Big Brother Blowout: AI Instigator Exposes Showmance, Brings Paranoia & Tears as New HOH Solidifies Power

After a dominant week by Tucker sent Brooklyn home, decimating what was left of both The Pentagon and the Collective, he found himself more vulnerable than usual. Unable to play in the HOH comp, he was needing someone in his alliance to step up.

On top of that, America unleashed a new power on the House -- and even live feed viewers didn't know who the all-new A.I. Instigator was. America had been voting for who would get this power, and their winner was finally revealed Sunday night.

Those live feeders had already seen some of the chaos they could sow, using avatar likeness of their fellow Houseguests to basically say and do whatever they wanted. It's kind of like how Quinn used an A.I. Angela for his Deepfake HOH reign. The difference then was that everyone knew it was him.

It's certainly a power with the power to rattle people in the House, and that's certainly what happened with this first major announcement, that saw A.I. Quinn gather the House to drop some bombshells.

The all-new A.I. Instigator also learned that they absolutely could not tell anyone in the House that they have the power, and that it will never be revealed who had the power. That means zero consequences for maximum chaos -- with America awarding up to $20k, based on how they did. Talk about incentive!

We're starting to think maybe Tucker's dominant win count is more to do with the competition prowess of this particular group of Houseguests. The infamous Wall barely lasted half an hour, and this memory competition only went three total rounds.

Yes, you read that right. It took three rounds to eliminate nine players, leaving one to emerge as the new Head of Household. Somehow, we suspect that had Tucker been in there, it would have gone longer.

He's proven he's got a sharp memory. Oh, and to make it even more fun, the person who ultimately won did so based on an "educated guess" in the third round.

The competition itself was one based on sounds, with a video clip playing of various House activities spotlighting and enhancing the associated sounds. Houseguests then had to answer questions that used only the sounds, like which came before another and the like.

Round One saw the eliminations of Quinn and Angela. They were followed in Round Two by Leah, Makensy, Kimo, and Cam. That left Joseph, Chelsie, Rubina, and T'Kor to battle it out -- which was about as best-case as Tucker could have hoped for, as three of the four were in the Sixth Avenue alliance with him.

Only Chelsie would likely gun for him. Fortunately for his game, it was T'Kor who educated-guessed her way to victory, and her first competition win of the season. Considering she and Kimo had just blown up The Collective, which they were part of, and the smaller Pentagon alliance within it, which they were not, it was good timing for her game, too.

And it was clearly good news for Rubina and Kimo, who were "ugly crying" over her victory, so happy for her. Clearly this alliance of the three of them and Tucker is getting more and more serious, based on the strength of Rubina's reaction.

Shocking the House, the A.I. Instigator used Quinn's avatar to make its first declaration to the House. All in all, it was pretty benign, as the Instigator didn't really reveal much the House didn't already know. But was it just preparing them for more madness to come?

"The other night, I saw Tucker and Rubina holding hands," A.I. Quinn announced. "We should have got Rubina out when we had the chance because we know mentally Tucker wouldn't be able to handle it without her. Can you say showmance? Pentagon for life!"

"That sounds like something I would say," real Quinn said after watching his avatar performance. "I'm glad I could say it in such an official way."

The immediate fallout was that Rubina crumbled in tears, emotionally frustrated that she and Tucker had been outed so publicly. She noted that in the real world, she doesn't care what people think, but in this game, what people think is the game. And it can spell the end of your game.

Tucker tried to calm her afterward, telling her to maybe see it as a good thing. Now they don't have to hide their growing feelings for one another. This moment of comfort and support culminated in a Big Brother kiss, as their showmance officially reached that level.

It was also all Tucker's fault.

As revealed earlier in the episode, it was Tucker who had the A.I. Instigator power. It was actually pretty smart to target himself first with the power, as it throws suspicion from it possibly being him -- the House probably knows America is loving his balls-to-the-wall playing style.

"I was trying to have fun and clear the air so we don't have to hide and hold hands underneath the stupid blanket," a clearly emotional Tucker said later in a confessional. "And it didn't work out like that."

Well, he'll have plenty more chances to spread lies and manipulation in the House, and that financial incentive to do so. He's also said he plans to listen in at doors to try and suss out intel he shouldn't have and put that on blast. That would further convince the House it's not him, and could also benefit his game.

With T'Kor in power for the first time, suddenly her masterful stealth game as one half of the actual power duo in the House isn't so behind-the-scenes. Remarkably, though, it quickly became clear that the House adores her and no one seems to think of she and Kimo as a threat.

Or at least they're not willing to say anything about that while she's in power.

T'Kor's reign should be good news for Sixth Avenue (T'Kor, KImo, Tucker, Rubina, Angela, Joseph). She also quickly made it clear that Chelsie is not on her radar -- even proudly proclaiming to Kimo and Rubina that it was back-to-back wins for Black women after Chelsie won the A.I. Arena on Thursday.

They're not necessarily aligned together, but they're clearly interested in looking out for one another ... at least for the time being.

That "looking out" didn't extend to other members of The Pentagon or Collective, though, as T'Kor took a very calculated approach to her interviews with people she's not aligned with.

Speaking of alliances, Sixth Avenue pulled a collective Pentagon move themselves with a smaller power alliance within the six after deciding they didn't really love Joseph and Angela as much as they did the foursome of T'Kor, Rubina, Kimo, and Tucker. They dubbed themselves the FRIENDzzzz.

