Previously on Big Brother (BB)… Last week, we saw 16 memorable competitors move into the Big Brother house and meet their fellow houseguests for what’s gearing up to be another eventful All-Stars season. Cody Calafiore, runner up in Big Brother 16, was crowned as the first Head of Household (HOH) of the season after a harrowing competition, which made many fans worry about Christmas’s ankle again—leaving us to wonder who would be up for nominations (noms) this week. If you missed the premiere episode of Big Brother 22, see our recap of Episode 1 to catch up!
After the recap, we finally see the new opening sequence of the season, featuring this season’s houseguests with small picture collages. As the episode begins, we see the houseguests start to socialize, build bonds, and explore the unique surroundings of the BB22 house. Many of the guest’s fangirl/fanboy over some big-name players of the past while expressing apprehension about the tall competition in the diary room.
✨ Take a peek at the main titles before tonight's all-new #BB22! ✨ pic.twitter.com/lS6fweDhTs
— Big Brother (@CBSBigBrother) August 9, 2020
Some notable reunions are Kaysar and Janelle, who played with each other back to back on BB6 and BB7 as well as Da’vonne and Nicole Franzel. Nicole professes her gratitude for Da’vonne casting the vote that won her season and promises to have her back, though Da’Vonne is not buying the buddy-buddy routine after being betrayed by her vote for eviction.
After some technical difficulties are solved, we get a tour of the Have-Nots room, which is especially *blech* this year. Kevin, Nicole A., Memphis, and Ian get their first glimpse of the place they’ll be spending the next week sleeping in, complete with a crawlspace entrance, rusted pipes, bricks, a steam valve, and some very uncomfortable looking beds.
Kaysar and David have a chat about David’s motivations for competing on the show. Kaysar attempts to form social bonds early on, as he is kind of out of the loop, having competed so far back.
Cody’s steady parade of visitors begins. Nicole F. and Cody form an early partnership, having played on the same prior season. The two agree to make separate alliances with their respective genders and report back to each other. Cody discloses he’s looking at Keesha, Kaysar, and Janelle to put on the block.
Tyler and Cody seem to be forming a relationship as they have a quick chat. While Cody likes Tyler, he feels like he needs to see a show of trust before they cement themselves as allies. Cody calls a house meeting to reveal the details of the mysterious Safety Suite previously mentioned by Julie.
All guests get handed a VIP pass. Cody explains that the Safety Suite is a room that will be open at specific times throughout the competition, with houseguests being able to swipe their pass to compete for safety for the week. HOH will not be able to compete. The winner of the competition will win safety for the week and the power to name safety for an additional person – though the plus one will have to endure an unknown punishment. The catch, however, is that houseguests can only use their pass to compete once.
The house begins to spiral as the Safety Suite opens for one hour, and everyone contemplates if they should compete. Many believe that playing for safety will paint a target on their backs by revealing they don’t feel safe in the house.
Talks with Cody continue. Enzo verifies his safety with the other New Jersey boy. Kaysar feels Cody out with a chat in the HOH room and gets brushed off when talking about building a relationship, tipping him off that everything might not be all good on that front. Janelle has a similar experience, tipping her off that she’s a target as well.
Memphis and Cody form an instant connection, having been deeply entrenched in duos in the past. Cody admits he wants to put Kaysar and Janelle up because of their history and different (read dangerous) form of gameplay as old-school BB vets.
Time continues to tick away, and with less than five seconds left on the board, Kaysar and Janelle decide to scan their VIP pass for a chance at safety in the Safety Suite competition. Kaysar jokingly worries that he put a target on his back, but Janelle is unapologetic about ruining Cody’s plans.
We cut to the Safety Suite competition and enter a room of… DJ equipment? The competition is one of memory. A remixed version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” plays once for the competitors to listen to; multiple buttons are present that contain pieces of the song. The competitors must correctly press the buttons in the sequence matching the song, starting over if they guess incorrectly. The houseguest with the fastest time wins immunity for the week.
After watching Janelle and Kaysar struggle (in the words of Janelle, “DJ’ing is rough”) and the non-competitors stress over whether they should’ve played, the houseguests gather to find out the results of the competition. Janelle falls short with a time of 16:36. Kaysar prevails, clocking in with 7:55 and decides to save Janelle.
With Cody’s plans foiled, he’s left to come up with new noms, something he’s very clearly not happy with if the thin smile on his face at the ceremony is anything go by. Kaysar gleefully reveals in the Diary Room that, “I just feel like I need to like teach these kids a damn lesson. They don’t understand who they’re messing with. If you mess with the bull, you always get the horns. I’m gonna take them all down… and I’m gonna enjoy every moment of it.”
Nicole F. and Cody discuss new noms now that the old-timers’ intuition has foiled their plans. Kevin’s name is thrown out with Keesha coming up again as well.
Janelle’s first-ever BB punishment is revealed as she walks out donned in… a star costume!
Kevin pulls Cody aside and opens up to him about his fears of coming off as awkward and aloof, shedding a few tears. He feels as if he struggles to form relationships with people like Cody, who come off as “perfect.” Cody reassures Kevin that he doesn’t view him like that, but at the same time doesn’t confirm that he won’t be nominated.
At the first nomination ceremony of the season, Cody reveals that Keesha and Kevin will be going up on the block. He emphasizes that it’s nothing personal and that it’s hard to draw first blood, especially since it’s impossible to have formed relationships with everyone in the house this early in the game. Both nominees look distraught as we see the usual round of hugs that accompany noms. Kevin dishes in the diary room that he does not plan on going home, stating his intent to win the Veto, get off the block, and go after Cody in the near future.
Who will win the Power of Veto? Find out Wednesday, August 12, at 7 p.m. CT on Big Brother!
