Big Brother 26 returned Sunday night with the first post-Quinn episode.
Quinn Martin became the first BB26 jury member on the previous episode, ending his quest to go from super fan to Big Brother winner.
Quinn didn’t even get to meet host Julie Chen Moonves, as she was out for the night, and Jerry O’Connell had stepped in.
The final eight houseguests carried on, playing a Head of Household Competition that same evening (September 12).
Now, CBS viewers got to catch up with the houseguests, and some surprises were in store for the new episode.
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As a reminder, AINSLEY (the artificial intelligence) joined Julie on a vacation.
Big Brother 26, Episode 27 recap
New Diary Room sessions opened up the September 15 episode of Big Brother 26.
Chelsie Baham spoke about really liking Quinn and feeling he needed to be evicted.
Leah Peters said she felt targeted, especially since her alliance members were getting evicted (Joseph Rodriguez and then Quinn).
Angela Murray was frustrated about being kept in the dark about the vote. She became paranoid (again) after Quinn was evicted instead of Kimo Apaka.
The trio (Kimo Apaka, T’Kor Clottey, and Rubina Bernabe) discussed Angela’s difficulty trusting and began conspiring.
A new AI entity arrives and creates BB26 chaos
The new AI is named JANKIE, and he has revealed a new twist. JANKIE World was in the backyard, where the houseguests could enjoy pizza, ice cream, and dancing.
The twist was that the eight remaining houseguests were locked in the backyard for a week.
Getting locked in the backyard meant the houseguests would sleep on cots, eat the same foods (only pizza and ice cream), take cold showers, and use portable toilets for the week.
The houseguests were shown breaking down, and many complained about the heat and being locked outside for so long. They also had to dance or sing on command.
Endurance Challenge for the Head of Household
The HOH Competition required the players to use a poll to hold a marshmallow against a target. The last person standing would become the Week 9 HOH.
It was an Endurance Challenge designed for equality among the players.
Chelsie (the outgoing HOH) had to watch the other seven people play for power.
T’Kor was the first person eliminated. Kimo was the second person out.
Makensy Manbeck was out after two hours and 28 minutes (pretty impressive).
We got to see why the Live Feeds were down overnight, as the Endurance Challenge went on for many hours.
Rubina was eliminated after about five hours. That left Angela, Leah, and Cam Sullivan-Brown.
The challenge took so long that they had to fast forward through many additional hours.
Angela, Leah, and Cam made a deal that they wouldn’t nominate each other due to lasting so long in the challenge. That was at roughly the eight-hour mark.
The sun started coming out at the nine-hour mark.
Angela dropped out at nine hours and 43 minutes, saying she was dropping out so Cam or Leah could get pictures from home.
Cam challenged Leah to do it on one foot, and they competed that way for a few more minutes; then Cam dropped.
Leah Peters won the Endurance Challenge and the HOH. The challenge took nearly 10 hours.
Who did Leah nominate for eviction on Big Brother 26?
Leah wanted to take a shot at the trio (Kimo, Rubina, and T’Kor) and was urged in that direction by Chelsie.
Chelsie also promised Leah safety next week if she wins HOH.
Leah nominated Kimo and Rubina for eviction.
It was a bold move, even though some fans felt Leah should have targeted T’Kor.
Here are the Power of Veto spoilers (for fans who want to jump ahead).
More from Big Brother
Here is the updated episode schedule. Start times are changing as fall primetime shows arrive on CBS. It includes a Friday night installment.
Quinn said, “I suck at Big Brother,” in a new interview. He looked back on his time as HOH and wasn’t pleased. Quinn also spoke about his feelings for Leah.
T’Kor got upset at Angela on the Live Feeds. During a conversation, she even called her a “big fat baby.”
Previous episodes of Big Brother 26 are streaming on Paramount+.
Big Brother 26 airs on CBS.