Big Brother 26, Week 1 Review- Here We Go, AI-gain (I'm Sorry)

The new season of Big Brother has officially begun, and the week's antics were non-stop. There was not a dull moment once the live feeds kicked off after Thursday's episode. A new batch of 16 houseguests started their journey to finale night intending to win $750k, but one would lose their chance by the end of the week. Here's my recap of the first week of the new season.

Meet Ainsli, the "17th Houseguest"

One of the earliest teases for the season was that the house would be voting to allow a 17th person into the game during the premiere. Each group of eight was presented with a package showcasing Ainsli, a San Diego native whose life goal was to be on Big Brother. Ainsli needed five votes to enter the game, though she failed to convince either group to vote her in, getting four votes on Wednesday and just two on Thursday. However, the twist came when Ainsli was revealed to be a crude-looking blue AI model who will be the in-house host for most of the season. She hosted the first HOH competition of the season and will be responsible for passing information along to the rest of the house. Outside of her design, it's worthwhile for the house to have a figure that helps to move things along. Get used to seeing her face because she will be around for a while. 

Second Impressions

During my preseason post breaking down the 16 houseguests, I put together my power ranking for the new crop of hopefuls. With a week's worth of gameplay, I've gotten more time to know this year's players, and my thoughts have changed a little toward some. 

Rising- From a game perspective, Chelsie made the most of her downgrade by becoming a major part of several alliances. Cedric was right there with her, overcoming his downgrade to play a solid game to start the season. From a vibes perspective, Rubina was my star of the week, providing some great diary rooms, even if her game is still waiting to take off. I was wrong about Joseph being the season's villain, though he had a better week than my initial ranking suggested. I'm starting to come around on Kimo, especially after his win on Eviction Night.

Falling- I'll never place a Matt this high on my big board again. In just nine days, Matt etched himself as one of the worst players post-BB21 to ever play the game. Not only that, he brought Makensy and Leah down with him. Both women have a good chance of revitalizing their game with Matt out of the house, but they are focused on avenging Matt's eviction. Also, I never want to hear anyone compare themselves to Derrick again. Kenney has turned out to be a dud after touting a big game.

About What I Expected- Angela and Lisa were at the bottom of my preseason list for a reason. Lias was constantly getting under some people's skin with her edible glitter. Angela's tirades around the house made for incredible feeds but bothered me a ton. Quinn, Tucker, and Cam remain at the top of my board, and Brooklyn and T'kor are in the house, too.

Angela's HOH Week

We have an HOH reign worthy of Frenchie's opening week four years ago. Angela's time in the big bedroom was an absolute mess. Her paranoia was the star of the show. Every piece of information she received was immediately brushed away as low-budget acting. Everyone tried to work with her. However, she exits the HOH Room without a strong alliance because of her actions. 

Angela's time in charge will be remembered more for her outbursts than her gameplay. The greatest moment from the week was her ten-minute takedown of Matt in front of the entire house in the kitchen on Saturday morning. What started with an unsuspecting slow clap ended with Angela calling out "Crazy Eyes" for being aggressive toward her during a 1-on-1 and also digs at his appearance and a stray for Makensy. She also got into it with Kenney because of Kenney's willingness to throw his game away for Matt. Angela was on the receiving end of things, being confronted by Lisa, who was once a close ally of Angela's. Her time as the HOH has left her in a worse spot than she started, and she doesn't have anyone else to blame but herself.

Eviction Thoughts

Admittedly, this was the most boring of the three potential outcomes. Kenney being evicted would've allowed Matt to stay in the house and cause chaos after being targeted. Kimo being evicted would've been an epic blindside, though nothing leading up to Thursday suggested that it was a possibility. Kimo's initial nomination was a bit of a head-scratcher, to begin with. Still, this is the outcome that most non-casual fans wanted. Despite the episode's suggestions, Matt wasn't the victim in this story. To be clear, neither was Angela. 

He was so bad at this game. He assumed he had everyone on his side, playing the game without a clue of what he was doing. His "showmance" wasn't a real thing, no matter how much Big Brother wanted it to be. Matt was so convinced that he was running the house. In reality, he had four people really fighting for him, and he was sitting next to one of them on Eviction Night. This was the right move for the house to make, taking out a potential threat before his threat level could be fully realized. Again, his downfall was his own doing. 

Week 2 Preview (WITH HOH SPOILERS)

While she didn't intend to, Chelsie won the first competition she was eligible to compete in, earning the HOH key to lead the charge during the second week. As crazy as Week 1 was, Week 2 might be a little more straightforward. There are very clear targets to try and evict. Angela spent the entire first week failing to make any relationship. Lisa has rubbed many people the wrong way and was on the wrong side of the Matt vote. Kenney wants to quit the game. MJ has a power that could be flushed out. Leah also voted on the wrong side in Week 1. I think Lisa being the target makes plenty of sense, though Angela is who I'd like to see leave next. I'm not a fan of the Week 1 HOH revolving door to a Week 2 eviction, but I'll allow it this time.