Big Brother Season 26 - Episode 24 - AI Arena Battle and Live Eviction

[Fuskie]

Previously on Big Brother, the Power of Veto competition unfolded in the A.I. Bot Self Assembly Facility, where the six players faced off in a challenge called "Bot Builders." The goal was to assemble a bot faster than anyone else—completely in the dark. What they did not know is that the Houseguests who were not competing watched the action unfold from inside the House through view screens, offering them a unique perspective on the competition.

It quickly became clear that Joseph wasn’t putting much effort into the competition, which Chelsie recognized as part of his strategy. As Quinn, Rubina, Kimo, and Angela fumbled, Leah seized the moment, buzzing in with a perfect bot and securing the Power of Veto. 

Deciding that saving Angela was the best move for her game, Leah used the veto, forcing Quinn to nominate Joseph in Angela’s place. The stage was set for the AI Arena Battle and live eviction. But who would be sent home?

Julie Chen Moonves highlighted two key statistics from the season. First, all the Houseguests evicted so far had answered NO when asked in the season premiere whether they wanted Ainsley to enter the game. Second, every veto won this season had been used.

Joseph was baffled by Quinn's decision to nominate him, considering they were supposedly close allies. As a superfan, he believed it was a basic strategy not to put your strongest ally on the block, yet Quinn did just that. Despite being nominated, Joseph remained calm in front of Quinn, but in the diary room, he vowed to nominate Quinn if he won HoH the following week. 

With his initial target, Angela, off the block, Quinn found himself searching for a new target. His first instinct was to protect Joseph, wanting him on the jury. However, he also knew that Rubina and Kimo posed a strong threat to his game. He was also worried Joseph, Leah, or both were only pretending to be as understanding as he was.

Determined to protect Rubina and Kimo, T'kor knew she had to gather enough votes to one if either remained on the block against Joseph. She believed it would be easy to sway Angela to vote against Joseph, but she still needed a fourth vote to secure the majority. 

Joseph, going on the defensive, apologized to Angela for sabotaging her game the night before the veto meeting. He acknowledged the irony that now he was the one vulnerable while she was safe.

In the HoH room, Quinn, Cam, Chelsie, and Makensy discussed their options for the vote. With Quinn unable to vote as HoH, they knew they needed a fourth vote on their side and eyed Leah as their best option. Quinn and Cam agreed that they should keep Joseph because Kimo and Rubina were more likely to come for them, but Chelsie was privately unsure that it would be in her best interest to keep Joseph.

Even after Leah upended both Quinn and Joseph’s games, neither could stay angry with her. Leah told Joseph she didn’t want him out of the game and reassured him that he would be fine. Meanwhile, Joseph put on a show of tears to appear vulnerable in front of them, though Quinn couldn’t help but wonder if his emotions were genuine or just an act. Leah confidently said she had both boys wrapped around her finger.

While other showmances fizzled, Chelsie began to feel increasingly uncomfortable as she noticed Makensy and Cam growing closer physically. The more obvious their affection became, the clearer it was to everyone that Chelsie didn’t want to be around it. She confided in T’kor about her annoyance, giving T’kor an excuse to bring Chelsie into her plan to evict Joseph. T’kor assured Chelsie that she was her priority, alongside Rubina, and Chelsie began to see a path forward that aligned with her best interests: evicting Joseph.

In the AI Arena Battle, the three nominees faced off in "Bandwidth Boosters," a challenge where they had to untangle a cable attached to their belt and wrapped around a structure and reach their button first. From the start, Rubina appeared to be making the fastest progress, while Joseph became increasingly tangled. 

Kimo started slowly but eventually seemed to catch up to Rubina. Twice, Rubina tried to see if she had enough slack to reach the button but fell short. On her third attempt, however, she successfully secured her safety with a win.

The women in the House were thrilled to learn that Rubina had won the AI Arena Battle, but the mood quickly turned emotional as her allies realized Kimo was still at risk. Joseph refused to leave the bedroom when the other Houseguests tried to gather and discuss their plan, leaving no time for a consensus before Julie Chen Moonves called everyone back to the living room.

In their eviction vote pleas, Joseph dispassionately asserted his loyalty as a player and requested that they honor their commitment to keep him safe. Kimo spoke about his dream of being in the House and the chance to make the Jury for the visibility of queer and native Hawaiian communities, as well as still having a deciding role in the game.

Then it was time to vote.

Makensy, after a long hesitation, voted to evict Joseph.

Cam voted to evict Kimo.

Leah voted to evict Kimo.

T'kor voted to evict Joseph.

Angela tearfully believed she didn't have the votes to evict Joseph, so she joined the House vote against Kimo.

With the vote tied 3-3, Chelsie cast the deciding vote to evict Joseph.

Joseph reacted to his 4-3 eviction without any show of emotion, but Quinn and Angela were both visibly upset, though for decidedly different reasons. After some quick goodbyes, Joseph did not waste time leaving the Big Brother House.

In his post-eviction interview with Julie Chen Moonves, Joseph expressed surprise at being evicted, as he had expected people to keep their word. He revealed that Cam, Chelsie, and Makensy had all promised to protect him and that he and Rubina had planned to vote out Kimo to save each other. He had anticipated Chelsie would vote him out due to their "rocky relationship." 

Ultimately, Joseph felt it would be hypocritical to be angry with anyone, and thought maybe the House saw him as the "more strategic" player compared to Kimo. He admitted that he should have approached both Quinn and Leah to emphasize that they shouldn’t have put him in a vulnerable position, but he didn't think either would take actions that would jeopardize his game. He thought doing so hurt their games too.

After Julie Chen Moonves revealed to viewers that Joseph was the last eviction before the Jury would form, AINSLI popped up in the living room virtual box to inform the Houseguests that they all made it to at least the Jury and that she was ending her AI experiments. That means no more AI Arena, the next HoH would only nominate two Houseguests instead of three and only the Power of Veto could save a nominee from facing the Eviction Vote.