Big Brother recap: Daniel finds himself alone heading into this week's HOH competition
While last week's eviction ceremony on Big Brother didn't end up being the total blindside we thought it might be — as the week progressed Nicole became aware that she was likely going home — there's certainly more than enough aftermath in this episode to make up for the lack of drama last Thursday.
In the wake of Nicole leaving, Daniel basically has a full-on meltdown. Now, he's not exactly doing your typical yelling and screaming, but instead doing the very Daniel thing of throwing out backhanded compliments that essentially shame the players for, you know, playing the game. First he plays Disappointed Dad with Alyssa, telling her he had "higher expectations" for her, and that he just thought she was a smarter player than this, and it's so condescending and so gross.
Then, in front of everyone, he starts telling Monte how after this move he's the best player in the house and that he's going to win the game because he's so good at manipulating people to do what he wants. Through all of this he keeps smiling, laughing, and saying that he doesn't mean it as an insult, that he "respects the gameplay" as a player and a fan of the show. The whole thing is him acting like an entitled toddler who didn't get his way, and while it's incredibly annoying it's also fantastic reality TV. I love watching players who get the rug pulled out from under them in a game whining about how it's just not fair to them. Boo hoo.
As if that's not enough, we get a little look into yet another person who's difficult to live with in the house. Jasmine is clearly getting on everyone's nerves, and a chunk of the episode is spent showing how she's not only milking her previous ankle injury for attention and sympathy, but also going around the house desperately trying to find out who ate half of a muffin she saved for herself. Honestly, if I had to live with Daniel, Jasmine, and a few of the already evicted houseguests, I think I would have already self-evicted myself by now. I would have packed my bags and with a swift "nope, not today, Satan," and I'd have been out that door.
Alright, now that we've settled all the drama, let's talk about the gameplay. Daniel knows he needs to win HOH this week, and when he's the first through the balance course competition it's looking like he's in good shape. He moves pretty quickly, clearly fighting for his life. But then Michael is up next and absolutely demolishes his time. After that, no one can beat Michael, and he once again wins a competition, his fourth of the season so far. What a beast!
You'd assume there wouldn't be much need to strategize. The Leftovers want Daniel out, he's totally isolated in the house, and that makes him an easy person to backdoor this week without making any waves. The alliance barely even discusses who to target, instead moving to who should be the pawns for the week, with Monte making a pitch that it should be him, Joseph, and Terrance on the block as a way to put the rest of the house off the scent that they're working with Michael and Brittany.
But, as time goes on, Michael starts to wonder if making a big move and targeting Monte might be a good idea for his personal game. He's a self-proclaimed superfan, so he knows that in previous seasons players have been burned by failing to get some big threats out early in the game, and clearly Monte is a big threat. He discusses the possibility with Brittany, who agrees it's a move to make but that it has to come at the right time, and also has a talk with Daniel where Daniel pitches his status as a free agent willing to do anything to stay in this game.
In the end, Michael ends up putting Terrance, Joseph, and Monte on the block. That leaves him with the most options going forward. He can choose to target Monte if the veto doesn't go the way of The Leftovers (or, more likely, Terrance goes home), or he can just backdoor Daniel should one of his nominations win the veto and pull themselves off the block. Plus, this keeps his alliance hidden from the other players. Personally, I'd be shocked if Michael abandons his controlling alliance this early and targets Monte (and that's assuming that one of the three guys on the block doesn't win veto), but you never know what could happen when a superfan is thinking about how they can make a big splash in order to earn some respect down the road.
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