Big Brother 22 week 2 recap: Last season’s AFP gets the boot
After being put up by Memphis and fumbling through a week of confused lobbying, Nicole A. was the second houseguest evicted during Big Brother 22.
Memphis winning HOH could’ve spelled bad news for Janelle and Kaysar if he’d done what his alliance wanted him to. But after winning both HOH and Veto, Memphis made more enemies than he did friends by refusing to take a shot at a big target, and instead opting to nominate Nicole A. and David — both of whom stayed on the block for the entirety of Week 2. Although his nominations weren’t anything exciting, some interesting gameplay across the board made for a solid week in the Big Brother house.
Pre-Nom Panic
Fans were in despair last week when Memphis took HOH and it seemed like Janelle and Kaysar would be hitting the block together. But as we quickly learned from Memphis’ diary room sessions, he didn’t feel comfortable making a big move just yet. Initially, Memphis’ intent was to nominate a pawn and Ian as “revenge” for Ian beating Memphis’ close friend and BB10 housemate Dan Gheesling back in Big Brother 14, but his plans were quickly upended by an ally.
In what was probably the most unintentionally hilarious moment of the season so far, Christmas went HARD in the Safety Suite competition, seeking to redeem herself from her poor showing due to her broken leg the last time she played. She certainly got her wish, winning safety. And then, in a move that surprised everyone, she gave Ian her plus-one pass. Although it was great news for Ian, Christmas unintentionally upset her ally and HOH Memphis, who had planned to nominate Ian.
With Ian no longer a viable option, Memphis went the safe route and put up Nicole A. and David — Nicole being a weak competitor, and David because he still needed to “earn his stripes” as an all-star, due to the fact that he was evicted first on his original season.
Post-Veto Paranoia
The week truly kicked into high gear, though, after the power of veto competition. Despite David and Nicole’s best efforts, Memphis won the POV and opted not to use it — ensuring that one of the former BB21 houseguests would be meeting Julie come Thursday. While David played it cool and relied on his close bonds with Tyler and the big alliance of six to keep him safe, Nicole A. began to spiral — and misguidedly directed all of her venom toward her two closest allies, Janelle and Kaysar.
For two or three days, the feeds were almost painful to watch. After being blindsided by her nomination (Janelle and Kaysar had told her that they would talk to Memphis on her behalf, which they did), Nicole A. spent the rest of the week trashing Janelle and Kaysar. We’re not exactly sure where it came from — maybe her own insecurities, maybe Kevin’s terrible advice, maybe Nicole F. and Dani’s inexplicable hatred for Janelle rubbing off on her — but Nicole A. spent every waking hour telling every houseguest how poorly J&K treated her and how much she wanted them gone.
What made it even more difficult as a viewer was that, in a sad bit of irony, while Nicole was raking her name through the mud and seething over how she’d been betrayed, Janelle was upstairs crying over how bad she felt that she couldn’t save Nicole. Thankfully, Nicole A. came to her senses and made amends with J&K before she was evicted, but at that point, it was too little too late, and her week of poor campaigning caught up to her.
Another Pre-recorded Live Eviction
At Thursday’s eviction, despite their last-minute campaigning to save Nicole A., Janelle and Kaysar voted with the rest of the house to evict her. The only votes in her favor were by Kevin (her ride or die and closest ally) and Enzo, who we’re pretty sure was just trying to stir up trouble and was bored of how things were panning out. By a vote of 10-2, Nicole Anthony was the second houseguest evicted.
The HOH comp was a pre-recorded crapshoot, and though Ian and Janelle both came close, it was Tyler who pulled through for the win. Although we hate to say it, it looks like history will be repeating itself, and if Tyler follows through on what his alliance wants to do, Janelle and Kaysar will hit the block. However, it’s important to remember that Tyler has some resentment toward Memphis for his poor treatment of David, and Dani for her wishy-washy actions, so they both could make for interesting backdoor targets.
Other Fun Tidbits From This Week
In terms of alliances, nothing really changed this week — although Janelle and Kaysar tried to rally numbers for an anti-alliance to combat Nicole F., Cody, Tyler, Memphis, Dani, and Enzo. They were unsuccessful, and the battle lines stayed pretty much the same.
On the social front, for a while it looked as if David and Da’Vonne might be starting up a little flirtmance, but it’s too early to say if that will really evolve into anything serious or game-impacting.
This Week’s Superlatives:
Clutch Play of the Week: Christmas’ Safety Suite win inadvertently saving Ian from probable nomination and possible eviction.
Most Memorable Moment: A toss-up between David yelling during the Veto competition, and all of Ian’s space opera punishment scenes.
Houseguest in the Best Spot: Obviously Tyler’s HOH win has secured him safety, but Bayleigh and Enzo are both floating admirably.
Next. Big Brother 22 week 1 recap: Goodbye Keesha, hello pregaming. dark
What did you think of this week’s eviction? Which houseguests do you think will be nominated? Sound off in the comments below.