, and how it shows Luke’s strategic ability and, thus, high chances of winning at the end. Ashley comments on Luke and Summer dominating the game, with Luke’s competition strength being a major reason as to why they were able to seize so much power. Tanner fully agrees, adding that Luke maneuvered the game very well after Summer left, meaning he probably wouldn’t be accused of riding Summer’s coattails. Ashley claims that she is planning on voting Luke out if things stay the same, to which Tanner shrugs and says he’d probably vote Luke out too if it was Luke vs. Ashley. Beyond how threatening Luke is, Tanner explains in the DR that he can’t trust the model to do what he says he’ll do after the Nick incident, which scares him; if Ashley is next to go, Luke could take Emma to the end after winning Final HOH, leaving Tanner in the dust.

Of course, since the POV is the deciding factor, both Luke and Tanner want to ensure their safety if the other wins the power. They have a reconciliation of sorts, where Luke apologizes to Tanner for his shady strategic behavior and for acting smug when Emma won HOH, while Tanner apologizes back for being so hard on Luke and for not considering his side of the argument as much as he should have. The men are glad to be back on good terms, and quickly discuss the possibility of sending Ashley home this week. Tanner thinks the idea is solid, since Ashley is so good with her words and convincing people to go her way; Luke fully agrees, worried that Ashley could win over even the most bitter of jurors by playing up her game. WIth that, both men agree to keep each other around and oust Ashley, but in the DR, both share their reservations about the deal. Neither man is certain whether Ashley is the bigger threat or not, strongly considering voting out each other if they win POV instead.

Since only four houseguests remain, no POV player pick occurs. Instead, Ashley automatically joins Emma (the HOH) and Luke & Tanner (the nominees) in competing in the 14th and final POV competition of the season. As predicted, the competition deals heavily with previous events during the season, testing the houseguests memory and knowledge of the game and the previously evicted houseguests. All four studied throughout the season, but the depth of studying done by Ashley and Luke leaves them as the frontrunners. In the end, Luke is able to get the edge on Ashley throughout the final legs of the competition, earning himself the final POV of the season and a spot in the final 3.

Before Luke can celebrate, he is told that he must head inside with the rest of the houseguests and make his decision right then and there. Beforehand, Tanner is given a chance to convince Luke to use the POV on him. Tanner takes a humble approach, telling Luke to do the smart thing and use the POV on himself, since it will guarantee his final three spot. Luke does just that, using the POV to remove himself from the block. Emma is asked to name a replacement nominee; since Ashley is the only other eligible houseguest, Emma is forced to nominate her alongside Tanner. Ashley grows nervous as she sits down, hoping the vote goes her way and that her talks with Luke were enough to save herself. Tanner feels the same, no longer able to predict Luke’s actions this late into the game.

A commercial break occurs prior to the vote, giving Ashley and Tanner both a chance to speak with Luke about their plans. Tanner argues to Luke that he suspects Emma would take Ashley to the end, meaning he would have a better shot at making the final two with Ashley gone. Ashley comes in shortly afterwards, arguing that Tanner is a massive physical threat who would most likely take Emma to the end, since she suspects he sees her as less of a jury threat. Ashley also claims that she would lose hard to the jury since she’s fought with so many of them during the season. Luke is very conflicted on what to do, especially when Emma tries to get a word in as well. She shares that she thinks Tanner is the bigger threat, but ultimately urges Luke to make the best decision for his own game.

After the commercial break, Matt calls the houseguests back to the living room and asks Luke to give his decision publicly. Luke delivers the following speech to the houseguests:

“Ashley, Tanner, this is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in this game. I was hoping to be in the final three with you two, so it crushes me to cut one of your games short tonight. Ashley, you’re very persuasive and strategic, which definitely threatens my game. Tanner, you’re a total beast in the competitions, and I don’t know if I could beat you in the Final HOH. In the end, though, I need to think about what will get me to the final two. For that reason, Tanner, I’m so sorry man, but I have to evict you from the house.”

Tanner drops his head in defeat, with his long run into the game finally ended by one of his closest allies. Tanner hugs Ashley first, wishing her the best of luck in the final competitions. He then hugs Emma, congratulating her on beating the odds and making it this far. His longest hug is with Luke; Luke apologizes to Tanner, who forgives him and assures him it’s just game. Once Tanner has said his goodbyes, he grabs his things and leaves the house as the eighth member of the jury.

