Big Brother 24: Week 7 Recap

With the house divided into two simultaneous games, we were promised this would be a week unlike any other. That ended up being half true. While half of the house stuck to their guns and didn't stray from the plan, the other side decided it was time to shake things up. It was honestly a very sloppy week on many accounts and we'll dive into that here shortly. It was going to be interesting to see just how different this week would be. Different is certainly a word for it. A new mastermind seems to be making his way up the chain and it could lead to some waves being made in the coming weeks. 

RIP Leftovers

While I think technically those inside the house will stay together, the seven-person alliance might as well be considered dead for good. If this twist was meant to break things down, it succeeded. The death of the Leftovers came when Kyle exposed them to Terrance and Alyssa to try and keep himself safe and while it stinks for it to be over, this was the perfect time for it to happen. The house was divided. The people inside the house couldn't influence things. Kyle saw an opportunity to put himself in charge of his own game again and he jumped on it. Some people will call it a cop-out for Kyle to save himself. I think it absolutely was but even though I think Kyle deserves all the hate for his assumption that there was a "Cookout 2.0" between Joseph, Monte, and Taylor, I think this was a relatively good game move and it could set him up. As for the insiders, I'm not sure how much this new house dynamic is going to hurt them. I think they are stronger when it comes to competition but it'll come down to how blindly they trust the four people coming inside the house and whether they'll continue to try and work together with Kyle and Turner despite their betrayal. It was a fun ride and they got some of the toxic players out during the pre-jury, so it was ultimately a success. Now we get to sit back and watch the house of cards crumble. 

The Truth About Dyre Fest

I rarely talk about the Live Feeds because I'm not able to watch them much, but this week something happened that was hard to ignore even if you didn't watch them a lot. Early in the week, sometime between initial nominations and the veto competition, there was allegedly a wall yeller and it caused feeds to the outside to be cut for a very long time, sometimes for almost an entire day. This incident prevented us from seeing a lot of things that happened with the group, even if they weren't the most exciting. There is obviously nothing that the houseguests could do about it since they were going to be outside the entire time. This problem falls hard on production. With keeping a group of people outside for an entire week and with a history of wall yellers for even small times outside, it was strange that production did nothing to take any preventative measures when they first went outside on Thursday night. It's even stranger given that Kyle was in the backyard and the social media community for Big Brother doesn't like Kyle at all. We missed most of their week and it's a shame because it would've been cool to see more of them. 

Michael's HOH Week

As the season's first two-time HOH-winner, Michael's week was super easy. He picked an ideal side by taking Brittany and Taylor to protect, Jasmine as his target, and Monte as his backup within his alliance if Jasmine was able to take herself down. From the jump, Jasmine was going home and the fact that Monte was willing to go up as a pawn made it even easier. Brittany winning the POV was even better since she was going to do whatever he wanted with it. She decided not to use the veto on either Jasmine or Monte, ensuring that the vote would come down to two members of the Leftovers. Compared to his first week, this was a walk in the part for our resident competition beast. 

Terrance's HOH Week

Arguably the biggest surprise of the week, Terrance actually won a competition. Even more surprising, he won TWO. For as much grief as I'd given Terrance over the course of the first five or six weeks, DJ Showtime came to play this week. He technically finished second in the HOH competition, but he was still given safety for the week and control of the outsiders' game. He did what everyone in power should strive to do. He got all the dirt from everyone outside, especially from Kyle. He then won the veto, put Kyle on the block over Turner, then wanted even more dirt. He used his power to try and put himself in a good position when the houseguests come back together. I did find him getting annoyed with Joseph trying to campaign since he was responsible for putting him on the block, to begin with. I think that this was actually a good week for him. At the end of the day, he was going to get a big threat out of the game and that carries a lot for him. We'll see if not playing for the HOH this week is a bad thing. 

This Week's Evictions

I think we got two straightforward evictions that felt extremely telegraphed when the sides were picked after the HOH. The road to get Jasmine out was much easier for the insiders. They knew Jasmine was going to be the target from the start and it was reflected in Taylor and Brittany's votes to evict her. The road to get Joseph out was far less straight, but it never felt like it was ever in doubt. Terrance made it clear that Joseph was the target. Kyle got out ahead of everything to put Joseph in a bad spot. Kyle then got Turner and Alyssa on board to take Joseph out, and they both voted accordingly. For as much as we were hoping for some fireworks, we didn't really get that based on these evictions. 

What Could Happen This Week (SPOILER ALERT FOR THE HOH COMPETITION WE'LL SEE ON SUNDAY)

We get another week with a repeat HOH winner as Turner has secured power in the house for the second time. With the houseguests back together and a clear 4 v. 4 split among them based on where they were last week. We might get another shakeup and I'm actually excited about it. While I am more on the side of the insiders, this week looks like it'll be all about getting a big target out. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael and/or Monte see themselves on the block before the veto. You run the risk of having them both playing for it and winning it if they both go up initially, so Taylor could find herself on there as well. I think Monte is going to end up being the main target and it is very likely he'll be out the door next Thursday. Outside of that, I'm interested to see if things stay split evenly or if some cracks start to show already. This is going to be a good week, I have that feeling. 

Updated America's Favorite Houseguest Ballot After 7 Weeks

Following the Week 3 Eviction, I put together a quick look at my ballot for America's Favorite Houseguest. With half the houseguests now gone, I've decided to update it and give my current thoughts. The numbers in parentheses will indicate their movement since Week 3. 

1. Taylor (-)- While I don't think her stranglehold on this top spot is as strong four weeks later, she's still one of the easiest people to root for and I'm hoping we see her in the Final 2.

2. Brittany (+7)- She's probably made the strongest positive impression on me since the beginning of the season as one of the few people that is truly kind and compassionate. 

3. Joseph (-)- I hate that he's gone now because there was no one more loyal than him, which might have actually been his major downfall and it did make me a little frustrated this week. 

4. Michael (-2)- I've never been a huge fan of players trying to be on both sides so while he falls down just a little, but it's hard to deny how well he's played so far. 

5. Turner (+7)- I think he would've been higher if I did this last week but since he's in with Kyle, I'm keeping him here though hope isn't lost just yet. 

6. Monte (+2)- He's another person I've come around on and seeing him apologize to Taylor in recent weeks makes me feel like he truly has remorse for some of the things that happened. 

7. Alyssa (-2)- The snark she showed to Joseph this week notwithstanding, I still don't completely hate her despite her showmance with Kyle. 

8. Ameerah (-2)- She's been out of the house for a while, so there hasn't been much of a chance for her to move anywhere. 

9. Terrance (-2)- DJ Showtime had a good week as HOH, but I haven't been a huge fan of his game and the people he has aligned himself with.

10. Indy (-)- I never really warmed up to her because of her early gameplay and seeing her leave the house was fun for me. 

11. Jasmine (-)- While I did sometimes get a kick out of her deep Southern-ness, I found her extremely annoying and I'm happy she's now in the jury house. 

12. Pooch (+3)- Don't let the +3 fool you because that's more a result of everyone else below him getting worse in the weeks after he left. 

13. Kyle (-9)- He very quickly fell down my board in the last two or three weeks because of his misguided and blatantly offensive views on how the game is being played. 

14. Nicole (-1)- I'm still glad she's gone and won't influence the game with her eviction being the perfect storm of just desserts. 

15. Paloma (+1)- I'm not sure if my viewpoint on her has gotten softer or if my hatred for Daniel is so strong that she's no longer in the bottom spot. 

16. Daniel (-2)- How he acted towards Taylor and everything he's tried to say to justify it has made me sour and I don't see him leaving this spot.