“It’s about time that someone made a big move,” says Cliff at the top of this episode, and he’s damn right. This season of Big Brother has been a slog of mediocre gameplay from the Gr8ful alliance and everyone else in the house, so Cliff’s potentially game-changing nomination ceremony on Sunday was more than welcome.
With Michie and Jack on the block, Gr8ful is trying to figure out what comes next. Tommy is an emotional mess, crying on Jack’s shoulder, and Christie is going around the house once again thinking out loud about her Diamond Veto power. She knows Michie will want her to use it, but she also knows that one of Gr8ful isn’t guaranteed to win the veto competition. That means she might hold on to the power until it can really benefit her game. The main takeaway is this though: Christie loves talking about this power.
I also love that at the top of this episode Michie is so mad. He does that petulant child thing where he gets all macho and tough when he doesn’t get what he wants. “If he wants the smoke, we’ll bring the smoke,” he says to Jack in regards to Cliff. He’s so serious and angry, and all because Cliff isn’t allowing himself to be manipulated anymore…at least for now.
Cliff has some new buddies anyways. Nick and Bella are both fully on his side now that he’s positioned himself against Gr8ful. The thing is, they really need to win the veto competition in order to get something done and get Jack or Michie out of the house. The looming Diamond Veto could be used, and Cliff isn’t sure they’d have the votes to get rid of whoever was left out of Jack and Michie.
That brings us to the competition. After Cliff picks some “have nots” for the week — Tommy, Kathryn, Christie, and Michie have to spend the week taking cold showers, eating slop, and sleeping in Camp Comeback — everyone assembles for the veto draw. Gr8ful wants as many players in the competition as possible. So, when Jack, Michie, Cliff, Sam, Holly, and Jessica all enter, Jack decides it’s time to use his Chaos Power and ask for a redraw. That leads to Sam, Kathryn, and Analyse getting chosen. In other words, nothing much changes. It’s not a terribly useful power, to be honest.
Sure enough, it’s Michie who gets it done. Jack and Sam are terrible at the competition, and Kathryn comes the closest to winning, but it’s Michie who manages to save himself, and potentially Gr8ful. But, because Christie told everyone about her power, suddenly the entire house is looking at her and wondering what she’ll do. Part of me really loves Christie because she’s quick to realize that Michie is being his usual domineering self and essentially bullying her into using her power. Another part of me thinks she’s a dummy for telling everyone about her power in the first place, and so she deserves whatever comes her way.
As it turns out, Christie has another play. She goes to Cliff and says that if he puts up Bella in Michie’s place after he uses the veto, she’ll be sure never to put him up for eviction. And guess what? Cliff agrees! The man who finally made a bold move simply goes back on it all. He abandons the trust he earned with Nick and Bella, allows Christie to keep her power, and gives Michie and Jack a free pass (presumably; things can still change, but I don’t think it’s likely) for the next week. My God, what a truly stupid move. Cliff had just shifted the game in his favor for the first time, and now he’s back to being a Gr8ful bootlicker, just happy to be here until he’s voted out. What an immensely frustrating way to end the episode.
Related content:
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Kemi says Bella and Nick preyed on weaker people in the Big Brother house
Evicted Ovi weighs in on if there is racism in the Big Brother house
Evicted David reacts to the ‘mob mentality’ in the Big Brother house
Julie Chen hosts as the houseguests battle it out.
Episode Recaps
Previous
S21 E13 Recap
Big Brother recap: Cliff follows up his bold move with a dumb one
By Kyle Fowle
S21 E12 Recap
Big Brother recap: Cliff makes a bold move
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S21 E11 Recap
Big Brother recap: Camp Comeback comes to an end
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S21 E10 Recap
Big Brother recap: Nicole unknowingly puts a target on her back
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S21 E9 Recap
Big Brother recap: Nick considers a bold move as HOH
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S21 E8 Recap
Big Brother recap: Michie thinks ‘this game just turned upside down’
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S21 E7 Recap
Big Brother recap: A houseguest gets bad news from home
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S21 E6 Recap
Big Brother recap: There’s a snake (or three) in the house
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S21 E5 Recap
Big Brother recap: Conflicted and evicted
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S21 E4 Recap
Big Brother recap: Things get messy when veto powers are on the line
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S21 E2 Recap
Big Brother recap: The premiere, part II
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S21 E1 Recap
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S20 E40 Recap
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S20 E37 Recap
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S20 E37 Recap
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S20 E7 Recap
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S20 E5 Recap
Big Brother 20 recap: A secret power could save a houseguest from the first eviction
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S20 E4 Recap
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S20 E3 Recap
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