'Big Brother' nominee Matt Clines wins Power of Veto, Cody Nickson replaces Jason Dent on the block

Big Brother houseguest Matt Clines won the Power of Veto and used it to remove Jason Dent from the chopping block, resulting in the week's Head of Household, Alex Ow, naming Cody Nickson the replacement nominee during Wednesday night's broadcast on CBS.


The Big Brother broadcast began on Day 52, with Alex telling the cameras how if she couldn't backdoor Cody this week, she'd be fine with getting rid of Matt or Elena Davies. Cody knew no one was going to make a deal with him, so he was scrambling to find ways to save himself.

Alex didn't trust Matt, Raven Walton, Elena and Mark Jansen, and she said she wanted Elena to go before Matt because she had a good social game and some influence in the house.

Meanwhile, Alex's side alliance with Paul Abrahamian was still under wraps, as both individuals spent time with other people in the house rather than each other.

Alex and Paul were annoyed that Kevin Schlehuber was stirring the pot and communicating with Cody often, so the pair discussed bringing Jason and Josh Martinez to the end -- and maybe Christmas Abbott.


It then became time to pick players for the Power of Veto competition, and Cody felt this was probably his only chance to stick around.

In addition to Alex as the HoH and Jason, Matt and Elena as the three nominees, two more players were selected at random. Elena hoped Cody would be chosen to play because he had promised to use the veto on her if he happened to win it.

The first houseguest whose name was drawn was Mark, and then Alex picked her own name, so she selected Paul to play in the competition.

Mark wanted to win the veto in order to throw off Alex's plan and keep nominations the same so that Cody would remain in the house, and Cody was hoping for a miracle.

Afterward, Cody and Kevin had a little heart to heart in which Cody revealed he has a five-year-old daughter and gave up his summer with her to be on Big Brother.


Cody said in the Diary Room that his goal was to show his daughter how to compete with heart and passion, and it frustrated the former U.S. Marine to his core that the other players had the ability to strip that from him.

For the PoV competition dubbed "BB Adventure Tours," each houseguest launched an arrow at a giant floor map featuring fun destinations that each had a number of points associated with the area. In each round, the player to land his or her arrow on the area with the fewest number of points would be eliminated.

Each eliminated person then claimed a secret prize and could choose whether to keep it or trade it with the prize a previously-ousted player had received in a process similar to a Yankee Swap. The person to end up with the Power of Veto prize would win it, and the person to survive most of the rounds had a better chance to end up with it.

Paul was worried, however, because if Matt won the veto and chose to use it to remove himself from the chopping block, there would be no replacement nominee and Alex would not be able to nominate Cody for eviction as the replacement. But Cody was praying that exact scenario would unfold.

Paul was eliminated from the competition first and claimed the Power of Veto, knowing it would be stolen from him almost immediately and he'd probably get stuck with a punishment. Mark was eliminated next, and he discovered he had won an adventure vacation -- a trip for two to Colorado -- and so he decided to keep it.


Jason was the next person out, and he claimed a tandem skydiving prize in which he and the houseguest of choice must be strapped together for 48 hours and ride around the house on a scooter. Jason, without a doubt, traded that so-called prize for the veto.

Matt was eliminated from the competition next and selected an "extreme-a-tard" prize. Matt also traded it for the veto, leaving Jason with the punishment of wearing a unitard and screaming out "extreme" whenever prompted for the rest of the week. 

Elena and Alex were the only players left at this point, and they made a deal with each other that they wouldn't stick the other person with some crazy punishment. With that being said, Alex was the next person ousted from the competition, and she claimed $5,000.

Elena therefore finished the competition in first place and opened her prize, which was a "camp guide." Shocking all the houseguests, Elena took the $5,000 from Alex and gave her the camp guide punishment, which would require Alex to lug camp gear around and grill a hot dog for each houseguest whenever prompted.

Elena wanted the money more than she thought she needed the veto, and Alex called her "the biggest, slimiest scumbag in the world" for backing out of their arrangement and screwing her over. Alex decided that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with Elena going forward.


Paul chose to skydive with Christmas, which was a hilarious side, and Matt ultimately ended up with the veto, which even surprised him.

Matt also received a special Outback Steakhouse dinner in the backyard for winning. The veto fell into Matt's lap, and Paul hoped the player wouldn't throw a wrench in Alex's plan to take out Cody.

Cody, however, wasn't giving up just yet. He saw a potential saving grace in the fact Alex was furious at Elena for stealing her money. Josh called Elena "a greedy and selfish player," and Alex wondered if Elena should be her target instead of Cody -- even though Cody would probably still be going up on the chopping block.

Cody wanted Elena to feel good about her decision to steal Alex's money so that she wouldn't apologize to the Head of Household and further piss Alex off.

Cody also warned Elena that all she was to the house was "a perpetual pawn." Cody was also becoming more friendly with everyone in the house, as he was even invited to a little gathering in Alex's HoH room.


Cody didn't enjoy the company of these people at all and it killed him inside to even converse with them, but he put up with it in order to advance himself in the game and get closer to the $500,000.

Afterward, Cody told Alex that he'd never go after her in the game, but she explained that her back was against the wall and she needed to fulfill the house's demands, or else she'd become the target.

Talking to Cody made Alex think twice about taking him out, and she began considering gunning for Elena instead.

It then became time for the Outback Steakhouse dinner, and Matt could select five people to join him. He chose everyone who had participated in the PoV competition, but Paul gave up his spot to Christmas since she had been such a good sport about his skydive punishment.

After the meal, Cody reminded Jason that when he had served as HoH, he saved the rodeo clown. Cody knew that if he got nominated, he was going home no matter what.

Cody planted a seed in Alex and Jason's minds that he could serve as a shield for them going forward if they chose to keep him around.


Cody implied that if he was evicted next, the houseguests would probably go after them because they're a strong pair in the game. Alex realized it might be best for her game to take Cody on as an ally and evict the person she hated -- Elena.

Before the Veto Meeting, Matt told Raven and Paul that he'd "100 percent" take Jason off the block so that Alex could nominate Cody. Matt was a little worried, however, about being overconfident and making a choice that could potentially cost him the game. 

At the Veto Meeting, Matt used the power of veto on Jason, as expected, and then Alex named Cody the replacement nominee.

"I'm sorry Cody, I nominate you. I wash my hands of this," Alex told him.

Cody needed Elena to make herself a bigger enemy and target in the house, and Alex noted to the cameras how she had the power to make sure Elena goes home this week.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski