Big Brother 21 Episode 39: recapping the recap episode

A brand-new episode of Big Brother 21 aired last night. It was Big Brother 21 Episode 39.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39 aired last night on CBS. In the last episode, Jackson Michie and Holly Allen were nominated for eviction by Head of Household Nicole Anthony. However, Michie had the Power of Veto and the sole vote to evict that week. Cliff Hogg III tried to threaten Michie into keeping him by promising to poison the jury against Michie if he was evicted.

Tonight, we saw fallout from Cliff’s eviction. Next, we saw a recap of Jackson Michie’s game, Nicole Anthony’s game, and lastly Holly Allen’s game. After the recaps, Big Brother 20 alums JC Monduix, Tyler Crispen, and Kaycee Clark returned to discuss the season with host Julie Chen-Moonves. After Julie interviewed last year’s final 3, we saw diary room outtakes. Big Brother 21 Episode 39 concluded with part 1 of the final Head of Household Competition and its aftermath.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39 begins

Big Brother 21 Episode 39 began with host Julie Chen-Moonves greeting CBS audiences and giving us an idea of what to expect tonight. Then, the show launched into a recap of the events that led us to where we are now. The main title sequence was not shown. After the recap, Big Brother 21 Episode 39 picked up where Episode 38 left off, at the end of the live eviction.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39: Live eviction show fallout

The final three celebrated their achievement with a glass of champagne. Nicole was sad that Cliff was gone and hated that she was stuck in the final 3 with a showmance. However, Nicole vowed to fight to win her way to the final 2.

Michie said he came here to win and beat 15 other people. He also noted that Cliff was one of those 15 other people. He knew he had one job which was to win and he didn’t want his family to watch him come out to anything other than confetti.

Holly felt like she was dreaming being in the final 3. Holly knew she had been playing in the shadows and wanted to prove that she deserved to be standing in the final 2 on finale night.

Michie and Nicole then had a conversation at the table in the dining room. Jury management was brought up and Michie used this to try to convince Nicole that she should take him to the final 2 if she won the final HOH. Michie noted that Analyse Talavera, Jessica Milagros, Christie Murphy, Tommy Bracco, and Kathryn “Kat” Dunn all likely hated him.  He did think he could get Nick Maccarone’s vote. However, Nicole wasn’t buying what he was selling about how many people hated him.

Nicole then had a conversation with Holly at the dinner table. Nicole tried to convince Holly to take her to the final 2 instead of her showmance Michie. They noted how on a game level Michie has dominated the season. However, Nicole privately felt there was no way either Michie or Holly would take her to the final 2.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39: Recap of Michie’s season

Michie knew going into the house he was going to be looked at as a physical threat and potentially a social threat. When Julie announced the Camp Director twist on Day 1, Michie knew he needed it because of the part where his safety would be guaranteed for the week. Michie felt winning camp director opened up his game because it allowed people to come to him and allowed him to form relationships.

Out of the relationships he was able to make, he essentially formed an alliance of 8 because he had to be with the numbers. With Gr8ful, Michie felt he had to play their idea of Big Brother, which he didn’t like. However, he knew it was best to play in the shadows and it worked for him. Michie felt Jack Matthews had been a very useful ally because people looked at Jack as target number 1. Michie ended up on the block twice against Jack and both times, Michie wasn’t the target.

Michie thought he could trust Jack. However, on Day 44, Jack turned his back on Michie. Jack blew up Michie’s game. After that, Michie felt he had nobody in his corner except for Holly. Michie felt it was nice to have a partner in crime and support system next to him. Michie said everything he did in the game was to keep Holly safe with him and that Holly was his number 1 priority.

Michie and Holly had to win competitions to stay alive and touted his comp wins. His comp wins allowed him to play the Big Brother he wanted to play. It allowed him to stir the pot and allowed him to make deals. He felt it paid off because when Nicole won HOH on the double eviction, Christie was evicted instead of himself.

The deal Michie and Holly made with Cliff and Nicole didn’t last and he overheard that Cliff and Nicole were going to take Tommy to the final 4 and evict Holly. He adapted his game to help save Holly. Holly did stay (though not because of Michie’s lie). Michie was speechless but thankful Cliff and Nicole didn’t break them up.

Michie was happy he had been able to bring Holly with him to finale night by winning the final 4 Power of Veto Competition. Michie felt his family deserved the $500,000 he would receive should he win. Michie felt that making his mom proud and to do this for his family was a big accomplishment. He knew it was time for him to do his job and win.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39: Recap of Nicole’s season

Coming into the house, Nicole knew she wanted to view the house as a classroom. She knows from being an educator that you assess and adapt weekly. Nicole knew she was going to have to focus on her social game. Early on in the game, she formed an final 2 alliance with Cliff. A lot of Nicole’s friends were taken out early on in the game as Ovi Kabir and Kemi Fakunle.

There was an alliance of 8 running the game that she and Cliff were not part of. Cliff and Nicole were very patient in waiting for cracks within the 8 to burst. Then, Cliff and Nicole aligned with Jessica and Kat in the Cliff’s Angels alliance. Cliff’s Angels was able to take out a huge threat in the game, Jack.

After Jack’s eviction, she lost the Cliff’s Angels alliance when Kat was evicted. It was tough for Nicole to lose Kat but Michie then approached Nicole and Cliff about a final 4 deal with him and Holly. Nicole knew the game well enough to know you don’t turn down an alliance, especially with someone like Michie who will get angry and come after you if you said no.

