This is a recap of Big Brother Season 24 Week 1
GET TO KNOW YOU
After the HoH competition is over, the houseguests gather in the living room for the typical round-table “get to know you” speeches. There’s not much to tell from this, except that both Michael and Brittany lie about their occupations, hiding the fact that they are a lawyer and a hypnotherapist, respectively. Paloma is quick to judge Taylor for saying that she was a beauty queen, and therefore is going to be perceived as fake and robotic. Taylor hasn’t shown herself to be that way yet, but if Paloma is thinking it, she’s likely not the only one. Taylor might have some ground to cover on the social front.
TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT
One of the fun aspects of the Big Brother game is the “have not” room. People who stay in the have not room must live in uncomfortable conditions, take cold showers, and only eat “slop” (a bland oatmeal) for the week. As Head of Household, it is Daniel’s responsibility to name four people as have nots. Monty, Michael, Joseph, and Kyle stupidly volunteer to be have nots. Why is this stupid? First of all, being a “have not” sucks, it’s no fun. Second, it does not grant you the good favor with the house that you think it does; people forget about those good deeds real fast. Last, it prevents Daniel from getting extra blood on his hands. One of the few drawbacks to Head of Household is having to nominate people for the have not position. Next week, those people might be a little bitter and jaded toward Daniel, and if your name isn’t Daniel, that is a good thing for you. Nobody can be bitter about volunteering themselves.
DAY 1 ALLIANCES
Meanwhile, Daniel does what a good first HoH should do, he tries to lock down a number one ally right away. He singles out Nicole, which is a smart move. They both seem to be pretty level headed and more of the “alternative” types. They should be able to work together nicely and have each other’s backs. Obviously it’s too soon to tell, but this is an alliance that could work VERY well together, for a long time.
The “Scorpio Sisters” Alyssa and Palmoa have also bonded over their mutual “backstage” status. They seem to get along well, they both love sleeping in their makeup and talking smack about people behind their back. They, along with Brittany, Jasmine, Indy, and Ameerah have noticed that Taylor tends to hang out with the boys more, and they are nervous that the guys and Taylor are going to run the house and pick all of them off. Seems like a bit of a quick jump, but the six of them band together and promise to have each other’s backs til the end. Spoiler alert: this alliance will fall apart within the first 4 weeks
FIRST NOMINATIONS
Despite Paloma’s best efforts to sway Daniel to put up with Taylor (her perceived nemesis), Daniel picks Terrance and Michael. Michael’s boilerplate Big Brother speech of “Don’t put me up now and I won’t put you up later” didn’t resonate with Daniel. He knows it is a work and isn’t falling for it. However, Daniel’s reasoning for Terrance doesn’t make sense. He says Terrance is a pawn, but anybody who watches Big Brother should know that pawns AND the oldest people in the house tend to be evicted quickly. Terrance is the worst possible choice for a pawn. If Daniel really wanted Michael gone, he should have chosen someone else to sit next to him.
ABOVE THE RADAR
The next episode of BB begins with both nominees talking to HoH Daniel, who continues to just feed them the same lines he has been doing all week. The 6 woman alliance is happy they’ve avoided the block, but three of the six of them still have to deal with the “Backstage” twist that we aren’t fully privy to. Everybody who isn’t nominated seems to be doing a good job of blending in and staying below the radar…except Taylor. The former Miss Michigan decides to bring out her dresses and gowns that have so much sequins on them, Ric Flair would blush. She then parades around the house in her outfits and tells the rest of the houseguests “When I win HoH, I’m wearing this the entire week.” If Taylor doesn’t figure out a way to get in good with a few of the girls, she will be target #1 as soon as a female wins Head of Household.
VETO COMPETITION
Before the contestants are chosen for the Power of Veto, Michael tries to find some allies who would be willing to use the veto on him if they play and win. He’s met with a whole lot of nothing, and it is very obvious to Michael that his only chance at survival is winning the veto himself. The people chosen to play alongside Daniel, Terrance, and Michael are Indy, Ameerah, and Turner. For Michael, this seems to be a pretty good draw. None of the more athletic people got chosen.
The competition has a medieval vibe to it, complete with a feast! The players will compete head to head, on a mechanical horse, and try to collect as many rings with their “floppy lance” as possible (insert your own floppy lance joke here). After three passes, the player with the most rings advances to the next round.
Turner and Indy are first up, and it is quickly apparent that this competition is not as easy as it seems. The lances are very difficult to control, and even if you get a ring on the lance, it’s very easy for them to fall off. Indy wins the first matchup 5-4, and Turner is eliminated. Ameerah and Terrance face off next. Apparently in a past life Ameerah was an expert jouster, or perhaps just a Renaissance Festival performer, because she put a beatdown on Terrance 7-2. So far the girls are faring better than the guys in this competition.
The last matchup of the first round is by far the most intriguing. Daniel, the HoH, is going up against Michael, his primary target for the week. Michael jumps out to an early 3-1 lead. After the second pass, Daniel closes the gap to make it 5-4. The final pass proves how much Michael wants to be here, winning the contest 9-7. He’s in great shape to win this whole competition.
