We're at one of those great points in a Big Brother season where Saturdays are becoming especially suspenseful as we wait to see who will play for Veto and then who will go on to win it. We have the updates on both of those things ahead. Read no further if you don't want to be spoiled!
Here's how things are going in the Big Brother house right now...
Head of Household
Haleigh
Originally nominated
Kaycee
Angela
Won the Hacker Competition
Kaycee
Nominated by the Hacker
Rockstar
Currently Nominated
Angela
Rockstar
Won the Veto?
Tyler
Veto used?
Not yet
This week of Big Brother Season 20 marks the return of OTEV! The god of Veto was present to bless one player with the power to make a move this week. But before that, let's start with the start of Saturday. The houseguests were woken up early to pick players for Veto. The players chosen were:
- Haleigh
- Rockstar
- Angela
- Tyler
- Fessy
- Kaycee
I think Kaycee was planning on choosing Tyler to play for Veto, but it's possible she chose herself and Tyler got picked my random draw. Or the reverse. It doesn't really matter. It's also worth noting that Fessy ended up playing anyway, despite Level 6 opting not to use the Hacker app to nominate him because it meant he'd be able to play for Veto. Well, he's playing for Veto anyway, so that opportunity was lost. Of course, the same could be said for Haleigh not nominating Tyler because she hoped to send him out the backdoor.
Though production got the Houseguests up early to pick players, the competition didn't end up happening until much later in the day, which left the houseguests plenty of time to spend separated, repeating to one another "We have to win."
This Veto is crucial and not just because it determines the fate of one player. This Veto essentially determines the fate of an alliance. This is Haleigh's HoH week, but because of the Hacker twist, one of her people is on the block. If Foutte wins the Veto, they can take Rockstar off the block and either backdoor Tyler -- which was the original plan -- or put Kaycee back on the block (the alternate plan) and send either her or Angela home. If Level 6 wins the Veto, they can either use it to save Angela, in which case, someone else from their side would go up, or they could leave the nominations the same. Either way, Rockstar stays on the block and they probably have the numbers to send her out.
The fact that the Veto players are split down the middle between Level 6 and Foutte is just perfect in this scenario.
In case your memory's rusty, the OTEV competition is where the players receive a clue related to a specific houseguest and then have to run around the backyard trying to find an object with that houseguest's name on it. It's always a different theme, but the general set-up is the same, with the houseguests having to run up a watery ramp and present their item to OTEV. There's a musical-chairs element in which the last player to return in each round has no mat to kneel on and is usually eliminated. However, if one or more players has the wrong answer, then that player would be eliminated and presumably the standing player could take their mat.
But that never happens.
I can't think of a time when a houseguest returned to the mat with the wrong answer. But from what the houseguests were saying about this competition on Saturday, it sounds like the riddles were hard. So it wasn't just about who could find the right name and get back to the mat fastest, it was also about making sure they understood the tricky questions and figured out the right person.
This is relevant because -- again, from conversations had later -- it sounds like there were at least two instances where a player didn't have the right name.
In what may prove to be a fatal mistake, it sounds like during one of the last rounds of the game, Rockstar was returning to the mat with a name and wasn't sure she had the right one. She apparently showed what she had to Tyler, who quickly realized HE didn't have the right name, and was able to go find the right one. We don't see the competitions on the feeds, but based on conversations, it sounds like, had that not happened, Tyler would've probably been eliminated in that round, and it would have come down to Rockstar and Haleigh as the final two in this competition, after which Haleigh said she would've thrown it to Rockstar. Even if she didn't, Foutte would've regained control of the week. But since Tyler realized his mistake, thanks to Rockstar, he made it to the next round. And then in the last round, I think Rockstar may have gotten the riddle wrong and came back to the mat with the wrong name.
So it sounds like Rockstar came very close to winning this competition, but Tyler came out ahead. And now he has the Veto. He won't need to use his Cloud power.
Some of the aftermath...
Rockstar was really upset with herself over what happened during the competition, both in showing Tyler her answer and then later possibly getting the answer wrong? Haleigh and others were assuring her it was ok, but in private, Haleigh and Fessy vented over how badly Rockstar messed up.
Meanwhile, Level 6 was celebrating because they're fairly certain that no matter who is on the block next to Rockstar, Rockstar will go home. Nothing is ever totally certain in the Big Brother house, but things are looking really good for them right now.
Haleigh spent a good portion of her evening in the bathtub, drinking her wine and talking out scenarios trying to figure out what their options were. She seemed mostly convinced that Tyler would use the Veto on Angela, and that she'd likely put Kaycee back up as the replacement. She doesn't want to nominate Brett. She and Scottie believe Brett's a free agent but mostly on their side, which isn't the case. Brett has been spending a lot of time with them and spending less time with his own alliance, but he's had opportunities to share information with Haleigh and he hasn't taken them. So all evidence points to him still being firmly in Level 6.
It seems worth noting here that Foutte still doesn't seem aware that there is a locked-in alliance on the other side of the house. It's a connection they haven't made, due largely to the Level 6 side having add-ons like JC and occasionally Scottie and Sam, who've been temporarily on their side for things. It's made that side of the house seem more fluid than it is, despite there being a core four people working together this whole time.
Haleigh is concerned Kaycee might have the Cloud power. In case you missed it, at one point (last week, maybe?) the Cloud power name and icon appeared on the screen downstairs for some reason and some of the Houseguests saw it. So they're pretty sure someone in the house has that power. They don't know that it's Tyler, and they don't know for sure what the power does (the description wasn't included), but Haleigh has aptly deduced that it's probably some kind of protection for one person and now she's afraid Kaycee has it. She said if she tries to put Kaycee up and a power is activated, she'll probably put JC up instead.
Later, while Haleigh was still in the bathtub, she had a lengthy conversation with Tyler to try to work with him. It wasn't a good discussion for her. Maybe it was the wine. Maybe she was just grasping at straws. At one point she actually told Tyler she hasn't yet had the opportunity to show him she's not coming for him. She hasn't had the chance to take him off the block like Angela did. This was said in the same conversation where she told him she was definitely the Hacker last week. So yes, she hasn't had the opportunity to prove to him she's not coming for him, but she did have the opportunity to prove to him she was coming for him, and she took it. So her argument is moot and I'm impressed Tyler was able to sit through the whole conversation without laughing. Especially considering he was fairly certain she was planning on trying to backdoor him this week.
Regardless, it's unlikely Tyler is going to play along with what Haleigh wants. He has no reason to. Haleigh is convinced her side has the numbers, and that appears to continue to be the downfall of Foutte. Thinking they have the numbers is how they've been blindsided through most of this season's evictions. Tyler knows that. Haleigh doesn't.
So, will the Veto be used?
I think right now the plan is for Tyler to use it on Angela, knowing Haleigh will likely put Kaycee up in her place. Kaycee is more well-liked and will presumably have better footing on the block than Angela. But I don't think it makes a difference. Either they have the votes or they don't.
It's too soon to start obsessing over who's voting where, however it should be noted that -- assuming Tyler either doesn't use the Veto or uses it to take Angela off the block -- Level 6 needs 4 votes to keep their person. There are seven people eligible to vote. Kaycee will eliminate one vote. If the vote is three to three, Haleigh will break the tie. It's looking like they'll have those four votes, assuming JC sticks with them. Right now it seems like he will, but again, there's time for things to change.
