Big Brother 24: Week 9 Recap

The anticipation was already running wild in the Big Brother community for a classic Double Eviction episode and it delivered on all fronts. While the houseguest might not have known what was going on, everyone outside of the hoes did and we knew it was going to get spicy. Before we could get to the jamp-packed second hour of Eviction Night, we had an entire week to stew on the first person that would be evicted. We saw the returns of some popular staples in the Big Brother game and it made for some great conversation. There is a lot to unpack about this week, especially how it ended. This one might be a week for the books. 

Zingbot and BB Comics Return

The anticipation for Zingbot is talked about from the onset of the game. Everyone wants to be in the hoes when he arrives as he roasts the houseguests with his patented "zings". In classic Big Brother fashion, we as the audience knew he was coming, but the excitement on the houseguests' faces when Julie announced he be dropping by was fun to see. He usually is there to host a competition, more often than not a veto competition, but this was more of a cameo for Zingbot since he showed up right after the HOH competition for the week. I have to be honest, this season's zings landed a little flat for me. It was largely surface stuff, like Michael's looks and Terrance's age, or things that felt out of nowhere, like Monte being boring. He called Taylor "cold", which feels like a ginormous reach since she's one of the nicest people in the house. I do think that his comment about Brittany's crazy eyes was funny, but his comment on Alyssa being deadweight was hilarious. It's probably the truest zing he had all night and while it was mean, it was accurate and those make for the best punches. 

We also saw BB Comics return for the classic veto competition. Turner seems genuinely salty that he wasn't picked to play in it, especially after Terrance had the chance to pick him and he chose Taylor instead. As a comics fan, I tend to enjoy this more than Zingbot because it allows for a little more creativity. We got 15 comics this season with Paloma being the only person not to receive one. The best ones are always the comics that stay true to some aspect of the player and either their personality or game style. Overall, I'd say there were more misses than hits, but that doesn't necessarily mean I hated them. There were some clearly lazy attempts, like Pooch just being a dog, Alyssa being Mall-lyssa despite not being much of a shopper, or whatever Ameerah and the beer connection was. I think Terrance and Taylor tried to crack the Britt-flea comic, but I think they overthought it and it wasn't all that clever. They didn't try with Joseph because he wasn't even given a clever name. They just saw him as a guy with great abs. Then there is Daniel and Nicole and I just didn't care for theirs. Then there are those that had some redeeming qualities. I think that Monte's comic was stupid but I appreciated the artwork and all the Easter Eggs that the cover had. Kyle's cover was clearly more focused on the pun, but I think the tagline was at least funny. Indy's comic was a little more nuanced than anticipated, playing off her being Brazilian while also showing her love of candles which wasn't clear to me. Turner had a comic accurate to his rug-making, though the "Turner needs to shower" bit was overdone this week. I liked DJ Snowtime a little more than I expected too. The clear winners were Taylor's homage to potato chips, Jasmine being the Sprainiac, and Michael as the Copy Cat. They all fit into everything that we've come to know about them. 

Welcome to the Jury

We got our first jury segment of the season with Jasmine, Joseph, and Kyle all joining Indy in the Jury House. We didn't see much of the week that the first two left because the main course was seeing Kyle walk through the backyard and join the group. Joseph was initially really happy to see him join the group, while the rest of us knew the situation and could tell things were about to change. They played the tape of Turner winning the HOH and everyone was shocked as they made the connection between Turner winning and Kyle ending up on the jury. It was even more of a shock when they saw Turner put Brittany and Taylor on the block. Kyle then talked about his theory about there being a Cookout 2.0 and while Joseph and Jasmine were both upset and frustrated, I was very surprised that Indy took it the hardest. She actually walks away for a little bit while Kyle talks to Jasmine and Joseph. I wasn't a fan of the edit about them focusing on Michael and Brittany's timing, but I would expect nothing different from Big Brother. Clearly, the thought of them working together was outrageous and they said as much. By the end of it all, Kyle seemed to take responsibility for his actions and Joseph was the only one that was going to need some time to think it all over. I really enjoy the jury segments and while this didn't turn out to be the hard-hitting expose on Kyle's game, it was still cool to see those that were out of the game. 

