Tucker’s Next Crazy Move — Can Showmance Stop Him?

Tucker is unpredictable and nigh unstoppable in the Big Brother house, and despite being the Deepfake Head of Household, arch-nemesis Quinn isn’t sure he can get him out even after putting him on the Block — but there does appear to be one potential weakness…

With Angela in power again, you’d think we’d get more of her zaniness, but as her first reign targeted Quinn pretty hard, it was inevitable he’d trigger his Deepfake Head of Household power (also his last chance to use it) and take over her reign.

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Unfortunately, after Cedric pushed Tucker to publicly blow up Quinn’s power and his game (again), everyone knows all about the Deepfake HOH power and how it works. Thus, despite Angela’s terrible acting, it wasn’t really a surprise when her AI Avatar nominated Tucker, Makensy, and Cedric.

Cedric was there in an attempt to stop the burgeoning competition beast that is Tucker. After winning both Veto and the AI Arena last week — not to mention his wild and unpredictable game moves and in-your-face approach — Tucker is easily the biggest threat in the House.

But AI Arena has also effectively taken away the ability to backdoor anyone, as they have that one last chance to save their games in the AI Arena. In other words, unless that new AI twist we did not learn about during Tuesday night’s recap episode (CBS lies!) ends the AI Arena, Tucker is going to be very, very hard to get rid of.

Tucker’s potential reign of terror across the house for weeks on end led to the reformation of the OG Collective alliance that Angela tried to blow up in Week 1 for them daring to invite her to be a part of. In her paranoia, she didn’t believe them.

But Joseph didn’t give up the dream, reforming the Collective with the addition of Brooklyn to replace the ousted Angela. What he doesn’t realize is that Brooklyn’s inclusion isn’t perhaps as random or on him as he might think.

That’s because what he also doesn’t realize is that his Collective alliance also includes the stronger Pentagon alliance. That was formed initially by Cam, Chelsie, and Cedric, who invited Quinn and Brooklyn to the party. That five-part group then simply added T’Kor and Joseph to their numbers — who are also part of The Visionaries trio alliance with Quinn.

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Alliance breakdowns can get very tedious and exhausting in this game.

But we do have to give props to Joseph for a very savvy conversation he had after reforming the Collective. Obviously, one of the main goals of this majority alliance is to keep control and make Jury. In order to do that, they need to keep their focus on finding a way to get out Tucker.

That’s where Joseph showed his strategic thinking. When Tucker approached him with an unlikely Final 2 deal, likening it to when Dan Gheesling and Ian Terry allied back in Big Brother 14, taking it to the end … where Dan lost to Ian.

Joseph agreed to the alliance, but secretly told America he was keeping it in his back pocket. In other words, he’d lay as low as he could in the Collective while supporting their efforts to take Tucker out. If, however, that proves impossible and Tucker stays around a few more weeks? Well, that Final 2 might start to look a lot more real.

It’s all about options, baby!

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This season has not been nearly as kind to showmances, as evidenced by Makensy and Matt getting separated in Week 1 (though there was a lot more going on around all of that). Nevertheless, while Tucker seems unstoppable on many fronts, perhaps the heart can be his weakness.

Despite their poor attempts to hide it, everyone knows that he and Rubina’s flirtmance is progressing toward a showmance. They’re definitely getting cozier and cozier as the days pass. Well, Tucker has already been willing to give up Veto for Angela. How far would he go for someone he’s at least infatuated with?

That’s the processing that was going on in Brooklyn’s head, and what she brought to The Collective. Cedric had already volunteered himself onto the Block as their best shot at beating Tucker in the Power of Veto competition.

If he pulled that off, Brooklyn suggested Quinn consider throwing Rubina on the Block next to her. That way, his heart would be torn and he just might consider throwing the AI Arena to her. If Tucker stays on the Block come eviction night, they’d be golden. It was “diabolical,” as Quinn put it, but it could work. He’s a definitely Wild Card.

Of course, to execute that plan, Phase One — i.e., Cedric beats Tucker in Veto Competition — had to work first. Could he do it?

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After escaping the Block last week, despite not using the Veto on himself, Tucker was again faced with two chances to save his game this week, with the Veto going down Wednesday night. Could he run away with it again?

Picked to play alongside the actual HOH (Angela) and the Deepfake HOH’s nominees (Tucker, Makensy, Cedric) were Joseph (chosen by Tucker when his chip was pulled) and Brooklyn (chosen by Cedric when his chip was pulled).

Tucker picking Joseph, of all people, wasn’t the best way to keep their new Final 2 a secret, but his gameplay has been so wild the House might not think anything of it. There are advantages to playing like a reckless maniac, and Tucker is definitely leaning in.

His own mission is to get Cedric out of the House, so the former HOH has yet one more reason to win this Veto. Could Tucker get the numbers? It’s hard to say, but this House has had a tendency to look at the Block objectively come Thursdays and consider actual threats (we consider the Kenney vote because he would not commit to actually playing this game).

The competition itself was another one that wasn’t too physical — there’s plenty of grumbling online about this — but rather a combination of speed and memory.

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Houseguests were faced with a “Binary Bridge” with two side-by-side panels at each step. One panel was green, the other red, they needed to figure out (by guessing) which was green and then repeat that process for each step, remembering the entire sequence until they get to the end.

The most telling part of the competition was that the first three head-to-head rounds were timed. In those, Makensy beat Angela (who kept hitting the same red blocks over and over again) in a time of 7:15. Cedric beat Brooklyn in 3:13. But it was Tucker stomping Joseph in 1:55 that set the tone.

