Another week, another double eviction. Only the six Cookout members remained in the game at the start of Thursday’s two-hour live episode: Head of Household Kyland Young, nominees Tiffany Mitchell and Hannah Chaddha, plus Azah Awasum, Derek Frazier and Xavier Prather. The players had no idea they were about to lose two people to the jury house, especially considering last week was also a double eviction in which Claire Rehfuss and Alyssa Lopez were both ousted. So which two Cookout members had special one-on-one meetings with Julie Chen Moonves throughout the evening?
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Big Brother” recap of Season 23, Episode 31 to find out what happened Thursday, September 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite “BB23” houseguests on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the “Big Brother” winners list and win the $750,000 grand prize.
Keep refreshing/reloading this “Big Brother 23” live blog for the most recent updates.
8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘Big Brother’!” In the 30th episode, Tiffany and Hannah reacted to being nominated for eviction by Kyland, someone they thought was their ally. They gave it their all in the “BB Comics” Power of Veto competition, but Tiffany timed out (huh?) and Hannah came up short to Kyland. Both ladies tried to convince the comp winner to take them off the block, but Kyland of course kept his nominations the same, not wanting to get even more blood on his hands. Who will be voted out first tonight? And who will follow them out the door later on? Let’s go!
8:08 p.m. – Julie officially welcomes us to this two-hour surprise double eviction night. Since it’s two hours my guess is that Julie will be able to fake them out nicely because the first hour should appear normal. I hope it’s total chaos! Now we backtrack to the end of Wednesday’s Veto meeting. Neither Tiffany or Hannah are giving up on their game, but first the reminisce in the bedroom. Tiffany says she really wanted to play the game hard, but the opportunity to ensure the first Black winner of “Big Brother” came first. Even though they’ll both likely leave soon they were part of a historic run.
8:11 p.m. – Tiffany is talking to Azah now. She wants to stay in this game, but she is concerned Big D will never work with her (he won’t). Tiffany doesn’t understand why Big D is more willing to work with Hannah than her. Azah can barely bother to listen to all this game talk because she’s due for another nap. Tiffany walks away hoping she can just convince Xavier to save her.
8:15 p.m. – Now Kyland is talking to Azah. She has no idea what he’s saying and neither do I. His ability to ramble aimlessly is incredible. Azah just nods and once she’s in the Diary Room she says she doesn’t plan on asking Kyland how he’s doing again, anytime soon. Next Kyland talks to Xavier about how he is the only person his family can consistently rely on. Xavier then reveals that his brother died in April and he’s playing in his brother’s honor and for his nephew.
8:20 p.m. – Tiffany approaches Big D. By approaching Big D I mean she lies down in the bed with him. If you want to talk to Big D you have to go to him! She’s pleading her case to stay over Hannah, but Big D seems like a lost cause. Tiffany gives up on him and tries Xavier one more time. She says she knows she is Kyland’s target, but if she leaves, Xavier will be next. Why would Kyland go after Big D or Azah? It’s a valid argument, but Tiffany has no idea that Xavier agreed to a final two deal with Kyland. There is also a lack of trust between Xavier and Tiffany so he doesn’t really believe what she’s saying. Later, Xavier and Big D compare notes and wonder if Hannah could be even more of a threat than Tiffany.
8:30 p.m. – Julie congratulates the Cookout on achieving their mission. Tiffany says it was important to her for this group to make history and that’s why she helped form this alliance. Xavier calls it “groundbreaking” and Big D says it was a big challenge to keep this final six together, but it was all worth it. Hannah says she was a “hot mess” when she had to say goodbye to Derek Xiao and she felt like she betrayed them, but the Cookout always came first. Kyland says the Cookout added a layer to the game that he’s never seen before and, at times, those conflicted. They all agreed to pick the Cookout over anything else. Julie then says the Cookout became the first six-person alliance to make it all the way to the end together. Azah says even when she struggled in this game, faith has held her strong.
8:35 p.m. – It’s time to check in on the jury house! Britini D’Angelo and Derek X. are not surprised to see Sarah Beth Steagall walk in. Derek X. doesn’t understand why Sarah Beth would be evicted unless it was a completely emotional move, which disappoints him. Then Sarah Beth shows them the footage of Tiffany nominating her and the anonymous HOH keeping her on the block. Britini is blown away when she sees Sarah Beth on the block with Kyland and Xavier, yet Sarah Beth was evicted. Things befuddle them further when they see Hannah use the Power of Veto on Xavier. Sarah Beth is convinced all the Black players are working together to make history. Derek X. had no idea a Black person had never won. He thinks its a noble mission and is impressed they’ve kept the alliance together since Week 1.
