Big Brother 26-Mels Monday Recap 8/12/24

Good morning everyone, it seems Quinns plan has failed. He was hoping to take out either Tucker or Angela this week but he’s going to have to settle for his third option.

As I cover the weekend activities, I’m mostly going to talk about the bad game play. There wasn’t any target shifting over the weekend so going over all the bad games decisions is probably more interesting.

Angela is the hoh but without any of the power. There was some confusion around what Quinns power actually did. It mostly came from Tucker and Angela so it may have been willful ignorance. (Once they have a thought, it somehow becomes reality) They decided Quinn couldn’t choose a renom and ran with it all the way until the nom ceremony. (Ainsley said he could so they finally accepted it)

Angela winning took away one of Quinns 2 targets for the week. She held her meetings thinking she would make the initial noms. She couldn’t but it was still a good move. (If you weren’t Angela) It still felt like a position of power and that’s a good way to try to rebuild or get some game info. Being the hoh sort of forces people to talk to you and it could’ve been good for her. Because it was Angela, it didn’t work but I appreciated her trying.

Quinn held separate meetings before noms that he didn’t get to finish. He wasted too much time doing goofy stuff and way too much time talking to Leah. He had to go make his noms before speaking with everyone. I guess it didn’t matter that much since he already knew what he was doing. Tucker was the target, MJ a backup target and Cedric volunteered to go up as a pawn. (He’d debated on Cedric or Rubina) MJ at least, wanted to talk to him but didn’t get in there fast enough. Rubina was another possible option but she didn’t seem too bothered by it.

Quinn’s become so performative, these meetings became annoying. I get being a superfan and having a bucket list to check off but with Quinn, it never feels organic. I could overlook that if he wasn’t playing so badly. He’s so concerned with getting an interview with Taran Armstrong after the show, that he’s forgetting to play the most basic parts of the game. (get info instead of giving it)

He wasted time putting thought into roasting the hg’s during the noms too and they weren’t even shown on the episode. Even if they had been, what was the point? This whole twist fell flat because everyone already knew it wasn’t Angela.

I can’t blame Quinn entirely for still going with the “surprise” when apparently, production ran with the same idea. Did anyone else think it was embarrassing to watch? I don’t know why they put the effort into making sure Angela and the others were pretend shocked at the nom ceremony when they already knew. It’s also not as if only live feeders were aware the secret was out. It was discussed on the show and in the dr. At some point, give it up!

Tucker won the veto so Quinn is left with trying to take out MJ, a backup target or Rubina, to weaken Tucker. He knows MJ will target him and feels Rubina is a number for Tucker. (I’m not so sure)

Tucker is soooo bad at the game but he was right about not wanting the hg’s to know he liked Rubina. They flirt in front of people but he mostly downplays it. While he went around this weekend telling people he thought Rubina might be playing him, she spent the weekend talking about a possible showmance with Tucker. She talked to everyone except Tucker about it.

I don’t think she sees how bad it’s been for her game. It’s like she’s getting all the bad parts of being in a showmance but without any of the benefits. Because they arn’t actually a couple, Tucker isn’t sacrificing his game for her. They don’t have some power alliance either. She’s just being targeted because she’s made it known she’s the closest to Tucker.

Like I said, she spent all weekend talking about being in a showmance with Tucker. She didn’t spend any time this weekend trying to keep her ass off the block. She didn’t argue it when Quinn brought it up or rally people to talk to Quinn for her. She knew she was a possibility to be the replacement or go up initially and by yesterday, she knew Quinn was choosing her. (This assumes Tucker takes himself off the block)

Tucker tried to mess with Quinn (and others) by spreading it around that he may not use it or may use it on MJ. Normally, no one would fall for this, but it’s Tucker. He’s already done it once so you can’t blame them for thinking it’s possible. Thinking it’s possible is one thing, but he had Quinn fully convinced he was going to keep himself on the block.