Votes for Tanner: Luke

Votes for Ashley: --

Week 12 (Round 2)

Final HOH    Ashley

Nominee    Emma

Evicted 1 vote    Luke

Episode 37 Part 1 (Final HOH/Eviction #2)

With Tanner now out of the game, Ashley, Emma, and Luke realize that they’ve all officially made it to the final three. They all share a group hug, proud of themselves for making it this far and having a huge chance at winning the grand prize in just a few days. In the DR, Luke explains that evicting Tanner was an incredibly hard decision for him to make, since they were so close; however, it’s what he had to do to maximize his chances of winning Final HOH, which he starts to feel is his only surefire chance at making it to the final two. Shortly after the eviction, Ashley speaks with Luke off to the side, telling him that she’s shocked he saved her, but is beyond grateful that he did. Luke nods, saying it was very difficult, but he felt keeping Ashley would be better for his game. In the DR, Ashley laughs, unable to believe that Luke actually saved her, crediting her survival partially to staying out of the drama with Nick the previous week. Now, she has the Final HOH competition squarely in her sights, wanting to take control one last time before the end of the game.

Prior to the first part of the final HOH competition, Emma speaks with Ashley in the backyard, wanting to gauge how she feels about who to take to the end. The two ladies keep quiet and lowkey, since Luke is also in the backyard, but just barely out of earshot. Ashley nods that she’s still on board with the final two deal, telling Emma outright that she doesn’t think she can beat Luke, but does think she’d have a shot against her at the end. Emma nods, feeling the exact same way and telling Ashley as such. Especially with Luke cutting Tanner so opportunistically, Emma doesn’t see how he doesn’t sweep the jury, as he played a truly commendable game from the start. Ashley nods in agreement, but deep down, she’s not quite as sure as Emma. She explains in the DR that Luke’s game is absolutely impressive, but Emma’s is as well due to her ability to survive so deep into the game without many allies or much social capital. Ashley believes Emma is underselling herself to convince her to vote Luke out instead, but she promises the viewers it won’t work. She’ll make the decision that’s best for her game, regardless of what Emma or Luke have to say about it.

The next night, the houseguests are informed that the first part of the HOH competition will begin shortly, with the winner automatically advancing to the third and final round. All three of them prepare themselves for the lengthy endurance competition they are about to face. In fact, they all manage to last several hours, eyes set firmly on the $500,000 prize. Eventually, though, signs of struggle begin to show themselves, with all three adjusting frequently and holding on as best they can. Eventually, after an impressive two and a half hours, Luke’s heavier weight in comparison to his fellow houseguests betrays him, and he drops first. Luke’s disappointed to have failed the first part of the competition, but isn’t surprised due to how skilled both Ashley and Emma are at endurance comps. The two ladies last an additional 45 minutes before, at long last, Emma drops out of nowhere. As a result, Ashley automatically advances to the final part of the competition, much to her shock. In the DR, Ashley comments on Emma and Luke winning numerous competitions throughout the season, and how impressed she is to have beaten them both.

Since the first part of the comp lasted well into the night, the houseguests all head to bed to rest up for the final day of the season. In the morning, Emma and Luke are the first two to wake up, wanting to warm up for Part 2 of the competition in a few hours. They begin talking with each other, with the conversation quickly shifting to Ashley. Luke comments that Ashley is a major strategic threat, and that he’s worried about what she might do if she wins the Final HOH. Emma agrees, claiming that Ashley might not be as bad in front of a jury as some people would expect, since she is very good at arguing her points in a persuasive matter. Luke says that he’s worried about Ashley running circles around him with her words in the final, which is leading him to consider taking Emma to the end instead. Emma nods, stating that she’s had the same doubts. In reality, though, Emma comments that she has no intentions of taking Luke to the finals, and is only telling him what he wants to hear so that he would take her if he manages to win it. For what it’s worth, Luke has his own doubts about whether Emma is genuine, but is seriously considering the possibility of cutting Ashley before the end. He has trouble deciding, since Emma has more friends on the jury and an underdog story, but wasn’t as strategic and isn’t as persuasive in her speech as Ashley can be.

Shortly thereafter, Emma and Luke compete in the second part of the final HOH competition, with Ashley watching on in anticipation. The competition is more puzzle-based, with a speed component as well. Specifically, the competition tests the houseguests’ knowledge of past events in the house while incorporating dexterity and more general puzzle-solving. Luke, as a very nimble and agile guy, dominates the speed aspect of the competition, which more than makes up for his slow-and-steady approach in solving the puzzle. This allows him to handily beat Emma in the competition, advancing himself to the final part of the competition alongside Ashley. Emma is devastated to be out of the running for Final HOH, since she has been on the bottom for so long; she’s hoping Ashley wins in the end, since she thinks Ashley is the most likely person to take her to the end, and she doesn’t think she can beat Luke in the jury vote no matter what happens.

