Fight Breaks House Before Public Enemy Number One Wins HOH

Players who’d been sleepwalking through this game suddenly are waking up and shaking things up. It can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing. So much depends on who wins the coveted Head of Household. Last week, no one wanted Cameron to win and he did.

Chaos erupted.

This week, no one wanted the all-new public enemy number one to win after that epic fight. So, of course that person won. It’s as if these shenanigans were scripted — or should we say, you couldn’t have scripted it better?

This year’s wall competition didn’t go nearly as long as in years past, with no one even surpassing the one-hour mark. But there was still plenty of drama to unfold in an extensive series of flashbacks looking back at what went down in the hours leading up to Izzy’s eviction.

If you get caught in a lie, shift to gaslighting, right? Maybe not against a champion debater. After first waking up last week just in time to flip the house against Izzy, it doesn’t look like Cory is going back to sleep.

There’s also a lesson to be learned here for Mama Cirie. Don’t send your boy off to find out information. Ever! The last time she did, he wound up threatening Jag and exposing that he knew about that vote flip, which jeopardized Cirie and Matt’s games.

This time, he decided to enter a conversation to try and find out how the vote flipped with a lie. Even worse, it was a completely unnecessary lie. If a more direct approach doesn’t work, then you can try subterfuge.

And if you are gonna lie, do a better job of protecting yourself, or keeping things vague. Instead of that, Jared told Matt — poor, sweet, trusting Matt — that Jag had told him Mama Felicia had the votes to stay. Remember, this is all happening before the vote.

Now, why put a name on that. He could have just told him that someone told him and keep things vague. Instead, he created the easiest path to outing himself as a liar, or at least pitting his lying skils against Jag’s truth skills.

He doubled down after Matt hinted that Cory was behind the flip, which was true, and went and told Cory the same thing he’d told Matt. This quickly erupted into an epic fight where Cory started using all of his debate skills and Jared started using all of his “I can talk over you and be louder because louder equals more right and if I can’t hear you then you aren’t saying anything” skills.

It didn’t work. Cory basically waited him out and then tore his entire argument down to the quick. Then, to rub salt in the wound, he decided to bring Jag up to double-check Jared’s latest lie. Mama Cirie followed, so she could witness her son’s buffoonery firsthand.

Amazingly, when Cory asked Jag if he’d told Jared the night before about the vote flip, Jared switched tactics. Jag quickly asked him if he’d done that and Jared just as quickly said he didn’t. Instead, he said Matt (and maybe Cory?) must have misunderstood.”

Now, was this him using Matt’s disability as a possible ploy to get out of getting exposed as a liar? Or was it just gaslighting and it kind of looked that way. Either way, it was pretty pathetic and didn’t really work that well at all. Jared is all bluster and very little thought.

He definitely didn’t get his mother’s savvy and cleverness gene. And now, both of their games were in jeopardy, as the whole house knows how tight the two of them were with Izzy and Felicia.

In fact, Cory took a quick and direct shot at Cirie when she tried to downplay all the real and fake alliances saying she didn’t even want to be in “75 alliances.” Cory quickly pointed out that the aforementioned foursome was in all of them, which is a pretty comfortable way to play the game.

We wondered how dangerous Cory could be when he finally opened up and decided to start playing this game, and we’re starting to see it. The problem is that he exposed the level of his keen insight and argumentative skills at a point where his safety wasn’t assured — just ahead of the vote and Head of Household competition.

You can probably guess what happened next.

We were a little surprised at how quickly The Wall competition ended, though maybe we shouldn’t have been. Last season had the distinction of being the shortest Wall competition, we believe, but no longer. Coming in at right around 45 minutes, this one shaved last season’s time by two whole minutes.

Unsurprisingly, Cirie was the first one off the wall. She’s never been great at competitions, so it’s kind of to be expected. But wouldn’t it surprise the Houseguests if it turns out she’s been doing this on purpose to minize her target size and surprise everyone with a win when she needs it.

That said, she kind of needed one right now after Cory had systematically orchestrated the ouster of her closest ally (with a big push from America) and then blew up Jared’s game pretty aggressively just hours before.

Felicia dropped a little after Cirie. Their status remains unknown as they’ve not really been seen much together since they were tethered in a kayak and things fell apart. Our guess is that Mama F finding out Mama C was trying to save Izzy over her — and Jared not using the Veto — didn’t help that bond.

America was next to fall, followed by Mecole and Cory. This competition usually favors petite women and at this point, there were two of them left up there in Blue and Bowie. They then outlasted both Jag and Matt, leaving them up there with Jared.

