by David McAlpine

Last time on Big Brother 11, the 12 new houseguests moved into their potential home for the next three months. They were introduced to this season’s twist: everyone in the house will be placed into a clique, the Athletes, the Populars, the Offbeats, and the Brains. Russell and Natalie won the first HoH competition for the Athletes and, in another surprise, Jessie from season 10 entered the house as the 13th houseguest and the first Head of Household.

Jessie walks into the house and you can tell that Kevin and Lydia are pissed. Jessie goes on a self-indulgent rampage about just how great he is, and the Athletes are obviously excited that he’s there because of his strength. Ronnie thinks, however, that Jessie being in the house is a good thing because he knows Jessie’s weaknesses and how Jessie plays the game, which he’ll be able to use to his advantage.

Lydia starts sucking up to Jessie right away by commenting on his large arms, which Russell catches onto. The Brains, Chima, Michele and Ronnie, start to plan on making an alliance with the athletes. Jessie and the rest of the house make the obligatory trek up to his Head of Household room. Jessie compares being the first HoH to kissing your best friend’s girlfriend: it’s exciting while it lasts, but the repercussions can be more than you bargain for. Oh wow, that’s priceless.

Ronnie and Michele share their horror stories about their high school experiences, which shocks Jordan, who apparently was nice to everyone back in the day. Ronnie already has his game face on and takes the lead for the Brains, offering up all of their votes towards whomever Jessie wants out. He’s confident that Jessie is up for the plan and that the Athletes and the Brains will rule the “universe” of the house.

Lydia and Kevin discuss how much they didn’t like high school and Kevin expresses concern that he has no way to connect to Jessie. Lydia thinks he should talk to him about how people judge both of them based on their exterior and without getting to know them. Russell thinks everyone is too nice and he suggests to Jessie that Lydia is the biggest threat in the house.

Laura starts to stir up conversation by asking everyone who they think the hottest guy is (in front of Jessie). Kevin thinks is Jeff, but Laura adds that Jessie is hotter than Jeff, which Jessie doesn’t take too seriously. Jessie thinks that Natalie is a lot like him in terms of personality, so it seems like Jessie, Natalie and Russell are becoming close in the house. Natalie and Jessie discuss the possibility of aligning with Russell, and Chima is happy about the Brains and the Athletes alliance. Natalie throws out the idea that, in order to hide the alliance, one of the Brains should go up as a pawn. Ronnie is hesitant, but then offers up Michele as the sacrificial lamb.

The first food competition is revealed to be a “have and have not” competition with much bigger stakes: food and living conditions. Because Jessie is HoH, the Athletes do not have to compete and they all share full privileges for the week. The rest of the houseguests deck themselves out in neon glow paint and walk outside, where the backyard is turned into a blacklight-style rave-ish disco. Each clique must connect a pipe with their color liquid through tubing that spells out “H-A-V-E” and make their wheel at the end of the course turn. The last team to do this must endure both substandard living and eating conditions for the week as the season’s first “have not”s.

The Offbeats take an early lead thanks to Casey, while Jordan struggles to understand Braden’s references to angles. The Brains seem to be struggling more than they should, while the Offbeats pull farther ahead. The Offbeats finish first, securing their privileges in the house for the week. Ronnie, who has taken the lead for his team, starts building a pipeline that goes in circles, and Braden starts talking about physics…what? The Populars take second, leaving the Brains as the “have not”s for the week.

So what exactly does being a “have not” entail? A diet of slop, no hot showers, and a cold, uncomfortable bedroom for the entire week. Chima gets upset and starts to cry, and it seems like the Brains have already started to unravel as a team in the first week. Everyone gets a peek at the new bedroom and tries to tell Chima it’s not that bad, but she’s convinced it’ll be hell for the week.

The houseguests have an impromptu bikini contest, which Laura obviously wins (I mean duh, she’s a bikini model), but Jessie is aware that she’ll flaunt her “assets” to get farther in the game, which he won’t buy into. In turn, Jessie refuses to talk too much to Laura, which she finds annoying. Lydia offers to give Jessie a massage to try to connect to him, and they talk strategy (and where, personally, I think Lydia comes off as way too strong). The Athletes decide they’ll put up a Brain against Laura or Lydia. Jessie wants Laura, but Russell and Natalie push for Lydia because they think she’s playing the game harder.

Because Jessie is an Athlete, Russell, Natalie and Jeff are all safe this week. Michele gets her key, followed by: Braden, Kevin, Ronnie, Jordan, Laura, and Casey. So, Lydia and Chima are up for nomination this week, which Jessie says he doesn’t have a lot to base his decision on. Chima doesn’t seem concerned that she’s the pawn, Ronnie is way too excited that Chima might be going home, and Lydia is upset that Jessie targeted her for no reason.

Tune in to Big Brother 11 on Tuesday at 9/8c on CBS to see who wins the Power of Veto and how it could affect the game. Then, watch on Thursday at 9/8c to see who gets evicted and who will be the new Head of Household!

(Image courtesy of CBS)

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