A mathematical Power of Veto competition offers an opportunity to shake up the nominations -- or set up a sacrifice.
It was a wild night of possibilities and hope on "Big Brother" as nominees Da'Vonne and Bayleigh found themselves facing a very interesting opportunity. Day quickly grew hopeful and touched, while Bay was skeptical and concerned. So who was right?
In another interesting twist, all five of the remaining women in the house were chosen to play in the Power of Veto competition, alongside Ian. And then when he wasn't medically cleared to play, it turned into a ladies-only affair.
It's Week 5 in the Big Brother house, and the stress of the game is starting to take a toll on some of the players. But the biggest toll was apparently hitting one of the most unexpected people yet.
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View StoryHit the Math
The five women hit the mat for one of "Big Brother's favorite sprinting games. Solve mathematical equations until the result is a specific number and then take off to be the first to hit the buzzer.
With math as the determining factor as to when to take off, this game has always been rife with false starts, and this edition was no different. Tragically for the nominees, Da'Vonne was the very first false start, coming in the first round, followed quickly by Bayleigh.
Suddenly, it was Christmas against two women who didn't want to win because they've been lying to Bay and Day for weeks now and they certainly don't want to reveal their hands just yet. That said, it doesn't appear as if they threw it (Christmas barely edged out Dani in Round 3).
In the end, though, Christmas solidified all the power for herself, as Nicole's heart was definitely not in the last round.
The game was also a round-robin of rotating prizes, which meant that after Nicole came in second she could either keep her prize, or trade it with someone else. As an olive branch -- and clear strategic move for down the road -- she traded $5,000 for a humili-tard.
Dani got a "Food & Fitness Plan," which spares her from being a Have-Not all season, Bayleigh has to compete as a "Tri-Athlete" and Christmas, of course, walked away with the Power of Veto and a huge decision.
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View StorySomething Bigger
Through flashbacks we saw that Tyler has been starting to struggle with his drive and motivation in the game for several days. When Christmas nominated Da'Vonne and Bayleigh to the Block, it really hit him hard.
Tyler knew that he was the one stirring the pot between them and Dani, because he was absolutely trying to better his own game by pitting other plays against one another. It's a solid strategy, but there's another factor at play here.
Already, we've seen players rally around David simply for the fact that no Black male has made the "Big Brother" jury. By the same token, Black players are more often than not among the first players eliminated, and they've had to deal with blatant racism in several seasons.
Even this season, not a single straight, white male has been on the Block, and yet every single person of color in the house has hit it at least once, with Kaysar the first evicted.
Tyler's not stupid, and he sees how the game is playing out. The power alliance that has been running the game might be gender diverse but it is lily white. The reasons for that are manifold, but the bottom line is that a bunch of white people agreed to work together, inevitably leading them to target the non-white people.
And so, Tyler poured his heart out to the ladies on the Block, going so far as to say he wanted to get backdoored and put up as a replacement nominee and get evicted from the House. He'd rather see both of them move forward as part of their cause than himself.
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View StoryOvercorrected
Unfortunately, Da'Vonne overcorrected hard in trying to help convince Christmas to go along with this plan to nominate Tyler. In attempting to convince Christmas that they weren't mad at her or coming for her, Day said that all of Bayleigh's evident anger was still targeted to Tyler.
This after he volunteered to throw his whole game away to save her and Da'Vonne. Well, this rubbed Christmas the wrong way, because how could she still be so angry after what Tyler offered to do, and it certainly rubbed Tyler wrong after Christmas told him.
The problem is that it may not even be true. It was Da'Vonne trying to build a little trust with Christmas, without knowing about The Committee, or that Christmas considered Tyler her "untouchable" in this game.
Because it scared her about ever being able to trust Bayleigh in this game, Christmas instead opted to keep her nominations the same, and so Black Girl Magic will not survive the week. And Day's attempt to build a bridge may wind up costing Bay her game -- just as Bay calling Day her "untouchable" put Day on the Block.
Be very careful what you say to Christmas is the lesson that should have been learned.
