Last night’s Big Brother episode picked up with our houseguests knee-deep in the “Hotel Mysteré” theme – complete with a secret saboteur, a surprise 17th guest, and the first nominations of the season. It was a jam-packed night of paranoia and strategy. In a casual play-by-play, let’s recap everything that went down on the July 13th episode, and later we’ll dish some Live Feed spoilers (with plenty of warning) for those who want the inside scoop. Grab your popcorn – Big Brother 27 is already delivering the drama!
The Accomplice Unmasked – Whodunit Revealed
The episode opened with the house on edge about the murder-mystery “Mastermind” twist. Julie had warned that one of them was an “Accomplice” secretly aiding the Mastermind. Everyone was highly suspicious of each other, and fingers were pointing every which way. Early targets were Rylie and Zae – in fact, a house vote showed 11 accusing Rylie and 5 accusing Zae. Lauren astutely noted something most missed: with the late entry of a 17th houseguest (more on her in a second), the numbers skewed 9 women to 8 men. Lauren figured the accomplice was likely female (why add an extra woman unless one might leave?) – a smart guess that nobody else heeded.
When the votes were tallied, the majority chose Rylie as the presumed traitor. They were wrong. Rylie was innocent (as he vehemently insisted), and he was not pleased that nobody believed him. The real Accomplice turned out to be Amy – who got zero votes and completely flew under the radar. We saw flashbacks proving Amy’s sabotage: she secretly started the timer, zapped the HOH relic with a remote in her pocket, and even pulled the lever that opened a door for the surprise guest. Mystery solved! Amy gloated in Diary Room that she had them all fooled, and indeed she did. Since the house failed to catch her, the Mastermind’s plan succeeded – meaning that mysterious 17th person officially joined the game.
A Big Brother Legend Checks In – Rachel’s Grand Entrance
That 17th houseguest? None other than Rachel Reilly, Big Brother royalty and winner of Season 13. The houseguests were shook. Rachel’s dramatic arrival – stepping through a secret doorway once Amy completed her task – had everyone freaking out. Some, like Morgan, were starstruck by this legendary “comp queen” and ready to soak up her wisdom (“she’s done this, she’s won this thing!” Morgan gushed). Others, like Jimmy, rolled their eyes hard. In Jimmy’s view, bringing back a former champ was not cool – “I’m not going to lie, I’m not excited. You won already. Love you girl, but go back to Alabama,” he quipped bluntly in the Diary Room. Clearly, the target on Rachel was already forming in some minds.
Julie then revealed a twist to welcome Rachel: as the “Hotel’s” newest guest, Rachel’s room wasn’t ready. The compensation? Rachel would be a Have-Not for the week – but also immune from eviction. She’s safe Week 1 (no one can nominate her), but she has to endure slop, cold showers, and the dreaded Have-Not room. And oh boy, this year’s Have-Not room is beyond creepy: a black-and-white crime scene motif with chalk-outline “beds” on the floor and even fake body fluids splattered about. (Poor Zach later joked he doesn’t even fit on those tiny outline beds!)
As part of this twist, Rachel got to select three other Have-Nots (who would also gain safety for the week). In a chain-style selection, Rachel picked Will to join her; Will then picked Zach; Zach picked Ava. These four (Rachel, Will, Zach, Ava) form the initial Have-Not crew – miserable diet and beds, but a huge relief to know they cannot be evicted in Week 1. The house gave some side-eye at Rachel basically getting to hand out immunity to a mini-group, but rules are rules. (Fun detail: Ava, an aura-painting free spirit, quipped that the chalk body outlines “kinda remind me of my boyfriend back home,” prompting some awkward laughter – yikes!)
Champagne Introductions & Early Alliances Brewing
With the Mastermind’s accomplice twist done, the houseguests finally exhaled and popped some champagne to do proper introductions. This diverse cast of 17 is still getting to know each other’s personalities and quirks, but bonds are already forming – and so are divisions.
On the friendship side, Rachel quickly gravitated to Amy (the two “older” women and obvious game vets – one literal, one spiritual). In fact, we saw Rachel and Amy form an early alliance in the shadows of the party. These two schemers even agreed that the “young alpha males” might need to go first. (The editors had fun cutting to shots of oblivious bros lifting weights as Rachel/Amy plotted – classic! 😄) Given Amy just pulled off the accomplice stunt and Rachel has huge clout, this could become a powerful duo.
Meanwhile, our freshly minted HoH, Vince, wasted no time cozying up to someone he trusts. Believe it or not, Vince struck a Final Two deal on night one! He bonded with Kelley – the adventurous web designer – and they agreed to watch each other’s backs. In a bizarre move, Kelley immediately volunteered herself to be a pawn nominee if needed (say what?!). Even Vince was stunned at her eagerness to touch the block, but Kelley insisted she wanted to “change the algorithm” of predictable gameplay. Bold strategy, Cotton – we’ll see if it pays off or backfires later.
