Explosive Veto Meeting Leads to Shocking Save

The “Hide-n-Go Veto” competition was back, which meant a House absolutely torn apart, people furious at their stuff being touched, and an epic win that set the stage for the wildest Veto meeting yet.

We also had to endure one of the most difficult moments of the entire summer as Angela — a Have-Not due to dropping from The Wall comp after just over three minutes — was forced to sit by while her housemates at her HOH charcuterie board from the previous week.

The music was maudlin, Angela was dramatic and emotional (what else is new), and the Houseguests just did not seem to care. It was a huge charcuterie board, though, so hopefully they saved her something. Otherwise, we’d have to kind of feel for her. Don’t make us do that!

Heading into the night, this week’s HOH Tucker had made it clear to the House that Quinn was his target, while cuing viewers at home via the Diary Room that he was actually gunning for Brooklyn. He, of course, told each of them they were the pawn, and told Quinn if he kept his mouth shut, he’d use the Veto on him (if he won it).

Well, Quinn and shut mouths go together about as well as Quinn and a buzzcut. He’d be playing a much stronger game if he just didn’t talk so much to so many people. We get that he’s trying to built trust — and keeps getting betrayed (Kimo & T’Kor) — but step gingerly.

As such, it wasn’t that long before Quinn revealed to Brooklyn that Tucker told him he was the pawn and her the target, with her sharing he’d told her and other nominee Cam the same thing. Well, you’ll never guess what happened. Brooklyn ran straight to Tucker.

Tucker’s plans to take out The Collective and The Pentagon, after Kimo and T’Kor exposed it all to him, were certainly working because Brooklyn shoved Quinn under the bus so fast you’d have never believed they were in any alliance together.

It’s a testament to Tucker’s power and influence in the game. He’s won way, way more than anyone — and he’s eliminated a lot of his competition threats. The A.I. Arena makes a backdoor virtually impossible and so Tucker is the most dangerous person in the game.

That makes him the scariest, too, so everyone wants two things. They want to get him out as soon as possible. They also want to be in his good graces just in case that proves impossible. So far it certainly has.

The Houseguests are going to need the power of clean after this week’s Veto competition. While they didn’t wreck the House as thoroughly as some past seasons, there was nevertheless some trash-throwing going on.

Brooklyn, in particular, fully admitted to taking some time during one of her search runs to throw around the clothes of Tucker and T’Kor as revenge for what’s happened to her game and their role in it. Everyone loves a House flip, except for the ones it’s flipped on!

It’s a devilishly clever game because it’s all about how well you can hide your own Veto, knowing that every player is looking for them. No one knows which Veto they find if they do find one, so strategizing in that way isn’t possible.

Now, any HG could move their Veto during the Search portion, and based on footage of some of these finds, we think that might have happened here. Brooklyn appeared to find a Veto in some cabinets, but it was one that had been hidden in a pillow. Cam found one in a bag, but was it the garment bag we saw it hidden in?

Nevertheless, it was all about how much you pay attention to your environment. We did find it kind of funny that Brooklyn, a mom, hid hers in Quinn’s dirty laundry as he quickly found it because she’d left it way too tidy. Just couldn’t resist that extra mom touch of cleanliness.

So Quinn knocked Brooklyn out first, followed by Cam finding Quinn’s that he’d hidden in his own suit garment bag. Tucker found the third one immediately by looking in a planter by the back door, eliminating Makensy.

Interestingly, despite his explosive gameplay, Tucker was perhaps the tidiest and most respectful searcher, followed by Quinn. Neither was keen to mess with other’s things, despite having their own things trashed.

Brooklyn found Cameron’s Veto, leaving Joseph’s and Tucker’s still in the House. Joseph had laughingly hidden his in Angela’s bag and then placed it obviously at the foot of her bag in hopes it would be found immediately. He’s been playing a very background game and did not want to win.

In the end, Cam came running out with the final Veto and it was Joseph’s. Tucker had very cleverly hidden his vertically behind two drawers, so you had to not only pull them out, but really look behind them. Honestly, this dude is good at like every kind of competition.

If BB doesn’t get rid of the A.I. Arena, and/or offer some kind of Battle Back, he could well run through this game. With two chances to win off the Block each week and a shot every other week at HOH, he’s set up for a very, very long run (while the first chance to take him out will happen).

