Was Victor backdoored? That was the question on every Big Brother fan’s mind as the live elimination episode began on Thursday, July 7.
As a reminder, Paulie scored the Power of Veto by spelling sustainability with carved mushrooms dug out of goopy “toe jam,” and successfully nominated his secret target: Victor. But would Da’Vonne and Frank’s annoyance with Tiffany be enough to send her home instead? And how much longer can the Eight Pack alliance play nicely before they’re at one another’s throats?
Girl Power or Nah?
It never takes long for the gender line to be drawn on BB, and Tiffany was the first to whip out a marker. Along with gal pals Bronte and Bridgette, Tiffany started “planting seeds” about Frank and her distaste for the BB returner. But Bridgette clearly wasn’t feeling the love because she immediately scurried upstairs to spill the news directly to Frank.
His thoughts: “If it was my decision, I’d send Tiffany home.” Please don’t sugarcoat it, Frank!
To make matters worse, Bridgette threw the possibility of an all-female alliance into the metaphorical fire when she smiled up a storm after Frank said he thought of her as a sister. Isn’t it early for sibling comparisons?
Welcome to the Alliance, Paulie! Kind Of
As Frank got antsy about Tiffany, he thought it was time to clue Paulie in. When the hunk of Calafiore wandered into his HOH room — where everyone’s just lounging without him — Frank spilled all the beans.
He then made the rounds and informed the rest of the Eight Pack about his decision to tell the current HOH everything. Paulie had been doing the Eight Pack’s bidding, after all.
But Da’Vonne privately flew off the handle about Frank’s loose lips: “[Frank] wasn’t worried about anybody else! Selfish ass.” She then teased a possible plan to oust Frank in the future: “Sometimes you have to keep the cat [Tiffany] in the house to catch the rat [Frank].” We dug that comparison.
The Eight Pack Splinters
We knew it wouldn’t last! As Frank and Tiffany secretly gunned for each other, every other member of the Eight Pack tried to solidify other alliances. Zakiyah came to Da’Vonne with the proposal to hook up with Paulie, Corey and Nicole.
Honest as ever, Da’Vonne’s thoughts about the idea didn’t disappoint: “She thinks Paulie’s cute, and Nicole’s in because she thinks Corey’s cute. Then I’m the fifth wheel!” Poor Da’Vonne broke into tears as the possible showmances of the season (finally!) presented themselves.
Operation Backdoor Complete
Although Julie Chen brought the mellow drama with her commentary, everyone was completely unsurprised by the elimination results. All the houseguests eagerly voted for Victor.
But the “Save Me” speeches were definitely a highlight of the evening. Bronte gave her parents a shout-out, Victor praised the positives of the BB house (tanning, laundry, etc.) in a Bronte-pitched voice and promoted his Instagram (@elfitvic), and Tiffany gave the BB ladies a helpful reminder: “You know I come with a hot commodity. Me and the hair straightener come as a package deal.”
A love bear until the end, Victor wanted a group hug after his elimination. He then chatted up Chen, who poked fun at his pitiful attempt at strategy and offered her best #SMH: “honesty in the Big Brother house.”
Chen also teased the Battle Back competition, again! But when are the ousted houseguests actually going to compete? Are we waiting until the first five are eliminated? Just give it to us already, Julie!
Bounce Those Balls
It took approximately five seconds for the next HOH competition to begin. This one was playfully tennis-themed, with sweatbands included. The houseguests — grouped into their teams — had to bounce balls on giant rackets aimed at a makeshift tennis net. After the ball hit the net, it then trickled down a slight decline into one of many slots labeled with a point value. If the player threw wildly, and the ball didn’t make it into a slot, he or she was eliminated. Lowest point value equaled elimination.
As anonymous production assistants scampered back and forth scooping up tennis balls, the houseguests were quickly whittled down to four: Bridgette, Tiffany, Paul and Natalie.
With Paul cheering, “Give me the friendship,” Natalie and Tiffany were soon knocked out. In an interesting face-off, Paul and Bridgette threw their final balls, and adorable Bridgette clinched the win! But who will the “Spy Girl” nominate?
Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
