Jackson again found himself as the Head of Household, which is the last thing he wanted this week. His goal has clearly been to stay in the middle of Cliff/Nicole and Christie/Tommy, so when he was forced to win HOH, he decided he had to go for the person I’d call the least threatening person left in the game. This is what happens when you’re working with everyone in the game. You run out of targets.
The episode picks up during the endurance Head of Household competition. Jackson lets us know that he doesn’t want to win this HOH. He wants Nicole to win or Cliff. The last person he wants to win is Tommy. So Jackson knows he has to stay until he knows Tommy cannot win because he knows Tommy will nominate Cliff and Nicole.
Jessica is the first to fall and we get a triple replay of it because it might be the best fall ever. Cliff is the next to fall from the competition and quickly followed by Christie. That leaves Nicole, Jackson and Tommy. Nicole is going strong and Tommy is struggling. If Nicole outlasts Tommy, Jackson will give her the win. But she can’t hold on. Nicole is the next out, leaving Jackson and Tommy.
And even though Jackson did not want to win this HOH, he knows he has to. He tells Tommy he’s good if he falls. Tommy can’t hold on any longer and drops. Jackson is the new Head of Household.
Jackson tells Nicole that he won for her and Cliff because he knows that Tommy was going to put them up. He reminds her and Cliff that they have a final four and he couldn’t let Tommy take a shot at that. Nicole is happy that Jackson can keep her safe, but she’s really upset that she’s not able to contribute anything to her final four.
And since Jackson only won the HOH to protect Cliff and Nicole, he knows that his options for nominees are few. And he told Tommy he’s good, so that leaves him with only Christie and Jessica to nominate. Cliff is a yes man, so when Jackson tells him this idea, Cliff says he’s good with it. Cliff would rather the nominees be Christie and Tommy (and all of America), but he goes along with it.
Jessica, meanwhile, is feeling safe and happy that Jackson won HOH.
Jackson lets Christie know that he might have to cash in on her pawn promise. And she’s upset. She’s tired of being on the block and doesn’t understand why it has to be her. He lets Christie know she’s not going anywhere and that Jessica is his target. He thinks Jessica would win any mental competition. None of this makes sense because Jessica is super out of touch with the game, but keep on selling it, Jackson.
Christie and Tommy catch up and Tommy lets Christie know Jackson made a deal with him on the wall, so Christie realizes that she might be in trouble this week because it’s clear Jackson and Holly are working with Cliff and Nicole. If Jessica wins veto, that leaves only herself as a target, Christie says in her Diary Room.
It’s now time to for Jackson to let Jessica know that he’s terrified of going up against her or Christie. As in, hint hint, I’m going to nominate you. It takes her a minute to finally get what he’s trying to tell her. After he explicitly says “probably you and Christie.”
Christie checks back in with Jackson to see what happens if Jessica wins veto. He says Cliff will go up. She asks who the target would be then. Jackson says Cliff, but she’s not buying. She can’t believe he’d want her to stay over Cliff.
At the nomination ceremony, there are no surprises as Jackson nominates Christie and Jessica for eviction. Jackson says Jessica is the biggest threat to beat him at mental competition, but that’s not true. He just has no one else to target because he’s working with everyone left in the game.
