Big Brother 22 week 5 recap: Half of BayDay leaves the house

Following an explosive blowup with Christmas and an almost self-eviction by Tyler, Bayleigh was the 5th person evicted from the Big Brother house.

With Janelle and Kaysar, public enemies number one and two, evicted back to back, who would become the next house targets going into Week 5 seemed like a pretty big question mark in the Big Brother house.

However, after Christmas seized power (or rather, Da’Vonne lost it), the Black Girl Magic alliance of Bayleigh and Da’Vonne hit the block together. After losing veto to Christmas, there was a small glimmer of hope for the duo when Tyler claimed he wanted to self-evict, but Christmas was able to keep all her ducks in a row, and nominations stayed the same. Come eviction night, a 9-0 sent Bayleigh packing and ensured the rest of the houseguests’ places on this season’s jury.

The BB Basement Unleashes Three New Powers

With the safety suite all used up, the next twist unleashed into the game was the “BB basement”, a comp that grants three houseguests powers that can be used over the course of the next three weeks. The winners were Christmas, who won the power to block someone from being the replacement veto nomination, David, who won the power to save a nominee from the block and force the HOH to choose a replacement, and Dani, who won a power that lets the HOH play in back-to-back Head of Household competitions.

BayDay hits the block

When Christmas first won HOH, it seemed like the week could get interesting – after all, everyone from Dani to Ian to Memphis to Tyler had come under fire the week prior, resulting in plenty of high-value targets to take out with the two biggest threats gone from the game. However, due to her allegiance to Tyler and membership in the “Committee” alliance, Christmas played it safe by nominating Da’Vonne and Bayleigh, two players who were both close with Janelle and Kaysar, weren’t directly aligned with Christmas, and who didn’t have a significant history of competition wins.

Christmas wins veto – and Tyler spirals

The next day, Christmas was able to edge out both Da’Vonne and Bayleigh in the veto competition, ensuring that the power stayed in her control. During that veto, Nicole was punished sith a slopitard (a costume saying “sloppy” across the chest, which… the jokes write themselves) and Bayleigh received a ‘triathlon’ punishment which didn’t make the edit. In terms of game, the obvious choice would be to leave her two nominees on the block and avoid getting any blood on her hands, but things became complicated when Tyler began breaking down and claiming that he wanted to be put up and evicted.

Where exactly Tyler’s head was at, we can’t quite say – there are rumors that he tried to self-evict several times in the diary room, while at the same time speculation has arisen that Tyler never really wanted to leave the house, and was only offering to sacrifice his game for BayDay to look good in front of the cameras for America. Some fans even accused him of invoking the name of Black Lives Matter to win sympathy points, but in the end, it was a moot point, because Christmas refused to put Tyler (her final two) on the block to be evicted.

A post-veto blowup

With the veto going unsued and nominations officially secured, tensions in the house quickly began to rise, and Christmas, Bayleigh, and Da’Vonne all got in several arguments over the course of the week. Most of the discussion revolved around Christmas betraying Bayleigh’s trust and Da’Vonne being (rightfully) frustrated over the problematic portrayal of Black women on the show in past seasons, but by the end of the week, things simmered down and Christmas, Bayleigh, and Da’Vonne all gave each other hugs during the live eviction.

A less explosive conversation in the house (but one that made big waves online) was one between Dani, Nicole, and Memphis, who seemingly mocked Ian (who revealed a few weeks ago that he was autistic) for rocking back and forth on the hammock and stimming. Their conversation didn’t sit well with many fans, who perceived their comments as abelist, but as usual, CBS neglected to air the controversy.

The only other significant event from this week was a tragic piece of news from home for Cody – his grandfather, who had been battling cancer, passed away. It was difficult to watch him find out the news in real-time in the diary room, and all game opinions aside, our hearts go out to Cody and the rest of the Calafiore family.

Bye-bye, Bayleigh

With Da’Vonne and Bayleigh secured on the block, the only remaining question was who the house would vote off, and given Bayleigh’s history with Tyler and the perception that she was the more dangerous and volatile of the two players on the block, the house decided Queen Bay needed to get the boot. By a vote of 9-0 (for those keeping track, there has yet to be a split vote this season) Bayleigh was evicted – just one eviction shy of the jury. It may have been for the best though – being out of the game means Bayleigh can get back to her hubby, Swaggy C.

Looking forward to next week, it was Dani who outlasted the rest of the houseguests on the classic wall endurance competition, securing her safety and grabbing power. This was a big win for Dani, who might’ve been in the crossfires this week had she not pulled out the win. Although the safest move would be to finish off BayDay and evict Da’Vonne, she and Dani have been on good terms in the past, so our best guess is that some combination of Kevin, David, and Ian will hit the block, with a possible backdoor in someone like Memphis.

This Week’s Superlatives 

Clutch Play of the Week: Although it didn’t impact the game this week, we’ve got a feeling that David winning the power to keep a nominee safe will help him stay off the block this week.

Most Memorable Moment:  Day and Bay vs Christmas. Specifically, Christmas running her mouth to Dani in the kitchen and her jaw snapping shut when Day and Bay enter the room. The way Da’Vonne flung open the backyard door was instantly iconic.

Houseguest in the Best Spot: Cody and Dani have been tight since the beginning, and after his tragic news from home, we can’t imagine that anyone would be heartless enough to target him this week.

What did you think of Bayleigh’s eviction? Who do you want Dani to nominate? Sound off in the comments below.