Prior to the final part of the Final HOH, Ashley and Luke share an emotional moment together, reminiscing on the time they spent together and their journey from adversaries to friends in the latter half of the game. Luke admits that it might get awkward outside of the house, since he doesn’t think Summer is the biggest fan of Ashley; Ashley laughs this off, hoping Summer will come around eventually. The two make plans to hang out after the show, wanting to spend time together outside of the stressful environment of the Big Brother house. As Matt calls them to the living room to get ready for the competition, they wish each other luck and exchange a long hug. In the DR, Ashley comments that she’s grateful to have made more genuine friends on this season than her last, and that she’s loved the experience even more than she thought she would. Luke feels similarly, commenting that, whatever happens in the next few moments, he is impressed with himself for how well he has done.

In the final part of the Final HOH competition, a nervous Emma can only watch as Ashley and Luke compete for power one last time. The competition involves Matt reading out various quotes from jury members, with the houseguests having to answer which juror they believe said the quote. Both Ashley and Luke do well in the competition; in fact, both get just one question wrong, which leads to a tiebreaker deciding the outcome. In the end, Ashley wins the tiebreaker and becomes the Final HOH of the season. She begins tearing up, overwhelmed with emotions at having made the final two. However, she is given little time to process these emotions, as Matt immediately calls her, Luke, and Emma back into the living room.

Without a moment to waste, Emma and Luke take their seats in the nomination chairs as Ashley is told to stand before them. Prior to Ashley making her vote, Emma and Luke are both given the opportunity to argue for their safety one last time. Instead of doing this, though, both nominees thank Ashley and each other for the amazing experience, promising to be happy with whatever decision Ashley makes. With tears beginning to well up in her eyes, Ashley delivers the following speech:

“Guys, I can’t believe I’m in this position right now, having to make this decision to ruin one of my friends’ half-million-dollar dreams. You have both been great friends to me during the game, and I wish all three of us could sit together at the end. Sadly, I have to take my emotions out of it and vote out the person who I think would beat me at the end. Emma, you’re a big underdog who everyone loves, and Luke, you played this game incredibly well from start to finish. (pauses) Luke… you’ve been a great friend to me, and I’ve loved spending the past 12 weeks with you in this house. (holding back tears) I really hate to do this, but… I’m sorry, I have to evict you from the house.”

Luke keeps his composure, nodding as Ashley’s decision is finalized. Emma wipes her eyes, moved by Ashley’s speech, while Ashley herself struggles to keep it together. Luke hugs Emma first, wishing her luck in the finale, before embracing Ashley for a long while. Ashley apologizes to Luke, who promises that it’s okay and that he won’t hold it against her. Luke grabs his things and wishes the finalists luck one more time before exiting the house as the ninth and final member of the jury.

Votes for Luke: Ashley

Votes for Emma: –

Finale

Winner 6 votes    Ashley

Runner-Up 3 votes    Emma

Ashley Luke

Ashley Tanner

Emma Nick

Ashley Indira

Ashley Jennifer

Emma Summer

Emma Ryan

Ashley Quinn

Ashley Rhonda

Episode 37 Part 2 (Jury Vote)

Immediately after Luke’s eviction, Ashley and Emma are given very little time to breathe. In fact, the jury questioning begins just moments later, with both finalists being asked to give their opening speeches. Ashley goes first, arguing that she relied mostly on her words to get to the end, convincing people time and time again to save her and keep her around another week even if it didn’t benefit their games. She specifically mentions convincing Luke and Tanner to spare her and vote Indira out during the Double Eviction; had they kept Indira, they would have easily seized power for the remainder of the game, but instead, they allowed Ashley to continue, which caused them both to be sitting on the jury. She also discusses making alliances with unlikely people, again specifically naming Luke and Tanner who would have otherwise been against her. Emma then delivers her speech, focusing on her ability to make it this far despite being very much on the bottom, as well as her skill at winning competitions when she needed to and getting relatively little blood on her hands considering how many HOHs she managed to win. She focuses on Nick and Ryan, saying she aligned with both and used them as shields who would get targeted before herself without them realizing it.

With the opening speeches out of the way, the jurors begin questioning the finalists, which quickly reveals where many of them lean. Ryan is by far the most critical of Ashley, tearing into her for acting rude to any houseguest who disagreed with her strategically and generally being awful to be around. Ashley retorts that her behavior was part of her strategy, and it helped protect her allies while also making her seem like less of a threat. In fact, she credits her strategic creation of drama as a big reason as to why she’s in the finals, since a lot of people wrote her off as a goat. Ryan disagrees, though, accusing her of just being a goat as well as a drama queen, retroactively claiming that it was all some strategy. Indira, on the other hand, is very much a supporter of Ashley, criticizing Emma for winning power so many times yet never doing anything with it to improve her standing in the house. Emma argues that she did help her standing by making moves that would minimize the target on her back, but Indira doesn’t buy this at all, believing Emma made relatively safe and inoffensive decisions despite being in a poor position for much of the game. Tanner and Rhonda are also very much on Ashley’s side, while Nick and Summer are more ardent supporters of Emma.

