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In the most recent episode of Big Brother season 26, which aired on September 5, tensions rose as another live eviction occurred. Going into Episode 24, Quinn Martin, the current Head of Household (HOH), had just nominated Joseph Rodriguez as a replacement nominee, after Leah Peters used the Power of Veto (PoV) to save Angela Murray.
This left Joseph, Kimo Apaka, and Rubina Bernabe on the chopping block. The episode centered on which houseguest will be sent home next at a key moment that would alter the dynamics of the Big Brother house.
In episode 24 of Big Brother, Joseph Rodriguez was evicted from the house by a tight 4-3 vote, which stunned several houseguests, including Quinn and Angela, who thought he had enough votes to stay.
Recap of Big Brother season 26 episode 24
Quinn's replacement nominee decision
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After Leah utilized the POV to save Angela from eviction, Quinn found himself in a difficult situation. To keep his game going without upsetting too many allies, Quinn drafted Joseph Rodriguez. This move surprised Joseph, who thought he and Quinn had a close alliance. Confused by Quinn's decision, Joseph said that as a superfan of Big Brother, it's a '101' not to put one's best ally on the block, but unfortunately, Quinn still did it.
In the diary room, Joseph admitted that if he won the next HOH competition, he would have contemplated nominating Quinn. Quinn, on the other hand, described his decision as strategic. With Angela out of the running, he needed to find a new nominee swiftly and trusted Joseph to manage the pressure in Big Brother.
Quinn revealed that his first aim was to keep Joseph in the game for jury votes, and he saw Rubina and Kimo as more imminent dangers. Regardless of his intentions, Quinn's decision made Joseph vulnerable, eventually resulting in his eviction from Big Brother.
Campaigns to save Joseph, Kimo, and Rubina
As the eviction approached, houseguests began scheming and mobilizing support for their favored candidates. T'Kor Clottey worked to get enough votes to protect Rubina and Kimo.
She initially thought convincing Angela to vote for Joseph would be simple, but she quickly understood that she would need more votes to ensure their safety. T'Kor told Chelsie Baham that she and Rubina were her top priority.
Meanwhile, Joseph attempted to make peace with Angela for previously jeopardizing her game. He apologized for throwing her under the bus before the veto meeting and admitted that he does not lose sight of the irony that he’s now vulnerable and she isn’t.
Despite the apologies, the damage had been done, and Angela and the other houseguests were still divided on whether to retain Joseph in the game.
Leah's role and the alliance's dilemma
Leah, who had previously saved Angela via the POV, found herself at the center of talks as Quinn, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Chelsie, and Makensy Manbeck weighed their voting options.
Quinn was unable to vote, so the gang understood they needed a fourth vote to ensure Joseph's safety. As the alliance attempted to persuade her to their side, Cam said Leah was their best option.
Despite the strain, Leah was able to preserve connections with Quinn and Joseph, who found it difficult to remain angry at her. She assured Joseph that she did not want him to leave the game, and Joseph used emotional methods to elicit compassion.
Quinn noticed that Joseph was adding up the tears to appear more vulnerable, but wasn't sure if his feelings were genuine.
The A.I. Arena competition
The nominees— Joseph, Kimo, and Rubina— competed in the A.I. Arena, in a challenge called 'Bandwidth Boosters.' The competition required them to untangle themselves from a twisted cable and hit a button first to win safety.
From the beginning, Rubina appeared to have the upper hand, moving quickly through the challenge. Joseph, however, struggled to make progress, becoming more entangled in the cables.
Kimo eventually caught up with Rubina, but she was able to win after several efforts, assuring her safety for the week. This placed Kimo and Joseph at risk of eviction, while the remaining houseguests faced a dilemma.
Final votes and Joseph's eviction
As the eviction vote in Big Brother approached, the houseguests continued to discuss the situation. Chelsie admitted to T'Kor that she was becoming increasingly unhappy with Makensy and Cam's burgeoning connection, prompting her to reassess her voting approach.
T'Kor took advantage of this chance to unite with Chelsie further, urging that they vote Joseph out to safeguard their own games.
Finally, the ballots were cast in the diary room. Makensy voted to evict Joseph, and Cam voted for Kimo. Leah then voted to eliminate Kimo, while T'Kor did the same for Joseph. Rubina also voted to oust Joseph, resulting in a 4-3 vote. Chelsie gave the final vote to remove Joseph, citing their "rocky relationship" as the determining factor.
Quinn and Angela were startled by the outcome, believing Joseph had the numbers to stay. Even though Kimo eventually survived the eviction, Angela admitted that she didn't think she had enough votes to save Kimo.
Joseph's exit interview and jury reveal
After being evicted from Big Brother, Joseph met with host Julie Chen Moonves for an exit interview. He expressed surprise upon being voted out, noting that he had anticipated his alliance to protect him. Feeling betrayed by those who vowed to vote for Kimo instead, Joseph explained,
"I'm not angry ... I'm surprised though...I was speaking to Cam, Cheslie, and Makensy specifically .. I felt like I had Angela and Leah's vote no matter what ..really and me and Rubina had made a deal, also where we would vote for whomever of us came off.... or was still on the block rather."
Joseph also reflected on his gameplay, conceding that he could have done more to keep Quinn and Leah from nominating him. However, he admitted that it was part of the game and understood why many saw him as a larger strategic threat than Kimo, saying,
"you know .. no offense to Kimo, but maybe they found me to be the more strategic player out of the two of us .. I was good with everybody .. so other people saw that ... then maybe they found that more threatening ... than somebody that's kinda a lone wolf a this point.... ummm yeah .. I don't really know why."
Before the episode of Big Brother concluded, Ainsley appeared on the screen to inform the surviving houseguests that they had officially advanced to the jury round of the game.
She also announced the end of artificial intelligence. The arena competition format revealed that the next HOH would only nominate two people rather than three going forward.
Don’t miss out on the latest drama and competition in Big Brother season 26. Tune in on Sundays at 9 PM and Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 PM on CBS. You can also stream episodes live or catch up on Paramount+ to stay updated on all the action inside the Big Brother house.
