Big Brother fans waited and speculated and waited some more this preseason in anticipation of discovering just how this new “Battle of the Block” twist would work. Now after last night’s premiere conclusion we have the answers, but that just raises more questions.
As Julie Chen explained last night on Big Brother 16, the Battle of the Block twist will involve each week’s four nominees in a duel battle to escape the chopping block. Despite earlier suggestions otherwise, the HoHs will not be participating in this new competition, only the noms. Here’s how it works.
Each of the two Head of Household winners will nominate two HGs. Those four HGs will face off and work as pairs, grouped by the HoH who nom’d them. The winning pair will be free from the block, but they’ll also get to “dethrone” the HoH who put them there.
Example: “HoH A” nominates “HG B” and “HG C.” “HoH X” nominates “HG Y” and “HG Z.” HGs B&C compete against HGs Y&Z. HGs B&C win the comp and are no longer on the block. HoH A, who nominated HGs B&C, loses his role as HoH. HGs Y&Z remain on the block since they lost and HoH X, who nominated them, becomes that week’s sole HoH.
Confusing enough for you? Yeah, it seems a little complicated, but I think we’ll get the flow of it before too long.
Here’s the sticking point for me though and it was immediately obvious on what we should expect as a result of these rules. If you were HoH and wanted to remain safe for the week, would you put up strong competitors who would have a better chance at winning and dethroning you, or weak HGs who are more likely to lose and let you stay safe? The latter, of course.
So what happened this first week? Frankie nominated Victoria and Brittany, the two HGs who fell first and second in the second group’s comp. Caleb nominated Donny and Paola, the first male and female to fall in the first HoH comp. Of course they did. The HoHs wanted their best odds at staying safe by seeing their noms lose. It’s the Battle of the Weakest Block.
The nice part is we’re more apt to see the weakest players eliminated first this season. That will make it more difficult to see a repeat of last season’s F3. It’be fun to see the more competitive players duke it out at the end, so that’s good. The downside though is that it nearly forces the hand of the HoHs on who they’ll nominate. I mean, sure, Caleb could have picked Devin and Hayden, but why would he take that risk?
All hope isn’t lost though for any HoHs wanting to target a bigger player. They can still try for the backdoor or renom route and get someone out that way. So there is an option, but I’m thinking we’re going to see a trend of four less competitive players nominated in the first round each week. Welcome to, Battle of the Weakest Block.
What do you think of this new twist for Big Brother 16? Like it or want to see it gone soon?