Other clusters: the “fitness bros” (like Zae and Adrian) have begun pumping iron together in the yard – a bromance in the making. On the flip side, several women seem quietly savvy. Lauren earned respect for correctly deducing the accomplice’s gender (even if no one listened), and she could fly under the radar as a smart observer. Morgan appears ready to ride Rachel’s coattails, calling herself a “sponge” for Rachel’s knowledge – but observers worry that hero-worship strategy might get her evicted early if Rachel remains a target. And speaking of targets…
Plotting the Downfall of a Legend
It didn’t take long for some to start eyeing Rachel’s throne. We saw Jimmy – a 25-year-old “political operative” from D.C. – practically declare war on Rachel in his DRs. He refused to applaud her immunity and immediately began whipping votes (fitting his profession) for a plan to boot Rachel next week. Surprisingly, Ava (our aura-reading hippie) was on board too, agreeing that Rachel is just too big a threat to keep around. It’s an interesting coalition of the anti-Rachel club forming. However, will others join that crusade? Some houseguests may not see 40-year-old Rachel as the comp beast she once was, and might let her be. As one fan speculated, Jimmy’s open resistance might even backfire if Rachel downplays her threat level. It’s very early, but keep an eye on this brewing rivalry between the seasoned veteran and the cocky newcomer.
“Showergate” – How a Long Rinse Put a Target on Ashley
Every Big Brother season has that one silly incident that blows up into unnecessary drama – and we got ours on Night 1, courtesy of Ashley and a hot shower. Here’s the tea: after Vince got his luxurious new HoH room, he generously told everyone they could use his private bathroom if needed. Later that night, Ashley (the 25-year-old NYC attorney) decided to take him up on it… and took an epically long shower. How long? Downstairs, other HGs were timing and gossiping – some said 90 minutes, then the retelling turned into 2 hours of Ashley hogging HoH’s shower! It was late, Vince was waiting to use his own shower, and people thought it was super inconsiderate.
This little fiasco quickly earned the nickname “Showergate.” The next morning, folks were still buzzing about it. Katherine (Kat) casually asked in front of others if Vince even got to shower before Ashley. Ashley overheard that and lost it. Feeling called out, she confronted Kat aggressively, demanding to know if Kat had a problem with her shower length. Kat, who hadn’t been attacking her at all, was taken aback – now she felt intimidated by Ashley’s approach. The whole situation spiraled into house gossip. Suddenly multiple people (especially those already annoyed with Ashley’s attitude) were telling HoH Vince that “maybe Ashley isn’t trustworthy.”
We learned that before the HOH comp, Vince, Ashley, Jimmy, and Adrian had a loose gentleman’s (and lady’s) agreement not to target each other if any of them won. Vince truly hadn’t planned to nominate Ashley at first. But her behavior during Showergate – plus her repeated anxious attempts to “cut in line” and talk to Vince after – made him doubt her. Vince noted that Ashley kept checking on her safety “10 times,” which he took as a sign she didn’t trust his word. That annoyed him: if she doesn’t trust him, why should he trust her? By nomination time, poor Ashley had basically talked her way onto the block.
To make matters worse for her, Ashley’s closest friend in the house – Amy – actually sealed their fate as nominees. We saw Amy tearfully plead to Vince on Ashley’s behalf, vouching for her character. Amy meant well, but Vince saw through it: if Amy and Ashley are that tight already, nominating one without the other would just create an enemy. “Nominating one was as bad as nominating both,” he reasoned. So in a cold calculation, he decided to put Amy up right alongside Ashley, figuring this would neutralize that duo’s power. Ouch.
The Week 1 Nomination Ceremony – Triple Threat on the Block
By the end of the episode, Head of Household Vince had to name his nominees. And thanks to a twist (carried over from last season’s “AI Arena”), it’s not the usual two nominees – it’s three. This new “BB Blockbuster” format means three people hit the chopping block on nomination night. Don’t worry, there are also two chances for nominees to save themselves: the Power of Veto and a special Blockbuster competition on eviction night, where one nominee will escape at the last minute.
So who did Vince nominate? As foreshadowed, his targets were pretty clear:
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Ashley – for the reasons above (paranoia, Showergate drama, and lack of trust). She went from ally to house pariah in 24 hours.
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Amy – guilt by association. Vince felt Amy and Ashley were a pair, and he was worried about Amy seeking payback if Ashley left. So he threw Amy up as well to cover his bases.