Talking about a do-or-die moment. Bowie was part of the house flip and was in the room during the epic blowout fight. Like Felicia, we don’t have a good read on where Blue’s head is at in her showmance with Jared or the house after the chaos of last week.

A Bowie win would definitely be bad news for Jared and Cirie as she was working with Cameron last week and felt personally burned by them. A Blue win would be a wild card moment with Jared definitely in one ear and the rest of the house in the other.

They fell within seconds of one another, leaving Jared alone on the wall and emerging triumphant as the next HOH. Like Cameron, he got it when he needed it and right after one of his closest allies was booted from the house. There’s something to be said about that extra drive you get following an eviction that burns (and an epic fight).

And so, another week of chaos is about to unfold. Cameron would have been the obvious target, but Cory has just emerged as a huge threat to Jared and Cirie’s games. He’s also showing what a strategic threat he is in general, exposing just how much of what’s going on in the house he sees and understands.

They’re both dangerous and in different ways. In many ways, though, Jared and Cirie are now on an island of two. Cirie may have celebrated a little too much when her baby boy won, but she could play that off as jubilation after seeing her closest ally go home and the house already seeing her and Jared as a pair. She needed this as much as him.

We’d say it’s lights out for the two of them, but Cameron was an island alone as HOH last week. In many ways, he still is. If the waters of bitterness can recede, sometimes islands connect and a week is a long time. Cameron was the obvious house target coming out of last week, but suddenly Jared has reasons to explore other options.

He did just that with his nominations, putting Cory up next to America. Now, he doesn’t know America instigated the flip, so he’s actually got two good targets on the block. He sees America as a pawn, but if Cory comes down, she’s not a bad option. He also left the backdoor open for Cameron.

That said, Cameron showed up offering deals of safety and blatant honesty. If they’re going to be two people the whole house is gunning for — and right now they absolutely are — why not talk about protecting one another. They’ve each won two competitions, so they could actually do a lot as a duo. But can they actually trust the other?

Can anyone really trust anyone? With this house right now, we don’t think so. It’s pretty wild how fractured they are and we’re not even halfway through the season!

Matthew Klotz (27, deaflympics gold medalist) was used and abused this week and still managed to come out unscathed. Jared has no reason to target him. Actually, no one has any reason to target him, which is why he’s still in this top position. At some point, they’re going to realize he’s “nice”-ing his way to the end and they’ll have to try and get rid of him. He’s even a comp threat and still no one is worried. [Grade: A]

Mecole Hayes (30, political consultant) is so under the radar that sometimes we forget she’s in this house. With how explosive things have been these past couple of weeks, we couldn’t think of a smarter way to play this game. No one is talking about her, and that’s a good thing right now. [Grade: B]

Felicia Cannon (63, real estate agent) appears to have separated herself a bit from Cire and Jared after finding out they were lobbying to get rid of her last week, which is good news for her standing in the game. As their target increases, hers now decreases. No one sees Mama F as a huge threat, even though she’s proven a savvy strategist. But laying low is probably her best move right now. [Grade: C]

Blue Kim (25, brand strategist) is a bit of an unknown right now as we’ve not seen her being all that close to Jared, making her a possible free agent. Is she rekindling her bond with Jag? Does she have any meaningful alliances or conversations right now? With Jared in power, she might emerge a bit, but regardless of their status, we don’t see him targeting her right now. [Grade: C]

Cirie Fields (53, nurse) is as vulnerable as she’s ever been in this game. But for the grace of who won this week’s HOH she might have found herself on the block or backdoored. Certainly, Cory and his new allies didn’t seem all that worried about Cameron. Her saving grace is that they might just try to get rid of Jared and deal with her later because, as we mentioned, she’s proving to be pretty awful in all these comps. [Grade: C-]

Jag Bains (25, truck company owner) remains a threat to Cirie’s game because he knows a bit about who she’d been talking to early on, but with everything blown up, that may not matter as much. He was targeted almost relentlessly early on, but we’re not sure anyone’s really paying attention to him right now, which is good news. Jared threw him under the bus, but Jared also has bigger targets to deal with who are gunning for him and his mom. [Grade: C-]

Bowie Jane Ball (45, barrister/DJ) is starting to be in the room when things are happening, now seeming to have some allegiance to Cameron and possibly Cory as well. Unfortunately, those are the wrong people right now, but no one is looking at her as a problem or concern. Her fate will depend on which sides can maintain power and how new alliances shape up. [Grade: C-]

America Lopez (27, medical receptionist) is on the block as a clear pawn, but she’s still vulnerable. She was the mastermind behind the filp with Cory more her muscle in getting it done. We’re not sure anyone has figured that out, but the house has been threatened by her for weeks. In the absence of a better target (say Cameron wins Veto and takes down Cory), she might find herself a reasonable alternative for the house to evict. [Grade: D+]

