Big Brother week 8 Power of Veto Ceremony Results

1:22 PM — Melody and Drew (HOH)

The veto ceremony is over. Yash took himself down, Devens went up in his place, and Devens asked for it. Melody is not on the block, which is the entire subject of the next hour whether either of them says so or not. It starts with an energy drink.

Melody: “This is so good. Do you want to try it?”
Drew: “Sure.”
Drew: “Yeah, it’s pretty good. I don’t know if I would be really excited to drink more of that.”
Melody: “What do you drink?”
Drew: “Water. Apparently those. Soda. Oh yeah, I forgot. Starry.”

Then Taylor, laughing at Yash’s haircut.

Melody: “F—ing Taylor laughing at Yash’s haircut, bro. You weren’t having it.”
Drew: “No, I mean it was funny, it’s just like, leave my boy Yash alone — even though he does have an interesting haircut. Like if I have a kid and they do that… they’re not doing that.”
Melody: “Yeah, but, like, Yash rocks it.”
Drew: “It works for him. Like, genuinely, it does. I think there’s a very select few people that could get away with it. I think he’s getting away with it.”

Melody: “If I saw that on someone else, that would be, like… What if it was on me?”
Drew: “No.”
Melody: “That would look super ugly on you.”
Drew: “You just said how good looking I look today.”
Melody: “Yeah.”
Drew: “That’s cause I didn’t put you up on the block.”

Melody: “When have I called you ugly?”
Drew: “My memory wall picture.”
Melody: “And I still stand by that.”

---

She will not eat. He notices that too.

Melody: “I don’t really have an appetite. I mean, I did just have a slice of pizza.”
Melody: “I think I’m just, like, way more stressed out than, like, usual.”
Drew: “For what?”
Melody: “I mean, this is just, like, a stressful part of the game, like from here on out.”
Drew: “You’re telling me. I can’t even play in HOH.”
Melody: “Yeah, that’s brutal. But at least you won an HOH.”

She has been running an audit on herself and cannot find much.

Melody: “I’m trying to think of what I’ve been doing correct in this game instead of beating myself up, but… it’s kind of hard.”
Drew: “There’s something you are doing correct. You picked me. I think picking you is not a bad idea either. You think so?”
Melody: “It’s working out for both of us.”

Then he does a bit where he plays her regretting it.

Drew: “Even though you were pissed at me a couple days ago. I can’t believe I picked you. I should have picked somebody else.”
Melody: “That’s mean. I was really hurt.”
Drew: “I know. You are validated for that.”

---

Then the Icons, and Melody stops being funny about it.

Melody: “I love how the Icons are like… does Melody know we’re all working together? As if I wasn’t in the same f—ing alliance. Like, that you guys added me to way later, and then it blew up in my face.”
Drew: “Yeah, sometimes I’m really confused, but… I do think they’re all playing really good games.”
Melody: “I think Dee and Devens are.”

That is the setup. The next part is not.

Melody: “I don’t respect Angela’s game. I didn’t like her on her season and this is exactly why.”
Drew: “What about it?”
Melody: “It’s just, like, crybaby fake victim bulls—. And people fall for it, and it carries her. I can’t be mad because it works, but I can not respect it.”

Melody: “I think she’s cool. I think she’s really funny, and I f— with her. But game-wise, no.”

She does not leave it there.

Melody: “She’s always got that stupid-ass blobfish-ass f—ing face on her. It irritates the f— out of me. Like, you know you’re not going up as the renom. Like, get that f—ing face off of you.”
Melody: “When she was, like, crying when you and Haley were out doing the medieval s—.”
Drew: “She was crying inside?”
Melody: “Yeah, she’s like, this is just so scary. I’m like, you know that you’re safe regardless. Like, there’s other people here who should be — who are actually scared. Like, stop.”

Drew: “Are you scared?”
Melody: “Yes.”

Drew: “I think she’s cool, though.”
Melody: “I mean, she’s cool. She’s funny. Without Dee and Devens she wouldn’t still be here.”
Drew: “You don’t think so? She’s such, like, a low threat.”
Melody: “Really? Because she’s in the top eight.”
Drew: “Are you a high threat?”
Melody: “I wouldn’t consider myself a high threat, but I’m also in the top eight. Did something, right?”

---

He asks for credit. She gives him a little, and then takes it all back.

Melody: “You did not carry me all the way through.”
Drew: “But can you at least give me some credit?”
Melody: “Yeah.”
Melody: “I’m so glad I picked you.”
Drew: “No, you’re not. Sometimes you’re happy, sometimes you’re not happy. But that’s life, you know what I mean? Sometimes you make the wrong decisions, sometimes you make the right ones, but you just deal with it.”

Melody: “Now what about me?”
Drew: “Picking you? I should have gone with, like… I don’t even know. Probably Lala.”
Melody: “She won the wall. Give me some credit now.”
Drew: “You want me to give you some credit? You have a really good social game. People like you. And then some don’t. But that’s fine.”
Melody: “And who are the people that don’t?”
Drew: “Sometimes I feel like Lala doesn’t like you.”
Melody: “Yeah. Me and Lala low-key have, like, some beef for sure.”

Drew: “But you keep it real. You keep it 100. And you’re loyal.”
Drew: “But so am I.”
Melody: “You’re neither of those things.”

Drew: “What? Real and loyal? How am I not real? Are you serious?”
Drew: “I’m loyal to you.”
Melody: “Sure. I’ll take it.”

---

The draft still bothers him.

Drew: “I don’t know who else I would have picked. Well, I got picked. I think I got picked last. I think I was the last draft pick.”
Melody: “Maybe it was meant to be.”
Drew: “Maybe.”
Drew: “Yeah, no one wanted to pick me, huh? I always think about that sometimes.”

Drew: “Even Ashley was like… well, I think she was trying. I remember her being like, we should definitely work together. And I was like, dude, 100%. And then… she just didn’t talk to anybody.”
Melody: “She didn’t?”
Drew: “Not really.”
Melody: “She tried to make an alliance, like, multiple times with, like, me, Lyric, Mallory, and, like, I think you. Like, she would always bring it up. But then I always dodged it, and I felt bad.”

---

Then she tells the whole first three weeks back to him, and it does not flatter her.

Melody: “My whole narrative at the beginning of the show is so f—ing confusing. Because, like, the first week I’m like, okay, low-key, f— Mallory. Like, I don’t want to work with her. Like, she’s scaring me. I’m going to go work with, like, Rome and Lyric.”

Melody: “And then Mallory starts to calm down like week two. That’s when I’m on the block. And then my s— blows up with Rome and Lyric and I’m like, okay. I was like, now I officially don’t like Lyric because of all this other bulls—, and you’re too nice. And it didn’t really mesh that well with Rome.”
Melody: “And so then I, like, went back to Mallory, which I feel bad. I hope she’s, like, not upset.”

And then, straight down the barrel of the camera.

Melody: “Mallory, if you’re watching this, I’m sorry.”

Drew: “Did you have a final two with Mallory?”
Melody: “I didn’t. Like, not, like, an official one.”
Melody: “I basically feel so bad about the s— I was saying about Mallory the first week.”
Drew: “Yeah, you talked s— on two people that were rocking with you.”
Melody: “Yeah, but I talk s— on everybody.”
Drew: “I’ve been nothing but nice to you in this game.”

Melody: “So then when Lyric left, me and Mallory got, like, way closer, because I was like, I f—ing told you. And then it was very much like, I love Drew and Mallory. And then we formed FAP with Barrett too.”
Melody: “Yeah, I got pretty close to Barrett. Probably the week that I was a have-not, I think, is when me and Barrett got really close.”
Drew: “Are you closer to me or Barrett?”
Melody: “You. Is that a serious question?”
Drew: “I just want to hear you say it.”
Melody: “Are you closer to me or Barrett?”
Drew: “Well, there’s only one person in my room right now.”

