Big Brother 19 Episode 26 Recap: A New HOH And A New Temptation Twist

August 20, 2017 Branden Big Brother 19 71

Sunday night’s episode of Big Brother 19 gave us a new Head of Household and introduced us into the Tree of Temptation, a new twist that will either reward or punish any HG who chooses to take part in it.

The episode kicks off at the start of the Head of Household competition. This is a head-to-head tournament challenge game, so during every round someone will be eliminated. Up first are Raven and Mark. And Mark is the first one out. And the house is very happy.

Up next are Paul and Alex. Paul gets the question correct and knocks Alex out. Kevin faces off with Christmas next and she wins the round, and Kevin is out. Josh and Matthew are up next and Josh knocks out Matthew.

Now it’s time for the second leg. It’s Paul vs. Raven and Paul wins that one. Christmas and Josh are up again and Christmas gets the question right and Josh is gone. That means the final round is Christmas vs. Paul. And Paul decides to throw the competition to Christmas so that he can compete in the next HOH.

But Christmas has no idea what the answer is because she’s busy thinking about making BIG moves. Not just any moves, but BIG moves. BIG (spoiler: she’s not going to make a big move). So Paul gets tired of waiting and has to pick the wrong answer just so Christmas can actually win the competition.

So lets see what those BIG moves are. Oh, it’s to target Mark. Which is what the whole house wants. I guess that’s a big move, depending on who you ask. Alex, however, has been sketched out by Kevin all season and since Kevin has met Derrick before, she is even more sketched out. So she starts drooping Kevin’s name to Christmas.

Jason is put in the middle of Alex’s hatred for Kevin so he lets Kevin know that Alex is really sketched out by him. Kevin flips out and wants to confront her but all that happens is Alex gets really upset with Jason for telling him.

Josh decides to deflect the Kevin suspicions with Christmas so he tells Christmas he believes what Cody said about Jason and Alex on his way out the door. So now there are three or four targets this week. But in the end, it will only matter who Paul wants to target. But Paul lets Christmas pretend that she’s in charge. So Christmas tells Paul that Mark is the backdoor target, but if something goes down this week, they can get Jason out. And since Paul wants Alex all to himself, he’s OK with that idea. It was going to be his idea eventually anyway, so he doesn’t mind giving Christmas credit for it.

It’s time to find out the latest twist! It’s the Tree of Temptation. The tree in the living room starts lighting up and flashing. Christmas reads from a card that the HGs can pluck an apple from the tree when it’s lit up. The HGs won’t know if they’re picking a power or a punishment and whatever they get is only in play for the week. The prizes/punishments include Save a Friend, Second Veto, Eliminate Two Eviction Votes, Can’t Play in Next HOH, and Bounty on Your Head.

The first time the tree lights up red, Mark goes to the DR to tell them he’d like to claim an apple. Hoping for that second veto, Mark opens his apple and he gets the Save a Friend prize. And since he doesn’t have any friends in the house, it’s not going to do him much good.

At the nomination ceremony, Mark gives his save a friend safety to Paul. Who knows why, really. Christmas names Matthew and Jason for eviction and then addresses Mark instead of them, letting him know that he’s the target. Can’t wait to find out if Mark dodges the Backdoor this week? Check the Power of Veto spoilers now to find out who won the PoV comp!

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

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71 Comments

    • In an pre show interview he mentioned he met him briefly at the casting call. Don’t have a clue why he is exaggerating.

    • They briefly met when Kevin tried out, but as with everything, Kevin has to embellish and it will be his undoing.

  4. That picture in this article of Christmas looking at Paul during the HoH competition waiting for him to do something basically sums up this entire season perfectly. I’m not even upset, I actually just laughed.

  5. Even if Mark won second veto… if he’s being backdoored how does that even work? Unless they let him have the chance to use it after the first veto ceremony. Sounds like Jason saves himself and Mark can save Matt… which… doesn’t help him….

    (I haven’t watched the episode yet)

    • Yea you’d think that would just make it Mark and Raven up with Mark still going out. But, second veto probably has the same protection as regular veto. In other words, can’t be the re-nom.

  6. For the people who still have a open mind and are willing to listen,tonight was clear example what a great game Paul is playing,he went step by step explaining his plan with each power center in the house,nothing short of brilliant..have no idea if this will take him to the final two or not but win or lose Paul is playing this game with abandon and he is right,to do this while being the biggest target from the get go speaks to his games skills,no amount of hate can erase the truth,Paul is good at this game.