Tucker spent the post-Veto competition time cleaning up his clothes and blaming Quinn for the mess, which Quinn did not cause. He’d earlier promised to use Veto on Quinn if Quinn could keep his mouth shut … which he could not. Now, he thinks he threw his clothes around.

Quinn kept denying it, but Tucker just wasn’t buying it. And Brooklyn was not saying anything, as she would much rather Quinn go home than her. Yes, The Pentagon has zero loyalty to one another now that T’Kor and Kimo blew up their spot in the House.

Admittedly, they don’t have much choice in the matter, either, as three of them are sitting on the Block, with Chelsie looking on nervously from the sidelines. She should be nervous, too, because Tucker is a pretty consistent wild card who can and will do anything.

At this point, he knows he’s a massive target, so he’s just going to go hard all the time for as long as he can. We’ll have to see how far it takes him. There are people flocking around him now, but that’s because they’re afraid of his power and control of the game.

He took full control this week, exposing The Collective and The Pentagon fully. He named names in an epic Veto speech (which you can read in its entirety below), and declared Brooklyn and Chelsie as the masterminds behind it all … which isn’t entirely true.

Before the meeting, Quinn had come to Tucker, again denied he’d touched his clothes, and then come fully clean about telling Brooklyn what Tucker had told him. He then learned she sold him out, which he said “hurt.” But the move earned him a smidgen of trust with Tucker.

It also earned him the Power of Veto, as Tucker decided Quinn as a snake operative on his side is better than him out of the House. Plus, as we’ve previously noted, he’s not that threatened by Quinn’s messy social game, and he’s beaten him in every comp so far.

With Quinn shockingly saved by his mortal enemy in this game, Tucker swapped one Pentagon member out for another, sending Chelsie to the Block. Now, no matter what, back-to-back Pentagon members will be leaving the house, after Cedric last week.

We do have to say that no one should try to use The Collective as an alliance name ever again. Angela blew up the first version of it for daring to invite her to be a part of it in Week 1, and now this! That name is poison for real!

As for eviction, Tucker clearly wants Brooklyn out. But will that happen? Last week, Cedric’s departure was an epic blindside and House flip to get out the strongest physical competitor on the Block. Kimo and T’Kor are trying to even the playing field to their level of athleticism.

We would be stunned if this group of Houseguests in particular doesn’t at least consider taking Cam out, since he’s on the Block. Yeah, he’s played a quiet game, but he’s really one of only two remaining perceived physical threats in the House, with the other the unstoppable Tucker.

Yeah, taking him out could make Tucker all the more unstoppable, but that hasn’t stopped the House from eliminating strong competitors week after week. It also hasn’t stopped Tucker from dominating them all, anyway.

T’kor Clottey (23, crochet business) and Kimo Apaka (35, mattress sales) are perhaps the most influential people in the game right now. But they’re also a very obvious duo. It probably won’t take long for the remnants of The Collective to know who flipped on them, which will immediately jeopardize their games. HOH’s will never be more important than they are right now with the House in total disarray (in more ways that one). [Grade: B-]

Tucker Des Lauriers (30, marketing/sales exec) just keeps making himself a bigger and bigger threat. Those working with him are going to be terrified to betray him because he is fearless in blowing up the game. But he’s making himself the biggest target in the game, and he can’t be impervious forever? Can he?! It’s effective now, but no long-term strategy. [Grade: C+]

Joseph Rodriguez (30, video store) is a little bit sneakier than anyone realizes, having a quiet hand in a lot of what’s been happening. He’s not playing any of his cards publicly, but he’s definitely playing the game. Aligning with Tucker is good for now, so long as no one finds out as he’ll then be the easier target to eliminate. [Grade: C]

Leah Peters (26, VIP cocktail) is still playing the game. No, really. She’s in there. Can you find her? [Grade: C]

Makensy Manbeck (22, construction pm) is definitely benefiting from everyone paying attention to the Tucker Show. You’re with him or you’re against him, so she’s quietly with him, at least so far as we see. Let him target The Collective and let them target him and his closest allies and hopefully they’ll forget all about her for a while. [Grade: C]

