The show begins and our fearless leader Julie Chen sets us up for a great season. Unlike previous seasons, Julie teases us from INSIDE the house. We get our first official look at the newly designed Big Brother house, now including the glass bridge outside of the Head of Household room. As Julie gives us the walk through and into the “live” studio audience outside the BB house, we learn that we are going to get THREE twists in one night. One will be a fan favorite, one will be brand new, and one will be a secret just for us. We already know that the brand new twist will be the BB Takeover where each week will introduce a new twist that will destroy the game. Literally. Forget having a strategy because everything that could happen will likely happen. But before we get there, let’s meet our houseguests.
It is tradition that we meet our houseguests in their natural habitat so we get a glimpse of who they really are, prior to entering the BB house. Rather than analyzing every single moment, the highlights included:
- James is a hick through and through
- Meg lives with her #gusband, or gay husband
- Jace is a born explorer (and a carbon copy of Hayden Voss)
- Audrey is a girly girl, yet athletic (and it’s all a big lead up for her big secret)
- Austin (and Judas) has a masters in Medieval Romance Literature
- Da’Vonne is a gamer with a baby
- Clay’s family farm has a beautiful fence with “The Honeycutts” on it
- Shelli is a DYIer (and very handsy)
Is the intro package ever really important? Nah? It’s mostly a throw away of fun and bubbly staged moments. BUT for those reality TV superfans, I bet you were eagle eyed into Meg’s package where one of her best friends included Survivor: Redemption Island and Survivor Caramoan castaway Andrea Boehlke! Also, did anyone else think that Da’Vonne was gonna pack her baby in her suitcase? The way she was just laying on the side I was ready for her to toss her in.
So there are our first eight…Eight?! Last time we had people enter in two groups was in BB 16 where we had the fan-splitting Battle of the Block. Hmmm, could this recycled twist come back? We’ll just have to wait and see. So the first eight are granted entry into the house for what is to be a history making 98 days. Good luck y’all! Once the eight do their typical “ahhhs” and “omgs” and hugs and kisses, we start to some dynamics form. The edit clearly wants us to watch the Puma and the Texan get it on because Shelli wants Clay real bad. Which actually works because Clay likes animals. And I’m sure we all noticed the disproportionate combo of Austin (who hasn’t revealed Judas yet) and James. It’s hilarious. It’s hard to gage just how tall James is but next to Austin, he looks like a munchkin. As the eight were exploring, they seemed to fall in love with the glass bridge. Until they realized ladies best not wear skirts cuz the fellas can look right up! Now I wonder if production thought of that as a bad thing...
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| Top Row: Austin, Audrey, Jace, Clay Bottom Row: Meg, James, Shelli, Da'Vonne |
The obligatory circle of hellos and introductions continues to tease the showmance between Clay and Shelli, adding their unofficial alliance title “The Heart Murmurs” once it’s revealed that they both had heart murmurs. Shelli also reveals she has a twin brother. Oh twins, who really cares. (#foreshadow). There are an abundance of lies as the houseguests reveal their occupations including Da’Vonne (the poker dealer is now a 2nd grade teacher), Clay (the former football player is now a grad student), and Meg (oh wait, server in NYC and actress are the same thing aren't they?). Also, James thinks Meg looks like Taylor Swift. Another lie right there. But someone who isn’t lying is Audrey. As it was already spoiled all over the internet, Audrey revealed to her houseguests that she is transgender. A first for the franchise. It’s a bold move but a beautiful moment. Her seven roommates seem to welcome this with open arms. Will this play into the game at all or will this just be a blip to the story? It’s too soon to tell but with it out on the table, Audrey can play the game openly. In the diary room interviews, all the houseguests talk about Audrey but it’s James who seems to get a little confused about life. He compares him being Southern Asian to Audrey being transgender. I know there’s sentiment in the statement but it totally misses the mark.