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View StoryHouseguest Report Cards
Christmas Abbot proved once again just how loyally she is playing this game. And despite her emotional moments, she is also playing firmly with her head. Her alliance has all the power and she helped solidify that even more by standing by her nominations and breaking up a potentially dangerous duo. Grade: A+
Tyler Crispen can almost quit the game and still come out in a better position than almost everyone else. Christmas straightened him out, and Day's miscue fired him up, so he should be soon back to the same Tyler who nearly won this game once before -- a huge threat in every way. Grade: B+
Memphis Garrett, Cody Calafiore and Nicole Franzel just continue to enjoy the benefits of The Committee being in power this week. They've got nothing to worry about so long as that continues to be the case, and before much longer that won't matter, either, as they'll have the numbers no matter who's in power. Grade: B
Enzo Palumbo is outside of The Committee, but if anyone is going to outlast them, it would be him. He's in tight with Christmas and the guy's trio with Tyler and Cody. On top of that, he's in good with pretty much the whole house at this point: Grade: B
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View StoryDaniele Briones is the wild card of The Committee. They're protecting her for now, but she's lost a lot of trust with them. That said, she's also a very savvy player, so if she sees they're turning on her, she might jump ship and help orchestrate a flip in the house. We're not ready to rule her out just yet. Grade: B-
David Alexander has a power, but he's still on the outside looking in when it comes to everything that's happening in the house. He's an easy target because of that, though is power will save him -- once. Grade: C+
Kevin Campbell and Ian Terry are continuing to lay low to let everyone else go after each other. The problem is that the power alliance is so big, there's no shot of this strategy working if they don't break it up sooner than later -- which would mean fully identifying it. Grade: C
Da'Vonne Rogers and Bayleigh Dayton have flown together this whole game, and now one of them will fall. Both have now blundered in being too forthright with Christmas, trusting that she wouldn't run right to her alliance and blab, which she will. Our money is on Da'Vonne staying, but it really could go either way depending on what they say before tomorrow's vote. Grade: D-
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View StoryHouse Chatter
- "Ain't nobody Slick or Six. Not no more." --Da'Vonne
- "I'm extremely confused that I was nominated because Bayleigh told her that I was her untouchable. It's weak, it was wack and she coudl have come up with something better." --Da'Vonne
- "I want you to stay anymore. Yeah, I'm done. I definitely messed up and trusted her" --Bayleigh (to Da'Vonne about Christmas)
- "She is a mess, an unwrapped present. Here I am on the block, she nominated me yet she's crying in my arms!" --Bayleigh (about Christmas)
- "Bayleigh thinks this is personal and it is not." --Christmas (having to lie to protect her alliance)
- "He was gonna sit there and let us pick each other off." --Da'Vonne (to Dani about Tyler)
- "I kind of think Tyler is trying to pit all the girls against each other." --Dani (to Christmas)
- "If you win, what the hell are you supposed to do?" --Nicole (to Dani, lamenting their pick to play POV)
- "Oh man, we have to add?!" --Dani (at POV)
- "It's fine. It's cute. It's whatever. I'm happy." --Nicole (in her Slop-a-tard)
- "I feel like I"m definitely having a little bit of a moral dilemma. There's something not right." --Tyler (struggling emotionally in the game)
- "I feel like I"m the one who pitted the house against Da'Vonne and Bayleigh and this is the source of all my tension." --Tyler
- I"m a competitor and I love this game. But, I want to stand for something bigger." --Tyler (to Da'Vonne & Bayleigh)
- "You're standing for something greater than me and I want to see that. I want to see that play out." --Tyler (to Da'Vonne & Bayleigh)
- "No one ever throws us a life vest. And you're throwing us a life vest. That means a lot." --Da'Vonne (to Tyler)
- "We need this so both of us can stay in this house. If this is real, let's do this. Now. Before you change your mind." --Da'Vonne (in Diary Room)
- "You didn't have influence on this decision. Bayleigh told me Da'Vonne was her untouchable." --Christmas (to Tyler)
- "Is there a possibility you think this could be a ploy for him to look good on TV and it not really happen? Like him to look good like he's sacrificing himself and then she doesn't do it." --Bayleigh (to Da'Vonne)
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