Michael's HOH Week

While we all know what happened later, I think Michael's third reign was very telling of what his major flaw in the game was. He won his third HOH of the season and instead of breaking his word to Turner, he opts to go the easy route and puts Alyssa and Terrance on the block with the intent of sending Terrance home. All week, Brittany was trying to put in the work to change Michael's mind about keeping Turner safe. Then Michael won his sixth veto of the season, breaking the all-time single-season veto record and tying Janelle's single-season competition record with his ninth overall win. Brittany continued to push for Turner to go on the block, but it would ultimately fall on deaf ears. Michael declined to use the veto and kept his nominations the same. In Michael's three reigns as HOH, he failed to make a huge move. In his first reign, Daniel left after being the easiest target for the week. In his second reign, Jasmine left during the split after he purposely picked her to be the target. In his third reign, he refused to take out a bigger threat and settled for someone unlikely to win a competition. I thought Michael played the game the best overall to this point, but he built his own bed and was forced to sleep in it by the end of the night. 

The First Eviction of the Night

Terrance leaving the house was largely long overdue. He probably should've been out of the game a lot earlier but survived to this point. While I still think Michael made the wrong decision at the end of the day, I'm happy that Terrance left the house over Alyssa. I've hated Terrance's gameplay since he decided to side with Daniel and go on a tirade against Taylor for weeks despite not doing anything to him personally. History is going to remember him as being on the wrong side of several alliances for a few weeks and ultimately tanking his game. He left the house by taking jabs at Michael and Taylor during his final speech and his interview with Julie as he also talked about loving Daniel and Nicole. I'm happy he's gone and I hope the jury doesn't buy any of the mess he tries to spew at them. 

Turner's HOH Night

With Terrance walking out of the house, the night wasn't over just yet. In classic Double Eviction fashion, we then had to play an entire week of Big Brother in less than an hour. It started with a video competition where they had to answer questions about laser patterns on a screen. It got close at the very end, but Turner was able to guess the correct answer on the final question to pull away and win his third HOH of the season, tying him with Michael. This would set an entire plan in motion that would shake up the game. He nominated Alyssa and Brittany initially, but the hope was that either he or Monte would win the veto to put Michael up in Alyssa's place. As fate would have it, Monte would deny Michael his 10th win and win his first veto of the season to do exactly that. Michael was put up in Alyssa's place and would be sitting next to Brittany with the likelihood of the season's competition beast going home even greater. Turner made the biggest move of the season and it could be a huge move should he make it to the end. 

The Second Eviction of the Night

The season is officially back to being wide-open as Michael was sent out of the house unanimously by Monte, Taylor, and Alyssa. This doesn't come as a huge surprise since he was clearly the biggest threat in the house at the time. Michael tried his hardest, throwing Brittany under the bus in his final speech, but it was too little too late. I think he knew this was coming and when he didn't win the veto competition, it was pretty much over for him. It would take a hail mary at the very end, but it would come up short. Say what you want about his game, but he will forever be remembered as one of the best competitors to ever play the game. He broke and tied two records that had stood for 16 years without being touched. He played a smart game strategically in pretty much every week that he wasn't the HOH. He had some power almost every week this season. He was truly amazing to watch. People will chastise him for what happened to Kyle, but that doesn't tarnish his season for me. The right person went home this week and the season will be better for it. 

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

Things likely just went from bad to worse for the women in the house. Monte rode the momentum of his veto win into the HOH competition and is in charge of the game for the second time this season. This was a perfect HOH for him to win as it ensures he'll be in the Final 4 and even though he won't be competing in the next HOH, the veto competition in the Final 4 is more important since it dictates who will make the vote next week to create our group for Finale Night. Monte winning also means that unless he makes a huge move and targets Turner as a huge threat, one of the women will be going home. More specifically, I think Brittany and Taylor have a lot to worry about. I would think Taylor is seen as the bigger target among the three remaining women since she likely wins the game if she's in the Final 2, but I wouldn't be surprised if Brittany ends up heading to the jury house at the end of the week. This is another week where the veto competition will be important. Monte and Turner have positioned themselves very well for the time being, so they control what happens now.