    • My hatred is mostly towards production and how I truly believe they are helping Paul in the game. If he is doing all of that himself then it is a very good game play on his part, but the fact that no one in the house is targeting him it’s why I am sure production interferes. As well as coincidentally always getting some kind of gift. Now we know that former HGs recruit players since Paul knows Raven and Kevin knows Derrick. watching feeds today and Paul was alone talking about how he met Raven and she told him about her disease and it went right to fish.

      • I really don’t see any giant conspiracy going on here,yes they brought Paul back,a strong player that would present the others with a real challenge to overcome,a great test..the only thing that really bothers me is the late twists,the early temptations created drama and kept people guessing but late twists seem a little heavy handed even for BB.

      • Paul met Raven when she came to one of his bands meet and greets. Kevin met Derrick briefly at the casting call.

      • Paul was talking about what Raven told him when they met, and Kevin told Alex that he knew Derrick from the neighborhood.

      • In an interview for his CBS bio, Kevin shared, “I did meet Derrick once and he seemed like a nice guy!”

      • not one person in the house ever targeted Derrick either. It can happen….and every single year there are those that believe production is helping a hg to get to the end.

      • When I re-watched the 1st & second episodes the other night, paul kept chiding (scolding) Big Brother for “doing” things to him.
        Like:
        – the 9 “friendship” bracelets; keeping one and giving out only 8 others (of 16 member house) . The 16 HGs had to “TEMPT” paul with whatever: pleas, brie cheese, friendship, team-work, promises, begging, promises, safety, promises, whatever, to get a “friendship” bracelet from paul and thus keep them off the block for the first noms.
        – – THIS IS WHY Mark gave the “friendship apple pass” to paul to repay paul for giving him a bracelet in the first place. Other bracelet recipients were: Kevin, Raven, Dom, Mark, Jason, Jessica, Ramses & Elena.

        Says paul to BB: BB, what are you doing to me? (having to make 8 friends bracelets). Even with the tempting part of the HGs, paul says, “BB, what are you going to me?”

        – With having to vote out the first HG before first overnight “because paul entered the house,” paul to BB: “BB, what are you doing to me?”

        What is BB doing to you, paul ??? HELPING YOU WIN!!! duh . . .

    • Paul is an amazing player. One of the best to ever play BB. Everybody says that Derrick is the goat. And yes, he is the best there will ever be. But Derrick was also an undercover detective, with years of training, and has actually been involved with drug busts, where he spent years working directly with drug lords, and getting all the info he needed to bust them. So BB was a breeze for him. Paul has no experience, other than last season. And even last season, he played a near-perfect game with no prior experience, and no help from America.

      • And Derrick was also very lucky,not everyone is like Cody who stayed loyal,if he had picked Victoria,he would have won the $500,000 instead.

      • That’s not luck. That was Derrick’s amazing gameplay. And Derrick was well equipped, with years of training, to be able to spot early on, that Cody was loyal, and the right guy to partner up with. He made the hitmen alliance on day 2. Making an alliance on day 2, and making all the way to end with him, is not luck. I don’t care what you say. That is not luck. Derrick made Cody believe that taking him to the final 2, would be doing derrick a favor. Cody believed he was going to win. Because on paper, Derrick wasn’t the better player, Frankie was, Cody, and Caleb all had more comp wins. That was all Derrick’s amazing social game. You try doing that.

        And for the record. Victoria would’ve won if Cody had backstabbed Derrick. As many of the jury members said in their post-finale interviews that they would’ve voted for her if Cody blindsided Derrick.

    • Not that hard when the house is full of spineless sheep. I would have liked to see this style of gameplay in a house where everyone doesn’t just willingly follow one guy around like lost little puppies.

  8. I almost fell off my couch during Josh speech on how he and Christmas are the two that deserve to be in the finals,really?..what he is smoking this evening,his shoes?

      • Josh is lucking to be even there at this point in the game,way over his head,a paper tiger that likes to hear himself roar.

      • He is, and that is why I think if he should win if he is in the F2. Everybody used him and he helped them out when needed.

    • Exactly right! I thought that was hilarious. He thinks he’s done the work simply because Paul sic’d him on a few people.

  9. I think every year there is tendency by some to start hating the person or persons doing well when their own faves falter,no one was a bigger fan of Zach Rance in BB 16 than me but that did not make hate Derrick for the great game he was playing,Zach could not keep his mouth shut and that got him evicted,had nothing to do with Derrick.