Quinn’s plan was to spread it around that Rubina would be the replacement. He thought Tucker would hear about it and stay on the block to save her. Instead, Tucker gave her tips for winning the AI Arena comp. Rubina will go up as the replacement nom today, unless Tucker does something crazy but it may have been avoided. Rubina gave herself a pep talk about how it would build a resume. (The cast this season seems to think going on. The block helps you build a resume)

That brings me to T’kor and Kimo. (more bad game play) They’ve known from the start who Quinn was targeting, they know it’s bad for their games and they’ve done absolutely nothing to prevent it. I’m sure they think they’re working hard because they have these long, whispering game conversations multiple times a day. The problem is, they only have them with each other. I heard them make a plan to talk to Quinn to give him specific info at least 3 times this weekend. Think they ever did it? Nope.

I brought up a mistake in the beginning of the season that people often make. (It’s not their only one) They decided who they’d like to work with and want to form a group with those people. Sounds simple, right? Well, not if those people are targeting each other. T’kor and Kimo spent part of the weekend trying to see if they could mend things with Tucker and Quinn. They’re working with Quinn, they’re sort of working with Tucker and they think it needs to merge.

They did form an alliance with Tucker, Rubina and Brooklyn on Thursday night. It was the right idea except they included Brooklyn. I understand that Tucker and Rubina don’t know about the Pentagon alliance but T’kor and Kimo do know. This was never going to work because while T’kor was busy debating if they should tell Chelsie, Brooklyn had already told her.

T’kor and Kimo could have the optimal middle position. They shouldn’t want Quinn and Tucker to work together in an alliance with them. They should work with Tucker on one side, Quinn on the other and eat popcorn as the sides go after each other. Working with Tucker on one side doesn’t work if you’re instinct is to tell the other side either. It also doesn’t matter that they have the wrong strategy. They aren’t doing anything to put any strategy into action anyway.

They talk and talk and talk about what they’re going to do but they never do it. Rubina is an important piece to their games. They had several opportunities to give Quinn reasons for not going after Rubina. They never did it. On top of that, Quinn had been questioning if he’d lost Leah. T’kor and Kimo know he has and planned to tell him. (You guessed it, they didn’t tell him)

Leah’s been telling anyone who will listen that she can’t stand Quinn anymore. They had the perfect ammo to get Leah on the block instead of Rubina. Instead, they’re just watching it happen.

I’ve even had a few moments that I’ve wondered if they’ve forgotten about Quinn telling them about the Pentagon. They’re in the Collective alliance and that’s why they’re loyal to Chelsie and Cedric but they KNOW the Pentagon is 5 of the Collective people. This let’s them know they are at the bottom of the Collective alliance. They also know Brooklyn and Chelsie are two of the five people in the pentagon.

I could even give T’kor and Kimo a pass If they had reason to believe Chelsie and Brooklyn were faking it with the Pentagon but actually loyal to them. They should know this isn’t true because neither Brooklyn nor Chelsie have told them about the Pentagon. This is why they need Rubina in the game so much. They don’t have their own numbers.

They’re also starting to doubt Quinns loyalty to them and said he isn’t talking to them enough. You know who also isn’t talking to Quinn enough? T’kor and Kimo. I don’t know why they haven’t told Quinn about Leah. They aren’t working with her so aren’t trying to protect her. The only thing T’kor said to Quinn was that he should work on his relationahip with Leah. (The whole thing is just so bizarre)

Joseph, on the other hand, is very talkative. He actually has the right strategy but his execution is awful. He understands he needs to play Tucker against his own alliance. Unfortunately, he can’t hold any new info he learns for more than five minutes. He spills everything immediately.

He’s also a bit delusional regarding his placement in the Collective alliance. He said he believes he’s at the head of it. Quinn’s also told Joseph about the Pentagon. If there’s a 5 person alliance within your 8 person alliance and you aren’t in it, you aren’t running shit Joseph!

Cedric’s probably regretting volunteering to go on the block. On a positive note, he’s kind of made up with Tucker, at least on the surface. Tucker also gave him tips on playing in the AI Arena.

