BB25 - Episode 3 - Alliances and the Power of Veto

[Fuskie]

Previously on Big Brother, The BB Multiverse was cracked open in the first twist of the game. On opening night, the Scrambleverse forced the new Houseguests into nomination competitions. And Kirsten, Cory, Felicia and Jared ended up on the Chopping Block. But the Scrambleverse wasn't done, as it sent in a Survivor legend as the 17th Houseguest. Cirie had a big secret, and Izzy quickly figured it out. 

 

Nominee Kirsten knew she needed allies, so after joining a 5-person alliance, she then immediately pledged loyalty to Cirie and Felicia. But after Jared reported back to his mom, Kirsten was in the line of fire. The Houseguests learned the HoH would be removing two nominees from the Chopping Block, and Reilly super-sped her way to power. Felicia, Jared and Cirie went to work throwing Kirsten under the bus. At the nomination ceremony, the guys were good while Kirsten wasn't sitting pretty. 

Tonight, it's the first Veto comp of the summer. Will the golden power save one of the noms? Plus, the game kicks into gear as major alliances begin to form. All this, right now, on Big Brother!

Day 3, after nominations. Reilly tells us her target is Kirsten because she came into the house guns blazing, playing too much too fast. Felicia is the pawn because she's the sweetest angle and nobody's target. 

Kirsten tells us she was betrayed by Reilly, who was in the Phalanx Five alliance with her. I don't like bold faced liars, she says. Jared is happy to be off the block but he can't chill - he and his momma are both still in danger. Cory says the Nether Region is scary, but the block is terrifying. A billion pounds just came off my shoulders. Felicia says I'm on the block in the very first week. OMG. I need a cup of tea. But Taylor was on the block 4-5 times last season and the girl won, so I'm not discouraged.

Izzy finds Kirsten crying in the Comicverse BR and offers comfort. Cirie comes in as well and they both give Kirsten a hug. Kirsten is a hot mess and a loose cannon, Cirie tells us, and that may not be good for me and Jared. We're never going to be safe. America tells Kirsten to let it out now and be 1000% tomorrow. Kirsten tells us the only way she can save herself is to go out as hard as she can (for Veto). 

In HoH, Reilly tells Felicia she is not the target. Reilly tells us that in case Felicia wins Veto, she needs to reassure her that she's just a pawn. Reilly tells Felicia that Kirsten has ruffled everyone's feathers and has her hand in in all these cookie jars and the cookie jars are talking. The chocolate chips are talking to the Oreos, Felicia replies. Felicia tells her she trusts Reilly that she's just a pawn. She tells us that she likes to be in control of her destiny, so the Veto comp is crucial. 

In the Game Lounge, Luke, Jag and Cory are talking. Jag says it didn't feel real until there were just 2 noms. It didn't feel real until the keys, Luke agrees, and tells Cory he didn't realize he was on the Chopping Block. We were in the competition, Cory reminds Luke. Jag says either Luke is a secret genius acting dumb or he really is this dumb. Luke didn't realize Cory was nom until his face popped up as one of Reilly's saved HG. 

The HG get the BY for the first time. America tells us it's gorgeous. Felicia walks over to the Hot Tub and dips a toe in, but the rest of her quickly slips and falls in as well (that's one Microphone down). I was just tring to put my toe in, she exclaims as Kirsten, Cirie, Izzy and Reilly help pull her out. 

Cameron tells us he's gotten close to a few people in the BB House, all his companions in the Scaryverse BR: Blue, Jag, Matt and Reilly. Different types but it feels they've known each other forever. They even adopted a pineapple child. You can always find time to cut a rug and burn it up. 

They are dancing to the morning song in the Scaryverse BR when Felicia walks in. I was a marksman with a 9 mm, she tells us, I don't miss nothing. It's obvious they've gained a connection, and flags are up, my eyebrows are raised. 

In the Humiliverse HNR, Jag wants to talk with Reilly. She cuts him off and says she can see them sitting at the end together. I got you 1000%. You're my #1 person, she says. You're mine, he confirms. They shake then hug. She tells us she's super comfortable with everyone in the Scaryverse BR but Jag is who she wants to stay loyal to. Ride or die, they confirm to each other, easy money. He tells us she's loyal, a competitor, has a lot of integrity, so this Final 2 feels really great. Reilly gets kicked in the butt so she can leave the room.

In HoH, Blue, Jag, Matt and Cameron join Reilly for more Silent Disco. Reilly tells us it's time to make the Scaryverse alliance official. They are all different puzzle pieces, a muscle comp beast (Matt), a social butterfly (Cameron)... Muscle comp beast, says Jag, pointing to himself. They all laugh. She says the game is going to heat up fast and they each need their own eyes and ears... Well, says Matt, at least the eyes. They all laugh again. They decide to call themselves the Handful because there are 5, and the Scaryverse BR has hands outside the windows. Final 5, Reilly says, this is my family. 

Matt thinks the Handful Five has a good thing going, smart people, athletic people and cute girls too. What more can you ask for? It is the coolest feeling securing a bond with these people, Reilly tells us, this is how history is made. They dance their fingers in a huddle and explode in solidarity.

