Big Brother featured Britini D'Angelo winning the Power of Veto and Head of Household Derek Xiao doubting his plan to backdoor Christian Birkenberger after realizing the consequences of that action during Wednesday night's Season 23 episode on CBS.
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The Veto Meeting was not shown, and so Sarah Beth Steagall, a 27-year-old forensic scientist from Boiling Springs, SC who currently resides in Fort Myers, FL, and Britini, a 24-year-old Kindergarten teacher from Niagara Falls, NY, are still on the chopping block heading into Thursday night's live eviction episode.
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However, it's assumed Britini will use the golden Power of Veto to save herself and Derek X., a 24-year-old start-up founder from Baltimore, MD who currently resides in New York, NY, will be forced to name a replacement nominee.
The Big Brother broadcast began on Day 31, after Derek X. had nominated Sarah Beth and Britini for eviction. Derek X., however, was gunning for Christian, a 23-year-old general contractor assistant from Harwinton, CT, in a backdoor plot to take out a huge threat in the house.
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Britini said she was "absolutely frustrated" to be on the chopping block for the third time.
The former "Kings" team comprised of Sarah Beth, Christian, Alyssa Lopez, a 24-year-old swimwear designer from Sarasota, FL, and Xavier Prather, a 27-year-old attorney from Kalamazoo, MI, were then shown complaining about Derek X.'s betrayal of their "The Royal Flush" alliance.
Sarah Beth lamented about possibly going home during her birthday week, but the "Kings" led Sarah Beth to believe they were angry and would fight for her in the Power of Veto competition.
Sarah Beth and Derek X. then sat down for a chat, which began with at least 30 seconds of awkward silence.
Sarah Beth hoped Derek X. would be honest with her about his actual plan, and so she waited for him to break. After the long moment of silence, Derek X. assured Sarah Beth that she wasn't his target.
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Derek X. explained to Sarah Beth that she was his only option for a pawn because he had promised both Xavier and Alyssa safety, and he also shared how he would've lost the entire "Jokers" team's trust if he had chosen to put two of them on the block.
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The two other former "Jokers" in the house are Derek Frazier, a 29-year-old safety officer from Philadelphia, PA, and Azah Awasum, a 30-year-old director of sales operations from Baltimore, MD, along with Britini.
Derek X. revealed how he wanted Christian out of the house, which meant Christian couldn't compete in the upcoming PoV competition.
"I'm not surprised he's taking a shot at Christian; I'm just surprised it's this early. I'm really grateful for my team, but unfortunately, I've been playing an individual game this entire time," Sarah Beth said in a confessional.
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"So I'm going to continue to do that whether that means betraying them or not."
Derek X. then faced the rest of the "Kings," and he attempted to convince them that Sarah Beth was not his target and he was just trying to send Britini packing.
Derek X. also lied and said Hannah may have figured out about their "Royal Flush" alliance -- which she already knew about -- if he didn't nominate one of the "Kings" for eviction.
Derek X. said his choice ultimately came down to Christian or Sarah Beth and he went with Sarah Beth since Christian is obviously his shield in the house.
Xavier asked Derek X. to confirm that Britini was his target, and Derek X. nodded his head. Xavier also questioned Derek X. on which player would be the replacement nominee if someone wins the golden Power of Veto, and Derek X. replied, "Another Joker."
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"I'm extremely grateful it's not me, so thank you so much," Christian told the HoH.
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Afterward, Alyssa promised to use the veto on Sarah Beth if she won it. Sarah Beth didn't inform Alyssa that her closest ally in the house, Christian, was Derek X.'s backdoor target so that it would better her chances of getting off the block.
It then became time to pick players for the POV competition. In addition to the HoH, Derek X., and the two nominees, Britini and Sarah Beth, three more houseguests were selected by random draw.
The players selected to compete were Alyssa as well as Claire Rehfuss, a 25-year-old artificial intelligence engineer from Chagrin Falls, OH who currently resides in New York, NY, and Kyland Young, a 29-year-old account executive from San Bernardino County, CA who currently resides in Venice Beach, CA.
Kyland was excited to play because he hoped to save Sarah Beth, and Derek X. celebrated how Christian -- the "comp beast" in the house -- wasn't chosen to compete.
When the Power of Veto competition commenced, the houseguests walked into the backyard and it was set up like an 80's gym.
The participating players were required to hop from one piece of gym equipment to the next and whoever did the fewest number of reps in a certain amount of time would be eliminated.
