Big Brother Season 18 Episode 35 Recap: Trusting The Wrong People

By Mark Drum
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Summer is coming to a close and Sunday's episode of Big Brother saw the conclusion of the HOH competition from Thursday night. With only six people remaining it was clear that there were three duos playing the game. The power for HOH was more important than ever to secure oneself to the final five. Plus, alliances are tested and which duo came out on top? But first here's my recap of Sunday's episode.

An Egg-citing HOH Finish

Power back up for grabs the HOH competition was an intense battle between the five houseguests, while our Michigander Nicole was watching on the sidelines as the outgoing HOH. The houseguests had to maneuver an egg through chicken wire then either go for being one of three people to be a Have this week or go for HOH by rolling the egg down a ramp to knock down letters "HOH" to win. All the houseguest had struggle finding a rhythm and a strategy getting the egg across. To add to the struggle an eagle would fly down at the top of their chicken coup to try and break the egg on its path. James was struggling the most as he took a lot longer than rest of the houseguests in getting a letter knocked down. Victor, Corey and Natalie were all tied in getting two of the three letters knocked down but all three struggled to get their last letter. This gave Paul an opportunity to slowly catch up and it was a four way tie to get the last letter knocked out. In the end and as I predicted Victor won the HOH after about two hours of this competition in play.

The Target Is Clear

After the HOH competition it was clear that the "final four," alliance consisting of Victor, Paul, Corey and Nicole was still intact. Which meant the outsiders for the week would be James and Natalie. James was not going to go down without a fight to ensure his ally Natalie was not on the block with him. Meanwhile knowing they were safe Nicole and Corey made sure James couldn't try to change the mind of Victor or Paul by planting themselves in the HOH room. Which if James and Natalie did that last week with Corey and Nicole they could have possibly not been in this situation. But Victor's target for this week was clear and he wants James out of this house. As for Natalie she believes she's a threat too and possibly foresees her own Big Brother game going to a close. James, however says he'll make sure to right the wrong he did. The wrong was when he voted to evict Victor instead of Corey the week Natalie was HOH. At the nomination ceremony it was James and Natalie who were put on the block. Fun fact our Michigander Nicole has yet to be nominated still this season. As Victor said in his DR confessional after nominations mentioning karma about James. This could be the second time that Victor gets to evict the person who tried to evict him from the Big Brother house.

Analyzing The Three Duos

With the three duos left, here's my thoughts of how I think they're doing in the game.

Victor & Paul

Dubbing themselves the "Sitting Ducks," these two have had an interesting ride this season. After being targeted the first few weeks of the season this duo looked to not last after the first month. But with the Battle Back competition it saw the return of Victor to Paul and this alliance continued on. While Victor was away Paul was using his social skills and "friendship," to keep himself safe in the house. When Victor came back he continued to use his social game to further both his and Victor's safety. For Victor, coming back not once but twice this season and the most of any Big Brother houseguest, he's had to battle and win competition to ensure his safety. Their alliance name is fitting because what do sitting ducks do? They float and Paul has been a big floater this season going back and forth to whoever is in power, while Victor is floating too but has also done some work in evicting his enemies from the house. Now with Victor in power again for the third time, how much of a threat he is. Paul is also a threat because of his social game and how he's been able to get through the game because of it without having to get any "blood on his hands."

Natalie & James

This duo was pair early on in the season since both were put on the same team during the first twist of the season. Even though James was in an alliance with his other returning alliance and Natalie in the Spy Girl alliance. They both kept the other safe forming a bond. The "flirtmance," became a showmance with these two midway through the season. As the number of houseguests started to dwindle their alliance slowly growing a target on their back. With two HOH wins between the two of them they managed to get major threats to their game out of the house. With the battle back twist and the jury member back twist, they saw Victor comeback not once but twice. With this week Victor in power, it's clear that this duo may get split up if they don't win the POV.

Nicole & Corey

One could say it was love at first sight for this duo, or more so for our Michigander Nicole when she saw Corey in the Big Brother house. For Corey he did find Nicole attractive but didn't see much happening. However, that quickly changed as both formed a bond and were put on the same team the beginning of the season, relying on each other to keep the other safe. Nicole and Corey were both a part of some strong alliances, but just like Natalie and James they ensured to keep the other safe. It was clear early on the two would be a showmance as Nicole ironically was in one previously during her first season. For Corey, not being as experienced or familiar with the game relied on his partner and his alliance to get him through the game. After being caught in the middle last week, they finally revealed which side of the house they were on. Having a final four deal with both Victor and Paul as well as with Natalie and James, they choose to go with the more competitively dominant pair, breaking the "showmance" alliance apart. Week after week this duo has managed to get houseguests threatening their game out of the house and not getting much "blood on their hands" either. But Nicole should prepare to start winning more competitions soon, because she'll be the last female standing and the only way to ensure her own safety will be either Corey winning or herself winning competitions. Their track record with wins is sporadic but come at a time crucial in the game.

My Prediction For POV

It's literally four against two for this week's POV competition. With the odds in favor of the HOH, I believe someone from that alliance will win, which means unfortunately for James and Natalie, the POV will not be used. I predict Paul winning the POV this week and deciding not to use it on James or Natalie. So this week's POV episode won't be as dramatic. But if either Natalie or James wins it will be interesting if they decide to use it on themselves or use it to save the other. Tune in on Wednesday at 8pm on CBS Detroit to see who wins the POV and if it will be used on either Natalie or James.

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.