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“Big Brother” recap (17.1-17.3): Meet the Contestants

Big Brother is watching you all over again! A new season is among us-#BB17 to be exact-and it’s the queerest season yet! If you’ve never tuned in, Big Brother is a reality game show where houseguests are isolated from the outside world and sent to a house where they are cut off from all forms of technology. Each week, they must compete to win competitions that will either make or break their mainstay in the house. The goal is to last as long as you possibly can (because the grand prize is $500,000, baby) and that requires a few major components: social game, physical game, mental game, keen observation skills, the ability to play multiple roles in a team, and best yet for our entertainment value-massive, constant scheming and lying.

Here in the BB House, cameras are always watching and recording you. Who you talk to, what you say, if you repeat it to someone else, whether you join an alliance, break someone’s trust, gossip, or sleep the entire time is up to you-but it will determine how far you make it. In this season, many of the contestants are self-declared BB superfans who claim to know the game like the back of their hands, so will that knowledge help or hurt them? Things aren’t always what they seem and the motto of the game is: To expect the unexpected. But here’s something you can expect: Three LGBTQ contestants who are adding plenty of flavor to this new season.

In the season opener last Wednesday, we met our first BB group to enter the house. Host Julie Chen (affectionately known by superfans as Chen Bot) introduced us to: Audrey, Austin, Clay, Da’Vonne, Jace, James, Meg, and Shelli. As this first group settles in and begins to get to know one another, Audrey reveals she is the first transgender contestant to play on Big Brother. The houseguests are stunned, happy, excited, and generally show their support to Audrey by applauding her-but their faces suggest they’re a little shocked by the reveal. James seems the most dazed by the revelation, while Clay admits he’s never met a transgender person before and welcomes the new experience. Clay hides the fact that he’s a former football player for fear of putting a *target on his back. (If you aren’t used to Big Brother terminology, a handy footnote is waiting for you at the end of this recap!) Some guys who enter the BB house will flash their machismo to impress and intimidate-they can’t help but manifest a false sense of hierarchy so that the others recognize how they want to be seen. Other guys will avoid this at all costs because they know that a beefcake in Big Brother who gets too cocky will gain few supporters.

Da’Vonne also hides something: She’s a poker player IRL but tells the houseguests she’s a second grade teacher. She too feels like if she exposes her real job, she’ll have a target on her back for being a skilled bluffer. Austin is a big grizzly bear with loads of tattoos and a brain ready to go to work-but he’s about to make his first mistake: he’s buddied up with Jace, a surfer guy with a big personality who will surely rub everyone the wrong way. Clay and Shelli are scoping each other out because they recognize each other’s hotness, so a *showmance is bound to happen sooner than later. Pop the champagne, pick your bed, count the seats at the table, study your surroundings, and know that at any time, that doorbell could ring.

Speaking of, Julie Chen has a surprise for everyone. Their first competition starts right now. Someone will be crowned the first *HOH of the season. What’s an HOH, you ask? It’s the Head of the motherfucking Household. HOHs are power queens who live up in a pimp room on the second floor where they have ultimate control of the house. They are immune from going home for the week (and get loads of snacks, letters from loved ones back home, etc.) Getting cozy with an HOH is a smart move because your game is in their hands. As HOH you nominate two people for eviction and you can be dethroned when those nominees play in the *Battle of the Block.

In this first HOH comp, “Flying Tomatoes,” James won and was crowned the first HOH of the summer. But before the gang could shower off the tomato gunk, Julie Chen alerted everyone to the living room-she communicates via TV screen. This year will feature something entirely new: BB Takeovers. They happen each week, and we won’t know what they are until they’re happening. She doesn’t say anything else to the houseguests and reveals only to the audience watching that there’s another twist-a Twin Twist. It turns out one of the houseguests has an identical twin who can come and go as they please, swapping out with their twin already in the house to both play the game. Who could it be? That’s all for tonight, BBers.

Premiere, Part Two: THURSDAY

It’s time to now bring in the second group of houseguests. This time, Julie must tell the group waiting to go into the house that they aren’t the first group to enter, along with all the twists she’s revealed to the first group already inside. Julie brings Becky, Jason, John, Liz, Steve and Vanessa into the house to meet the whole cast. Now, it’s a full house and the game is truly on.

Vanessa Rousso is also known as Lady Maverick in the poker world as a professional poker player but she tells the house she’s a DJ in Las Vegas. We briefly see Vanessa’s girlfriend hugging her goodbye in her home video. Vanessa says, “I used to be married to a guy, and now I’m dating a woman. For me, love is love.” She admits to the audience in her personal intro that she has never been away from her for more than few days, so this might be hard (every lesbian everywhere just felt twinges of hope and doubt with her.) When Audrey comes out to this new set of houseguests, Vanessa looks overjoyed and tells the audience in her offscreen interview how proud she is of Audrey. Jason, a sweet, bright and comedic queer boy with a thick New Englander accent professes his unconditional support and allegiance to Audrey, too. I smell a queer alliance, y’all. Who said ignorance is bliss?

