Big Brother recap: The Gas Manager vs. The Awkward Trombonist

Johnny Mac left this world too soon. Let us not weep for his departing but celebrate his life, of which he was so full as he would laugh and laugh and laugh the days away. Let us remember a few of his finest moments in the last seconds of his Big Brother life:

“A lot of people don’t take me seriously Julie.”

“Aww, Steve’s so adorable.”

“Let’s give it a shot. I don’t know how I’ll do, but let’s do it.”

That last line of course is in reference to Johnny Mac’s chance at a second life in the game, a resurrection at the literal hands of the Big Brother house. Despite Julie Chen breaking perfect form and laughing at Johnny Mac’s now iconic laughter, which will fill the halls of Big Brother libraries that will surely supplant actual libraries in the future, Julie made sure to remind us that tonight, one of the four evicted jurors would have one more shot at the grand prize.

But first came the eviction, campaigning from both Steve and John, and the now requisite “Vanessa cries” section, which may or may not be the worst potential spin-off web series to come from the series.

Who causes Vanessa’s tears this week? Well, Vanessa herself. As my colleague Darren Franich has pointed out, Vanessa’s game is absolutely fascinating to watch—at times she seems to be the smartest person in the room, and yet moments later she looks as if she’s had a full mental break and completely forgotten how to stay competitive in the house. Her mistrust of Steve is DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW ZINGBOT ON TWITTER still baffling in some sense, as she blindly trusts what Johnny Mac and Liz have to say, but because Steve doesn’t give into her repeated question method of attaining information, she refuses to believe him.

Steve’s case isn’t helped this week by his seeming confusion about exactly when he was part of an alliance to backdoor Vanessa. He says this week, Johnny Mac says last week. (Of course, the option has been on the table both weeks, but the competing beliefs only cements Vanessa’s belief further that Steve is a completely disloyal player in the house.)

With the, in her eyes, confirmed dishonest nature of Steve’s game, the natural assumption is she would want Steve out of the game despite the blindly emotional rationale behind such a decision. Yet, out of nowhere, the more methodical Vanessa returns, realizing she can’t quite betray her alliance with the Austwins. She has to vote with them, because going against their wishes would only add fuel to the fire for another possible backdoor plan in the future.

NEXT: The jurors return as another one bites the dust.

Her social game may be all over the place, but she knows how to think moves ahead of everyone else, and, in the end, she agrees to vote with Liz, Julia, and the other two-person alliance, Meg and James. (ASIDE: James received the hometown spotlight this week, the show doubling down on its depiction of a prankster with a soft heart. Did you know Big Brother is on Dubsmash now? Subscribe to their soundboard to watch the torturous 10-second hell Derrick has been trapped in. Now back to your regularly scheduled recap: Though even his friends can’t deny that any actual attempt to turn his friendship with Meg into something more will go south on him in less time than it takes him to set and execute one of his surprise screams for the unassuming houseguests. At least it makes for an entertaining montage. END OF ASIDE)

The votes at first seem like they may be up in the air. Johnny Mac has talked with Liz, Julia, and Vanessa all about securing a place in the house. He’ll make a deal with his mortal enemy, do whatever the twins want if he wins HoH, and basically sell his soul to stay in the house. Sadly, his promises are all for naught. All five of the potential voters choose to evict Johnny Mac unanimously.

He leaves following another one of his patented bizarrely hilarious speeches. (He promises to continue managing his gas if they let him stay in the house. Though Steve delivers an oddly sweet speech that would be difficult to vote against, thanking them for essentially putting him through puberty a decade late. He got to play Truth or Dare and Spin the Bottle, in which he gave Meg one of life’s most awkward kisses.)

But not so fast, Johnny Mac. His initial stay in the house may be over, but he, Shelli, Jackie, and Becky (with one hell of a bandage around her toe) have an opportunity to compete and return to the house.

Rather than a juror-only competition, they and the other houseguests are all through together for the week’s Head of Household battle, another endurance challenge. Holding onto ropes and standing on a miniscule platform, each houseguest and juror is rotated around a circle that includes two giant hands that will slap them in the face (and the entire body) as they spin around. Whoever can hold on the longest will be crowned HoH. Whichever evicted jury member remains in the game longest will also return to the house. So yes, it is possible for a juror to both return and be crowned HoH.

Unfortunately we’ll have to wait until Sunday to find out who wins, but in the meantime, follow Big Brother on Dubsmash, Zingbot on Twitter, and make sure to add Dr. Will on Friendster!