    • Watching BB is weird. It’s not like watching sports, where you have your team, and you are rooting for your team to win. BB has a bunch of crazy, idiotic people, you’ve never met. You don’t care about them, they don’t care about you. You can’t really form any type of bond with them, like you can a team. And since you don’t have that connection, you can easily jump ship when they do something you don’t like. Whereas in sports, you can’t do that, since you can’t abandon your team, as it is a part of you. Which is why vets end up getting so much support. We know these people. We’re familiar with them. And it’s harder to turn on them.

    • For me, disliking Paul has nothing to do with his gameplay. He did very well last season, and I would be inclined to say the same tis season if the other members of his unnamed alliance were actually playing the game, but they’re more content to be told what to do than actually make their own moves, so that goes that. That isn’t even touching on the fact that he sucks at jury management, which is an integral part of the later half of this game.

      The reason I don’t like Paul? It’s his behavior. Sure, he can be funny once in a while, but after a bit, it gets grating. He’s quite content to play Orcus on His Throne, telling the other HGs who to bully, when, and how far to take it (which is way too far, considering he wanted to have Cody ejected, something no other HG has wanted in the history of this game). And he’s proven on at least two occasions that he does have racist tendencies (while, admittedly, is something everyone has a bit of, so we can set that aside). He scolds his alliance members for having conversations with people he doesn’t like, even when they’re not talking game.

      Derrick did none of that. He went out of his way to keep the peace during BB16. He was social to everyone. He did not shun anyone because he didn’t like them. He was exceptionally skilled at jury management and subtle manipulation. He did not make himself seem like a leader, but a follower. He was never named as a nominee ONCE until the very end of the game (unlike Paul, who was named as a nominee, but was unable to become one due to America’s vote in the DoT twist – yes, America, not production, America). And speaking of the Pendant of Protection, Derrick did not have that little handicap for three weeks. He had to worry about being targeted every week. Paul has had 4 weeks of safety (again, thanks to America and now Mark).

      So while I’m sure you’re right about some of the people who don’t like Paul, I’m not one of them. I hate Evel Dick, but respect his gameplay and think he is one of the best players of BB. I can separate game from personal, and I’m sure there are others out there who agree with this statement.

      • I stopped reading at “he has racist tendencies which is something everyone has a bit of”. Ummm, no! Although you used word ‘admittedly’, so will assume you meant yourself and the ‘everyone’ was a typo.

      • LOL, thanks for being honest. Can’t stand people who lie about having read the entire post.

      • Observation, not conspiracy. Do you watch feeds? You don’t hear Paul constantly talking to production and saying things that get turned off.

      • paul had access to watch Derrick, Evel Dick, Dr. Wil,, etc. etc. seasons. Even watch his OWN season.
        He had almost a year to re-think, re-do, re-play, re-strategize and make new and different faces and schemes for his big entry into this season.

        Probably had months to plan and talk with his “outside real-world bracelet friends.” Talk, plan, finagle, strategize, take psych classes on’ BB and games people play,’ scheme, etc.
        There’s OH SO much he probably could do, would do, and did do to get ready for, plan for and get his more tats for this season’s Big Brother.

        And, let’s see how possible it would be for him to enter the BB season:
        ONE of SIXTEEN players had to press a button for $25,000. How many quit their jobs? Ja is missing the main summer season for his rodeos and Ole, and with a NEW BABY on the way. How many have kids (7) at home or some home regularly? Just how tempting would $25,000 e to ANY NORMAL person? I haven’t had a job since beginning 11/16, unemploy’s run out, on EBT and now Medicaid. Would I be tempted???
        Let me just think about those things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . duh

      • Not quite sure I get everything of what you were trying to say, but I got the idea.

        Regarding Jason, he just learned his wife was pregnant, not something he knew going in.

        Only Elena quit her job (as far as I’m aware).

        Paul’s decision to enter the game wasn’t that brilliant. He was just getting over being shellshocked and reintegration into the real world again when the asked him to come back. He wasn’t so inclined to say yes, according to him. He had to really think about it. And, considering how open he was during that conversation that night on the feeds, I do believe that he was being sincere. That was the same night he extended Cody the olive branch last week. So, no, he didn’t have “months” to plan out a strategy.