Hilariously, Tucker suggested The Visionaries for an alliance name, but T'Kor and Kimo already have that established with Quinn -- and it seems to be one that T'Kor still considers solid moving forward.

That left Cam, Leah, and Makensy as her most likely targets, considering she's not aligned with any of them. Makensy quickly told T'Kor that she'd target Quinn, who scares her, and Angela, who's being protected. T'Kor figured that with those being her allies, Makensy looked like a pretty good target.

Cam didn't give her much of anything, instead lamenting that he was being targeted, while Leah gave her nothing ... as in literally nothing. We've been joking about how ineffective and almost invisible Leah has been all season, and boy did she prove it in this episode.

"I don't know anything," she declared after A.I. Quinn outed Tucker and Rubina. And talking about that power, she said to the cameras, "Can I win anything? Like, hello, America, I exist. What's going on here?" Yeah, you technically exist, but you're giving us nothing!

She stared off into silence after T'Kor asked her for targets. "I personally feel threatened by everyone at this point," she finally said. "I don't know, nothing makes sense."

Oh, and one more note. Right before nominations, Angela came in crying and paranoid that she was going on the Block. T'Kor, Kimo, and Rubina quickly assured her she wasn't even being talked about, but it's worth noticing that Angela's paranoia is still running rampant. Week 1 Angela is still in there, we're just not seeing as much of her.

They didn't lie to her either, though, with Tucker's reluctant volunteer as a pawn leading to him being just that alongside Makensy and Cam, with Leah probably in T'Kor's back pocket of nominations change after Veto.

T'kor Clottey (23, crochet business) rises to power after already taking control of the game. The thing that's making her effective right now is that everyone seems to like her, and they somehow see her as more of an emotional player than a shrewd one, and she's been orchestrating this game for a couple weeks now. [Grade: B+]

Kimo Apaka (35, mattress sales) has been side-by-side with T'Kor, and even calling some of their shots. The difference is that her social game is stronger than his, so she's not seen as quite the snake that he is. If they were to decide to break the duo up -- which they should -- we suspect it would be Kimo who'd go first. [Grade: B]

Rubina Bernabe (35, event bartender) is working very closely with T'Kor and Kimo at the moment, in a way like a trio. She's also still obviously close to Tucker, which will always make her a target by association. She seems well-liked in the House, but A.I. Quinn was probably right in saying they should have taken her out to weaken Tucker -- and they still might take that shot if given a chance. For now, though, she's got the majority backing her. [Grade: B-]

Joseph Rodriguez (30, video store) just kind of floats, but he pokes and instigates here and there. He's in good with Tucker, though not good enough for the FRIENDzzzz within Sixth Avenue. [Grade: C]

Quinn Martin (25, nurse recruiter) has managed to slip back into the good graces of most of the House, and even Tucker doesn't seem all that worried about him. He is still seen as someone dangerous because he knows the game so well, but he also plays pretty sloppy. His shift to social rather than strategic play for the time being... we'll see how that plays out. [Grade: C]

Angela Murray (50, real estate agent) still shows hints of her emotionally erratic side, with some in the House concerned that she's being protected by Tucker and his allies. That will only last so long. She's a good number in the meantime, though. [Grade: C-]

Chelsie Baham (27, nonprofit dir) isn't on T'Kor's radar, but she's on the House's radar. A stay of execution this week doesn't change her game, unless she aggressively changes who she's talking to and working with -- and just trusting Cam isn't going to do it. [Grade: C-]

Leah Peters (26, VIP cocktail) doesn't know what's going on. Now that could start to hurt her. If you won't play the game -- see Kenney. [Grade: C-]

Tucker Des Lauriers (30, marketing/sales exec) made himself an option to sit on the Block and here he sits, reluctant though he may be. He's right in that he'll be too tempting a target if he's there come Thursday after the A.I. Arena. He needs to win one of the next two comps, or really finesse the Veto winner, to save his game. He's got the best chance of anyone in the House of doing just that, though. [Grade: D+]

Cam Sullivan-Brown (25, physical therapist) is a bigger, physical threat and he's not on the side of power anymore. Only trusting Chelsie isn't going to further any of their games. He needs to put in the work to extend his game, and he's just not doing it. That said, his lack of perceived targets or strategy makes him slightly less of a threat. [Grade: D]

Makensy Manbeck (22, construction pm) once again put herself in the HOH's crosshairs by targeting alliance members. She's proving willing to play the game, but hasn't been able to solidify anything with anyone. An outsider with targets is a bigger threat than one without. [Grade: D-]

(asides and comments -- not necessarily strategic, but entertaining and sometimes revealing)

• "Second Pentagon member out. Now it's only a trio. Call 'em the Triangles, I don't know." --Tucker (after Brooklyn's eviction)
• "I keep getting called out." --Quinn (hugging Tucker after eviction)
• "I know. It's part of the game." --Tucker
• "The Pentagon has just turned into a straight line between me and Chelsie. That's the only person that I trust in this House." --Cam
• "I'm ready to croch-slay!" --T'Kor (after HOH win)
• "You just gonna follow her around like little school girls?" --Makensy (to House after HOH)
• "Who's gonna freaking take him out? --Chelsie (to Cam about Tucker)
• "She's not gonna take the shot." --Cam (referring to T'Kor)
• "I don't know anything." --Leah
• "Like, hello, America, I exist. What's going on here?" --Leah
• "I feel like I'm going home." --Angela (comes into HOH room crying)

Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on CBS.