Rubina Bernabe (35, event bartender) is too closely tied to Tucker, due to their flirtmance, and it’s making her game incredibly precarious. If those not under his shadow of fear can’t take a shot at him if/when they gain power, they’ll take a shot at her. [Grade: C-]

Angela Murray (50, real estate agent) has basically reset her game and is mostly not drawing too much attention to herself. She’s in with Tucker and the Sixth Avenue alliance (w/ Rubina, Joseph, Kimo & T’Kor), which means she’s good to ride for a little bit, at least. But this House could flip completely over at any moment. [Grade: C-]

Quinn Martin (25, nurse recruiter) is actually benefiting his game by talking too much and being kind of bad at his game. It helps that he’s pretty well-liked and solid in competitions. The problem is that no one trusts him anymore, so he’s gotta work on that. His best bet would be to grab power and shift perceptions. [Grade: C-]

Chelsie Baham (27, nonprofit dir) is in a dangerous position, but we suspect this is more to scare her than to actually get her eliminated. The House is far more threatened by Brooklyn’s clever scheming and Cam’s physical power than Chelsie. But she’s on the radar, so will need to regroup and figure out how to salvage her game from the outside. [Grade: D+]

Cam Sullivan-Brown (25, physical therapist) and Brooklyn Rivera (34, business admin) are about a 50/50 toss of the dice when it comes to which is more likely to go home. Cam is one of the bigger, stronger guys in the House, and Cedric went last week. Brooklyn is a brilliant social player and extremely devious — plus Tucker’s original target. Honestly, at this point, we’d suspect the House to go with the safer bet and what they see as the bigger target, sending Cam out. [Grade: D]

(asides and comments — not necessarily strategic, but entertaining and sometimes revealing)

• “The three cutest people in the House on the wall. I get it.” –Quinn (after nominations)
• “If this doesn’t get out, bro, I’ll use the f–king Veto on you. I promise you that.” –Tucker
• “He told me I was a pawn.” –Quinn (that didn’t take long)
• “A pawn with who’s the target? Me?” –Brooklyn
• “Yeah.” –Quinn
• “I feel dagger stares from Angela.” –Brooklyn (about eating her HOH charcuterie)
• “Charcuterie is my freaking, f–king favorite!” –Angela (upset as Houseguests eat it)
• “I don’t care if I win.” –Joseph (doesn’t want to “kill this weak perception I’ve been accumulating”)
• “Not me closing the door.” –Brooklyn (taking extra time during competition)
• “Like the ‘Big Brother’ legend Brett said, defense wins championships.” –Brooklyn (about her Veto strategy of making a huge mess)
• “Oh Mylanta!” –Makensy (seeing her room)
• “Whoever wasted all that time grabbing my stuff and throwing it on the ground, you’re a scumbag. I don’t like people going through my stuff.” –Tucker
• “You think I don’t know how to hide stuff? I’m the youngest of three brothers.” –Tucker (after winning Veto)
• “Yeah, whoever did that to the clothes, unnecessary, Quinn.” –Tucker
• “Don’t put that evil on me.” –Quinn
• “I got one suspect, Quinn. I’m coming for you. You dirty little rat.” –Tucker (picking up his clothes)
• “Wrong, dude. I didn’t touch anyone’s clothes.” –Quinn
• “I have the power to Veto one of the nominations. Before I do that, I hope everyone is comfortably seated because s–t’s about to get really uncomfortable in here for a lot of people. So I know all about The Collective, all the eight people: Brookly, T’Kor, Chelsie, Kimo, Joseph, Cam, Cedric was in it, Quinn’s in it. I know you were all gonna kick me out last week if I was up there on the Block. And I know that there’s an even tighter-knit group within The Collective that is Chelsie, Quinn, was Cedric, Brooklyn, and Cam. And you know, you guys have a really good game, and I believe that it is Brooklyn and Chelsie that are the main ones in charge of that whole Collective and that tighter-knit group, so yeah, there’s a lot of liars and a lot of snakes here. So, with all of that said, I have decided to use the Power of Veto on Quinn.” –Tucker
• “It’s not a Tucker moment unless everything gets blown up.” –T’Kor
• “How did this game flip like that. What am I missing and who do I need to slap?” –Chelsie (after she’s the replacement nominee)

Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on CBS.