'Big Brother' recap: Tucker Des Lauriers wins Power of Veto but gets blindsided as Makensy Manbeck uses "America's Veto"

Big Brother featured Tucker Des Lauriers winning the Power of Veto, Cedric Hodges betraying Tucker, and Makensy Manbeck activating her special "America's Veto" power during the Season 26 episode that aired Wednesday night on CBS.


Tucker, a 30-year-old marketing and sales executive from Boston, MA who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, won the Power of Veto and shocked the house by taking Angela Murray, a 50-year-old real estate agent from Long Beach, CA who currently resides in Syracuse, UT, off the chopping block.

RELATED LINK: 'BIG BROTHER' SHOWMANCES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHICH COUPLES HAVE SPLIT UP?? (PHOTOS)

Tucker and Cedric, a 21-year-old former Marine from Running Springs, CA who currently resides in Boise, ID, secretly agreed to make Quinn Martin, a 25-year-old nurse recruiter from Lawton, OK, who currently resides in Omaha, NE, the replacement nominee.

However, Cedric went against Tucker and named Makensy, a 22-year-old construction project manager from Houston, TX, the replacement nominee.


Makensy, in turn, decided to use her "America's Veto" upgrade power, which will allow America to vote for the new replacement nominee to sit next to Tucker and Kenney Kelley, a 52-year-old former undercover cop from Boston, MA, on the block.

The Big Brother broadcast began on Day 18 following the Nomination Ceremony in which Cedric had nominated Tucker, Kenney and Angela for eviction, with Angela being the house's target.

Cedric hoped he would have "a squeaky clean" HoH reign as long as he wouldn't have to name a replacement nominee after the Power of Veto competition.

Tucker said being on the chopping block as a pawn was good for his Big Brother resume, even though he was annoyed Cedric hadn't made a big move, and he was "ready to rock" in the Power of Veto competition. Angela also didn't think Cedric was playing hard enough.

Kenney, meanwhile, was ready to fight for the Veto, even though he had emotional and "difficult" moments of feeling homesick and wanting to leave the game.


While Quinn was shown telling T'kor Clottey that he didn't think he could move forward in the Big Brother game with Angela, Makensy voiced how she was afraid Cedric was going to put her up and attempt to flush her "America's Veto" power and/or backdoor her.

Tucker then spoke to Kimo Apaka about how Angela had claimed Quinn had a superpower and she was going to expose him if necessary. Angela had called Quinn "a snake in the grass."

"I thought Lisa had a power, but now that she's gone, it's looking like there might be something there," Tucker said of Angela's allegation.

Quinn had confessed to Kimo on Day 7 that he has a Big Brother superpower, and so Kimo -- who called Tucker "gorgeous" and had a "crush" on him -- confirmed Tucker's suspicion and shared how Quinn could replace all of a Head of Household's nominee with the "Deepfake HoH."

RELATED LINK: 'THE AMAZING RACE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)


Tucker was surprised to hear this news given he was in "The Andersons" alliance with Quinn, Kimo and Cam Sullivan-Brown. Quinn had never told him about this power upgrade.

"Once I win the Power of Veto, I'm going to make sure one of these power upgrades not only get exposed, but they get out of this game," Tucker boasted in the Big Brother Diary Room.

Prior to the Power of Veto competition, Kenney admitted he was always up and down with whether he wanted to stay in the game or have his houseguests vote him out so he could return home to his family. He seemed to have one foot out the door at all times.

It then became time to pick players for the Power of Veto competition. In addition to the HoH, Cedric, and the three nominees -- Kenney, Angela and Tucker -- two houseguests were selected by random draw, and they were Makensy and Leah Peters.

Cedric was disappointed because neither of those women were in his "The Andersons" alliance.


Kenney, feeling low, then concocted a "crazy idea," revealing to the Big Brother cameras, "I'm going to win the Veto and pull Angela off the block. It will piss off the house, frankly, and then there's a good possibility I go home."

Kenney shared his plan with Cedric, who thought it was ridiculous. Cedric set out to win the Veto so he could keep his nominations the same and avoid chaos.

The Power of Veto competition then commenced in an AI-created temple within a digital jungle.

The participating houseguests were required to carry a bulky and oddly-shaped cord that appeared to be five or six feet long through the bamboo jungle while attempting to avoid hanging vines. If a vine touched the cord, it would decrease the cord's power by five percent.

The player to make it out of the jungle with the most-charged cord in the fastest time would win the golden Power of Veto.


Makensy really wanted to win because she had a feeling Cedric would name her the replacement nominee and force her to use her power to save herself.

Makensy, Tucker and Kenney finished the competition with the fastest times. Makensy placed third with a 65% charged cord, and Tucker ended up winning the competition with an 85% charged cord.

Kenney then decided he wanted to survive the week, and Cedric got to work on figuring out how to proceed in the Big Brother game.