He picked up a bye to the final round, where he watched Cedric beat Brooklyn in what turned into a mental game of chicken in the final two blocks. Tucker then went on to smoke Cedric in the finals, winning his fourth competition (and it’s only Week 4).

Tucker again contemplated not using the Veto on himself, leading to a tense conversation between him and Quinn — who are cordial rivals, at least.

Tucker told his arch-nemesis that he needs to “finish what I started” and maybe stay on the Block to take Cedric out in the A.I. Arena and send him packing. He had, after all, told Cedric he would do as much when Cedric didn’t nominate Quinn as a replacement last week.

In the DR later, though, he told America he was always planning to save himself. And so, Quinn implemented a variation of that “diabolical” plan and nominated his almost-a-showmance Rubina onto the Block.

Now, it’s down to Cedric, Makensy, and Rubina to battle it out in the A.I. Arena before one of them gets evicted and we finally learn the next A.I. Twist to be unleashed on the House (and maybe end the Arena?).

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Chelsie Baham (27, nonprofit dir) continues to emerge as the true mistress of this game, even though she was literally invisible in this episode. She’s quietly pulling the strings of the season and maintains control of the biggest alliances. She’s a savvy social player that no one (including the show’s editors) is paying any attention to at the moment. [Grade: A+]

Cam Sullivan-Brown (25, physical therapist) is right there with Chelsie, behind the scenes and dominating the strategic aspect of the game while the showier players are flexing and battling it out. On top of that, he’s a big, strong player himself. While some have noticed, no one seems concerned about him yet, so he’s sitting pretty, too. [Grade: A]

Brooklyn Rivera (34, business admin) is proving herself a pretty strong competitor, and a potentially ruthless player who looks at every aspect of a player’s experience in figuring out the best way to target them. It’s “diabolical,” yes, but can also be very affective. [Grade: B+]

Joseph Rodriguez (30, video store) impressed us this week by deftly helping to recreate the Collective and working a Final 2 with Tucker, giving him the best of both possible worlds. He’s flying pretty low, but making power moves in the background. That’s how you set yourself up to go deep. [Grade: B]

T’kor Clottey (23, crochet business) and Kimo Apaka (35, mattress sales) have slipped back into a good position with the reformation of The Collective, and their smaller Visionaries alliance with Quinn. Solid social players and smart at seeing the game … they’re even smarter for staying off of everyone’s radar right now. [Grade: B-]

Quinn Martin (25, nurse recruiter) is definitely in a rough spot right now, as the most erratic and dominant physical player in the game right now is very publicly blowing him up and calling him out. Now that his power has been used, though, he might be able to use his social skills to smooth some of that … and at least for now, he’s shielded by his multiple alliances. But he’s a little sloppier than he should be, and he’s seen as a threat, which isn’t great. [Grade: C+]

Leah Peters (26, VIP cocktail) is laying as low as she possibly can, to the point of being inert. [Grade: C]

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Angela Murray (50, real estate agent) continues her surprising fade into non-threatening status. She is so obvious with her emotions and reactions, even as they are totally unpredictable, that no one will want to work with her, except as a possible shield. She could get dragged deeper into the game, but she’s also an easy out at any point — and very few people would want to give her a chance to win, based on her behavior. [Grade: C-]

Cedric Hodges (21, ex-marine) has the protection, but there will at least be consideration in taking him out because he is a big threat in the game. It probably won’t happen, though, because he is good at competitions, he’s strongly aligned, and there is a bigger target in the game than him. As long as Tucker is in the game, Cedric might have value (if only to keep Tucker from targeting someone else aside from Cedric and Quinn). [Grade: C-]

Tucker Des Lauriers (30, marketing/sales exec) is a massive target and threat at the same time. The problem with his game is that he’s peaking way, way too early with four competition wins already, and a lot of very loud grandstanding. That’s hard to work with long-term, so when/if an opportunity comes to get him, this House will. Until then, though, he can spread a lot of chaos. [Grade: C-]

Makensy Manbeck (22, construction pm) might be a legitimate competition threat, but she’s not a threat in the game. She basically has no alliances with anyone. After Matt left, the House just kind of ignored her when it came to forming anything, leaving her with Leah, who isn’t even playing the game. As she is no threat of any kind, why take her out? [Grade: C-]

Rubina Bernabe (35, event bartender) is unfortunately the most likely to go if she doesn’t win. She’s not strongly aligned with anyone, but has an emotional connection to Tucker. She could be a number for him, alongside Angela, which is a threat. But even more, maybe taking her out weakens him even just a little bit. If that happens, it’s probably worth it to the House. [Grade: C]

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(asides and comments — not necessarily strategic, but entertaining and sometimes revealing)

“Look at all these physically fit people.” –Leah (to Joseph watching people work out)”And me.” –Joseph”And us.” –Leah (agreeing)”I prefer the methods of R&R.” –Leah”America’s like, will these people ever do anything?’ –Leah”No.” –Joseph”The Collective is a fruit smoothie of all the alliances I’m working with in the game.” –Quinn”It is certifiably diabolical. And I’m considering doing it.” –Quinn (on putting up Rubina to bait Tucker)”Why they gotta do it like that?” –Rubina (struggling to reach protein shake atop refrigerator)”I don’t know what Ainsly has in store for us. I just hope that Tucker sucks at it.” –Quinn (about Veto Competition)

Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on ABC.