Big Brother 26, Week 10 Review- Chelsie Dagger

After a week in the backyard, the houseguests were back inside the house to play the game as originally intended. They could sneak around, talk secretly, and plan their next moves. At least, that's what some of them did. Others opted to lay back and watch the rest of the house play the game. Those who chose to participate this week put together a plan that is designed to help one person succeed as the rest of the house fights for second place. The saving grace was that two houseguests were evicted, giving us twice the fun on Thursday night.

Jankie Dies and Zingbot Returns

I'm not sure I've ever seen the death of an animated robot play out so violently. I'm sure some young children were scarred for life from watching Jankie devolve and suddenly die in front of the houseguests. It paved the way for Ainsley's return as a villain, claiming responsibility for his death as she aims to further break the houseguests' spirits. The edit during Sunday's episode was spectacularly over the top in the best ways possible. I got a kick out of it, which I'm only slightly ashamed to admit.

Along with Ainsley's return came the return of the show's OG robot, Zingbot. Being roasted by Zingbot is a bucket list item for most superfans, so I'm sure some truly enjoyed this moment. Per usual, there were some good ones and some bad ones, but I leaned more on the positive side this year. Some of them were still lazy, like saying Kimo puts people to sleep, Leah's future lover is a "dummy chaser," or MJ is a 12-foot scary monster, even if her feet are permanently dirty. Cam's roast was surface-level but valid. My reaction to Chelsie's would've been more negative if the entire house hadn't responded with silence in front of her and astonishment in the DR. The limerick for Rubina was clever, sprinkling in a good "F"-bomb in the process. This season's winner for Best Zing goes to "Angela is Melting Down" simply because she "cried" after it. If she ends up winning the game, she'll get the last laugh, though she'll likely cry then, too.

Makensy's HOH Reign

If we're calling what Angela did to get Quinn out of the game "misting," then what Chelsie did to MJ this week to get Leah on the block was equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. In what world was this move best for MJ's game? She set herself up beautifully to be the most likely target during the double eviction. She was in one of the best spots in the house last week. With Chelsie pushing her so hard, MJ willingly tossed aside the person in the house who had been in her corner since Day 1. She wanted to get Angela out. She made that very clear. She didn't want to make this move, yet she went for it anyway. 

This Week's (First) Eviction

The edit tried to make it seem like Leah might have a chance of staying, but there was no chance that Chelsie was going to let it happen. We never got the full "Leah's Revenge" arc after Joseph and Quinn's evictions, even with her winning the HOH last week. She fumbled her Jankie HOH week, allowing her to become this week's victim. Chelsie had Leah in her sights all week and she was going to get her way. 

During the preseason, I called Leah a "diamond in the rough" to win the season. Obviously, she didn't win it, but she far surpassed my expectations of how I saw her before the game began. It felt like she was a background character for a good portion of the season before gathering some steam midway through as her storyline with Quinn picked up. Her game was far from perfect, but the same can be said for the rest of the house. She grew on me the longer she was in the house. Her being evicted on the 26th was very appropriate, albeit bittersweet. 

But Wait! There's More!

The double eviction kicked off with an intense HOH battle. Through five questions of the True/False quiz competition, Chelsie seemingly had it wrapped up. Rubina and Kimo were nowhere close, and Cam stumbled through the middle questions, leaving Angela as the only hope to challenge her. However, Chelsie was up by two with two questions left. Miraculously, Chelsie missed the last two questions and Angela aced them, leading to a tiebreaker. In true carrot-dangling fashion, Angela miscalculated how long Jankie was alive, allowing Chelsie to win despite a terrible guess herself. We knew immediately that Kimo and Angela were going on the block, with the latter being the target. Kimo chose an excellent time to win his first competition of the season, even if he wasn't in too much danger this time. At the very least, it allowed the veto streak to be extended. 

This Week's (Second) Eviction

I won't call myself Nostradamus for calling it, but I predicted that Angela would likely survive MJ's HOH only to be cut during the double eviction. It is well-documented how much I've wanted Angela out of the house, but she kept surviving the block. It took seven times for it to finally happen. Let me start by proclaiming that Angela added an immense amount of entertainment to the season. She has easily the best moment of the season with her Matt call-out during the first week. Her spiraling made for funny moments. She also had built an impressive resume, with a pair of HOH wins, a veto win, and three times being saved by the veto. However, I couldn't stand her. She came across as fake, which is ironic in a season focused on AI. My personality and hers would've clashed terribly. Her crocodile tears were never-ending. She made every moment about her, which was infuriating. Everything I disliked about Angela exploded on the screen during her exit interview with Julie. As frustrating as I found her, Angela left an impact on the game that won't soon be forgotten.

Week 11 Preview (WITH HOH SPOILERS)

With a steady hand, Makensy won the tiny stacking contest, ensuring another week as the HOH and a spot in the Final 4. Surely, she can't mess this up again, right? There are two ways to go about this week. The first is that MJ realizes that Chelsie is playing her and targets her, either straight up or as a backdoor option. The second is that she plays it safe, nominates Kimo and Rubina, and tries to evict Kimo, allowing Chelsie to skate through with a chance to make it to Finale Night. I'm not rooting for one over the other. I'd really like to see the first option, but Chelsie has the strongest case to win. Hopefully, MJ will prove everyone wrong and give us a good week.

The Final 5

With Leah and Angela being evicted last night, there were a lot of salty people on the internet saying the Final 5 were either unlikeable or boring, pointing out five evicted players who should've been there instead, namely Tucker, Quinn, T'kor, Leah, and Angela, with some sprinkling Joseph's name in, too. This Final 5 isn't unlikeable. This has been a largely likeable cast and these five are included in that mix. Sure, Kimo is more interested in singing than studying or strategizing. Sure, Cam has largely just been there. I think the problem is that Chelsie has been openly targeting Leah, a fan favorite after her tumultuous few weeks. MJ isn't the queen of personality, but her being a trainwreck is what makes her decent television. Rubina is underrated socially, making up for her inability to win competitions. You don't like that they evicted your favorites.