Double eviction night was crazy for Nicole. She won her first competition of the summer. Nicole decided to repay Michie and Holly for all the weeks they kept her safe by nominating Christie and Tommy instead. This resulted in Christie being evicted. Then the following week, she won BB Comics. She used the Power of Veto to save Cliff and force Michie to nominate Holly.

Cliff and Nicole had a big decision to make but ultimately decided they would vote out Tommy. They had decided to keep Holly because of a deal they made with her. This deal saw Holly throw the HOH Competition ensuring Nicole’s spot in the final 3. Unfortunately for Nicole, Michie won the Power of Veto that week resulting in Cliff’s eviction. Due to this, Nicole found herself in the final 3 with a showmance, which was her worst fear.

Nicole thought people didn’t realize what it meant for her that her family was going to be at finale night. She felt like the whole season was a dream. She wanted badly to be sitting in one of those final 2 chairs and saw herself in one of them.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39: Recap of Holly’s season

The second she walked in the door, Holly knew she had to play a careful, calculated game in order to survive. She felt joining a big, strong alliance was the perfect way for her to ease into the summer. Holly knew if you were surrounded by bigger targets, they usually go before you. However, she hadn’t been expecting to get into a relationship with somebody on the show.

Michie was not the only one Holly had been close too. You see, Holly and Kat knew each other before coming into the house because they ran in similar circles. Kat was not part of her alliance so it helped Holly’s game to have a number on the other side.

At one point, Holly’s relationship with Kat almost got exposed and Holly’s game flashed before her eyes. Holly knew that in order to save themselves, she had to separate herself from Kat. It was at that point, Holly knew the house had turned against them. Even though her relationship with Kat got exposed, Holly still had Michie.

Holly’s relationship with Michie blossomed was when they realized how good they were as a team. With flying under the radar no longer an option, they won competition after competition to keep themselves safe. Holly lasted 83 days before finally being nominated for eviction. When Holly was finally nominated, it was on Michie’s HOH (because there were no other options available).

As a result, Nicole and Cliff started going back on the final 4 deal they’d made with Michie and Holly. Michie and Holly pulled out all the stops to ensure Holly’s safety. That included throwing a competition at the final 4 that Holly felt was made for her. However, Michie won the final 4 Power of Veto and kept Holly safe.

After the game Holly played, she felt she was deserving of being in one of the final 2 chairs. She also felt that she had a lot of friends in jury if she got a chance to plead her case, she would have a real shot at the $500,000.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39: JC, Tyler, and Kaycee return

After Holly’s recap segment, Big Brother 20 alums JC, Tyler, and Kaycee returned to discuss the season with Julie. All three were surprised at Holly, Michie, and Nicole being the final 3. They didn’t understand why Cliff and Nicole (more so Cliff) wanted to keep Holly over Tommy at the final 5.

Tyler and Kaycee both enjoyed Nicole’s game. Tyler and JC felt that while Michie had played a solid game, he may have been a bit too aggressive and abrasive and that could be his downfall. Kaycee liked Holly but didn’t like she was in a showmance with Michie. However, she wouldn’t mind if Holly won. JC was impressed with Holly’s ability to stay off the block and felt her game was impressive. Tyler felt Holly had been going with the flow and hiding behind Michie and felt a jury might not respect that.

Kaycee wanted Nicole to win the season but felt Holly would win. Tyler noted his prediction curses and picked Michie to win the season. JC thought whoever won would deserve it but felt the winner would ultimately be Holly.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39: Diary room outtakes

After Julie interviewed JC, Tyler, and Kaycee, we got to see some diary room outtakes. These included diary room session bloopers and a segment of the houseguests crying.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39: Final HOH Competition part 1

Then, it was time for part 1 of the 3-part final HOH Competition. For this competition, players had to cross a rope bridge and jump across rotating pillars to get to the other side. Once they got to the other side, they had to complete a puzzle.

Once the puzzle was complete, their treasure chest would open, revealing gold coins. They had to transfer 25 gold coins, one at a time, to their crate at the starting platform. The first houseguest to correctly complete the puzzle and transfer the 25 coins would win part 1 of the final 3-part HOH Competition and automatically advance to part 3.

Michie won the competition, ensuring his spot in part 3. Holly finished in 2nd place. Nicole meanwhile, fell far behind in finished in dead last.

Big Brother 21 Episode 39: HOH Competition part 1 fallout

Big Brother 21 Episode 39 concluded with fallout from part 1 of the 3-part final HOH Competition. Michie was happy about winning part 1 of the final 3-part HOH Competition. However, he was not going to let himself celebrate because he knew he still had to win part 3.

Holly was happy for Michie that he won but she really wanted to win this competition. She was a little disappointed that she couldn’t pull out the win as a result. Now she was going head to head against Nicole and knew Nicole was the only thing standing in her way of getting to the final 2.

Nicole felt confident she could win part 2 against Holly and then win part 3 against Michie. She said if she won that she would evict Michie and take Holly to the final 2. She felt Michie would be in for a rude awakening when he was evicted. She felt in her soul it could and would happen.

Tune in Wednesday night at 9:30 pm eastern to see who wins the final HOH Competition and Big Brother 21!