Initially houseguests need to stand with their legs apart on two very thin ledges set into plexiglass walls about a foot off the ground, aided solely by a rope above their heads. The ropes not really a lot of help for Brittnee who, as a plus size model, finds herself at a distinct disadvantage. It's no surprise that she's the first one to fall and while she's over on the bench crying Kevin uses this as a strategic moment to step off and console her. He knew he was going to throw the competition but it had to look believable and this opportunity helps his social game without painting a target on his back too early in the season.
Shortly after Kevin steps down that rope is raised out of reach and all they've got left is that tiny little ledge to stand on. Zach and Jordan also intend to throw the competition without making it too obvious and this opens up a great opportunity for Zach to lose his footing and look like less of a threat. Target removed.
Time to increase the difficulty. Cue the ice cold showers, making the walls and ledges very slippery . . . and there goes Godfrey. He's followed pretty quickly by Bruno and Jordan. With the guys dropping like flies, one of the women feels they should just all step down and let the women fight it out. Nice try but that's not happening, although it may help when the remaining houseguests are told they can only use one ledge.
Naeha was all up for that plan of the guys stepping down but it wouldn't have helped her much as she was the next to go, with Johnny right behind her twisting his ankle as he falls. He needed help to get to the bench but I think he'll survive when all the guys run over to help him up. You can tell they're all Canadians, they're all so helpful. Sarah goes next, safe from the Have/Have Not competition, and then Greg slips down.
Willow, Ashleigh and Pilar all hit the ground limping one after the other and it's down to just Sindy and Bobby. Sindy feels she needs this HoH to keep herself off the block after being one of the first targets so she tries her best to distract Bobby. She's twisting and turning to show off her assets (read into that what you will) and she's right next to Bobby, but he's having none of it. All that movement served to do was cause her to lose her grip and she's done. Bobby wins the first HoH and now we get to watch the house scramble.
Let the flirting begin as Sindy (with an S) decides to sprinkle herself all over Bobby. Yeah, that sounds as bad as it looks. Fortunately Bobby's not falling for it although he's more than happy to tolerate the attention. Based on her performance in the PoV and HoH competitions he knows she's a bigger threat than she looks to be and he's not going to underestimate her.
Finding some time on their own Zach reveals to Jordan his inclusion in the Chop Shop alliance, which also includes Bruno, Graig, Willow, Ashleigh and Bobby. This helps to solidify their Newport alliance and Jordan knows he can trust Zach which should help both of them get a long way in the game.
Time for Bobby to invite everyone up to his plush, red and gold, HoH room. This season the HoH also gets to watch the movie or TV show of their choice on a Shomi tablet via the supplied Shomi app. A great way to promote Shomi, which I'm still not 100% sold on myself but great cross marketing. Bobby likes his beer and candies obviously as much as I do and his room has pictures of his family throughout. He reads the letter from home and everyone gets a little misty-eyed before they leave, following a beer toast of course.
Downstairs in the kitchen Naeha and Sarah discuss their alliances, including the one they formed on day one with Brittnee. Despite any other alliance though their primary alliance is to each other. That could work, they seem to balance each other nicely so far. Meanwhile, Kevin is in the bedroom flirting with Brittnee, Sindy and (I think) Willow. As a young, single male this is definitely part of his social strategy and it's working for him. Sure hope Johnny doesn't start to get jealous of the attention the girls are getting.
Back in HoH room Bobby confides that he really doesn't want to get too much blood on his hands in this first round, he just wants to make it look like he has no real gameplay and nothing is personal. That said, he has noticed that Kevin is showing himself to be a very social player and he may need to put him up first to nip that in the bud. At this point, if I were a betting man, I'd be thinking the odds are against Kevin and Sindy.
Time for the Have Not Slop Off competition as Bobby dons a hazmat suit and calls the houseguests to the backyard. Competitors need to cross a beam over a pool of toxic slop, retrieve a bucket, cross back to the other side and fill the bucket with slop, then place their bucket on one of the five discs on their beam. If a bucket falls off they need to retrieve it from the pool and repeat the process. They can also use one of their five balls to try and knock off their opponent or their buckets. Losers become the first four Have Nots for the season.
First up is Bruno vs Jordan. Jordan fully intends to throw the competition without making it too obvious so it's no surprise that Bruno wins. Next up is Kevin vs Brittnee. Kevin also intended to throw it but despite his decision to bomb Bobby instead of Brittnee, he still won. That leads to Zach vs Godfrey and neither of these two has any intention of losing but Godfrey's aim is horrible and Zach gets an easy win. Finally we have Johnny vs Naeha and Johnny really doesn't want to be on slop. This is probably the only real competition as they both try to knock over the others' buckets but in the end Johnny wins.
Jordan gets the honour of revealing the Have Not room to the rest of the houseguests and the slate gray walls and bright lights make it look like a prison cell. On the upside they each get a slightly soiled mattress to sleep on, which is probably a lot more sanitary than it looks.
Since Bobby's not sharing any information Naeha decides to go to Zach to find out where Bobby's head is at. Zach is one of Bobby's closest confidants at the moment but he tells her he has no idea what Bobby is thinking. That only makes Naeha more suspicious of both of them. While Naeha is trying to get information from Zach, Kevin meets up with Jordan in the pantry to discuss their two man alliance, the Fortress. Man, is that lame. Kevin leaves thinking it's all good but he has no idea about Jordan's real Newport alliance with Zach. Okay, Newport is also pretty lame . . . At least the Chop Shop sounds cool.
Turn up the flirtation machine as Ashleigh and Pilar decide to enjoy a bubble bath in Bobby's HoH tub, with Sindy by their side for good measure. Not like Bobby's going to complain,even if the girls are in their bikinis, as he kneels down to rub Pilar's neck. Once again it's pretty obvious what's going on but there's no harm done and Bobby may as well enjoy it, . . . next week he could be on slop.
Kevin is looking just a bit uncomfortable when he settles down between Sarah and Johnny at the top of the stairs to find himself the meat in a queer sandwich. Sarah goes on to explain her concept of queer and it's actually fairly reasonable. When she asks Kevin if her definition applies to him he says no, while rubbing Johnny's knee. Kevin sees himself as very open minded and comfortable around everyone regardless of their sexual proclivities. It's the new Gay, Open & Queer alliance.
Night falls and it looks way to peaceful with everyone curled up in their beds fast asleep. Everyone that is except for the four Have Nots who have found themselves awakened by flashing red lights and a glaring alarm. Jordan finally realizes they're laying within range of a ceiling sensor and they move the mattresses against the far wall in the hopes that they won't trip the sensor. Based on the editing it looks like that worked and they can finally get some sleep.
Willow joins Graig and Bobby in the HoH and can't figure out why nobody else is up there talking strategy with Bobby. This game is all about strategy and social play and you can't do one without the other. At least she's figured that out early and she's up there trying to get information but then again she's part of Bobby's alliance.
Everyone else has begun to realize that Bobby has been keeping to himself a lot to avoid game talk so Sarah has come up with a plan. She's going to spend the night in the HoH bed with Bobby to get some information. Bobby looks pretty uncomfortable lying in the bed with Sarah, his arms crossed and his back slightly turned. It gets worse when she starts talking game with him and tells him she's a "vault" when it comes to telling her anything. Of course, as we've seen, vaults are easily opened. Bobby doesn't tell her anything more than she already knows aside from the fact that he's not putting her up. I guess that's better than nothing.
The next day it's time for the nominations as Bobby enters the vault (no, not Sarah). I really like the large touchscreen nomination board. Bobby's shortlist includes Brittnee, Johnny, Sindy and of course Kevin. Kevin meanwhile thinks he's perfectly safe because he's set up such a nice social game but what he fails to realize is he hasn't spent any time with the current HoH and that's never good.
Bobby meets everyone in the livingroom for the Nomination Ceremony, standing behind a set of steampunk levers and gears that start spinning until he pulls the lever to reveal his first nomination . . . Brittnee. Brittnee was nominated because she was the first one to come down off the wall and she's an easy selection that gets minimal blood on his hands. He pulls the second lever to reveal Kevin as his second nomination, so chosen because he was the second one off the wall. The truth however is that Kevin was chosen because of his strong social game, which is better than Bobby's and thus paints a huge target on his back. It's a fine line to walk between friendly and too friendly.
Next episode it'll be up to the PoV to see who stays on the block and who comes off. A great time to blindside Sindy but I guess we'll see. Odds are I'll watch it late and post afterwards so feel free to comment on this post while you wait for the next. Other than that I'll see you all once again for my Survivor review and finally another Amazing Race review as it returns at the end of the week. See you then.