Heading into the 23rd episode of “Big Brother 26,” new Head of Household Quinn Martin had just nominated three people for eviction: his true target Angela Murray, plus Rubina Bernabe and Kimo Apaka. But with the Power of Veto competition still on the line, it was anyone’s guess as to who’d actually be evicted from the house this week. So how did it all play out on Wednesday night?
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Big Brother” Season 26, Episode 23 recap/live blog to find out what happened Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite “BB26” houseguests on CBS‘s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the “Big Brother” winners list. Julie Chen Moonves once again hosts the series.
Here are the names of the 10 remaining houseguests: Angela Murray, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Chelsie Baham, Joseph Rodriguez, Kimo Apaka, Leah Peters, Makensy Manbeck, Quinn Martin, Rubina Bernabe and T’kor Clottey. Watch Gold Derby’s exclusive webchats with all of the eliminated players: Matt Hardeman, Lisa Weintraub, Kenney Kelley, Cedric Hodges, Brooklyn Rivera and Tucker Des Lauriers.
8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘Big Brother’!” In the 22nd episode, the house reacted to Tucker’s shocking eviction, with Chelsie taking the credit for turning the tables against him. The eligible players then competed in the “What Came First” HOH competition, with Quinn, Kimo and Makensy becoming Have-Nots for the week because they were the first three people to drop their eggs. Quinn ultimately proved victorious and promised to have a better Head of Household reign this time around than when he was the DeepFake HOH back in Week 4. Later, he decided to nominate Angela, Rubina and Kimo for eviction, with Angela being his true target for the week. But the Veto still has the ability to shake up the game. Let’s go!
8:03 p.m. – With initial noms set for the week, Quinn’s focus was to get Angela out of the house to prevent her being “carried to the end of the game at [his] expense.” He explained that Rubina and Kimo made sense as pawns because of their proximity to Tucker, who he helped send home last week. Angela took Quinn’s statements at the nomination ceremony personally, as she is prone to do, even though she takes full responsibility for how her “big mouth” has gotten her in trouble throughout the game. She says that she’s “constantly in a battle with [herself]” in the game.
8:05 p.m. – Because of his connections in the house, Quinn wanted the week to go smoothly with noms staying the same and him not put in a position to name anyone as a renom. In a diary room session, Chelsie was hoping that there would be a way to get T’Kor on the block instead of Angela “just to scare her a little bit” for the moves she’s made in the game. Meanwhile, T’Kor was worried that if Quinn would make a move against Kimo that he’d probably be willing to do the same to her so she was worried about a possible renom situation and not even aware that Chelsie would like her to go up.
8:08 p.m. – Joseph confessed in a diary room session that he has a crush on Leah and then told her to her face that she’s one of his favorite people he’s ever met and cares about her a lot. He thought that the feeling might be mutual, but Leah’s own diary room session revealed that she has friendzoned him the same way she has Quinn.
8:10 p.m. – Angela asked Quinn for a private chat so she could apologize for the way she’s spoken to him in the game. Quinn said he’s “not actually upset” about anything she said and only brought them up at the nomination ceremony “to be funny.” Quinn made it clear that there’s “no ill will” between them and he only wants the best for her.
8:14 p.m. – In a conversation about strategy, Joseph explained to Chelsie that “social-strategic” is the right combination of angles to win the game. When he tried to say that he wanted to go final two with Tucker because he thought he could beat him, Chelsie was completely confused, but it wasn’t until he told her that he thinks they’re playing similar games that she was actually offended. He thought it would be “epic” to get to the end of the game having won nothing, on par with Dr. Will.
8:16 p.m. – While Quinn was hosting most of the house in his HOH room, Angela and Leah found themselves alone in the kitchen swapping stories about how worried they are in the game because they aren’t “included in things.” Leah sees them both as having similar places in the game and has a soft spot for her because of how often she’s been put on the block without any ally in the house. Angela was feeling close to Leah because of how nice Leah has been to her and thinks that Leah is protecting her.
8:18 p.m. – During player selection for the veto comp, Angela chose Joseph to play and then Quinn drew Leah’s chip. Leah did not want to get picked to play because it would put her in a tough position between Angela and Quinn if she won. Angela knew that, which is why she didn’t choose her, but then Quinn brought her in instead. Quinn was happy that Joseph would be playing because they’re allies and Joseph would help him keep noms the same. At the same time, Quinn was considering Joseph as his best option as a replacement nom because he wouldn’t have that much backlash from him.
8:21 p.m. – T’Kor offered Kimo and Rubina a “motivational talk” to inspire them fight for themselves by competing hard in the veto comp and solidifying the strong bond that the three of them were building as friends and allies in the house.
8:25 p.m. – For the veto comp, the six players competed in “Bot Builders,” a race in the A.I. Bot Self Assembly Facility completely in the dark to assemble a bot quicker than anyone else. The non-players had the privilege of watching from inside the house with view screens showing each of the players in the dark. With this view they got to see that Joseph was not trying very hard to compete, which Chelsie knew was his strategy for the game. Rubina was the first to test her bot, but she was incorrect with only 9 of 11 correct parts. Quinn was also wrong with 8 of 11 correct and then 9 of 11 and then 10 of 11, not knowing that he had earlier tossed one of his bot legs across the dark room and lost track of it. In the time of his struggle, Leah buzzed in and was correct, earning the Power of Veto.
8:40 p.m. – Having earned her first comp win of the season, Leah placed herself in a position to feel “compelled to make a big move” as a reply to how frustrated she’s been having no agency in the game. Quinn quickly realized that Leah and Angela are “pretty close” and that even though he and Leah are sort of working together, that there’s a possibility she takes his main target off the block. Meanwhile, Angela was prepared to let Leah make the decision that is best for her game and didn’t want to pressure her into saving her.
8:42 p.m. – In a private chat in the HOH room, Quinn delivered his “sick nasty” list of compliments to Leah as a celebration of her big win, but then told her that he wants to take Angela out because she will be hard to beat if she makes it to the end. Leah explained that it would suck for her if Angela goes because she’s a “solid number” in her corner and would not nominate Leah if she has power.
8:48 p.m. – With the aim of getting in Quinn’s ear and finding out what his real intentions are, Angela went to Joseph with her thoughts about how willing she is to work with them, but Joseph only explained that she’s created a path for herself of blowing up people’s games and that’s why he “doesn’t see a way for [her].” Joseph made the mistake of laughing at Angela while he was condescending to her which only served the purpose of encouraging Angela to speak with Leah about taking her down.
8:50 p.m. – Meanwhile, Leah was confessing to Quinn that she wants Angela to “at least get to jury” because it would be a vote in Leah’s favor at the end of the game. She told him that she’s felt like her game is out of her hands and while he acknowledges her feelings, he doesn’t think she should “stick [her] neck out for her” because it puts a target on her back. Before she left, Quinn made the mistake of admitting that if she uses the veto that he’ll “have to put Joseph up.”
8:56 p.m. – At the veto meeting, Leah took control of her own game and shocked the house by using the veto to remove Angela from the block. In her speech, she apologized to Quinn but said that she had to use the power in the way that she wanted to use it, not the way he wanted her to. As planned in his head, Quinn protected the five people that made the move against Tucker last week and “because T’Kor didn’t get an opportunity to vote,” he had only one choice to nominate Joseph as the replacement. Joseph vowed in the diary room that if he wins HOH in a future week that he will be coming for Quinn as payback for putting him in this position.