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Big Brother Season 16 Episode 29 Recap: Donny's Swan Song

So two years ago, Big Brother alum Dan Gheesling on season 16 had his "BB Funeral," well it should be noted that Donny had his own "BB Funeral," last night as he was evicted with a unanimous vote from the Big Brother House. Dan was able to save himself from eviction; Donny however has not had the same luck. Our Michigander from Ubly, Nicole, lived to see another day. But moments before the live eviction episode, a final plea to save America's Favorite Groundskeeper was happening. In the end, the 42-year-old former school groundskeeper from Albemarie, NC was sent to jury house. Here's my recap for Donny's Swan Song.

Is Donny Possibly Safe?

It's pretty obvious that America would love to see Donny stay, however the remaining houseguests had different feelings. Donny's only hope for possible safety would be his Team America Alliance. Frankie was having second thoughts about eliminating his Team America Alliance member, while Derrick looked to have other plans. My theory is that Derrick saw Donny helping his game but Derrick knew he had no shot at winning against Donny. So Derrick needed to eliminate Donny before Donny had the opportunity to do it to Derrick. Everything is so calculated with Derrick and he's definitely playing a great game. However getting America's Favorite Groundskeeper eliminated may comeback to bite him in the end if Derrick should make the finale.

Our Michigander, Nicole, was living in deja vu, being on the block with her buddy Donny. But this time she was determined to not get herself eliminated this time around. I would agree with the other houseguests that Nicole's social game is on point, one thing she's lacking is having an alliance, but this weakness may be a strength in the coming weeks as the dominant alliance must start eliminating their own. I wouldn't consider Nicole to be a floater, but she's definitely in the position of not having the target on her this week.

Flirtmance Unapproved

Finally we get to hear from not only Christine's husband but also her family and Cody's family on this "flirtmance." I was a little surprised that Tim, Christine's husband gave her permission to do whatever means to win the money. I would like to think integrity and morals would be important, especially when it's being displayed on television and on the Internet. However Big Brother is a game and Cody's dad Paul was ok with his son being a flirt in the house. I find it odd that Tim keeps saying in his messages to his own wife to not forget about him. Though, I did enjoy that Tim had a great laugh at ZingBot3000's zing to Cody and Christine. To be honest if Brittany or Amber were still in the house, Cody would be having a "flirtmance," with those ladies as well. Even though Christine's family does not approve the Flirtmance, Cody's family approves of it as a game move

An Emotional Goodbye

With a heavy heart and tears, Donny Thompson was eliminated from the Big Brother house in a predictable unanimous vote. Before his eviction there was some "encouragement" given to the houseguests, by video messages from their loved ones and there were lots of tears being shed, but most coming from Cody and Derrick. However even though Donny saw his brother giving him some encouragement, it wasn't enough to stay in the game. Adam Poch from season 13 Tweeted,

... and I would agree. It was the best interview so far this season! It was sad to hear that Donny had to resign as a school groundskeeper before entering the Big Brother house, but I have a feeling, like Julie Chen said he'd be doing just fine. At the end of the interview, Julie gave Donny the news the CBS's daytime drama, "The Bold & The Beautiful," would love to have him guest star on the show. Not bad for the oldest guy, most heavily targeted and America's Favorite this season. If Donny doesn't win America's Favorite Player then it will be a travesty. Though Zach may give him a run for his money.

My Ranking Of The Houseguests

  1. Derrick - He may have miscalculated his goodbye message and I believe he won't be winning HOH this week knowing he's safe. But when a houseguest starts to get comfortable they become the target and get evicted.
  2. Caleb - Why hasn't this guy been evicted yet? He's winning competition and is a physical threat. He's still in the house because he's in the majority alliance as well as his social game is surprisingly better since Amber has left. I do fear that come next Thursday, he may be seeing a blindside of his own eviction.
  3. Frankie - I enjoyed hearing Julie tell him that the mission failed and seeing his reaction. Frankie should realize Donny is America's favorite and not him. Like I said with Derrick, Frankie shouldn't get too comfortable because he'll be the next to go.
  4. Nicole - The comeback girl from Ubly, MI survived! Let's hope she can use her social skills to get herself safe for another week. Or she can expect to see Hayden after next Thursday.
  5. Cody - Didn't take the real opportunity to get one of his own alliance member's out of the game. I wonder what his plea will be to the jury as to why he should win because getting Donny evicted doesn't sound the most smart game move for him.
  6. Christine - I would love to see her get the other girls to bond together and get the guys to turn on each other. But I'm expecting Christine to see the door next Thursday in a blindside backdoor.
  7. Victoria - Floating to second place.

My Prediction For HOH & Nominations

This upcoming week will see a shift where the dominant alliance will need to start to target their own again. I predict Caleb will win this endurance HOH competition and his target will be Christine. However nominations will be predictable in being Victoria and Nicole. Also I think that since Derrick will assume he's safe this week that he'll go for the reward. I was really hoping Victoria would, so she'd have to suffer getting the "hollas" for the rest of the season. But Victoria is representing South Florida in a great way, by coasting in this game as a floater. We are less then a month away from finale and I can't wait to see who the winner will be this season!

Tune in Sunday at 8pm on CBS Detroit 62 to see who wins this HOH competition and who they nominate for eviction.

Mark Drum is a Farmington Hills, MI native and Big Brother fan since 2000. Mark is a graduate from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in Theatre Arts. Connect with Mark! Blogspot / Twitter / Facebook / Email

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