When we return from commercial, we get a chance to see the players in their new natural habitats. We see Shelli, Da’Vonne, and Audrey chatting in the doorless bedroom with the best bedding while Jace, Austin, and Clay are in the macho man room chatting about cookies. Is this a set up for a boys vs. girls alliance formation? It is on one side as Audrey immediately pursues Shelli and Da’Vonne for an alliance, stating that a girl has to take over and win. Well, cross your fingers you’re not a Joey sweetheart because if this catches wind, you’re outta here first! With the alliance sealed, we jump ahead to see James and Clay joining in on a discussion about “y’all”. How boring. Why would you show this? Oh, because it leads into a discussion on Audrey’s journey and her family’s acceptance. We learn that she was sent to a camp to repress her thoughts but it backfires. I think all of the houseguests are relieved to find out that Audrey is loved by her family. But throughout this story, poker dealer Da’Vonne is reading every single person and believes there’s something up with Audrey’s story. Hate to break it to ya, but don’t doubt her just yet because YOU JUST MADE AN ALLIANCE WITH HER!
It’s the first night of Big Brother so we know we’re gonna get a little bit of competitive action. And we do! In tonight’s first twist of the season! It’s the fan favorite twist. Julie reveals that we are in fact getting another season of the stupid Battle of the Block. Was this really a fan favorite? I don’t know. Perhaps some people hated it because the BB 16 players truly didn’t understand how to utilize it. Maybe these houseguests will use it as strategy and not a throwaway tool. Before the competition can begin, Julie reveals that one contestant must sit out. Why exactly? We’ll never know. Literally, we still don’t know. But it doesn’t matter as Da’Vonne volunteers herself as long as the other seven don’t nominate her. They agree and it’s outside they go! Assuringly related to the special guests feature of the season, TV personality Kevin Frasier is the host of the competition which is set up like a red carpet for a BB movie that got bad reviews. After some awkward interactions (we’re looking at you James), the competition is underway. In this first Head of Household competitions, houseguests are perched on a ledge and must catch ten “tomatoes” in order to be crowned the first (of two) HOH of the summer. The competition gets underway and it’s not as easy as it looks. And these tomatoes are literally softballs. Just watch Meg get nailed in the boob. James seems to get the hang of it. So do Austin and Clay. But then things get dicey. The ledge begins to move and Meg falls. As does Austin, who rips down the holder, and Clay, who just revealed he’s golden. Poor pretty boy. We didn’t even get to see you get dirty. With three out, James is way in the lead with Jace slowly behind and Shelli and Audrey ball-less. Jace catches himself twice to avoid falling. Out of nowhere, Jace, Shelli, and Audrey catch up to the Asian Hillbilly but wait, the ledge is falling and down go…ALL FOUR?! Really? Julie reveals that they have to look at instant replay to determine the winner. After reviewing the tape, it’s revealed that James has won and will be the first HOH. For all those who underestimated the Asian Hillbilly, myself included, you really have to expect the unexpected.
With a new HOH in place, it’s time for Julie to reveal the next twist to the houseguests. While it isn’t a surprise for us, the houseguests learn about BB Takeover, which includes a surf-tastic “Get Ready for a Takeover” theme song. I have a feeling it will get obnoxious real fast. What this means is that each week a new twist will be revealed. What is it? Who knows but it’s sure to shake up the game. Expect mass pandemonium. For those with a strategy, you might as well just toss it out the window because thinking moves ahead won’t work this time around.
So that’s it, right? Nope. We have our third twist to get to! The third twist. What could it be? We’re expecting something fresh and new and game changing, right? Well get ready to scream because the third twist is titled: TWIN TWIST. Excuse me? Did I just get out of a time machine from 2004 because I could have sworn Big Brother included this twist in BB5. For those who don’t remember, BB5 was themed DNA, or Do Not Assume. The main twists revolved around familiar bonds including Cowboy and Nakomis discovering they were half siblings and Adria and Natalie playing as Adria for 4 weeks. In 2004, this twist was golden. It was completely unexpected and amazing. But this was a time where social media could not aid in discovering who this person is. Julie teased that the Twin may or may not be in the house with this first eight. But superfans seem to have already linked who the Twin is (we’ll get to that tomorrow). So now begs the question, why? If the rest of the BB Takeover twists involve previous twists, then fine, Twin Twist is fine. But to reboot an iconic moment from the classic season is just unfair to us. It worked in the moment.
It may not have been a super eventful evening but a lot sure did happen! What are your thoughts on the first eight? And are you Team Twin Twist? Sound off and get ready for night two of the two night premiere tomorrow on CBS!
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