We begin where the last episode left off, with the houseguests reacting to Ava’s three nominees. Keanu was used to being on the block (this was his fourth consecutive time), but Vince and Zach were experiencing the feeling for the first time. Vince had tried to keep himself out of harm’s way by breaking down in [fake] tears in front of Ava’s closest allies, Rachel and Will, but it was all for naught. Meanwhile, Zach was surprised to hear his name
called, considering that Ava had promised him safety after she won HOH.
David vs. Goliath
Ava came clean to Zach after the ceremony that she did originally feel like she wasn’t going to nominate him, but that “frankly it just changed.” She apologized to him and said that she thinks he’s strong enough to win the Veto. Meanwhile, Vince referred to his position on the block as “David vs. Goliath” when he faces Zach and Keanu for the Veto, but Zach, Vince and Morgan were thrown off that Mickey didn’t seem that upset that their “Melting Pot” alliance was in harm’s way. Not knowing for sure if Mickey was responsible for the guys being on the block, they figured that Morgan would have to play for the POV and win to ensure she doesn’t go up as a renom.
Unlike Zach and Vince, Keanu understood why he was nominated and promised her a “clean slate” between them because now they can consider themselves even with each other. Ava knew that because of their fight, Keanu had to go up for the optics, but ultimately she wants to work with him going forward after her real target, Vince, goes home.
Loose Lips Sink Pots
With their back against the wall this week, the Melting Pot was spilling all over the house. Morgan, unaware that Ashley and Will are close to Ava (and Mickey), communicated that she’s upset at Ava for putting up “shields” Zach and Vince, not understanding that they know how close she is to those two guys. Naturally, Ashley and Will ran to Mickey to tell her what Morgan said and then Mickey took it to Ava, riling up the HOH to want to potentially put Morgan up in the renom chair if someone comes down from the Veto. Despite telling Ava about what Morgan was saying about her, Mickey did not want Ava to put Morgan up as a renom. While Mickey was able to keep Ava from putting Ashley up on her behalf, Ava was not willing to do the same for Morgan now that she knows she’s going around the house putting a target on her back.
Vince wanted to solidify his bonds in the house by reaching out to Keanu where they made the odd plan of having Keanu win the Veto and take Vince down instead of himself. Keanu felt like he’s confident enough that he can win the BB Block Buster and so taking down Vince wouldn’t be a risk for him and then he’d have a strong ally still in the house to continue to work with him next week.
POV or Punishment?
The players chosen to compete for the Veto were Will and Katherine, both picked directly by Ava’s draw. They joined Ava and the nominees in “Elusive Target,” a round-based comp where they slid discs along a board hoping to score high enough on the disappearing zone to remain in the game. Each eliminated player in succession got to choose a prize/punishment briefcase, one of them being the Golden Power of Veto.
Will was eliminated first and got the Golden Power of Veto as his prize. Keanu was eliminated second and got the Partners in Crime punishment, but swapped that to Will and took the POV. Zach was eliminated third and got the London Vacation prize, but swapped that to Will and took the Partners in Crime punishment off his hands. The act of kindness endeared Will to Zach and he went as far as saying that “Zach has got a number in me” in the Diary Room later.
Ava was eliminated fourth and got the Butt-ler Did It punishment, but swapped that to Keanu and took the POV for herself instead. In the final round, Katherine knocked Vince out and earned the right to choose any of the six prizes for herself. Vince got $5,000 as his prize, but swapped it to Ava in order to nab the POV. Katherine surprised Vince by choosing to steal the POV from him instead of the money or vacation, leaving him with the Hard Boiled Detective punishment. As a result, Will and Ava earned prizes from the comp, Katherine protected her own interests by claiming the POV, and all three nominees received punishments. Vince has to dress like an egg detective for the week, Keanu has to dress like a butt-ler serving pigs in a blanket for the week, and Zach and his chosen partner Rachel had to compete in a 12-hour challenge that left them blue in the face.
Blue and Red in the Face
After Rachel and Zach were released from their blue dye prison, Ashley confessed to Rachel that there was a Day 26 conversation she was a part of with Morgan, Mickey, Vince and Zach where it was discussed that they don’t want Rachel to make it far in the game and would prefer her to be on early jury or pre-jury. The disclosure lit a fire in Rachel because she interpreted it as people she trusts and has been playing with as not including her in their end game.
Later, when Morgan wanted to talk to Rachel in the storage room to throw Katherine and Rylie’s showmance under the bus, she made the mistake of telling Rachel that she wants her on the jury. That was the opening of the door Rachel needed to lay in on Morgan for the house talking about her longevity behind her back. She reminded Morgan that she’s played twice and won the game, highlighting that she’s “heard better, played with better.” She threatened that if her group thinks they’re putting her on jury then they’re “crazy” because she intends on sitting in the final two chairs at the end and the house of “newbies” are no match for her.
Katherine’s POV: Point of View
Zach’s charitable move during the Veto comp to gift Will the trip to London earned him points with both Will and Ava who felt like they could pay him back by convincing Katherine to remove Zach from the block so that Ava would put Morgan up in his place. Following her blowout with Morgan, Rachel weaponized the information to let Katherine know that Morgan is coming for the showmance in the house, hoping that it would push her in the direction of using the Veto.
In the meeting of minds between Katherine and Ava about what to do with the Veto, they “highly insinuated” through indirect references to who wouldn’t go up as a renom that Morgan would be the one to go up if Katherine were to use it. Ultimately, Ava impressed upon Katherine that she earned the Veto and will respect whatever decision she makes for the use of her power.
At the Veto ceremony, Katherine and Zach both had a decision to make. Katherine decided to keep the nominations the same, leaving all three original houseguests on the block. That left Zach with the decision on whether or not he’d use his $10,000 prize won earlier in the season to bribe Ava to remove and replace him on the block, but like Katherine he opted out of executing any power this week. He figured that Morgan would go up in his place and so he protected her from that and vowed to put in the work to ensure that he has the votes to stay regardless.
