'Big Brother' determines sole HoH and week's two initial eviction nominees after "Battle of the Block" competition

Big Brother determined the week's four nominations only to subsequently dethrone one of the two Head of Households, leaving two houseguests on the chopping block during Sunday night's fifteenth broadcast of the show's sixteenth season on CBS.


Big Brother's fifteenth episode began with a recap of how Frankie Grande and Zach Rance were crowned the week's two HoHs. Derrick Levasseur had thrown the competition so Frankie could become the new HoH and see pictures of his grandfather, who had just passed away.

Zach's main target as HoH was Amber Borzotra because he had heard from Christine Brecht she wanted to come after all the guys in the house, especially Zach. Amber was hoping to get Christine and her best friend Nicole Franzel onboard with that.

Zach and Christine, however, were allies in the new "Detonators" alliance along with Frankie, Derrick and Cody Calafiore. Therefore, Christine kept the secret from Nicole. Amber and Caleb Reynolds believed they were members of the alliance as well, but they had been a part of the initial "Bomb Squad" group of eight people, which had clearly dissolved unbeknownst to the two of them.

Clearly outside of any alliance, Donny Thompson, Jocasta Odom and Victoria Rafaeli worried they'd be targets again at the next nomination ceremony. It would be Donny's fourth time on the block.


Meanwhile, Zach talked to Caleb, who had a huge crush on Amber, about how he had been questioning Amber's allegiance to the alliance. Zach didn't know which situation would worsen his game -- leaving Amber off the chopping block and having her come after him later, or putting her on the block and having Caleb go after him instead.

Caleb admitted to cameras he didn't like the idea of nominating Amber, but he also thought she was getting a big head in the house and had been taking his loyalty and help for granted.

Caleb then revealed the news to Amber, and Amber noted that if she was put up on the block, she'd disclose the "Bomb Squad" alliance to everyone. However, Zach still wanted to nominate Amber with Christine and then have Christine throw the upcoming "Battle of the Block" competition to ensure Amber's eviction.

Christine completely rejected the proposal, saying she didn't want to stay on the block as a nominee for eviction. Zach assured her that she wouldn't be going home, as she was a member of the "Detonators," but she didn't believe him. Zach grew frustrated and irritated with Christine for not taking one for the team.

Cody thought Zach was simply a chaotic HoH, as putting Christine on the block would be a dumb move. Cody explained to Zach they needed to keep their allies close and prove they had their backs, but Zach kept insisting people who don't pull their weight in an alliance should be evicted. Like Cody, Derrick believed Zach was "a wild card," while Frankie called him "a monster."


When Christine turned down Zach's idea, Zach considered backdooring Amber and putting up Jocasta and Nicole on the block instead.

Zach then tried to plant seeds in Nicole's mind, asking her how much she trusted Christine. Nicole was concerned Zach knew something that she didn't because he kept repeating how there was a lot of information she didn't know. When Nicole confronted Christine about Zach's hints, Christine argued that Zach was just crazy and pissing her off. Nicole admitted it would break her heart if she found out Christine had been playing her.

Cody and Derrick created a sub-alliance within the "Detonators" and called themselves "The Hitmen." They made a Final 2 deal and determined they must keep Zach on "a short leash." The pair agreed Zach was "unpredictable and erratic," Frankie was "charismatic yet sly," and Christine was "floating yet methodical." 

Although Amber tried to fix things with Zach, he still intended to backdoor her. Frankie planned to nominate two people who were "weak," which meant he'd have little blood on his hands and they'd probably lose the "Battle of the Block" competition -- allowing him to remain the only HoH. On the flip side, Zach noted he was ready to "bathe in blood."

At the nomination ceremony, Frankie revealed he had nominated Jocasta and Victoria. He said it was 100% strategic, not personal. Zach then announced he had decided to nominate Christine and Nicole for eviction. Zach explained that Christine was the definition of a floater and Nicole was a "fruit loop dingus." Nicole felt very insulted.


Christine then confronted Zach about telling Nicole some things he shouldn't have. Zach denied it and Christine just laughed in his face. Although Frankie and Zach were best buddies, Frankie was ready to throw him under the bus if it meant keeping the rest of the house happy.

Later on, Jocasta and Victoria competed against Nicole and Christine in the wedding-themed "Battle of the Block" competition. Nicole and Christine won, and Frankie -- as the sole HoH going forward -- revealed to cameras that Amber was still his No. 1 target.

In addition, "Team America" failed the first half of their third secret mission. Donny, Frankie and Derrick were tasked with sparking enough drama in the house to result in two houseguests getting into a heated argument at either the nomination ceremony or the upcoming Power of Veto meeting. No fight broke out at the nomination ceremony. 






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski