'Big Brother' recap: Corey Brooks wins Power of Veto, keeps James Huling and Natalie Negrotti on the block

Big Brother featured Corey Brooks winning the Power of Veto and keeping Head of Household Victor Arroyo's nominations the same during Wednesday night's CBS broadcast.


Corey chose to keep James Huling and Natalie Negrotti on the chopping block going into Thursday night's live eviction. The Big Brother broadcast began on Day 80 after the Nomination Ceremony.

This marked James' first time on the block this season yet he knew he was the target, whereas his girlfriend Natalie was the pawn. Victor took so much pride in being able to take Paulie out -- since he was responsible for Victor's first eviction -- and now having the opportunity to evict James, who was the deciding vote for Victor's second eviction.

Natalie's heart was broken because she didn't want James to go. Nicole Franzel also felt really guilty because she had betrayed her friend James knowing he's such a good person and didn't deserve it. Corey had to remind Nicole that she was playing a game and had done nothing wrong.

Natalie knew that if James won the Power of Veto, she would be the one going home. She wished they had stayed loyal to Paul Abrahamian and Victor because she knew never to trust Nicole and Corey. Natalie wished she had put her foot down with James, who made the mistake in picking alliance members and acknowledged Natalie was never going to let him live it down. 


Natalie then apologized to Paul and Victor for betraying and backstabbing them. She said she really trusted James' opinions and she let the wrong person influence her. Natalie owned up to making an error and threw James under the bus in the meantime, which showed Paul that Natalie put on this ditzy and innocent act but really knew how to play the game after all.

James told Natalie that she was on the chopping block as a pawn because of him and he was going to make it right. 

Corey, Nicole, Paul and Victor therefore considered flipping a coin and maybe taking Natalie out first because she was so shady and willing to jump ship. 

For this week's Power of Veto competition, the houseguests were trapped inside an industrial complex and had to figure out how to escape three different rooms by problem solving and thinking fast on their feet. The player to escape the complex in the quickest time would win the PoV and a trip for two to the set of MacGyver in Atlanta for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour.

Natalie finished the compound in nine minutes and six seconds, which defeated everyone except Corey. who finished the competition in six minutes and 14 seconds. Corey therefore took the veto away from Natalie. 


Natalie was sure the house would take her out first because she's good at competitions, but James promised her that wouldn't happen and he'd campaign for votes to keep her. 

Victor wanted James out badly as a form of revenge, but everyone else kind of agreed Natalie was the bigger threat because of her recent gameplay.

Victor also thought Natalie had a bad attitude and was "not as dumb as she seemed." Nicole also didn't think it said much about Natalie that she failed to remain loyal to her "No. 1" in the house, because if she can't stand by James, what would she be willing to do to someone else?

Meanwhile, James was trying to save Natalie in the game by asking Corey not to vote her out.

Natalie assumed that Corey and Nicole trusted James more than her. Out of paranoia, Natalie asked James if he had a Final 2 or 3 deal with either Corey or Nicole or both of them, and obviously James said, "No." He expected Natalie to know him better at this point in the game, so he was disappointed.


Natalie told her game-long showmance partner that if he stuck with Nicole and Corey going forward in the game, she never wanted him to speak to her again -- and she wasn't joking! James noted that was "really mean to say," but Natalie snapped at him, "It's the truth."

James would never be able to say that to Natalie, so he questioned her intentions and doubted that their feelings were on the same level. James really cared for Natalie, but she was just blaming him for her position on the block.

In case the house decided to keep James for another week, and he was to win the next Head of Household competition, Paul decided to get on his good side and attempt to solidify some trust. If he became HoH, Paul wanted James to nominate Nicole and Corey for eviction together instead of himself and Victor.

Paul therefore revealed to James that Natalie had thrown him under the bus by saying she regretted trusting him and never should have listened to him. James promised he wouldn't relay such information back to Natalie.

Whether Natalie's motive was malicious or not, it cut James deep. He was totally ready to fall on the sword for Natalie in every way -- like giving her the veto if he won it or telling the house to vote him out instead -- but he initially played this game to win it, so the news ignited a fire inside of him. 


Natalie could tell something was wrong with James because he looked incredibly sad, but he kept his mouth shut.

At the Veto Meeting, Natalie told Corey if he used the veto on her, it would be great, but if he used it on James instead, it would be "even greater." James announced he wouldn't campaign against Natalie and flat out asked Corey to save her since he had made decisions which resulted in her vulnerability.

Corey, however, opted not to use the PoV, keeping the nominations the same.

Victor noted at the end of the episode his Final 4 hasn't "100% agreed" on which houseguest should go home next. Corey hoped Natalie would be going home so that he could "pull James in close" afterwards since he thought they still had a good relationship.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski