As a new Head of Household rises to power in the ‘Big Brother’ House, fear and uncertainty about remaining powers could shift focus from Angela’s volatile time in the House — could she escape another week? Or could someone volunteer to go home!
In the third week of Big Brother 26, a new Houseguest rises to power, and continues this season’s fun trend of someone different winning every competition to this point. It’s definitely making for an unpredictable ride so far, which is a nice change of pace.
Especially in a season where comp wins are more important than ever (considering the addition of the A.I. Arena gives nominees two chances to save themselves each week), it’s nice to know that one or two people aren’t going to absolutely dominate them and then be impossible to boot.
Instead, we’ve seen a nice variety of champs, starting with Angela, and then Lisa, Kimo, Chelsie, and Kenney. Ironically, three of those people have also been targeted consistently, with Lisa already out the door after last week’s epic blindside.
Bully v Quitter?
Kenney and Angela seem to be the new regular targets, for vastly different reasons, as well as on the outside of everything going on. Angela ostracized herself with her unpredictable behavior and erratic emotional state. Even when invited into an alliance, she instead blew it up.
As for Kenney, it’s not clear why he’s not really playing the game, nor why no one seems interested in playing with him. The best we can figure is that he’s been half-checked out since Week 1, talking about missing his family and waffling between wanting to be in the game and back home with them.
It is kind of hard to align with someone who might quit tomorrow, while it’s impossible to align with someone who at any moment could decide to blow up your game.
That’s the main reason that Quinn is terrified about Angela still being in the House. He voted with the House, but only when he saw the numbers weren’t going to go his way. Considering Lisa was outside the vote and now she’s outside the House, self-preservation kicked in.
But Angela — to our knowledge — was the only one he’s told about his Upgrade Power to this point, and she’s the last person you want to know about your power. She’s already been hinting to people about it, leading to growing suspicion that he has it, though no one really knows what it is (as she hasn’t fully betrayed his trust … yet).
As for Makensy’s power, she has a tendency to tell everyone about it, though hers is far less disruptive than Quinn’s. It’s also not nearly as powerful. He takes over an HOH in secret, while she can only save someone from eviction, replacing them with America’s Choice.
At this point we find ourselves wondering if either of them will use them at all? Next week is their last chance to use them, so of course both of them are hanging onto them in hopes of using them then. But with more and more people knowing (or speculating) they’ve both got to get there first!
New HOH and Power Paranoia
This week’s Head of Household competition was a board game theme, with HGs having to race the clock by amassing the most points in 45 seconds while running a course on balance beams. Along the way, they hit numbered buttons. Once all are hit, they reset and players can hit them again.
Quinn quickly used this to his advantage, saving a 3-point button for last so he could immediately hit it again. He amassed 18 points total and was sitting pretty through six competitors. Then Makensy uses the same strategy, only with the 4-point button, and beats his score — only to fall off the beams and reset to 0 right at the final moment.
Cedric was next and used the same double-4 strategy, while maintaining his balance, to land with a whopping 27 points. No one was able to beat him, making Cedric the new Head of Household. It was good news for The Pentagon alliance, with back-to-back wins, but immediately a rough go for Cedric.
The obvious choice, again, was Angela. She’s had two volatile weeks in a row in the House, and after bullying Lisa to tears last week, and Matt the week before, the trend of the season is that Angela bullies someone, they cry, and then the House votes them out. That’s not a good look. At all!
Safe Noms Or Spill Blood?
But, will the House get rid of Angela or keep the drama mama in the house another week? She’s definitely good television, with many online speculating she’s a producer plant due to her previous TV appearances.
We think she was a producer’s recruit, based on those appearances, as they probably saw that she was emotionally unpredictable — seemingly completely unable to control her emotional outbursts, positive or negative — and would therefore make for great TV. It’s as good a theory as anyone else’s.
Regardless, with Angela a clear target — perhaps too clear — Cedric needed two additional nominees. While feeling people out, Kenny both strategized a bit for the first time ever, and then promptly shot himself in the foot again
He confessed his real profession as a police detective to Cedric, who opened up about his own military intelligence background. The two have grown close and this could have been a bonding moment that formed a stronger alliance between the two of them.
But then Kenney told him he was willing to go on the Block, and even go home! Kenney knows he has no game, no allies, nothing going for him, and he misses his family. At this point, he needs to either quit the game or quit almost quitting. Later in the episode, he was seemingly ready to play. He’s emotionally all over the place, too.
The good news is that he made Cedric’s job a little easier. Two obvious choices down, one pawn to go.
Big Move or Big Pawn?
But no one was willing to be the pawn. Makensy was so not about it that she revealed her Power and told Cedric she’d just take herself down anyway.
He then laughed that she’d probably come after him next week, then, which she didn’t deny. It was similar to the conversation Angela and Matt had in Week 1 — but no one had a compete breakdown over it and called anyone “Crazy Eyes.”
After getting shut down all over the place, Tucker then agreed to be the pawn again, confident he could take himself off the block in either the Power of Veto or A.I. Arena, just like he did last week. It’s a dangerous place for him to put himself, as he shows himself a comp threat and someone willing to be on the Block.
At the same time, Kenney suddenly perked up and suggested that he believes the girls might have some kind of alliance going based on his observations.
It was enough to give Tucker pause. The offer was made, but he told Cedric the smart thing to do would be to put Makensy up and flush her Power. Sure, she’d be safe, but he was also confident that no one would come after Cedric next week. Everyone loves the guy!
That much is true, but it looks like Cedric isn’t sure about rocking the boat so early. He’s thinking long-term, which we have to respect. Tucker is so all-in right now, he’s definitely going to be someone people consider targeting way before Cedric.
In the end, Cedric went the safe route and nominated Angela, Kenney, and Tucker. Aside from Angela, all of them had volunteered. And at this point, Angela is the clear target. But she was at this point last week, and with POV and AIA coming up … well, anything can still happen.
Houseguest Report Cards
Chelsie Baham (27, nonprofit dir) continues to dominate the game after a stellar Head of Household that got out the bigger threat — while keeping a bully (boo!). She’s now more behind-the-scenes, but just as pivotal with her closest ally sitting in power and definitely listening to her wisdom. Cedric has more rizz, but Chelsie has the savvy. [Grade: A+]
Cedric Hodges (21, ex-marine) has risen to power and remains perhaps the most beloved player in the House. He has all friends and is determined to keep it that way. It’s a very safe way to play, but in Week 3, it’s hard to fault the strategy. He’s well-positioned, well-liked, and … well, doing pretty well. [Grade: A]
Cam Sullivan-Brown (25, physical therapist) is solidly in that third position in the Pentagon, but that could shift up depending on if/when Chelsie or Cedric decide to take a shot at one another. For now, he’s just laying low and no one is really paying that much attention to him. The fact he’s a big strong guy will eventually be a problem for him, but for now, no one seems bothered. [Grade: B]
Brooklyn Rivera (34, business admin) is smart enough to know she’s at the bottom of The Pentagon, but at this early stage there’s no reason to rock that boat. Instead, she’s lying low and playing along. The fact she and Quinn are aware of their status bodes well for the future … so long as they can make their right move at the right time. [Grade: B-]
T’kor Clottey (23, crochet business), Joseph Rodriguez (30, video store), Kimo Apaka (35, mattress sales), and Rubina Bernabe (35, event bartender), are all riding the middle of this game right now, virtually invislble. T’Kor has her friendships with Quinn and Kimo, as well as Chelsie, Cedric, and Cam, but she’s otherwise floating along not much better (or worse) than anyone else in this group. [Grade: C]
Tucker Des Lauriers (30, marketing/sales exec) is proving a pretty useful tool right now, but he’s also painting a big target on his back by playing so hard so early. He’s willing to be a pawn because he knows he can win comps, but if he starts to win too much he’ll quickly go from a pawn to a good backdoor target. If he’s on the Block come eviction night, that’s pretty tempting. [Grade: C-]
Leah Peters (26, VIP cocktail) is raising her threat quotient even after being on the outs with Makensy for voting to keep Matt. She’s also been competitive in most of the competitions, making her someone you don’t want to keep around any longer than necessary — especially as she’s not aligned with any of the major power groups. [Grade: C-]
Quinn Martin (25, nurse recruiter) is starting to get noticed for his athleticism amid speculation he has a power. While his own alliance will protect him for now, we’re not sure how much longer. If he can last through the next week when powers won’t matter anymore, he should be good, but people are worried right now, so he should be, too. That said, we’re not sure Cedric would put him up this week, based on alliance, unless there was a lot of pressure to do so. He’s playing it safe right now. [Grade: C-]
Makensy Manbeck (22, construction pm) is definitely someone people are looking at right now because they basically all know about her power. She was on the outside of the Matt vote, in that early showmance, and now she’s just seen as a threat. Like Quinn, her fate could change once the Powers are gone or expired after next week, but she needs to make it that far, and work on her social/strategic game. [Grade: C-]
Angela Murray (50, real estate agent) remains a volatile presence in the House, and an easy target for it. But when it comes down to it, any time the House has a chance to get out a bigger potential threat — despite the fact she has won an HOH — they’re at least going to consider it. How long could that save her, if at all? We shall see. [Grade: D-]
Kenney Kelley (52, ex-cop) is making himself a good candidate to go home by simply wanting to go home. Despite her bullying behavior, Angela stayed last week because Lisa was seen as the bigger threat. If Kenney can’t save himself again, he’ll be the bigger threat on the Block this week. Add to that his wishy-washy game and he could be done. [Grade: D-]