In the Humiliverse HNR, Cory promises Cirie he'll eventually stop being a fan boy. Cirie sits on a stool and it lets out a fart. What the F, she exclaims! Of course the chair is going to fart in the Humiliverse HNR, she tells us, what am I thinking? I didn't know, Cory insists. The only farts you smell on Survivor, Cirie tells us, are real ones. 

Cirie tells him she doesn't care if he fan boys. He tells us he's so excited to be playing BB with Cirie Fields, and so terrified because she destroys kids like him at these games. She is the biggest threat in the house, but I just want to talk with her. You got robbed in Micronesia, he tells her, you've had some creative ways to lose Survivor.

I have both eyes, feet and hands watching Cory, Cirie tells us, a super fan shouldn't admit he knows her resume so well. He should know better than to tell someone how good a player they are. Cory promises to treat her like a real human being, not a character I've watched on TV. Cory tells us Cirie is the one to beat. How can I knock her out? I'm going to have to figure it out. As long as I'm the one at the end, I can live with that.

In the Fitness Room, Jag tells Hisam that the closest Sikh temple where he lives is in Canada. Hisam realizes Jag is the first Sikh to be on Big Brother. Bowie walks in as Jag talks about his experience representing his community. Hisam says it can be hard to be the first, you either reinforce the stereotype or make people more aware. 

Jag says the first thing people see when he walks into a room is the turban, not the person. Bowie says it's because people aren't familiar with it. Jag says they latch onto what they know. In the DR, he says everyday he has to think about what it means to be a brown man with a beard and a turban. He tries to dispel negative cultural beliefs, one day, one conversation, one smile, one joke at a time. 

Hisam tells Jag and Bowie his background is Egyptian. It took him time to figure out what it meant to be Arab in America, he tells them. Jag understands, there was so Islamophobia after 9/11, he had hate directed towards him because they thought he was Muslim. Being a Sikh is not a Muslim, and that's still not OK even if I was. Hisam tells them that he's cautious about sharing his religious and cultural background because not everyone is open-minded. Hisam tells us it was nice to have that conversation with Jag because they share similar stories about wanting to raise their communities up and sharing who they are with America. 

Felicia walks in on Izzy, Cirie, Mecole and Bowie in the Comicverse BR under the pretense of finding a new blanket. But really, it is to share her theory. Dramatically, she shares that the HG in the Scaryverse BR have bonded a little too closely. They have an alliance, she tells us in the DR, and the other three in the Comicverse BR. You can see it and feel it, she says, we need to create a counter-alliance of our own. 

We are 5 people, Felicia tells Izzy, Cirie, Mecole and Bowie. Bowie asks about adding Reilly but Izzy says she's on the other side. Bowie says it's a bit risky and steps outside, telling the others to keep talking. She tells us she trusts these ladies but left the room so it wouldn't be too obvious. So are we aligned, Izzy asks? We're the Bye Bye Bitches, Felicia confirms, pointing to the dialogue bubble on the wall. The others ROFL. 

Cirie tells us she felt coming into the game everyone would keep her at an arm's length, but she's willing to stay loyal to the Bye Bye Bitches as long as the Bye Bye Bitches stay loyal to her. 

In HoH, Reilly is entertained by Matt and Cameron, who wonders how they can take him seriously looking like this (his hair is tied up into two Mickey Mouse ears). Cory enters, and Reilly tells us the Handful is solid but to run the house, they need to recruit more people. They decided to bring in Cory, Jared and America because they each add something unique. 

Cameron presents the alliance to Cory as if they are just now forming it. Cory is taken aback they thought of him. He tells us this is good news, there's a massive alliance with me in it! If they win a comp, I should be good. Cory tells them he just wants a home. With Cory, Blue, Jag, Matt and Cameron in HoH, they make the pitch to America. She tells us BB is a number's game and she feels solid with a big group of people. 

In the Scaryverse BR, Jag sits down with Jared to give him a heads up on the Total alliance, half the house. He lists the other 6 and says they all have to protect each other. Jared tells us it's great to get some safety in the game, but his mom isn't in the alliance. He finds her in the Comicverse BR and fills her in. We knew this, she tells him, the house is split. 

It's a plus Jared is part of the big alliance, Cirie tells us, because I can get information from him. But at the same time, I'm nervous because I could be their target. She runs to him for a quick kiss and a hug, then on her way out of the BR, tells him to stop talking so much! Jared looks at her like she just caught him doing something in the bathroom he shouldn't be doing.

In the WA, Kirsten is talking to the cameras about the Veto. She's giving herself a pep talk, promising to not give up, blood, sweat, tears. She'll work Reilly going forward if she stays in the game - Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. I just gained a new one. In the DR, she tells us she is going to fight to stay in the house; game face on, Kirsten activated to the best of her ability. 

It's time to pick PoV players. Reilly picks Hisam. Kirsten tells us she can only trust herself. She picks Blue. Felicia wanted one of the Bye Bye Bitches so she could say Bye Bye to the block but picks Cameron. Cirie wants to influence Hisam to keep noms the same if she wins, so she decides to tell him about the 8 person alliance. She tells us she knows Kirsten is the target but she doesn't want to risk Felicia coming off and either her or Jared going up. 

