The 16 HGs of Big Brother 16 have moved in and now the game begins. Sunday episodes are usually quite dull, with nothing but the nominations to fill the hour. But with the new twist of two HoHs and a Battle of the Block, nominations are much more interesting.
This episode also introduces the FOURTH formally named alliance of the season that starts with six guys, then expands to eight people thanks to Devin’s bipolar insanity.
The Bomb Squad
In their HoH room, polar opposites Frankie and Caleb agree to work together because no one would suspect it. They want a dominant guys’ alliance, because girls are petty and weak and floaters. They bring Devin and Derrick in first, then they add Zach and Cody. Just like that, the Bomb Squad is formed and it’s a strong six-man alliance. With the exception of Frankie, this is the exact guy alliance I predicted. But Cody is unsure if it’s a new Brigade or the next Moving Company and Derrick also has his doubts about such an early alliance.
Zach and Frankie seem more intelligent about it while Caleb and Devin are drinking the “Men Rule, Women Drool” Kool-Aid by the gallon. Devin has also completely abandoned his Double D alliance with Donny, but Donny is still into it and Devin continues to string him along.
The show hilariously underscores the “men vs. women” angle by showing the other women in the house talking about nail polish. At least Christine and Nicole are smart enough to work together, bonding over being simple, nerdy outsider girls.
Nominations
The HoHs conspire together to decide the nominations. I’ll be curious to see how this works if/when the two HoHs aren’t such close allies. Caleb wants them each to put up one guy and one girl, but Frankie is reticent to nominate Hayden. They agree that the way to get the least amount of blood on their hands is to nominate the people who fell off the two HoH competitions first.
As for how it works, the two HoHs open eggs to decide who nominates first. Caleb goes first and picks the two keys of his nominees. Frankie then gets to pick two more keys, so the second HoH knows who the first HoH has chosen to nominate.
The key ceremony is also completely different. The nominees’ keys are the only ones in the box, and the HoH turns them one at a time, revealing the nominees’ faces on the screen. Good, I always hated the long, drawn-out “You’re safe” key wheel.
Caleb nominates Donny and Paola, the first man and women to fall from the first HoH competition.
Frankie nominates Victoria and Brittany, the first two people to fall from the second HoH competition.
Victoria is heartbroken because she thought she and Frankie were BFFs. Frankie tries to pull some Dan-level mind control on her about how it was out of his control, but Victoria resists his manipulation. For now.
Christine and Nicole jump for joy in the storage room because they’re safe, endearing themselves to me even more. I want those two in the finale so badly.
Devin Goes AWOL
Without telling anyone else in the Bomb Squad, Devin tells Christine and Amber about the six-man alliance and asks them to join it. WTF? Devin is insane and so bad at this game.
It’s 4:30am when he tells them and then he goes upstairs to wake up Caleb and tell him all about what he just did. Caleb isn’t happy, but he has no choice but to accept it because the damage is done. The next morning Devin tells the other guys that Christine and Amber are in the Bomb Squad. Needless to say, NO ONE is happy about it. Nor should they be, since Christine tells us her first loyalty is still to Nicole.
Later, Devin sees Donny telling jokes with everyone laughing at him. This makes Devin go blind with rage. He runs to the Bomb Squad and tells everyone that Donny is a huge threat and they need to get him out. OK, Devin has lost his damn mind. He’s paranoid and delusional. Zach, Frankie, Cody and Derrick are already regretting their decision to align with him.
Battle of the Block
The backyard is decorated like a Great Gatsby party. The two HGs will swing back and forth, collecting champagne into containers, transferring it to each other and filling a tube.
Pow-Pow is hilariously terrible at the competition while Brittany and Victoria find a good rhythm. After a while Pow-Pow and Donny start to catch up, but it’s too little too late.
Brittany and Victoria win the Battle of the Block, so Frankie is no longer the HoH. But there’s still the Power of Veto for Donny and Pow-Pow. It’s actually a good thing for nominees that they get two chances to save themselves.
See Who Won the Power of Veto>>
Big Brother 16 returns Wednesday at 8pm with the Power of Veto competition and ceremony.
(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.