Tucker reminds me of my dog. He seems to get excited about and focus on only one thing at a time. It’s like when my dog sees a squirrel, all other thoughts are out the window and he has a singular focus. It feels like because Tucker is focused on Quinn, he’s forgotten about Cedric.

For some other random tidbits from the weekend:

Angela and Tucker made a final 2.(It’s a nice thought but I don’t think these two are gonna be around at the end)

Tucker is encouraging people to take Cedric out this week. He’s just viewing it from a comp threat strategy. He doesn’t realize or understand why Cedric is safe. (It’s called an alliance Tucker)

Cam seems to be quietly trying to work with Tucker. He told him about Rubina being the replacement nom. He may just genuinely like Tucker because Cam doesn’t seem strategic enough to be covering his bases.

They’re losing the backyard sooner than usual so most of them are anticipating a big hoh comp Thursday. Quinn told Joseph, if it was the slip and slide, he swore he was winning it. Joseph said “no you’re not” and then reminded him tall people almost always win that comp. ((Quinn is 5’6″)

Kimo talked to Quinn about turning on the Collective. Quinn doesn’t want to do it until Tucker is out of the house.

Quinn has continued to sleepwalk. He’s been sleeping in the have not room some because of it.

MJ probably got excited when Tucker tossed out the idea of using the veto on her. (Hopefully not too much, because he’s not going to do it) MJ is another one whose pretty bad at the game. I get it, she’s had a hard time finding a spot since Matt left. It doesn’t change the fact that she says all the wrong stuff to all the wrong people. Even if she’s bad at the game, I’m still surprised more people aren’t trying to work with her for a number.

She’s been close with Chelsie since her hoh but Chelsie and Brooklyn don’t really like her. I get that too because MJ keeps trying to form an alliance with Tucker and they want him out.

There was some Rubina vs MJ talk if they end up the two on the block. Tucker thinks Rubina would stay against either but he’d be wrong. Unless something crazy happens, Cedric should be safe either way.

I guess I should wait until we actually have Rabina on the block before I start predicting anything, but what the hell? Brooklyn and Chelsie like Rubina more and have a good game relationship with her. Rubina is closer to T’kor and Kimo but I’m not sure if theyre aware of it. They don’t care for MJ but MJ could potentially be more athletic in comps for them and she seems pretty loyal to Chelsie.

T”kor and Kimo are already dropping small comments trying to keep Rubina. (If only they’d lifted a finger to keep her off the block to begin with) Everyone will debate it but I don’t think it will be that complicated. I think whichever way Chelsie and Brooklyn end up leaning is how the vote will go. I’m not predicting which one will stay. I’m just predicting who will be making the decision. For now, those two are running the game….as much as they can with Tucker in the house.

Okay, I’ve used most of this recap to highlight how horrible most people are playing the game so far. I’m not trying to give the impression that i’m not enjoying the season though. The first half of BB20 was so much fun with all the mistakes the Foutte alliance made every week. I love watching great gameplay but if I can’t have that, horrible gameplay is the next best thing.

People like Tucker and Angela have made some of the dumbest decisions this past month but they’re playing the game pretty hard. That’s all I ask from a houseguest. I also don’t mean to only pick on them because I’ve used examples already of Quinn, Joseph, T’kor, Kimo and MJ playing badly.

I’m not leaving out Cam only focusing on Leah for a month, Leah focusing on nothing for a month or Cedric volunteering to go on the block.

There’s also Chelsie and Brooklyn, who are playing the best, but they’ve even had some moments. Did Brooklyn really need to call Angela out for choosing her twice in the hoh comp? Brooklyn said “noted” as she walked back up for another round. That’s actually what she should have done. Just make a mental note of it and move on. Chelsie spends too much time worrying about Cams hygiene habits and it’s gotten old. (Girl, if you like him that much, keep focusing on his stinky feet but i’m tired of hearing about it) She actually got caught by Cam the other day while doing it, so maybe it slow down now. Now I’m being nitpicky with Chelsie and Brooklyn because they are playing pretty good games. I just didn’t want to leave anyone out this morning.

The veto ceremony is this afternoon and have a great Monday.