Once a person got eliminated, he or she would be able to choose one of six prices, including the Veto.
Each subsequent eliminee could trade his or her prize with a player who was previously ousted from the competition or keep the new prize.
Claire was eliminated first and cleaned out "the sixth-place locker," which contained the Veto.
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Sarah Beth lost in Round 2 by one rep to Britini, and her fifth-place locker contained $5,000, which she decided to hold onto to, knowing someone else would just steal the Veto from her later on and she'd probably get stuck with "a terrible punishment."
This ticked off Alyssa, who said she didn't want to "work [her] butt off" and do the job for Sarah Beth while she got to sit back and look pretty with $5,000.
Kyland was eliminated in fourth place and received the honor of wearing a unitard all week long and playing "52 Card Pickup" whenever the King asks. He chose to give Claire the punishment and take the Veto for himself.
Round 4 was an endurance round and Derek X. was out. Derek X. claimed a punishment of dressing like a "Jackass" and making club sandwiches whenever the king demands it.
Derek X. wanted to take the $5,000 from Sarah Beth, but she cried, "Derek, please don't."
Derek X. therefore traded Kyland for the Veto, which left Kyland with a punishment. Derek X. knew he's probably end up with a punishment as well, but something came over him to not want to screw over Sarah Beth.
In the final round of competition, Britini won against Alyssa. Alyssa's second-place prize was the ability to use a Smartphone and a laptop, and she was also told she could communicate with a loved one this week. If she remained in the house for four weeks, she'd be able to receive a video message from home.
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Alyssa chose to keep her prize, and then Britini traded Derek X. for the Power of Veto in order to save herself and take herself off the block.
Derek X. therefore got stuck with a key to unlock the downstairs toilet every time a person needs to go to the bathroom. He also had to announce every person's arrival into the bathroom.
Britini became the first female in the house to win the Power of Veto, and she was beyond thrilled.
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Shortly before the Veto Meeting, Derek X. admitted he wanted to put Christian on the block, and Alyssa appeared furious.
Derek X. said this might be his only chance to take a shot at Christian, but Alyssa insisted that wouldn't be smart because neither of them were going after him. Alyssa reminded Derek X. how Christian could have backdoored him during his previous HoH reign.
Alyssa vented in the Diary Room how Derek X. had been willing to make her look like "a fool" because if she won the PoV, she would have saved Sarah Beth -- only to watch her best friend and showmance partner, Christian, go up on the block.
Alyssa warned Christian about Derek X.'s plan, and it apparently took everything Christian had to not flip out on Derek X. and make a scene.
"You will not have people backing you up on this," Alyssa warned Derek X. "I know personally, Christian wanted to gain your trust, and he did that by not putting you up."
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Xavier also wanted to keep Christian around as a shield, and so he told the cameras he would target Derek X. at the first opportunity if he successfully takes Christian out of the game.
When Derek X. told Sarah Beth his plan to backdoor Christian, with Alyssa standing right next to them, Sarah Beth told Derek X. that he needed to do what's best for his game. Alyssa seemed shocked that Sarah Beth wasn't trying to fight harder for Christian.
But in private, Sarah Beth told Derek X. that he has to take his shot because now Alyssa and Christian would go after him either way.
"I am Public Enemy No. 1. I might as well pack my bags the same night and go home," Derek X. said in the Diary Room.
Derek X. realized if Christian went home, he'd lose his shield and become an even bigger target. But if Christian stayed, Alyssa and Christian would no longer trust him and Sarah Beth would be angry at him for not taking the shot when he had the chance.
The broadcast surprisingly ended before the Veto Meeting, and Christian just hoped Derek X. would put Derek F. on the block instead.
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Christian assured Derek X. they'd go after each other eventually "but not right now" and it wasn't the right time to be taking shots at each other. Christian asked Derek X. to think about his longevity in the game.
"What's best for your game is the same as what's best for my game right now because our games are similar. It makes the most sense for the both of us to stick together," Christian insisted. "Otherwise, you can't play [HoH] next week... Big D is an easy guy to go up."
Derek X. acknowledged the repercussions of following through with such a big move could affect his entire game going forward, and so he began to doubt his original plan to backdoor Christian.
[Big Brother Spoiler: Highlight the white area below to find out what Derek decided to do].
Derek decided to proceed with his plan and nominated Christian for eviction
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Big Brother's next episode will air Thursday, August 12 at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.