Big Brother's Season 17 houseguests evicted Clay Honeycutt from the house and crowned a new Head of Household during Thursday night's episode on CBS.
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Clay was evicted from the house instead of showmance partner Shelli Poole by a unanimous 9-0 vote. Clay asked the house to vote for him so Shelli could have a chance to play the game since it was her dream. Clay and Shelli were very emotional about being split up.
Last night's broadcast began with Clay and Shelli on the chopping block, as they promised not campaign against each other and to just leave the decision up to their houseguests. They had a loyalty and trust with one another they didn't want to break.
Shelli was going to try to save herself because Clay wanted her to. She had tried to convince HoH James Huling that Austin Matelson was behind a lot of the chaos this season, including crazy votes thanks to his "Judas" persona and putting Jason Roy on the block.
James confronted Austin about his suspicions, and Austin was mad Shelli had thrown him under the bus. Austin called it a "classless move," but he was still aware his Sixth Sense alliance needed to keep the numbers. So regardless of what he thought of Shelli, it was going to be smart for his game to keep her around and continue working with her.
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Austin then told Vanessa Rousso that Shelli and Clay had outed their alliance, and Vanessa called them "fools." However, Vanessa was still sympathetic to the power couple and viewed them as friends.
Shelli talked to Vanessa about keeping her around. She said she's a better player and more of a strategic thinker than Clay. Vanessa agreed.
Afterward, Shelli and Clay shared their very first kiss of the season, and Shelli noted it was worth the wait. Shelli was looking forward to continuing their relationship outside of the house. However, she was devastated because they couldn't even be reunited in the jury house.
James wanted Shelli out of the house, but Austin and Vanessa tried to slyly convince him, Meg Maley and Jackie Ibarra to keep her around. Vanessa said it's a good idea to have a shield, meaning someone that was a bigger threat than everyone else. The shield would receive the most attention and become the target first.
It became clear to Jackie they were in an alliance with Shelli, and she reminded James how Shelli was the bigger threat out of the two. Meg wanted to save Clay because, not only did she seem to have a little crush on him, but Shelli could ultimately win the game.
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Jackie had a feeling Vanessa was never going to get rid of Shelli, and she was expecting Vanessa to pull another fast one and screw them again. Jackie told the cameras that if Shelli stayed, she'd no longer trust Vanessa and Austin and it was a waste of a week.
Vanessa's fear was that if Clay remained in the game, the other alliance was going to recruit him and try to work with him. The twins argued about liking Shelli but taking out a strong player asap. Austin wasn't sure whether to rock the boat by keeping Shelli.
In his speech prior to the live vote, Clay said everyone in the house held a special part of his heart but Shelli held it completely. Shelli started crying at his words, and then Clay reminded everyone he wanted to be the one evicted.
When Shelli made her speech, she explained she was a loyal, honest player -- someone to roll with rather than against.
After Clay was ousted from the Big Brother house, he sat down with host Julie Chen for his post-eviction interview.
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Clay explained he didn't want to take Shelli's Big Brother dream away from her. After 50 days, Clay told Julie he thought it was the real deal between himself and Shelli. He said she had been there for him both emotionally and personally on a game level.
Clay was afraid to say the word "love" when describing his relationship with Shelli, but he hesitated. He at least noted he loved her more than half a million dollars. Clay pointed out that if Shelli ends up winning the game, he'll win as well.
Clay also clarified he does take some responsibility for Jason's elimination and Meg was just a flirtatious person. He said nothing happened between them and she "had her share of showmances with everyone in the house."
Julie announced to the house that every evicted houseguest going forward will go to the jury house. However, the host revealed that won't necessarily mean they're out of the game for good.
The episode concluded with the houseguests competing in the next HoH competition.
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Dubbed "Midway Mayhem," they had to fill up giant tubs to a certain line but walking bath and forth a slippery floor. The houseguests could attempt to reach the line of cash prize, never having to be a "Have Not" again or the HoH title.
Although it was not shown on TV, a new HoH was crowned.
[SPOILER: If you'd like to know who won, highlight the area below.]
Becky Burgess is the new HoH. She also won the other two prizes.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski