Dee's target moved twice, and Mallory paid for it
La Trice wins her first veto and takes herself off the block. Dee's target had already moved once. By the end of the ceremony it had moved again.
Week 7 continues off the fallout from last episode's nomination ceremony, where Dee put up Drew, Taylor, and La Trice and asked the house who had used her name. The house argument that opened tonight didn't resolve who actually said what — but it produced a real move: Drew picked a side in front of the whole house, burning his bridge with La Trice and Taylor.
Dee's target moved twice over the course of the episode. She started the week with Drew as her target, for riding the fence between sides. Once he proved his loyalty to her side in the blowup, the target shifted to Taylor. After La Trice won the veto and pulled herself off the block, Devens convinced Dee that the target should shift again — to Mallory, who became the renom.
Taylor has been nominated three times this season (episodes 3, 13, and 23), the most of anyone in the house.
The veto competition, "Feel the Burn," ran across three rounds. Six players competed: the three nominees (Drew, La Trice, Taylor), HOH Dee, and two drawn houseguests, Barrett and Angela.
- Round 1 (rep-count endurance): Angela and Drew eliminated
- Round 2: Dee eliminated
- Round 3 (most reps wins): La Trice defeats Barrett and Taylor
La Trice wins her first veto of the season. It's her second competition win — HOH in episode 17, and this. She played the episode 12 Blockbuster too, but lost it to Mallory. That puts her level with Dee Valladares and Rick Devens on two, one behind Yash Patel, who leads the season with three.
At the veto ceremony, La Trice removes herself from the block. Dee names Mallory as the replacement nominee. Mallory has now been nominated three times this season (episodes 3, 10, 24) — tied with Taylor for most in the house — but this is the first time she has not been saved by the veto beforehand.
Two alliances came into clearer focus tonight: The Icons (Dee, Rick Devens, Angela Murray) — the season's returning-player trio — and The Crossovers (The Icons plus Drew and Barrett), which Drew and Barrett declared dead this episode after talking about the Icons within earshot of Devens. Mosh Pit (The Icons + FAP: Drew, Barrett, Melody, Mallory) is showing strain after Dee's renomination of one of its members.