Warning! The following contains spoilers from Big Brother Season 23's Week 7 Head of Household competition! Read at your own risk!
The Big Brother Season 23 cast sent Britini D'Angelo packing, which marked the end of a stressful Week 6 for some. The Cookout is more paranoid than ever that their alliance of six will be discovered, and many believe it's high time to trim the remaining Houseguests outside their ranks.
Of course, they'd need to win HOH first, and there was always a chance one of their own wouldn't win. Spoiler alert, someone outside of The Cookout won HOH this week, and there's a good chance they'll impact the majority alliance this week. The question is, will it be positive or negative? Let's dive in and talk it out.
Sarah Beth Steagall Won The Week 7 HOH
Sarah Beth Steagall won the Week 7 Head of Household, and it would appear the only people thrilled about that are Sarah Beth and Kyland Young. That's not entirely surprising considering Sarah Beth is all but alienated from the house from a strategic standpoint, and really only talks game with Kyland. Barring some crazy twist in the High Roller Room, he's not going to see the block this week.
Will Sarah Beth Help Or Hurt The Cookout?
Sarah Beth Steagall is not aware of the existence of The Cookout alliance, but there is a chance her nominations could unintentionally help the alliance get the right target out of the house. The nightmare scenario is that she nominates two members of The Cookout and neither are able to leave the block. Essentially, that means if Azah Awasum, Hannah Chaddha, Tiffany Mitchell, Derek Frazier, Kyland Young, or Xavier Prather wind up on the block alongside one of the others, The Cookout is in trouble.
Ideally, The Cookout wants Sarah Beth Steagall to nominate either Claire Rehfuss or Derek Xiao, preferably both. Kyland Young actually suggested exactly that on the live feeds minutes after the win, but quickly told Sarah Beth it was her decision to make and not his. I'm not sure if it was because he saw from Sarah Beth's face she didn't like those options, or he was just trying not to push his Big Brother "Final 2" partner too hard.
Based on what I've seen on the live feeds, I would agree with many of the Houseguests that Sarah Beth Steagall's nominations are a wildcard. With that said, she has mentioned in the past she wanted Hannah Chaddha out of the game, and Tiffany Mitchell campaigned hard to get her out of the house a couple of weeks ago. Those would be two likely nominees in my opinion, and I also see Claire Rehfuss as an option because of her affiliation with Tiffany.
I think there's a chance Derek Xiao could see the block as well due to peer pressure, but honestly, Sarah Beth Steagall could make a big mistake with an outright nomination. Derek X likely will have enough money to play the Roulette game in the High Roller Room this week, which would allow him to remove a nominee and spin a wheel to decide who goes up in their place. He'd also have a chance at the veto if nominated early, so anything short of backdooring Derek X would be a bad play for Sarah Beth.
The bottom line, though, is that if a non-Cookout member is on the block next Thursday, The Cookout has the numbers to ensure their alliance member is safe. Right now the odds of that happening could be high, but it's also a matter of time before The Cookout is exposed by those on the outside of the alliance. Should Derek Xiao or Claire Rehfuss approach Sarah Beth Steagall about their suspicion of a greater alliance, would she be receptive? I'm not sure, but I'd love to find out!
Big Brother airs on CBS Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for our upcoming interview with Britini D'Angelo from the jury house. For those who missed last week's interview, check out what Christian Birkenberger had to say about how Alyssa may be better off in the game without him.