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“Zae” (Isaiah) – the third nominee was a bit of a curveball. Zae is the 23-year-old Utah salesman who had received a few votes as the suspected accomplice. Even though he was innocent, some in the house still side-eyed him after Rylie’s name was cleared. Vince chose Zae as a “safe” third nom since Zae was an early suspect and not closely aligned with Vince. In other words, easy pawn. Zae didn’t love this (he explicitly told Vince he didn’t want to be a pawn, according to the episode), but here he is on the block regardless.
Julie revealed these nominations in dramatic fashion, and the three nominees took their seats. Ashley looked understandably shaken and upset. Amy tried to play it cool, but it’s ironic that the secret saboteur now faces the hot seat so soon. Zae gave basically a blank stare – maybe shocked, maybe trying to stay stoic. As one commenter joked, Zae had the same expression as someone who doesn’t realize what just happened.
So our Week 1 nominees are Amy, Ashley, and Zae. One of them could be the first evicted – unless they save themselves via Veto or the Blockbuster comp. The episode ended with the cliffhanger of who will win the Power of Veto. We’ll see that play out on Wednesday’s show.
(Notably, Vince also learned about a special $10,000 safety offer involving one of his nominees: Remember Zach finding $10k in the premiere? It turns out Zach can bribe the HoH with that money to remove himself from danger any time before jury. If Zach ever lands on the block and panics, he can pay $10k to the HoH to force them to take him down and put up a replacement. The HoH cannot refuse the deal! It’s literally a “get out of nominations” card – though a costly one. If Zach never needs to use it, he keeps the cash. This twist didn’t affect this week (Zach is safe), but it’s lurking in the game and could cause some chaos later.)
Spoiler Alert: Live Feed Updates Ahead! 🔍📢
At this point, the recap of the CBS broadcast is complete. If you don’t want to know additional spoilers from the 24/7 Live Feeds (events that have happened in the house after this Sunday episode), stop reading now!
For the spoiler-loving fans, here’s the latest from the feeds since the episode’s events:
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Power of Veto Competition Results: The Week 1 Veto comp took place on Monday (with the feeds down during the battle). When feeds returned, we learned that [Spoiler: Veto winner] won the Power of Veto. This is huge, because [Spoiler] is one of the nominees and now has the ability to save themselves. As of now, it sounds like [Spoiler] will indeed use the Veto on [himself/herself], which means Vince will have to name a replacement nominee at the Veto Ceremony. Vince has been considering [Spoiler potential renom] as the replacement. We’ll see if he follows through, but if so, [Renom] would go up next to the remaining two original nominees.
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Target Check: The house consensus target for eviction still appears to be Ashley – unless she wins that last-chance Blockbuster comp. Vince and many others feel Ashley “dug her own grave” with the HoH shower fiasco and subsequent freak-outs. In fact, Ashley has been fuming since being nominated. On the feeds she vented to cameras that “Vince’s word doesn’t mean anything… I’ll put him up first chance I get.” (She is not ready to forgive and forget!) If Ashley doesn’t pull off a miracle Veto or Blockbuster win, expect her to be the likely first evictee. However, if Ashley does manage to save herself, the target may shift to Amy. Some HGs view Amy as a strategic threat (she’s been very social and of course, unbeknownst to them, she was the saboteur). Zae, on the other hand, is generally liked and is considered a pawn; he’s likely safe so long as he stays on the block against bigger targets.
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Alliances & Houseguest Habits: Live feeds have given more insight into budding alliances. Rachel and Amy are indeed solidifying a partnership – they’ve been seen strategizing together often, and Amy’s loyalty to Rachel is strong (she even said she wants to work with “the legend” to the end). On the flip side, Jimmy has been rallying a few of the younger players (like Ava and possibly Adrian) to keep Rachel in check. There’s talk of an “anti-Rachel” pact, but it’s tentative – some houseguests are wary of directly opposing Rachel this early. Vince and Kelley’s Final 2 seems genuine; they constantly touch base and reassure each other. Interestingly, some of the Have-Nots (Rachel’s safe quartet) have bonded over their shared misery – Will and Ava in particular have had late-night chats on the lounge floor, suggesting they might work together after this week of forced camaraderie. As for quirks and habits: Katherine (Kat) has emerged as House Gossip, often innocently asking questions that spark debates (like the infamous shower question). Mickey (35, event curator) is Mr. Clean – feeds show him tidying the kitchen a lot, which the messy younger guys appreciate. And in true Big Brother fashion, potential showmances are bubbling: there’s a flirty vibe between Rylie and Lauren, who often giggle in the hammock together – something to watch in week 2!
It’s only Week 1 and we already have wild twists, shifting alliances, and bruised egos. If this is a sign of the season, we’re in for an entertaining summer! Keep watching to see if the veto shakes up the noms and whether “Showergate” claims its first victim. We’ll be back with another recap after the next episode.
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