'Big Brother' HoH Paul Abrahamian nominates Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson for eviction

Big Brother's new Head of Household, Paul Abrahamian, nominated Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson for eviction despite his general knowledge of the couple's "Halting Hex" advantage during Sunday night's Season 19 broadcast on CBS.


Paul decided to put Jessica and Cody on the chopping block last night although he had some awareness the couple may be deemed safe from eviction due to an advantage Jessica had accepted from the "Den of Temptation."

Paul's initial plan was to test and expose the advantage since he was skeptical Jessica may be bluffing. If Jessica could save Cody and herself, Paul wanted to nominate Mark Jansen and Elena Davies in their places.

The "Halting Hex" will allow Jessica the chance to put a stop to one of the next two evictions in order to keep an ally and/or herself safe, so if she and Cody remain the nominees come Thursday night's live eviction, they will be declared safe and the week's special third nominee, Jason Dent, would go home.

Jason became the third nominee this week after finishing the "Temptation Challenge" competition in last place. Jason chose to take a risk and participate in the competition knowing he would receive immunity for winning but could potentially be voted out of the game for losing.


The Big Brother broadcast picked up where last Thursday night's live eviction episode had left off, with Paul winning Head of Household and Jessica announcing to the group a temptation will keep Cody and herself "safe for a few weeks."

Jessica did not get into detail because she can only use the "Halting Hex" one time, keeping the pair safe from only one eviction. Paul wondered whether Jessica was lying because she had just recently been on the chopping block and didn't use any advantage to save herself.

At the time, however, Jessica was certain Dominique Cooper was the house's main target instead. Paul also said he saw panic in Cody's eyes once Ramses went off, which made the returning player feel like the former Marine was vulnerable.

Jessica hoped her warning about the advantage would make Paul nominate two other people so that she wouldn't have to use the "Halting Hex" until next week. But since Paul thought the advantage was "fishy," he wanted to nominate Jessica and Cody to confirm the couple's power, or lack thereof.

Following the ouster of Ramses Soto, Elena and Mark felt like outsiders, along with Jessica and Cody, because they were not involved in the plan to keep Josh Martinez in the house. Elena felt betrayed and very pissed off, while Mark felt blindsided and nauseous.


Paul intended to make "big boy moves" this week. Although Cody tried to defend Mark by saying that Mark always had his back, Paul wanted either Cody, Jessica, Elena or Mark gone next. If Jessica or Cody were ultimately safe from eviction, Paul wanted to see Mark walk out the door.

Paul therefore planted seeds in Elena's mind to make her distance herself from Mark in the game so that he'd be a "lone wolf." Paul suggested to Elena that Mark was untrustworthy and dangerous, adding that he was hurting her game and damage had already been done.

Elena didn't want to be eliminated from the game over a showmance, so she agreed to join Paul's "bigger plan" of being an alliance without Mark. Elena then began separating herself from Mark, and he noticed. She explained to Mark how he was spending too much time with Cody because he wasn't a great person to be associated with in the game at this point.

Big Brother host Julie Chen then explained the "Temptation Challenge" that will occur over the next three weeks. For the twist, a houseguest can decide whether he or she wants to compete in an extra competition.

The winner would earn safety for the week, but the person to finish in last place would automatically become a third nominee for eviction. The third nominee would be allowed to play in the subsequent Power of Veto competition, and if he or she won, there would be no replacement nominee.


Each houseguest entered the "Den of Temptation" one by one to make the decision of whether to play in the bonus competition. If only one player opted to participate, he or she would automatically win it. In addition, the Head of Household is not eligible to compete in this competition since he or she is already safe.

Cody desperately wanted to compete because he didn't join the cast of Big Brother to be "a dud," but Jessica insisted they needed to maintain poker faces. If Cody opted to play in the competition, it would signify that he -- and probably Jessica as well -- aren't safe after all. Jessica wanted the house to think the duo felt comfortable so that no one would nominate them.

Elena, knowing she'd probably be Paul's pawn on the chopping block this week, chose not to compete in order to prove her loyalty to Paul. She wanted to show that she trusted Paul and his gameplay. Paul told Matt Clines to play in the competition because he assumed Mark and Elena would both play, and the HoH didn't want either of his targets winning immunity.

Matt turned his back on Mark because he had heard from Paul that Mark didn't appreciate how Matt and Raven Walton never stirred the pot or made big moves in the game.

In the end, Jason, Matt, Mark and Alex Ow chose to compete in the "Temptation Challenge" dubbed "Bowlerina."


For the competition, each houseguest was required to knock down four bowling pins in the fastest time. The catch, however, was that a player must spin around 15 times before throwing balls down the lane, and the lane closes with a gate after 15 seconds, so the tasks had to be repeated.

Mark won the competition with a time of one minute and 18 seconds, so he'll be safe from eviction this week. Alex finished in second place with a time of one minute and 39 seconds. Matt claimed third place with a time of two minutes and 35 seconds, and finally, Jason finished in last place with a time of three minutes and 37 seconds.

Elena wondered if she was the next target because of Mark's victory, so he grew very worried about her position in the game. Since Jason was going to be the third nominee, he hoped bigger targets would be put on the chopping block with him. Jessica assumed it was Cody, Mark, Elena and herself against the house. 

Before the Nomination Ceremony, Jessica asked Paul if he wanted any more information about her advantage, and he didn't act like he cared. Paul was going to nominate her no matter what, and if Jessica pulled herself down from the block, he had pawn volunteers -- such as Alex or Matt.

At the Nomination Ceremony, Paul accused Jessica of not revealing her temptation further, adding that the house was confused about its details. Jessica and Cody just smiled and acted like Paul had made a ridiculous decision.


Paul said "operation to get Cody out of the house, the sequel" was being implemented.   






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski