The first week of Big Brother 16 featured some of the biggest twists in the show’s history, but it had nothing to do with the two HoHs or the Battle of the Block competition. An all-male alliance quickly added two women thanks to Devin’s bizarre decision to go rogue while Joey’s attempts at uniting the girls failed and she decided to tell everyone about it.
There’s some extremely strange stuff happening (I’m not talking about ghosts) and that should help the HGs who actually know what they’re doing (Frankie, Zach, Christine) and the ones who can fly under the radar (does anyone even know Jocasta is there?).
BUT FIRST…welcome to Big Brother 16‘s live eviction!
Tonight’s episode has the first eviction, the second member of Team America and a new pair of HoHs will be crowned.
There could also be some history made tonight. Sure, there are more HGs now than usual, but the record for the most eviction votes cast against someone in a single vote is 10, a record held by Annie the Saboteur in season 12, Carol in season 8 and Mike in season 5. With 13 votes tonight (the most ever), that record could be shattered.
Also, it’s worth noting that there have only been three times when the first vote was unanimous: seasons 4, 5 and 12. Could season 16 join that list? Let’s find out.
The Veto Aftermath
Julie Chen wastes no time saying that some people are calling Joey’s gameplay the worst of all-time. I love that the Chenbot doesn’t pull any punches. The voiceover guy gets in on the action, saying that Joey has found a new alliance…”with the chopping block.”
After the PoV ceremony, Joey claims it was a huge mistake because the house didn’t want her to be nominated. Joey thinks, because she was born on February 7, seven is her lucky number and she will get that many votes to stay. However, Brittany is the only person who seems to genuinely consider trying to keep her.
Meet Alex
Devin lets Victoria know that anyone who votes “against the house” will be targets in an attempt to ensure a unanimous vote. He’s getting way too pushy and everyone else in the Bomb Squad doesn’t like it. The other girls are worried that Caleb and Devin are running the house and don’t want to go against them.
Zach confirms to Joey that those two muscle guys are controlling the vote. Joey the feminist doesn’t like that men are running things, so she dresses up like a dude named “Alex,” complete with a bulge in her pants, to try and play Devin and Caleb’s game, acting like a typical tough guy to bully people into voting for her.
It’s a pretty hilarious commentary on the patriarchal ways of this show, but it doesn’t really change anything. Some girls see that Joey’s underlying message is valid (the men ARE running the show this year already), but keeping Joey over Paola won’t really change that.
Caleb and Amber
Finally the show is giving us a glimpse of Caleb’s obsessive crush on Amber. He says that God brought her to him and she’s so perfect. He has fallen hard for her. Like, HARD. One night he brings her up to the HoH room to tell her that she’s “crazy gorgeous” and a good person to boot. He’s tongue-tied and claims she looks at him a lot. She was totally oblivious to his puppy dog love until that moment and is immediately embarrassed, quickly making an exit.
She tells us in the diary room that she doesn’t feel the same way and probably never will. But he promises not to give up.
The Vote
Joey gives us a preview of the HoH competition by saying that everyone picked random numbers to team up, and she would make a better partner than Pow-Pow. Interesting.
Pow-Pow starts her speech by thanking Joey for saying she sucks at competitions. This is awkward and hilarious at the same time. She wants to share her positive energy and “funness.”
Devin votes to evict…Joey
Derrick votes to evict…Joey
Frankie votes to evict…Joey (but he does it “competively,” a nod to Cody’s misspelled word in the PoV comp)
Cody votes to evict…Joey
Zach votes to evict…Joey
Brittany votes to evict…Joey
Nicole votes to evict…Joey
Christine votes to evict…Joey
Victoria votes to evict…Joey
Jocasta votes to evict…Joey
Hayden votes to evict…Joey
Amber votes to evict…Joey
Donny votes to evict…Joey
Joey is evicted 13-0!
Wow, so that’s only the fourth time the first vote was unanimous and the most votes ever cast against an HG in a single vote. In fact, in the history of the show, the only person with more eviction votes against him in a single season is Kaysar from Big Brother 6 with 16, but that’s because he was evicted, voted back into the game by America, then evicted again.
In her interview with Julie, Joey says she was surprised but seems every bit as clueless as she was in the game. She still doesn’t seem to grasp that being secretive and lying is part of the game. In the goodbye messages, Frankie says she just wasn’t ready for the game and Caleb outs the Bomb Squad. Joey calls him stupid. Julie piles on by telling her that Amber and Christine were the girls in the Bomb Squad, Derrick is an undercover cop and someone is the brother of a famous pop star (but Julie doesn’t tell her who).
The HoH Competition
The guys and girls will play separately, so there will be a male and female HoH. The girls go first. The HGs must go across a balance beam and transport six kegs back across the lawn. If you fall or drop a keg, you’re out, and the gender not competing can throw frisbees at them.
For the girls, Pow-Pow is a total mess. Brittany and Christine are close,but…
Amber wins the first HoH!
I bet Amber is so happy that Caleb can’t compete, because being in the HoH suite with him would be torture. It’s also a good sign for the Bomb Squad that their two women were the best.
For the guys, Derrick falls quickly. Frankie and Devin do a good job. Hayden gets his six kegs first, but he falls when running back to push the button, so…
Cody wins the second HoH!
Although we may need an instant replay because Julie says there may have been a rule violation or something.
Julie reviewed the tape, and Cody fouled. Cody is disqualified!
So now…
Devin is the second HoH!
Wow, what a twist. And this is going to be VERY awkward. There’s already been talk about how Devin is more of Amber’s type than Caleb, plus the entire house wants Devin gone.
Team America
It turns out Team America will STILL be three people and viewers will vote for two more people this week. Let’s just hope the newest member doesn’t go home next week.
Who is that person? It’s Donny! That’s not much of a surprise since he’s obviously the sweetest, nicest guy. But will he survive the week?
In order to try and prevent a problem, we’ll find out who the other two members are on Wednesday’s episode and we’ll be given our first chance to influence them. Ooh, that means we may get to tell them how to vote, and they only win the money if they vote that way or get the house to vote that person out.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