      • I agree with this post. Spot on about Paul. I’m the same. I don’t care for him because of his racist tendencies and his ganging his group up to bully others (even though Cody and others bullied as well still doesn’t make Paul right), but if I were in there and everyone was handing me the game, I’d take it too.

        I told my wife last night that Derrick in NO WAY would’ve condoned the bullying behavior. In fact, he’d make sure it never happened that way. Derrick played a masterful game and is one of the best ever.

      • What I mean is that we all make judgements based on race. Wishing someone’s accent wasn’t so thick so we could understanding them, for example. Or maybe even judging a particular dance style or music genre. Cursing out poor drivers and quoting stereotypes. To pretend we don’t is pretty pointless.

  10. The kiss of death this season seems to be Josh. Everybody who has gotten into an argument with Josh has been evicted this season. With the exception of Jillian and Ramses, which were Cody and Jessica’s HOH’s.

  11. Okay, I’ll give this to the Paul Patrol. Backdooring Mark this week isn’t a bad idea. He’s proved to be quite the comp beast when his life is on the line. Just a shame he couldn’t pull it off this week.

  12. Christmas say’s she will go after big targets, then she targets Mark????
    This chick is delusional, and most of all Irritating to the max, just like the rest of this pathetic cast!

    • Mark is a colossal disappointment to me on every possible level. All brawn, no brain, no guts, no balls. He’s dead man walking, running out the clock in the BB house until Thursday night’s eviction. Is he going out like a man? He is not. A dog run over by a car in the street whines and snivels less then Mark trying to ingratiate himself back into Paul’s good graces.

      He’s dead man walking with nothing left to lose. I would have had so much more respect for him if he would have used his stature to tower over Paul and blow the little Tsarvitch’s game to kingdom come by demanding to know why he was so threatened by the notion of someone else in the house wanting to play their own game and win the half mil for his or her own self.

      Likewise, I would have had a great deal more respect for him if he’d have given Jason the safety with the message, “Here, word around the house indicates you’ll be needing this – soon”. Beats the heck out of groveling for Paul’s bread crumbs.

      • I think Mark isn’t dumb, maybe has some emotional issues. I think he came in the house, paired with the wrong people and didn’t know how to change sides. Once he was still nice to Cody , no one besides Elena talked game with him. He has no clue Jason is in trouble, if he had a hint that Jason or Kevin were targeted , he would have gone to them with a deal or safety. His fault which he admitted he likes to please people and smile and the house negativity just has brought him down on many levels and he didn’t want to fight in circles with Paul.

        Hearing Mark talk about BB at night with josh or Kevin, Mark understands the game, he sees what we see. He knows the viewers are hating the season, he knows the feeds are bad, he knows how people are being edited pretty spot on. He seems like he is bright, well brighter then many of the HG(that might not say much), he did that puzzle fast, he said he loved college so much he went back and did another semester. I just think he was on the wrong season but I also don’t think he should ever come back, he is not cut out for BB.

      • Although he’s campaigning to Christmas and Josh, I don’t think he REALLY wants to stay. I think he can’t wait to get to the jury house with Elena.

    • I thought he maybe did that because Paul was the only person Christmas wouldn’t target. Like, she might put other people on the block, but never Paul…so it leaves more targets open.

  14. Ugh. Even BBAD is the Paul show. I had to turn it off the other night because they actually kept the camera on Paul for ten minutes and all he was doing was lying in the HOH bed with his cap pulled over his eyes. Even though other people were up and talking that is what they showed.
    Tonight is no different. So far five minutes of Paul looking in the mirror then doing a dance for the cameras. They went to other people shortly yet had to quickly return to Paul and even followed him walking to another room. Now in the kitchen for thirty seconds then have to go outside and follow Paul.
    Tired of it.

  15. What was up with the shiners on Raven’s face during the temptation announcement? Allergies? Blepharitis? Anaphylaxis?

  17. Awwwwe that was a touching episode. Now I don’t want them to take out whistlenut. Take out Alex instead.

  18. Did you really completely ignore the part about Jason is having a baby? WOW…..While the web says it was one of the best moments of BB history!

  20. Christmas is trying to evict Mark in a backdoor maneuver.

    Hmm. Who was it whose vote helped save Christmas at the first eviction? Oh yeah, it was MARK! Mark was going to vote with Cody, but then changed his mind and voted to protect Christmas. Nice of Christmas show appreciate for that by now trying to burn Mark.

  21. What was all that fuss and speculation by Alex about Kevin being a cop? Why should anyone care whether he is or is not a cop?

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