8:36 p.m. – Sarah Beth respects Kyland’s decision to not tell her about the alliance, but she’s still upset about some of the unnecessary lies he told her. Britini still thinks Kyland is the most annoying person in the house. Not very good jury management, Kyland!
8:45 p.m. – Claire arrives at the jury house next. It wasn’t surprising to see Claire walking through the door, but the other jurors are going to be blown away when they see it was Tiffany who evicted her. Soon after Claire, Alyssa walks in and admits she really is the “dim one” because she had no idea the Cookout alliance existed. When the jurors finally see the footage of how that week played out they can hardly believe their eyes. They would have never expected Tiffany to be responsible for Claire’s eviction. Claire explains that Tiffany was devastated but had no choice. Claire respects and admires Tiffany’s character and still wants her to win.
8:48 p.m. – Next the jurors watch Alyssa get evicted under Hannah’s reign of HOH. They’re blown away by Xavier’s Veto performance and they know he’s been throwing competitions. At this point, the entire jury wants Xavier to win. Alyssa hopes Hannah reaches the final two and thinks she has been underestimated the whole time.
8:56 p.m. – It’s time for tonight’s first live vote and eviction. Prior to the vote, Tiffany and Hannah give brief, respectful speeches but Tiffany does say if she stays in the house this week, Kyland will be on the block next. As expected, Tiffany is evicted by a vote of 3-0.
9:00 p.m. – Julie calls everyone into the living room and congratulates everyone for making it to the final five. Then she reveals tonight is a double eviction episode. Everyone looks mortified. I love this! Game on!
9:08 p.m. – The power is up for grabs! As the outgoing HOH, Kyland is not eligible to compete. In “BB Ballers,” players have 12 silver balls on the grass at the end of a ramp. On Julie’s “go,” they will retrieve a ball from their ball box and roll it up the ramp in an attempt to knock their silver balls off. The first two houseguests to knock all 12 off and hit their button will advance to round two. The winner of round two will become the new HOH. Xavier is the first player to advance to round two followed by Azah. Hannah and Big D have been eliminated.
9:20 p.m. – Xavier and Azah now face off in round two of this HOH competition. In this round they will roll their balls onto the grass instead of knocking balls off the grass. They will toss 10 balls and the houseguest with the most balls on their grass will become the next HOH. It takes five shots for either of them to score, but they both do at the same time! Azah takes the lead after six shots. After seven shots, Azah leads 3-2. After nine shots Azah leads 4-3. On the final shot Azah wins 5-3! Azah has finally won a competition and she’s the new HOH! Who will she put up on the block?
9:26 p.m. – It’s time for the nomination ceremony. Prior to the commercial, Azah told Hannah she was going on the block with Xavier. Azah says she has a plan for Hannah to stay in the house, but I can’t tell if she’s lying, clueless or serious. She promised Kyland she wouldn’t put him on the block. I’m not sure why women ever trust men on this show, it never works out for them. Anyways, the nomination ceremony takes place and Azah nominates Hannah and Xavier for eviction.
9:40 p.m. – It’s now time for the most important Power of Veto competition of the summer (so far). In “What the Bleep?” houseguests will view a number of videos containing statements made by former housemates. Each statement will contain a bleeped out phrase. Julie will then say what the bleeped out word is and players will have to determine if that is true or false. After seven videos Kyland and Xavier face off in a tie-breaker question. In seconds, how long was the “Cluckster” HOH competition? Whichever player is closest without going over will win. Xavier says 1,100 and Kyland says 1,690. Kyland has won the Power of Veto.
9:47 p.m. – At the Veto ceremony Kyland decides to use the Power of Veto on Xavier. The only other option to put on the block is Big D. Kyland held true on his word to Xavier and Azah looks a little blindsided by it. I think she actually thought Hannah and Big D would both be safe. Hannah will be leaving shortly. Azah will be gone next week.
8:52 p.m. – It’s time for tonight’s second live vote and eviction. Kyland and Xavier have decided to evict Hannah. The boys stick together.
8:59 p.m. – Find out who wins the next HOH on Friday night and who the next two nominees for eviction will be. As the camera goes back into the house for the final moments, Azah is looking pretty furious. She got played!
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