Big Brother featured Jackson Michie winning Part 1 of the final three-part Head of Household competition of the summer and Nicole Anthony trying to survive in the house with a showmance during Sunday night's Season 21 episode on CBS.
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Big Brother 21 - Episode 39
The Big Brother broadcast began on Day 96 in the house, but footage flashed back to Day 93 following Cliff Hogg's eviction.Nicole was "really, really sad" Cliff was gone, and she said it sucked to be stuck in the Final 3 with a showmance -- Michie and Holly Allen.
Nicole knew Michie and Holly would want to take each other to the Final 2, but she planned to give her best effort and fight for her spot in the finale. Nicole wasn't going to give up.
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Michie then talked to Nicole casually about how the jury hated him. He said he was "dead" to Analyse Talavera and Jessica Milagros hated him. Michie added that Christie Murphy and Tommy Bracco hated him and he just sent out Kathryn Dunn, who probably hated him as well.
Michie tried to convince Nicole that the jury was comprised of emotional players and they'd vote accordingly so she'd take him to the end if she happened to win the final HoH competition, but Nicole totally saw through his tactics.
"Michie is playing the, 'Oh no! None of them like me! I would be a great person to sit next to [in the Final 2] because I would lose.' I see through it. I am over it!" Nicole vented.
Nicole then tried to appeal to Holly "in a Michie way" so maybe Holly would take her to the Final 2. Nicole knew, however, there was little chance of either Michie or Holly taking her to the end.
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"Michie has mastered the art of manipulation. The southern gentleman who is coming to protect you and then he stabs you with a knife, like, 'Whoa I didn't see that coming!' But I see through it," Nicole said in the Diary Room.
"At this point, I don't think Michie or Holly would even consider bringing me to Final 2. I have nothing to lose. Why not get into his head a little bit and rattle his cage a little bit?!"
Nicole, Michie and Holly were then shown explaining their different gameplays throughout the season and why they might deserve to win the $500,000 grand prize.
Michie said he knew he'd be viewed as a physical threat upon entering the house and so he became "Camp Director" so people would come to him and he could form relationships. Out of those relationships, he essentially formed an alliance of eight so he'd have the numbers.
Michie explained he played in the shadows for a bit and then Gr8tful picked up momentum. Michie used Jack Matthews as a useful ally because Jack served as a shield for him, but then Jack turned his back on him on Day 44.
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"Jack blew up my game," Michie recalled, adding that his game was shot at that point.
Michie said he didn't have anyone in his corner except for Holly, who became his support system and partner in crime. Michie told the cameras Holly was his No. 1 priority and he had done everything in his power to keep her safe.
Michie had 10 wins to his name up until the Final HoH competition, and he said he came into the game ready to make deals and make big moves. He locked in a Final 4 with Nicole and Cliff, but once he realized the pair might take Tommy to the end instead of Holly, Michie came up with a big lie about Tommy to take him out.
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Michie then won the last Power of Veto, allowing him to get rid of Cliff and keep Holly around.
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Nicole said she entered the Big Brother house pretending it was a classroom. She knew she must adapt weekly but depended on her social game.
Nicole formed a Final 2 with Cliff early on but then lost many of her allies since a huge group -- that she was not a part of -- was running the game.
Nicole said she and Cliff were patient and ultimately worked their way into the cracks of the huge alliance that slowly crumbled. Nicole and Cliff teamed up with Jessica and Kat, which allowed them to take out Jack.
Moving forward, Nicole lost the two girls but made a Final 4 deal with Cliff, Michie and Holly. Nicole acknowledged a Big Brother player should never turn down an alliance and it paid off because they got rid of Christie under her HoH reign.
Nicole and Cliff then got rid of Tommy after Holly had promised to throw the HoH competition, giving Nicole an automatic spot in the Final 3. However, Michie's PoV win sent Cliff out the door and she ended up in the Final 3 with a showmance.
Nicole said it was a dream to be on Big Brother and she could see herself sitting in one of the two finale chairs.
Holly got to the Final 3 by playing a careful, calculated game. Holly said joining a big, strong alliance helped her to ease into the summer because she was surrounded by bigger targets, who went before herself.
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Holly admitted she never expected to get into a relationship with somebody, but he wasn't the only person she was close to. Holly also had Kat in her corner secretly, which gave Holly a number on the opposing side of the house.
When Holly and Kat's friendship was exposed, Holly thought she was done, but she still had Michie and they worked great as a team. Holly said flying under the radar went out the window so she and Michie had to compete and win over and over again.
Holly bragged about never seeing the chopping block in 83 days, but her Final 4 deal with Cliff and Nicole saved her from eviction. Holly threw an HoH competition that was made for her, but then Michie won the PoV and kept her safe.
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The episode also featured the Final 3 houseguests from last season -- JC Mounduix, Tyler Crispen and Kaycee Clark -- giving their perspectives on who played the best game of Season 21. They had mixed views of Holly, Michie and Nicole, thinking each person deserved to win for different reasons.
Sunday night's broadcast concluded with Part 1 of the final three-part Head of Household competition of the summer.
The competition was called "Raiders of the BB Relics," and Holly, Michie and Nicole were each required to cross a rope bridge and jump across rotating pillars above a lava pit to get to the other side.
Once there, the players had to complete an ancient BB puzzle, unlocking a treasure chest revealing gold coins. The first player to transfer 25 gold coins one at a time back to the crate at the starting platform would win Part 1 of the competition.
The winner of Part 1 of the Head of Household competition would automatically earn a spot in the third -- and final -- part of the competition, which will air live on Wednesday night's finale this week.
The competition proved to be exhausting, and it was a pretty close call between Holly and Michie. But in the end, Michie, being the physical beast that he is, ended up pulling out the win.
Michie will therefore face either Holly or Nicole in Part 3 during the finale depending on which lady wins Part 2, which has yet to air on CBS.
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Nicole and Holly were nervous about facing off in Part 2, but Nicole said she knew she could win deep in her soul.
The winner of Big Brother's 21st season will receive $500,000. Fans have also been voting for "America's Favorite Houseguest" to award one player a cash prize of $25,000.