In front of Izzy on the LR couch, Cirie tells Hisam there's an 8 person alliance. For real, he asks? How did you find out? It's not rocket science, she says, I just observe. Apparently there's an 8 person alliance without me, Hisam tells us, so I have to win Veto to keep myself safe. 

The BY has been turned into a garden paradise with huge flowers growing next to vase pedestals. The Veto players are dressed like farmers in country shirts and suspenders. Red wants to know what kind of fertilizer they use. Cirie hosts, welcoming the HG to the Humiliverse Veto comp, where it is an honor to be humiliated, and today, they will get the privilege of experiencing an Atomic Wedgie. 

Veto players will stack 35 foam flower pieces (various sizes of stemmed flowers and petals) on their vase, but could be humiliated at any moment as they are hoisted into the air by their underwear. Each Veto player is connected by the middle of their back and two sides of their hips to a cable on a pully. The HG have a basket of flowers by their buzzer, and an empty pedestal vase about 10' away. There is no set pattern to build your stack of flowers, but they must balance on the vase. If any (or all) fall, they must be added back. 

Each HG starts with a different floral arrangement pattern, some mixing different styles and others putting the same style on each row. Then, without warning, their derriere is yanked backwards and up off the ground, their underwear stretched out behind them. Blue is terrified of heights. They are lowered back to the ground and pick up where they left off. After 6 months, the Humiliverse sprays water onto the flowers (and players).

Hisam is making good progress but suddenly all his flowers fall. Reilly has a nice pattern of flower layers. They get yanked away again. Cory says this is so hard to watch, it reminds him of Jr. High. Kirsten and Blue lose their stack. They are yanked again. Felicia has 12 stacked, then is pulled up by her drawers. She comes back and the flowers fall. All the HG are experiencing epic collapses. Cameron is close with 34 flowers and then disaster strikes. 

Hisam has a strategy of using the laurels in the middle of his stack. After 24 minutes, Kirsten has 21 pieces and Reilly is worried. Reilly is at 25. Kirsten is at 35. Then her stack falls. Reilly is crushing it at 26. Felicia loses it at 26. Hisam at 24. This is really hard, he says, maybe he can use the roses to widen the base and build a more solid foundation. At 31 flowers, Reilly loses everything. Blue loses hers after 25. Cameron at 24. 

36 minutes into the competition, Felicia and Hisam lose it again. Kirsten and Cameron have something growing. But nobody seems to be able to build their petal pyramid and Mecole worries instead of congratulating the winner, she'll be wishing them Merry Christmas. Hisam has an ungainly stack of 31 flower pieces. But he can't land the 32nd. Sometimes they get a lot of pieces, sometimes only a few, but they always lose their stack before placing the 35th flower.

Kirsten is at 24 pieces and thinks she has found the right formula. Felicia has not. Hisam is so nervous, his hands are shaking. Just breath, he tells himself. He and Kirsten are neck and neck. Hisam loses a couple pieces but his core structure remains sound. Kirsten is slow and steady. Hisam is at 34 pieces as he shakily tries to balance his last petal on the stack. Kirsten loses her stack. Hisam races back to the button and presses it. Hisam wins the Power of Veto!

I win, Hisam gloats in HoH, and there's nothing I like better than having this power. Now, how can he best use it for his game? Felicia hopes Reilly was telling the truth about her being a pawn. Reilly worries Hisam is not in her alliance and may foil her plan. Kirsten will not walk out of the house this week, she tells us, just watch and see.

In the BY hammock, Kirsten talks with Hisam about the Veto. She hopes he will take her off. She asks how he feels and he says it was more intense than he expected. What can I do to help you, he asks her. Take me down, she says, she promises to be a great teammate, there's power in numbers and I want to be loyal to you. Hisam says at his heart, he's a protector, that's what his name means. Hisam tells us he needs people on his side but wonders if helping Kirsten will help him. He tells her he won't be making any hasty decisions.

It is time for the Veto ceremony. He calls the HG in from the BY. Once assembled in the LR, he announces he has decided to not use the Power of Veto, leaving Kirsten and Felicia on the block. He says he's met both of them and could never decide between them, so he leaves it to the other HG. The Veto Meeting is adjourned.

Hisam tells us he came in 2nd in the Kicking Butt comp, 2nd in the first HoH, and just won PoV. He doesn't want to give anyone more reason to target him. Being a pawn is not ideal, Felicia tells us, I just hope I can trust what people have said and I'm not falling into a trap like I fell into that hot tub (splash). 

I am not giving up on myself, Kirsten says, my back is against the wall, but I'm not out that door yet. Now that it has been confirmed there is an 8-person alliance that did not include me, Cirie tells us, it's time for the Bye Bye Bitches to get to work building our numbers so we can say bye bye to that alliance. They are going to be sorry, she cackles, you should have played with me!

Who will be evicted from the Big Brother House, Kirsten or Felicia? And what will the BB Multiverse unleash next? Find out Live, Thursday night at 9pm ET on Big Brother!