Because Michael scored the most points in the first round, he gets a pass in the second round, so the second round sees Ameerah defeat Indy 12-6, and our final matchup is set. Ameerah wants to win to keep nominations the same, so one of the people in her “girl’s girls” alliance doesn’t get nominated, and Michael is obviously fighting for his life. After round one, Michael and Ameerah are tied 3-3. They kick up the intensity and each score 5 rings on their second pass. They are tied 8-8 going into the final pass. At the final pass, they are still tied, 12-12. DRAMA! A final pass is needed, and Michael pulls it out, with a final score of 16-15. Michael has won the first Power of Veto and will be able to save himself for at least one week! Daniel now has to figure out a plan B.
PALOMA VS TAYLOR
So, this might be Daniel’s HoH, but Big Brother Season 24 Week 1 has clearly been a battle between Paloma & Taylor. Taylor enters a room where Paloman and a few of the “girl’s girls” are talking. Paloma expresses her concern about the guys joining up and targeting the girls. Taylor gives her very little in response, and instead goes and tells Monty what Paloma said. Monty and Joseph then get Paloma in a room and she denies everything, and does a pretty good job of spinning this back to make it looks like Taylor is the snake in the grass, when really it’s been Paloma this whole time. The only glimmer of hope for Taylor is the fact that Nicole (Daniel’s #1 ally) isn’t completely buying Palmoa’s story. If Daniel does not put Taylor up as the replacement nominee, you can expect this drama to continue, and we as fans are HERE FOR IT!
REPLACEMENT NOMINEE
Remember what I said about Taylor not cracking the first time someone comes after her? Yeah, I was wrong on that. Taylor realizes she’s the target of many people in the house, and breaks down at the thought of being backdoored on week one. This thought comes to fruition, because at the veto ceremony, Michael takes himself off of the block and Daniel chooses Taylor as the replacement nominee. During the speech, Daniel says that Taylor is the target of the house more so than him, and she should take this opportunity to apologize for things she’s said and done. Taylor will have to do some serious work to stay in the house.
FAKE. FAKE. FAKE.
After the veto ceremony, Taylor is obviously devastated by what the house thinks of her, and Paloma of all people pulls her aside to tell her “you shouldn’t have told people you’re a pageant queen because they make stereotypes and it’s awful…just be your true unapologetic self and it will get you far in this game. If you have one friend out of this house, it’s me.” Really, Paloma? Really? You were the one who made the first judgment and made it your personal mission to get Taylor out. You’re doing a great job at it, but don’t act like you’re not the fakest person in this house.
DAMAGE CONTROL
Taylor begins her tour of the house to figure out why she’s public enemy #1, and she starts with Ameerah and Brittany. Ameerah relays what she thought happened between Taylor and Monty. This lets Taylor know that this is a really big deal and she needs to do damage control with pretty much everybody. She starts by explaining what her true intentions were to Monty, that she simply thought he should reassure Paloma that he’s not coming for the girls. However it seems to be too little too late, as Monty has decided he’s loyal to Paloma and not Taylor. This is a huge mistake that Monty is making, but it seems like that’s a lesson he’s going to have to learn a few weeks from now. After Monty, Taylor goes back to Paloma to try to talk to her and Paloma says she’d rather just go to sleep than hear Taylor out. This girl is something else.
BRANCHING OUT
It’s been about seven minutes since Paloma has strategized with someone, so of course she starts going off and making side alliance with people. First, with Pooch, Monty, Kyle, Ameerah, and Alyssa, but after talking with Monty and Kyle, they think Pooch is too talkative, and Michael would be a better choice. Better hope Pooch doesn’t find out he’s getting screwed!
Meanwhile, Brittany is paranoid over what this “Backstage” twist is going to entail, so she tries to get in as tight with Pooch as she can, and she tells him that Ameerah has thrown his name out there. Pooch immediately tells Ameerah and now Ameerah is thinking this side alliance she made like 2 minutes ago might be the better way to go. What did we learn from this? Girls alliances never last!
OUT OF NOWHERE
So after pulling all the strings from a “backstage” position, the stress and anxiety of the Big Brother game became too much for Paloma to handle, and she chose to leave the game. This is a huge surprise because she seemed to be in a very good position with everybody in the house, and was looking like a front-runner to possibly win the whole thing. It is disappointing, because she was such a good character, definitely the “love to hate” character of the season, but mental health is more important than TV ratings so Paloma did what was best for her and exited the game. Here’s hoping she’s able to find peace outside of the house.
This throws everything for a twist, because Julie tells the houseguests that the original plan was to have one of the backstage contestants face off against one of the two people on the block, with that person going home immediately. However, since Paloma was a backstage person herself, and chose to exit the game voluntarily, nobody else will be eliminated this week. In perhaps the greatest stroke of irony the game has ever seen, Paloma’s voluntary departure is the reason Taylor will remain in the game.
HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD PRELIMINARY
The players head to the backyard to find two identical obstacle courses waiting for them. Julie informs them that they will be facing off head to head, and whoever completes the obstacle course first will be advancing. The first two houseguest to face off are Pooch and Michael. Despite Pooch having the athletic background, Michael DESTROYED the obstacle course. Between his veto performance and the first round of the HoH competition, it’s clear that he’s perhaps the biggest physical threat in the house. Taylor, Joseph, Ameerah, Jasmine (who twisted her ankle at the end of the competition) Kyle, and Monty all advanced, beating Alyssa, Indy, Brittany, Terrance, Turner, and Nicole respectively. The winners will face off in a separate competition later to determine the new Head of Household.