Luke, Quinn, and Jennifer lie much more in the middle than the rest of the jury; Luke and Quinn due to respecting both finalists, and Jennifer due to being unable to stand either. In fact, Jennifer comments that she could not have chosen two worse people to be at the end, and that she’ll genuinely struggle to cast a vote for either of them to win any sum of money. To the jurors on the fence, Ashley argues that her strategic game outclassed Emma’s, since she made moves (both with power and through her words) to convince people to side with her, while Emma mostly won out to survive or was seen by those in power as less of a threat. Emma argues that Ashley is wrong, and that Ashley was the one viewed as less of a threat due to her confrontational personality, while Emma’s wins helped set her up for the endgame with strong players who wanted to cut each other’s throats and not hers. Once the jury questioning is finished, neither finalist is certain if they’ve done enough to secure victory and win over the undecided jurors. As the jurors cast their votes, all they can do is watch on in nervous anticipation.

Finally, Matt prepares to read the votes. Before he does so, he thanks all 16 all-stars for creating another dramatic, unpredictable season of Big Brother, as well as the readers for supporting the series since Season 1 in 2017. With that out of the way, Matt begins reading the juror’s votes, one-by-one.

Indira has voted for… Ashley! (1-0)

Nick has voted for… Emma! (1-1)

Ryan has voted for… Emma! (2-1)

Summer has voted for… Emma! (3-1)

Tanner has voted for… Ashley! (3-2)

Rhonda has voted for… Ashley! (3-3)

Only Jennifer, Luke, and Quinn’s votes remain.

Luke has voted for… Ashley! (4-3)

Jennifer has voted for… Ashley!

With six votes in her favor versus Emma’s three, Ashley is officially crowned the winner of Big Brother 7: All-Stars, and the $500,000 prize that goes with it. Unable to believe it, Ashley puts her head in her hands, overwhelmed with excitement. Emma stands and hugs her tightly, congratulating her on playing such a great game. It is clear that Emma is disappointed to be the runner-up yet again, but she still appears grateful for the experience and understanding of the jury’s decision. Ashley and Emma then exit the house, being greeted by a cheering audience, Matt, and the nine jurors on the stage. Matt thanks the audience one more time for a great season before hinting that Big Brother will be back for an 8th season very soon, featuring 14 brand new houseguests. With that, Big Brother 7 officially comes to an end.

HouseGuest Selection

Ten houseguests were selected by the audience, with the remaining six being selected by production.

Audience Choice    Aidan	Audience Choice    Ashley	Audience Choice    Austin	Audience Choice    Emma	Audience Choice    Luke
Audience Choice    Nick	Audience Choice    Reilly	Audience Choice    Rhonda	Audience Choice    Ryan	Audience Choice    Summer

Production Choice    Chase	Production Choice    Indira	Production Choice    Jackson
Production Choice    Jennifer	Production Choice    Quinn	Production Choice    Tanner

Not Selected    Alyssa	Not Selected    Becky	Not Selected    Jake	Not Selected    Justin
Not Selected    Justine	Not Selected    Kellan	Not Selected    Paul	Not Selected    Tyler

Trivia

• The poll rankings for the men are as follows:
  • 1st Place: Nick Chang
  • 2nd Place: Austin Moore
  • 3rd Place: Aidan Thomas
  • 4th Place: Luke Sharp
  • 5th Place: Ryan White
  • 6th Place: Chase Peters
  • 7th Place: Tanner Mitchell
  • 8th Place: Justin Smith
  • 9th Place: Jackson Johnson
  • 10th Place: Tyler Hart
  • 11th Place: Jake Sylvester
  • 12th Place: Paul Barber
• The poll rankings for the women are as follows:
  • 1st Place: Rhonda Dennis
  • 2nd Place: Reilly Gutierrez
  • 3rd Place: Summer Morris
  • 4th Place: Ashley Jeong
  • 5th Place: Emma McDonald
  • 6th Place: Quinn Pierce
  • 7th Place: Kellan Law
  • 8th Place: Indira Laghari
  • 9th Place: Becky Roman
  • 10th Place: Jennifer Clark
  • 11th Place: Alyssa Masters
  • 12th Place: Justine Davidson