Big Brother 18 has started and the premiere introduced the 12 new HGs as well as four returning players. Frank Eudy, Nicole Franzel, Da’Vonne Rogers and James Huling are back for another chance to win the half million dollars.
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All four of them have played over the past four seasons, with Frank, Nicole and James all finishing in seventh place while Da’Vonne was evicted in week 2. For newer viewers, or even fans who don’t remember every little detail, here’s a quick refresher on what these four returning HGs did their first time around,
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Frank Eudy
The Fan Favorite of season 14, Frank is the only HG this season with experience playing in a season that featured both newbies and veterans, as that year had the Coaches twist. He’s best known as a competition beast, winning three HoHs and three PoVs. In the middle of the season, he actually won five out of six consecutive competitions that he played in.
However, he needed to win because he was a target from the start. Every single week Frank was either HoH or he was nominated, meaning he fought all season long against the powerhouse Quack Pack alliance with Dan, Ian and others. Eventually his luck ran out
Perhaps his biggest downfall was that he was too trusting. Everyone in the house knew where they stood with him, whether they were an ally or a foe. He wore his game on his sleeve. He also fell victim to Dan’s Funeral, the classic move from Dan Gheesling. Dan staged his own funeral, then convinced Frank, who was HoH, to get his ally Jenn City to use her PoV to save Dan. It worked and Frank paid the price, with Ian taking out Frank the very next week.
Nicole Franzel
From season 16, Nicole was a sweet, adorable superfan. She won three HoHs, though because of the Battle of the Block she got dethroned twice. Over the past two seasons there were 13 BoBs, and Nicole has the unfortunate honor of being the only HG to go from HoH to evicted in the same week when she got dethroned and backdoored by her former pal, Christine.
Nicole started a flirtatious showmance with Hayden, but her biggest weakness was not having a killer instinct. She was kind of a pushover, letting the guys tell her what to do before they turned on her and evicted her twice.
Da’Vonne Rogers
Mama Day is the outlier among these veterans as she was evicted in week 2 and didn’t win any competitions. She was a big personality and very observant, counting everything in the house. She was the first person to figure out the Twin Twist, but then she told everyone else about it instead of using it to her advantage.
Da’Vonne’s biggest weakness is her big mouth. In week 1 she got into huge fights with Clay and Audrey, leading to their mutual ally Shelli targeting Da’Vonne in week 2. She can’t really control herself and if she doesn’t like someone, she’s not good at hiding it. And based on the first episode of Big Brother 18 and her interactions with Paul, Da’Vonne hasn’t changed that much.
James Huling
A fun-loving prankster who makes big moves, James was the Fan Favorite last year. He won two HoHs and two PoVs. He was always unafraid to get blood on his hands and wear it like war paint, like when he went back on a deal with Shelli and nominated her against her showmance, Clay.
He was also a strong social player, pulling pranks and bonding with the other HGs. Austin and the twins enjoyed spending time with him in the house, which helped him last a lot longer than he might’ve otherwise.
James’ biggest drawback is that he’s not a strategic thinker. He’ll make the big, obvious moves, but he doesn’t think about consequences and once he’s made his mind up, it’s hard to get him to listen to reason.
Based on the first episode, it seems like Frank is the only returning player who’s actually evolved. James is still up for a good time, Da’Vonne is still confrontational and Nicole wasted no time asking a big strong guy (Corey) for help. But Frank somehow managed to fade into the background for the premiere, not making himself the center of the show, For someone who was a target every single week, flying under the radar is an impressive adjustment to his strategy.
Big Brother 18 airs Thursdays at 9pm, Sundays at 8pm and Wednesdays at 8pm on CBS.
(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.