According to Bustle, some sources believe the so-called Twin Twisters are Liz (and her twin Julia who hasn’t been introduced to us.) Liz is a hot mama from Miami who thinks Jace is a cutie. But Jace is showing us his misogynistic side now as the new girls come into the house and he divvies up his attention from one girl to the next, giving the Bro Nod, and saying, “What about you, who are you, sweetheart?” Jace seems more interested in cozying up with a honey (or two) than socially adapting. Maybe he thought this was Real World.

For the BB Takeover, Phil Keoghan from Amazing Race brings two new houseguests into the house to stir up the game with the snap of his magic fingers. We see everyone lose their shit with excitement, because A. It adds tension to the social game when an established pair joins the mix, and B. They’ve had their TV screen time so jealousies just might flair and the Racers might be immediate targets. As we can see, Takeovers will be all about shaking up what’s in need of stirring. So naturally, it’s time for the second HOH competition.

In “UFOh No” the newest houseguest who haven’t competed for HOH yet must fight to stay wrapped around a pole or else a giant UFO will suck them up. (Competitions take place on location, outside their house in a high-walled backyard. They’re elaborate as fuck and the themes and game play are highly creative and complex.) Jason may appear to be a pipsqueak but he holds on the longest of everyone and wins second HOH. This means James and Jason are the new Heads of Household and must each nominate two houseguests to go up on the Battle of the Block or face eviction. In the Battle of the Block, the four houseguests will compete alongside James and Jason and whoever wins will dethrone the HOH who nominated them in the first place. But with Jason as one of the HOHs for the week, Audrey bonds quickly to Jason so that they can hold solid, and it also sounds like Audrey wants to be super mindful of the girls. “A woman needs to win this game-girl power!” She says to the camera.

In both HOH games, a contestant had to sit out and Da’Vonne and Vanessa chose to take one for the team so long as they wouldn’t be nominated for eviction (which is sort of amazing considering they’re both poker players who make gambles every day.) Phil from Amazing Race lets the girls know that there will either be rewards or repercussions to follow that decision. And with that, another episode has ended, leaving us desperate for more info-and the houseguests are bewildered, too. BB is great at cliffhangers.

Week One Nominations: SUNDAY

A girl alliance will be hard to maintain because for some BB reason, they just always are. In this case Da’Vonne wants Shelli and Audrey on her side, but a Day Three alliance may not work in their favor. Phil emerges on the TV screen again to explain that because Vanessa and Da’Vonne sat out, they will reap some rewards for their risk-taking. In this case, their game will fast-forward a week and they will be allowed immunity plus the chance to spare another houseguest alongside them. Vanessa goes right into gaming mode and holds court for this new twist-she’ll meet each houseguest personally if they want to join her in privacy to explain why she should pick them. Not only is it fair, it’s also super good for Vanessa’s game because now she gets to have one-on-ones with every person and hear them out, and they too get to hear her out. She says, “I like you,” “I want to work with you,” “I can see how you are good for my game,” and whether that’s just good poker face or genuine reads on players she wants to work with, Vanessa’s taking the lead in this episode as houseguest with the most power.

Da’Vonne has a similar setup happening with each houseguest, but seems less confident about what questions to ask, which will also provide some feedback for the houseguests on Da’Vonne. The one thing to remember about BB though, is that there is no one right way to play this game, so even though Da’Vonne may not have the power plays Vanessa has up her sleeve, she’s great at rolling with the punches, making snap decisions, and her personality is hilarious. Unfortunately, she’s about to break her mini alliance because she decides to spare Liz instead of protecting Audrey or Shelli. The girls are agitated because this shows a lack of loyalty, but Da’Vonne promises it’s because she doesn’t want anyone to be suspicious of any allies she may have. Vanessa chooses Austin because she has a good read on him and perhaps sees that his strategies are good ones-aside from #ShellTown, his alliance with Jace, which he needs to disband from ASAP.

Sometimes it’s a lose-lose in this game, because what’s right for one person’s game may only puts another person’s game at risk, despite a talk, agreement, promise, or alliance they made. You can be a liar in Big Brother, or you can be loyal. Sometimes that eats at a player and sometimes it doesn’t. You can be a power player, or you can be a *floater. Both may rise to the top, but a strong BB player is often determined by integrity.

James and Jason are discussing nominations now and the target seems clear as day: Jace has to go. They keep calling him a “beast” as the camera pans to Jace outside in the yard bench pressing and lifting weights. So here’s where nomination decisions are important to fully think over. If they nominate him for eviction, Jace has the chance to take himself off the block two times-in the Battle of the Block, and then, in the *Power of Veto competition. They don’t want to give him any opportunities so they’ll simply *backdoor him. How? House majority is a really crucial part of game play. So if everyone hates Jace’s guts, and they want him gone, then surely whoever wins the POV competition who will veto one of the other nominated houseguests from possible eviction. This then means that the HOH has to come up with a replacement nominee (Jace) and that’s how you backdoor. In the meantime, the nominations ceremony is about to take place, and ceremonies are ritualistic rites of passage in the BB house. James nominates Jackie and Steve. Jackie is from Amazing Race and Steve comes off as socially awkward but highly intelligent-maybe this season’s secret weapon.

Jason nominates Becky and John. Again-these are two non-threatening players who haven’t made big waves in the house yet, so Jason tries to smooth things over with them by telling them he has a greater mission at hand-tricky because you never want to give too much of your plans away. James makes the mistake of cryptically telling his nominations “we are doing this” and “we have this planned out” perhaps causing his nominees to realize that “we” must equal some decided alliance they are not a part of. Becky lays down some serious crocodile tears but later tells the camera that Jason is an “idiot” for believing she’s upset, and she’s going to nominate him next week if she gets HOH. Damn. In the meantime, Audrey explains her wide-eyed, confused facial expressions at the nominations table to the audience. She says she wanted to look shocked to throw off the fact that she knew about every nomination already. She is working with James and Jason, of course, but she doesn’t want anyone to know that.

So now it’s officially time for the first Battle of the Block. It requires some teamwork. Steve shows signs of defeat but finds a new strategy to crawl like a mouse across to through the obstacle to help out Jackie. Becky is receiving tons of cheers from the crowd and it’s enough for her and John to win the comp. Jason is dethroned as HOH and James remains the sole HOH for the week. His nominations are now the remaining two houseguests up for elimination: Steve and Jackie. So now they have one last chance to save themselves from eviction, and that’s the Power of Veto in the next episode! I’m personally rooting for Steve to win it, so that he can take himself off the block and force James to replace him with Jace.

Follow me on Twitter @the_hoff. Got a great hashtag to use? Wanna form an alliance of our own? Tell me who you’re rooting for and why! Let’s get our game faces on. Zing!

On the next page, a guide to BB terminology.

Big Brother Cheat Sheet

HOH: (Head of Household) After winning the HOH competition, a crowned HOH now controls and dictates the majority of the house by nominating two people for eviction each week. There is always a newly appointed HOH each week and the competitions can be physical or mental. There can be two HOHs at once depending on the season of BB.

Power of Veto: Houseguests who are nominated for eviction play in POV with the houseguests that are chosen at random to play with them (usually a small number of five or six.) As alliances are made and broken, being nominated for eviction and playing with someone in POV who has your back or wants you out can make all the difference. If you are nominated for eviction and you win POV, you can veto the HOH’s nomination and take yourself off the block. You just saved yourself! You can also take someone else off the block who you want to save. This means the HOH must now come up with a replacement nominee for eviction.

Battle of the Block: A competition that takes place after HOH nominates houseguests for eviction. All houseguests nominated play alongside the HOHs in this battle, and whoever wins gets to dethrone the HOH that nominated them and they remain safe for the week. The remaining players are still up for elimination, and if there is a second HOH, they remain HOH until eviction night.

Floater: A houseguest who observers may feel is not playing a strong solo game, but is rather floating from group to group. Their loyalty and strength of gameplay may be in question. They are letting the bigger players make waves while they attach themselves to the raft and hold on. Like all things that float, a floater may even make it to the top-when three contestants remain and the game has reached finale. In BB history, some floaters have even won, or come close to winning, because they were not seen as “threats” early on and only used as pawns.

Pawns: As is the case in this first week of BB, no one likes Jace but they know they can’t nominate him or he’ll possibly be able to take himself off the chopping block in one of these competitions. A pawn is the nominated houseguest an HOH selects knowing they are well liked in the house and people will not vote them out if they stick to a play to backdoor someone. Sometimes pawns go home, and plans fall though.

Backdooring: If someone is taken off the block after the POV competition and an HOH must come up with a replacement nominee-one they wanted to put on the block and get out of the house the entire time. They can now nominate this houseguest for eviction by way of this schemy maneuver. Sometimes it backfires.

Showmance: When two people decide they will ride this BB wave together, make out under the sheets, cuddle on the hammock, and be in a sexy alliance all unto their own. But be careful, because showmances turn off strong players and you just might get a target on your back for the way you’re playing your game. This ain’t Love Connection.

Target on Back: You called a meeting and had a tantrum in front of the whole house, you got caught telling a lie to multiple people, you were found out to be the sister/cousin/brother of a former BB contestant, you’ve proven your physical or mental strength, your strong social game, or your ability to make big, big power plays. Chances are: there’s a target on yo back, girl.

BB Takeovers: New to #BB17! We don’t know what they’ll be, because they will be surprises each week. On Week One, two former contestants from Amazing Race joined the house, and Da’Vonne and Vanessa’s week was fast-forwarded. Anything’s possible.

Eviction Night: After all the week-long competitions have come to an end, it’s finally time to vote someone out of the house. Thursday nights are LIVE eviction nights and the house puts nominations to a private vote. Each will individually tell Julie Chen their vote. The house usually finds itself in a house majority because no one wants that next target on their back. Friends and allies have had to historically vote each other out so as not to ruin their own fate.

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