Warning! The following contains spoilers from the Big Brother live feeds as of Friday, July 17th. Stream the feeds with a Paramount+ subscription or on Pluto TV, and read at your own risk!
It's a new week in the Big Brother house as it continues its run on the 2026 TV schedule, and we're already off to a hot start. While there were efforts to try and save Ashley Trail, she ended up sabotaging her own rescue by exposing the major alliance forming to the other side of the house. Now, the Week 2 Head of Household is planning to embrace that exposure and declare "war" in a way that mimics Survivor.
So many things happened overnight, so if you weren't watching Big Brother online and catching up on sleep, have no fear. Here's what we know about the Week 2 HOH and how their unique brand of "chaos" will potentially create two "tribes" in the game.
Rick Devens Won The Week 2 HOH
In what is no doubt another major coup for the returnees, Rick Devens won the Week 2 HOH. It's the best-case scenario for Dee Valladares, who can now rest easy following her Week 1 reign, as her biggest ally is running the house. Could this mean we'll see some traction in her budding showmance with Barrett Pfeiffer?
Rick Is Planning To Declare "War", And Split The House Into Two Tribes Like Survivor
Rick initially seemed intent on playing it safe with his nominations and targeting Mallory Aurichio, Lala Verrett, and Melody Morris. However, that all changed after a conversation with Angela Murray, which encouraged him to go full-tilt and openly declare "war" on the other side of the house.
Big Brother’s Julie Chen Moonves Told Me What Happens If A Fight Breaks Out During The Live Show
As of writing, it seems Devens will now put up Melody, Jason De Puy, and Lyric Medeiros, with the hope of backdooring Rome Seymour. Rome is generally seen as the ringleader of the "other" side of the house, which comprises everyone who isn't in the Crossovers or Red Corner alliance.
Backdooring anyone in Big Brother is a tall order in the modern seasons, as Rome will still have a chance to save himself with the BB Blockbuster. This plan could also fall apart if Rome is chosen to play the veto, and ends up pulling down Lyric, which would grant him safety.
There's also talk of Rick making a public declaration of "war" during his nomination ceremony, openly acknowledging the house is divided down the middle. It feels very Survivor to try to split the house between two sides, but as Dee and Angela discussed that same evening, pushing that narrative only helps the returnees shield themselves. I'm curious to see how the "other" side of the house responds, and if they organize in a way Rick's alliances have in order to have a better chance at surviving what might otherwise become a steamroll.
Big Brother will show the HOH competition on Sunday's episode, which airs on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET. I'm interested to see what the contest was, and how Houseguests respond to this declaration of war.
