Big Brother 24: Week 5 Recap

Despite previously saying that he was ready to pack his bags once Nicole was evicted last week, Daniel dug in and fought this week. It didn't go well for him, but at least he fought. The Leftovers have been steamrolling the game for two weeks now and were looking to keep their momentum going for the third week. The core group remained intact for another week, but some cracks are beginning to form as uncertainty about the future of their games begins to set in. The other side of the house was left scrambling to keep one of their own safe this week and it was an unlikely face that was at the front of the efforts. 

From Muffingate to Cider-gate

Living in isolation with very few options when it comes to food, sometimes you get very possessive over food and drinks. This week's episodes featured two such occurrences. Muffingate technically started last week during Monte's HOH reign and it only aired as part of the show this week. The story goes that Jasmine set aside two muffins for herself in a plastic bag and left them on the kitchen table. Turner, her Festie Bestie, ate half of one of the muffins without her in the room. Jasmine would see that half of a muffin was gone and she was on the case. She spent the better part of a few days trying to track down who ate the muffin. She questioned everyone and tried to hide under the couch to spy on everyone, a plan that failed in every sense of the word. It's possible that she's since found out and it wasn't aired, but she's really bad at hiding. 

The other food "scandal" was far less serious and actually a little funny. Michael, as part of his HOH care package, had some hard cider sent that he kept in a cup in the fridge that only a few people knew about. There was one cup left and Alyssa drank it but denied drinking it to everyone. Indy went around asking everyone about it and got slightly testy with Joseph. She quickly realized it was Alyssa, who was very bad at hiding the fact it was her because she was pretty tipsy in the bathroom with some of the other houseguests. It wasn't anything too serious and it got a good laugh out of me because Alyssa's antics were a little funny. 

Look Who is Finally Getting TV Time

It took five weeks, but we got a decent amount of television time for Terrance this week. It's a shame it was him trying to stick up for Daniel. I get that he's trying to get some of the bigger people of the house, but Daniel isn't the horse you want to hitch your wagon to since he's made an enemy of almost everyone on the other side of the house. I've noted in the past few weeks that Terrance has just been there and hasn't done anything to stand out in the first five weeks. He's not won a competition left and the only reason he wasn't on the block last week was because of Monte winning the HOH. He's usually the first person out of competitions and now he's trying to mastermind a plan to keep Daniel in the game. It's a tough look for him but if that's the hill he's willing to die on, that's his game. 

Michael's HOH Week

If this game were won purely on competition wins, then Michael would be running away with this game. Michael was quicker than the rest of the houseguests as he navigated the balance beams to secure his first HOH win to add to his impressive pre-jury competition collection. This also secured Brittany's safety for the Festie Bestie pair that looked to be the most vulnerable heading into the week had a non-Leftover team won the power. While he said that he'd be doing what was best for his game, I can't help but feel the alliance played a huge part in his week in the HOH room. It started with Monte and Joseph pretty much putting themselves on the block to ensure as many members of the Leftovers would be able to compete in the veto competition, while Daniel's chances of getting picked would lessen to keep him open as a backdoor option. Michael was very vocal in private that he wouldn't mind sending Monte home if he had the chance should Daniel and Kyle win the veto and it felt like most of the alliance wasn't completely against it. 

The prospect of a Monte elimination got sweeter with Michael conquering OTEV and winning his fourth veto competition of the summer, tied for the second-most in a single season. With Michael wielding all the power, he had a choice to make. Everyone in the Leftovers was expecting Daniel and Kyle to be on the block. The rest of the house was pushing to keep nominations the same with the hopes of getting Monte out. It turns out, they might've wanted Monte out a bit too much because Terrance, Jasmine, Indy, Alyssa, and Daniel all went up to the HOH room in quick succession with the exact same pitch to get the bigger target out and Michael smelt something fishy. With the prospect of the five of them working together, Michael opted not to pull the trigger on Monte and stuck to the plan of backdooring Daniel, though he clearly saw it coming after last week's eviction. While I'd have loved to see a massive move, I respect the decision to stay loyal to his group and aim to get out the consensus target for the week. 

This Week's Eviction

The writing was clearly on the wall for Daniel this week. His best friend in the house was evicted last week, so it was only a matter of time before he was the next man out. Monte being a top-tier threat almost saved him for another week, but this was the move that needed to be made. Daniel had rubbed most of the house, and most of America, the wrong way with his outburst towards Taylor in Week 3, so he was going to be considered a pariah until he was eliminated. Much like with Nicole last week, Daniel didn't have the numbers to stay. The only people that would consider voting for him were Terrance, Jasmine, and Indy with Alyssa and the Leftovers keeping Kyle in a perfect world. He tried to go out with a bang by calling the entire house "clowns" and trying to paint a target on both Michael and Monte as if the rest of the house didn't already know they were threats. Also like the vote to evict Nicole, only one vote was cast in his favor as Jasmine, Indy, and Alyssa opted to vote with the majority alliance. Once Julie announced the 8-1 vote, he bolted for the door, only stopping to hug Terrance. The televised portion of his exit interview with Julie left some questions because he touted his loyalty to Palmoa as a reason for trying to target and evict Taylor, which is interesting since she was in the house for three days. I think Taylor got the last laugh though since he'll be keeping his promise to not speak to her until Finale Night. 

What Could Happen This Week (SPOILER FOR THE HOH COMP THAT WON'T AIR UNTIL SUNDAY)

Julie left us with a lot to unpack for the next week. First, the obvious news was that we have now entered the Jury stage of the game, meaning the 11 houseguests remaining will be on the stage for Finale Night either deciding who wins the game or making their case to win. Second, the Festie Bestie twist is officially over and everyone is back to playing their game as individuals. This is probably the best news for Turner since he is no longer responsible for Jasmine and can now get as far away from her as possible. They made for great television but much more of her would've likely sent him off the walls. Lastly, Julie announced a big twist for two weeks from now that is a lot in itself. Based on the reactions online, Survivor did something similar to this and as someone who hasn't watched Survivor, I'm not sure what to expect. It sounds like the house is going to be divided into two sides that are isolated from each other and two different games are going to be played at the same time. It will all culminate in a two-hour double eviction episode in two Thursdays with the second and third jurors two jurors heading to the house.

Sunday's spoiler isn't likely to be too much of a spoiler since the HOH competition was shown on the Live Feeds but America's prayers have been answered. Taylor outlasted everyone on the wall and was crowned the new HOH as the game entered its next phase, so she's the only person that appears to be safe for the time being. The competition seemed to be a bit shorter than other wall competitions, but that may have been because it seemed to be considerably harder than in previous seasons. Who she targets might be out of her control with the house divided, but I'd think Indy, Jasmine, Alyssa, and Terrance would be at the top of the list.