Jared Fields (25, exterminator) continues to sink his own game, and his mother’s by proxy. The saving grace for Cirie is that they’d likely get rid of Jared and then keep her around (which they could come to regret) as someone they don’t feel particularly threatened by. Jared, on the other hand, is burning every bridge he sees and making enemies left and right. He’s almost as hated and mistrusted as Cameron now. [Grade: D+]

Cory Wurtenberger (21, college student) will be the target of nominations don’t change. That could happen to Jared whether he wants it or not. After that fight, he’d probably be okay with it. There’s a lot of game left to get rid of Cameron, and the house is still on board to do it. If the chance comes to get rid of Cory, it might be worth doing. [Grade: D]

Cameron Hardin (34, stay-at-home dad) is still the house’s target, and a great backdoor option. Will Jared see the value in keeping someone else the house hates? Can he trust Cameron? Honestly, the two of them have burned so many relationships in the house, their only hope might be the unlikeliest alliance. But if Cameron sees the block, he’s gone. And right now, that’s just a matter of when. [Grade: D]

• “I think Izzy in trouble. Just because of the way people are acting. Talk to Skeezy [Cory] and Matt and see what you think. I think she’s in trouble, and if she’s in trouble, we’re in trouble.” –Cirie (to Jared before eviction)
• “Jag is telling me to keep Mama Felicia … That’s what Jag’s telling me y’all talked about. He told me last night that y’all were going to keep Felicia.” –Jared (lying to Matt to try and get to the truth)
• “Right now, I don’t know for sure, but I have a gut feeling it’s gonna flip.” –Matt (hedging his bets)
• “It makes no sense that Jag would tell Jared anything. Jag was in on this blindside and the only thing that makes sense is he was trying to cover his own ass.” –Cory (in DR)
• “You know I trust you and Cirie. But apparently there’s been words that the Seven, the Seven Deadly Sins has been a fake alliance. There’s another alliance called For Real, For Real. There’s seven people in it.” –Matt (to Jared)
• “Who’s For Real, For Real?” –Jared
• “You, Cirie, Felicia, Meme, Cory, America, Izzy.” –Cory
• “You telling me one thing and I have seven people telling me the other thing. That’s the truth of it. That’s the reality. Do you understand why it’s hard for me to believe that? Especially when I’m putting all these pieces together and everyone’s coming to me with their Jared story about how Jared’s misled them. And then you come in here to have the show to everybody and say, ‘Look guys, Cory’s lying, I’m telling the truth because I’m talking in a loud volume and I’m not letting him say a word. It’s bulls–t, Jared. We’ve been comparing notes. You’ve been at the center of this game.” –Cory
• “You want to bring Jag up here?’ –Cory
• “Just sitting on the pier watching the boats go by.” –Cameron (watching people go by and loving every minute of it)
• “I heard that last night you went to Jared and said both me and Matt are voting to keep Felicia.” –Cory (to Jag)
• “Did I ever do that?” –Jag
• “No. You didn’t do that. Never said it to me. You must have misunderstood.” –Jared (trying gaslighting for a change)
• “I just said go see what’s going on Jared. I didn’t say start a war.” –Cirie (in DR)
• “But you are benefiting — Anyone who wins HOH feels like they’re in an alliance with Cirie, Jared, Izzy, and Felicia.” –Cory (to Cirie after she said she doesn’t want to be in 75 alliances)
• “Final six guys?” –Bowie (cracking joke in tense room)
• “This is the most critical HOH for Jared.” –Cirie (in DR)
• “Yes! Yes! Let’s go, baby!” –Cirie (after Jared wins HOH … maybe a bit much?)
• “I just had the fight of the century with Jared, voted out his closest ally, and then he won HOH. I mean, this is the worst-case scenario.” –Cory (in DR after Jared’s win)
• “It’s just me against the world right now. But hey, this may work in my favor.” –Cameron (in DR hoping fight changes Jared’s focus away from him)
• “What did you do?” –America (to Cory)
• “I didn’t do anything unreasonable. But I’m gonna get targeted and I hope you’re not the pawn.” –Cory
• “No matter what happens this week, I want Cameron gone.” –Jared (to Cirie)
• “At this point, I’m done trusting people in this house.” –Jared (to Cameron)
• “Are you?” –Cameron
• “For sure.” –Jared
• “Then we can talk.” –Cameron
• “The only person I still trust in this house is Blue.” –Jared

Big Brother continues Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm ET and Sunday at 10pm on CBS.