This isn't the first time an evicted houseguest has returned to the game in Big Brother, however in recent seasons, the series tends to wait until later in the season to do a buyback. Big Brother has been teasing this twist since the start of Season 18, and tonight's taped episode finally revealed which of the first five evicted houseguests would be returning for another chance at the game. Of Glenn, Jozea, Victor, Bronte and Tiffany, it was Victor who managed to win numerous competitions and win his way back into the house.
You can't say Victor didn't earn the right to reenter the Big Brother game. Third to be evicted from the house, he joined the Battle Back competition in the second round, facing off against Jozea, who previously beat Glenn in a physical competition. Poor Glenn. He's waited weeks for this chance. He came out looking revved up and ready to win, only to get bested by Jozea in a race/obstacle course competition involving stacked berries.
Jozea took the Battle Back to Round 2, where Victor joined him for a weird tennis-themed ball-bouncing competition. The two guys had such trouble getting started on that one, that it was really anyone's game. But Victor managed to beat the self-proclaimed messiah of the Big Brother house. Victor faced off against Bronte in a photo-related competition. There was memory and counting involved, and Victor seemed a step or two ahead of Bronte the entire time.
Finally, Victor faced off against the most recent evictee. I admit, I was hoping Tiffany would pull a win here, if only so we could see the devastation on certain houseguests' face when she returned. Alas, Victor was, ahem, victorious once again. The competition was a puzzle wall-climbing comp, that I think Tiffany might've been able to win, but she was looking pretty winded toward the end, and fell behind. So Tiffany is out, and Victor returns to the game.
Based on the drastically different set-ups during each competition, it's evident these competitions were pre-taped, which might explain the recent Head of Household room lockdowns we've seen on the feeds. My guess is that the first few rounds were taped earlier this week (or possibly further back for Glenn's?), and they taped Tiffany's round last night not long after she was evicted. Victor came back to the house looking fresh off the competition, which may not be the best thing, assuming he's going to get to compete in this week's Head of Household.
The houseguests seemed mostly surprised that there was a returning houseguests. Given that there was no Head of Household competition during the live show, they likely knew something was up. And it looked like they were all dressed in athletic wear, which makes me wonder if they were waiting for the Head of Household competition to start.
Victor's return is interesting, because his exit was so uneventful, by comparison to the last two evictions. Taking into account how emotional things have gotten in the house, between Tiffany's non-eviction last week, and her actual eviction this week, people might not feel like gunning for Victor right away. Meanwhile, Tiffany put some words in his ear when they hugged goodbye, telling him to trust Frank. Who knows if he'll take those words to heart. He might end up getting roped in by the other side of the house.
We'll have a better sense of how Victor's return to the game has affected things, and who won Head of Household once the Big Brother live feeds come back on.
