BB16 Episode 18 – August 3, 2014
Oh man, this was a truly satisfying episode of Big Brother 16! I love when a superpowered alliance is finally not in control of the house as it causes all new dynamics to show up. This episode wasn’t exactly a crumbling house of cards, but to see Zach feeling a bit of the burn and especially that it was due to Nicole was cathartic. If he walks out this week, I’d be thrilled, but I think there’s a lot of action to come this week before we hit Thursday.
Our Surprising New HoHs!
The answer they all needed to be closest to was 500-something, so while they were all over, the closest 2 would win….meaning Nicole and Donny got it while Hayden missed by just one number! Ouch – although I think I like Nicole playing versus Hayden as he seems to play in a very weird manner thus far.
Let the Scrambling Begin…
Everyone was making efforts to figure out Donny and Nicole’s gameplans:
- Team America immediately went to work on Donny to ensure he wasn’t thinking about putting any of them up. It seems Derrick and Frankie are still smarting a bit from Donny’s outright refusal to do the last Team America mission as he was concerned it would ruin his game. They also hoped he would remember that neither of them ever put him up on the block.
- Caleb was also fairly concerned about his fate, as Donny was one of his first nominations. Donny did NOT forget that fact and when in their conversations, Caleb was petrified of being put up next to Victoria, well, that just made Donny’s decision even easier.
- And of course, we had Zach talking to Nicole….
It went about as well as you’d expect. He tried multiple angles of attack on her, first using “reverse psychology” and happily offering himself up to Nicole, thinking she’d of course not want to do what Zach wanted. Then, realizing that tack wasn’t working, insists to Nicole later that her best bet is to nominate two weak players (Jacosta and Victoria) to ensure her nominations stay the same, then when Veto comes, she can backdoor her true target. Based on nominations though, Zach’s powers of persuasion need a little work. Plus, I’m so glad Nicole didn’t end up being gullible and fallilng for any of his shtick.
True Target: Frankie!?
We saw when Nicole, Donny, and Hayden were strategizing that they were considering what to do with the inevitable possibility of having to make a replacement nominee after the Power of Veto (which was after having decided on a pretty brilliant set of nominations between the two). Nicole immediately brought up targeting Frankie, as she’s well aware of Frankie’s omnipresence in the house, which makes him a huge target. All 3 were quite okay with getting rid of Frankie….and surprisingly (or not), Derrick was too, in a private conversation with Nicole. He’s not going to make Frankie aware of that situation (as Derrick knows it would immediately implicate him) but did seem to be doing slight damage control to prevent that from happening. It would be very interesting if we end up going down that path, especially with Nicole remaining in power.
Nominations: Tit for Tat
I gotta give it to Donny and Nicole: they came up with a pretty great set of nominations. I was initially thinking they’d just go all out and target two sets of strong guys and get some “revenge” for all their previous nominations. Yet of course, as they both realized, that set of nominations that saved themselves in the BotB would now be out for revenge next week. So why not mix a little of the old along with a little of the new? It was smart to pair up each guy with a nominee who has their own personalized throw cushion on the block. Plus, it ensures it’ll be a true competition. So a tip of the hat to you two wily HoHs!
Battle of the Block, Week 6
I thought this challenge was amazing as it took up one of my favorite childhood hobbies: domino racing! It was a great set up for a competition as it doesn’t rely solely on strength, but a combination of endurance and speed. Plus, there was strategy involved as each team had to choose 3 gold “punishment” dominoes to route their path through. As Victoria noted, “even when you win, you lose.”
What blew most of the onlookers away was that Victoria was actually…..competing! She was hustling as if she wanted to win, plus there was no drama between her and Caleb. Maybe someone actually taking her on as a teammate in a legitimate manner provokes a good response from Victoria. I actually do feel slightly bad for the girl – she’s had a rough go of it as absolutely no one seems to respect her in the game, let alone like her. Maybe this challenge performance and eventual challenge WIN (spoiler alert!) will make her situation better. 
From earlier in the episode, we saw Caleb talk with Victoria about how they’d need to work together to succeed; Victoria hoped that maybe this coming together would also help both of their games. I’d be surprised, yet intrigued, if somehow these two formed an alliance. God knows they both need one – Victoria is well aware she’s on the outs, but I don’t think Caleb does.
So yeah, Caleb and Victoria win after a heart-stopping near-win by Zach and Jacosta, which as you can see above, is derailed when one of their curves was much too sharp. They had to restack ALL their fallen dominoes and fix the curve, while Caleb and Victoria’s also failed but much MUCH closer and thus way less dominoes to restack.
Caleb and Victoria’s punishments include:
- Slop for 2 weeks (which is probably terrible)
- Shave Head (we know of course that Caleb will get his head shaved; we also know he will look HOT AS FUCK with a shaved head….)
- Adam & Eve: 48 hours of wearing a fig-leaf swimsuit and bound together that entire time (HOLY SHIT – Caleb just won all the upcoming Caleb v Cody competitions….can NOT wait to see that mofo rocking a fig leaf and a shaved head…)
Miscellaneous Nonsense from the House:
- Despite Jacosta resorting to the religion well a touch too much, I am absolutely loving when she gets funny, such as refusing to answer the “Block Phone” as well as owning that she was the reason for her tears and emotions after losing HoH, first.
- Zach confiding to Frankie he’s not worried about losing the BotB and how excited he is to win and then have victory sex with him….all while Cody is in the next bed and looking at him incredulously.
- Nicole getting a direct hit on Hayden’s junk at the pool table with a cue ball was awesome
- Donny’s weird metaphor about “Victoria’s blood being on everyone’s hand so why not his” at the nomination ceremony was uncomfortable, but I did like his “tit for tat”, hence this post’s title
Status and Standings
Heads of Household: Nicole & Donny
Nominated for Eviction: Jacosta & Zach (Nicole), Caleb & Victoria (Donny)
Battle of the Block Winners: Caleb & Victoria
Remaining Head of Household: Nicole
For the sake of interesting TV, I require Jacosta to win or be given the Power of Veto and a replacement nominee put up against Zach. The absolute best situation would be if Frankie was put up against him. I’d love to see the battle that arises there. If Zach somehow comes down instead of Jacosta, I’d still love to see if Frankie were put up. I do like Frankie a lot, but it would do him some good to get uncomfortable. Or maybe, it would do the viewers some good. After a while, it’s tiring to see the same people get shit on.
And Shazam, it’s the Caleb Appreciation Contest!
Standings as of Episode 18: Caleb, 9; Cody, 4
Look at that Caleb rocking his victory after the Battle of the Block. HOLYSHITE.