While Cedric tried to figure out whom to nominate, the entire house gossiped about Makensy's "America's Veto" power and immunity. It was no longer a secret, and Tucker also informed Cam that Quinn had the other superpower that would afford him the opportunity to override the HoH.

"Learning that Quinn has the power is really sketching me out because I'm working with him in 'The Pentagon' and 'The Andersons,'" Cam explained in the Big Brother Diary Room.

"It's really making me rethink my trust in him wholeheartedly."


Tucker was also upset that Quinn was essentially playing his boys.

Cedric and Joseph gave Quinn every opportunity to come clean by talking about the superpowers, but Quinn refused to confirm his advantage.

"It's really easy to lie to these people," Quinn bragged in the Big Brother Diary Room.

Cedric therefore questioned if he could continue playing with Quinn.

Cedric then tried to make Makensy feel comfortable so she wouldn't use her power to mess up his HoH reign this week.

RELATED LINK: 'SURVIVOR' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO'S STILL TOGETHER?! WHICH SHOWMANCES SPLIT UP? (PHOTOS)


Cedric therefore pitched the idea to Makensy of her becoming his replacement nominee, insisting that his pawn wouldn't go home, but Makensy pointed out how she'd have to use her power in that case.

Makensy told the Big Brother cameras that it would make no sense for her not to use her power if she ended up on the chopping block.

Cedric moved on from that conversation and chatted with Kenney and Tucker, and Tucker announced how they should forget about targeting Angela and go after a big threat in the game, such as Quinn, who had one of the two powers.

Cedric was shocked by this recommendation, but Tucker explained how Quinn had a lot of allies and was holding onto an extremely powerful advantage. Tucker insisted that if Quinn made it to the end, he'd probably win at this point.

Tucker was prepared to stay on the chopping block and "battle it out" with Quinn.

"If it doesn't work, it [blows up] my game," Cedric responded.


"I think it would be a legendary Big Brother move," Tucker told the HoH. "It would be a big-ass move, and it could really only backfire on me."

Suddenly, Cedric came around to the idea and called it a good plan. Cedric knew that Quinn was lying and playing hard, and he acknowledged how Quinn would be a threat later in the game.

At the Veto Meeting, Tucker announced he had decided to use the Power of Veto.

"I think this game is being played too safe. Expected the unexpected. Here you go, Angela," Tucker said. "We've got to get the competitors out, guys! That's what this game is about!"

Angela seemed totally shocked and cheered. She was overjoyed, but many of the houseguests appeared bewildered.

"That's my decision, and I'm sticking with it!" Tucker boasted to the other Big Brother players.


Cedric then stood up and declared how he had been put in a position to shake things up and make a serious move.

"With that being said, competitors have to compete, and Makensy, I'm sorry, take your place on the block," Cedric said.

Cedric apologized to Tucker, who replied, "Alright, I'll remember. I'll remember, bro. I hope you're up here next time battling me in the AI Arena."

"We've got to play," Cedric responded.

"Yeah, we do, and that wasn't a smart move," Tucker countered. "There are better players in here you should put up, with stronger power ups, and you just blindsided me. So good luck whenever I'm battling you out there, bro."

"I respect you as a player and as a person, and at the end of the day..." Cedric said.


"It was a stupid-ass move," Tucker complained, adding, "I'm going to win that AI Arena and come for you."

"Okay, that's perfect. We've got to play," Cedric replied.

"I'm coming back," Tucker boasted. "I can easily win that AI Arena."

Tucker apologized to Makensy, saying that she wasn't supposed to be on the chopping block and Cedric's move was "ridiculous."

But the Veto Meeting wasn't adjourned. Makensy stood up and announced, "I have America's Veto, and I'm activating it now."

Cedric breathed a sigh of relief as Makensy said she was using her special power to save herself.


The house then learned that America was going to vote for the replacement nominee and the houseguests would all find out the results live before competing in the AI Arena.

Cedric's jaw dropped to the floor, but Tucker flashed a big smile on his face.

Makensy told the Big Brother cameras how Cedric had made enemies in herself and Tucker, and Tucker -- who was "fuming" and "incredibly disappointed -- insisted Cedric had "made a big mistake" and it was "a very stupid move."

Tucker said he was going to gun for Cedric, and then Quinn realized that Tucker knew about his superpower and wanted him gone.

"But the problem for him is that my strength isn't in the upgrade, it's the people I've surrounded myself with," Quinn explained to the Big Brother cameras.

"And he just poked the most well-insulated bear in the game. And now, guess who is Enemy No. 1 next week? You, Tucker!"


RELATED LINK: 'BIG BROTHER' SHOWMANCES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHICH COUPLES HAVE SPLIT UP?? (PHOTOS)

Cedric explained how this move was the best one for his game and Tucker could be pissed at him all day long if he wanted to be. Cedric, however, acknowledged how he could've made a mistake and his HoH reign certainly wasn't a squeaky clean one.

America's replacement nominee will be announced on Big Brother's Thursday, August 8 broadcast on CBS.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski