They’re back! Julie Chen and her latest posse of youthful, athletic social butterflies — or backstabbers of the highest order — are here to take over the TV schedule! Big Brother has returned for an 18th season of absurd, themed competitions and nonsensical showmances — and the first elimination episode on Thursday, June 23, helped jumpstart the drama.
Plus, if we know anything about BB, we knew to expect twist after twist after twist because Ms. Chen never lets us down. Her first surprises: two of the houseguests are siblings of past players, and four are “stowaway” houseguests from past seasons. Da’Vonne (season 17), Nicole (season 16), James (season 17) and Frank (season 14) packed their suitcases one more time for a second chance to score the $500,000 prize.
In true BB fashion, we immediately jumped into competition mode after Chen forced the houseguests into teams. The four teams rode rockets for cash, safety or punishment and brainstormed some seriously awful team names (e.g. Unicorn, Big Sister).
In the end, only Team Freakazoids remained to fight for their lives! One houseguest is headed home, and who will it be: Nicole, Corey, Glenn or Tiffany?
Are You There, Manipulation? It’s Me, Nicole
It didn’t take long for the strategic game to knock out all niceties in the BB house. Nicole herded Corey into the snack kitchen — aka secret meeting central — for a round of reverse psychology.
To ensure her safety and that of the three returners (James, Da’Vonne and Frank), she plotted to manipulate wide-eyed baseball coach Corey into electing her the first Head of Household, if she isn’t eliminated in the forthcoming competition. Somehow Nicole’s terrible acting skills tricked Corey into giving her what she wanted without much guidance. Is this a trick, or is he truly this gullible?
“I feel like this conversation is going exactly how I want it to. Yay, me!” said Nicole. Yeah, do you, girl!
Roll, Coconuts, Roll!
But enough snack-kitchen powwows — it’s competition time! Fighting for their lives in the BB house, Nicole, Corey, Tiffany and Glenn faced off against one another in a game of rolling coconuts and SOS signs. The four had to balance on a shifting “island” while climbing up a semi-foam tree to retrieve plastic coconuts to fill in the holes of their SOS sign. Once the sign was filled they had to yank a flag out of a hole on the opposite side of the “island” without losing any rolling coconuts.
Glenn tried to pep himself up, but as the eldest houseguest, we didn’t have a good feeling. The competition began, and Paul — the resident bearded and tattooed hipster — couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Add in baby-doll-voiced Bronte, and they had quite the cheering section. Cue the earplugs.
The Hot One Stays
In the most unsurprising moment thus far, muscled stud Corey beat out Glenn in a photo finish. The 51-year-old dog groomer became the first eliminated houseguest of BB18, and we all collectively wept for Big Brother’s token older houseguest. On a super positive note, the other houseguests seemed genuinely sad to see him go. #ByeGlenn
The remaining coconut collectors — Nicole, Tiffany and Corey — decided who would be the first Head of Household. Hoping for the returners’ safety, Da’Vonne prayed Nicole would “work that coconut magic,” and land HOH. As if on magical cue, all three exchanged adorable pinkie promises as Nicole landed the coveted position.
Everyone Freaked Out
Paul promptly blew into the snack kitchen with a mouth full of curse words for Corey, who pulled a Ramona Singer and went bug-eyed with confusion. Upstairs in the HOH boudoir, Paulie attempted to weasel his way into Nicole’s good graces via his brotherly connection, but Nicole won’t be easily fooled: “Cody [Paulie’s brother] did vote me out twice.”
Kit Harrington–wannabe Victor gave away the rookies’ entire plan to Nicole while he took off his shirt. She was sufficiently distracted by his tattooed chest and couldn’t speak in full sentences, so clearly his party trick worked. Victor then played with his hair nonstop, so is this part of his plan or …?
Meanwhile, Jozea boastfully gave away his game plan to Da’Vonne. After he claimed to be “the Messiah” of BB, Da’Vonne was put off: “This boy has the audacity to say he’s the Messiah.” She added, “He’s acting like we’re in the salon, and he’s giving me a fresh curl and press.”
Oops, I Plotted Again
The returners plus Paulie did some hard-core plotting against Jozea in the HOH bedroom, while Jozea unknowingly sucked on a popsicle in the kitchen. Thanks for that, BB cameras!
With her plan set, Nicole pushed Paulie toward the nomination block, hoping he’d help her get Jozea out. But she did acknowledge Paulie’s possible value in the BB house: “I don’t want to alienate someone I could potentially work with the rest of the season.” After all, the hot pawn does sometimes go home.
The Nominations
Without further ado, Nicole took care of business and put Jozea and Paulie up on the block. Not supersurprising to viewers, but Bridgette offered the obligatory shocked face. Jozea gave a decent response to his nomination: “I’m not surprised. She was a snake her season, and she’s a snake this season.” He then claimed to rule the house like Regina George. (We all know how that ended for her.)
As for Paulie, the chiseled pawn offered up a jokey retort: “My god, I’m nominated the first week! Cody’s gonna kill me.”
Tell Us: Who are you rooting for to win Big Brother 18?
Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
