Source: CBS

Whew! It’s been a wild first couple of weeks in the Big Brother 19 house! A game that started off with sixteen strangers and one returning veteran player, was quickly turned upside down after three houseguests left the game. Sheesh! As mentioned in our previous Big Brother summary post, Cameron, the 24 year old microbiologist from Woodbridge, IL was evicted after a surprise twist was unleashed on the house. A few days later, Megan, the 28 year old dog walker from Phoenix, AZ self evicted from the game. If things couldn’t get even more interesting, Jillian, the 24 year old timeshare sales rep from Las Vegas, NV was the final houseguest evicted for the week. So much drama! Find out how it all went down below.

Head of Household

Source: CBS

Shortly after Cameron’s eviction, former winner, Nicole, hosted the “Hangs in the Balance” Head of Household competition. According to Wikipedia, “In this competition, HouseGuests were divided into four teams of equal gender. One at a time, houseguests had to swing across their ropes and grab a rotten apple and then return it to their station. However, they were all tempted by a golden apple, where the first houseguest to return a golden apple would earn safety for the week, resulting in their team’s elimination from the competition. Josh took the temptation and his team was eliminated as the consequence. The first two teams to retrieve eight apples would advance to the second round of the competition. The pink team and the blue team were the winners, who then went head-to-head to balance seven apples on a tree. However, only one person per team could compete. The first HouseGuest to successfully balance their apples would be the first Head of Household.” Cody, the 32 year old construction sales rep claimed victory as the new HoH.

Nominations

After forming a large alliance of “Generals” and “Babes” consisting of Mark, Matthew, Raven, Jessica, Christmas, Elena, and Dominique, Cody was ready to take a shot at his first round of targets. Everyone else, aka The “Outsiders,” were on Cody’s radar, with Paul as a backdoor option. Ultimately, Cody went with his gut decision and nominated Jillian and Megan for eviction. Cody personally doesn’t like Megan, and since Jillian is closely aligned with Megan, she had to go up on the block as well.

Self Eviction

Source: CBS

Megan, the 28 year old dog walker was having a rough time in the house. Not only did she have two arguments with josh, Megan was later nominated for eviction. Just when you thought her game couldn’t get any worse, Megan falsely accused Jessica for making a derogatory comment towards Alex, causing another fight. On day nine, the game took it’s toll on Megan, and she decided to self-evict.

Den of Temptation

Source: CBS

During the premiere, we were introduced to the Garden of Temptation. This week, Big Brother decided to create the Den of Temptation, where a houseguest of our choice will be enticed by a game-changing offer. Paul, the 24 year old clothing designer, became the first houseguest tempted by America. He was given the offer of the Pendant of Protection, which would gives the offered houseguest immunity for the next three evictions. The pendant is only revealed if the selected houseguest is nominated for eviction. Since Paul accepted the offer, another houseguest receives a curse. Ramses, the 21 year old cosplay artist recieved a nomination cursed. This curse required Ramses to put himself on the block within the next three weeks.

Renomination

Now that Megan has self-evicted herself from the game, Cody had to replace her with another houseguest. Alex, the 28 year old eco-friendly marketing rep found herself sitting in the block next to her closest ally Jillian. Although Cody respected her game, Alex was a major threat to his alliance, especially with the females. Plus, she has a good shot at winning the following HoH competition.

Power of Veto Competition

Source: CBS

It’s not time for the first Power of Veto competition of the season. According to Wikipedia, “Cody, Alex, and Jillian, alongside Matt, Raven, and Jason, scrapped in the Fin to Win Power of Veto competition, which was hosted by Kevin. In this competition, HouseGuests had to pull the plug on their water timer, causing it to drain. They had to then search the water for starfish and put them on their stacking shelf one at a time. If their water began to run low, they could collect water from the ocean to put in their timer. Once a HouseGuest’s water timer was empty, their starfish were locked in. However, the players were also offered a temptation. The first HouseGuest to find a gold starfish and place it on their shelf would earn a Never-Not pass, meaning they cannot be a Have-Not for the rest of the season. However, they would eliminate themselves from the competition. Raven took the temptation. The HouseGuest with the most starfish stacked on their shelf after their water had drained would win the Power of Veto. Alex won the Power of Veto.”

Veto Ceremony

Now that Alex has won the Power of Veto competition, Cody was forced to put his backdoor plan into full affect. If you recall, Cody had his eyes set on targeting Paul earlier in this week. He intended on backdooring Paul, without the consent of his alliance though. Cody has yet to inform anyone about his plan, including his showmance partner, Jessica. At the Power of Veto Ceremony, it came to no surprise when Alex took herself off the block. Cody named Paul as the replacement nominee, but this plan was completely foiled. Remember, Paul has the pendant of protection, saving him for the week. Now that the pendant has been used, Cody is forced to name another nominee. In a shocking turn of events, Cody nominated a member from his own alliance, Christmas.

Eviction

Source: CBS

Following the Power of Veto ceremony, the lines were officially drawn in the sand. Christmas, the 35 year old fitness superstar felt completely betrayed by Cody. Members of the alliance were also split in Cody’s decision, especially since his plans were made in secrecy. Originally, the new plan was to take out Christmas, the physical threat. Unbeknownst to him, Cody’s alliance flipped their votes, with the exception of Jessica. In a eight to four vote, Jillian was evicted from the game.

In the grand scheme of things, Jillian was a casualty of circumstance. Had Megan stayed in the game, she would have been evicted instead. Jillian would have likely stayed over Paul as well, the likely target. Unfortunately, she found herself in a tough situation and couldn’t rally enough votes to stay, despite Christmas being Cody’s new target.

Farewell,

-Bryce Lennon