Melody: “What a silly little narrative I have.”
Drew: “You’re like, I hate Drew. He’s the most annoying person ever.”
Melody: “And also, f— Mallory.”
Drew: “And then you’re like this. Four eyes. Four eyes. Four eyes. So dumb.”
Melody: “I like it.”
Drew: “No, I think it’s super funny.”

---

Then Barrett, and the one read of the hour Melody flatly refuses to accept.

Drew: “Makes me sad that Barrett didn’t get it. Barrett’s in a great position.”
Drew: “Everybody likes Barrett. Hey, hey, everybody likes this guy.”
Drew: “He was pissed when she did that. He’s like, why the f— are we telling everybody that they like me?”

Drew: “My favorite thing about me and Barrett is, like, he’s the biggest truth teller and, like, most loyal person in here, and I’m, like, the biggest f—ing…”
Melody: “That’s not true. Barrett? You think Barrett is the biggest truth teller and the most loyal person here?”
Drew: “I think perceived. I think he’s perceived as the most, like, trusting guy.”
Melody: “No, he’s not. Why the f— would he be?”

---

Ice cream, and the only genuinely low-stakes minute in the hour.

Drew: “You want ice cream?”
Melody: “What kind?”
Drew: “What is this? Whoa. I forgot you’re blind.”
Melody: “I have my contacts in. It’s just far.”
Drew: “What are they? I don’t know what that is.”
Melody: “French-style pastries with a custardy interior.”
Melody: “Why is that funny?”
Drew: “I just read it like… whoa.”

Drew: “There’s orange creamsicles.”
Melody: “I would have an orange creamsicle.”
Drew: “They’re only 80 calories. Dairy-free and gluten-free.”
Melody: “Wow.”
Drew: “A lot of strawberry ice cream.”
Melody: “That’s so sweet. Is that what you asked for?”
Drew: “Yeah. It sure is.”

---

Back to it. She is still keeping score against herself.

Melody: “They probably thought I was going to win more, too. I’ve, like, seriously excelled in, like, everything I’ve ever done. And then it’s just, like, f—ing embarrassing.”
Drew: “It’s okay. You’re due.”
Melody: “But whatever. I’m a very… it was written in the stars type of person.”
Drew: “You’ll win when you need to win.”
Melody: “Obviously, not winning got me this far. So, like, whatever. Maybe that was supposed to happen.”

Then the one she does not forgive herself for.

Drew: “How many HOHs have you thrown?”
Melody: “Just one. Never again. That was bulls—. I don’t know why the f— I did that. That was so stupid.”
Drew: “Dude, I was so excited for you when it was balance beam. I was like, dude, this is what you wanted.”
Melody: “I regret that so bad.”

Drew reaches for the name of an alliance and gets the wrong one, which is how a new one gets said out loud on the feeds.

Drew: “I truly believe that if you did win it, you would have been somewhat loyal to the Tool Shed.”
Drew: “Tool Shed? I mean, what was that called? The Mosh Pit?”
Melody: “So what’s the Tool Shed?”
Drew: “Tool Shed was that eight-person alliance. That first — we can get Rome out.”

And then the part he has clearly been sitting on.

Drew: “I said it, like, eight times in front of Yash, and he never noticed.”
Melody: “When?”
Drew: “Dude, because Kamu loved Yash. And he was like, should we add him? And I was like… I was like, dude, look, isn’t he in it? I kept saying it in front of him.”
Drew: “That’s so funny. Don’t say anything.”
Melody: “I won’t.”

Melody: “But I didn’t know what to do, and that’s why I threw it.”
Drew: “No, I knew you and Mallory were not trying to win that one. When you’re like, Drew, you have to win this.”
Melody: “Like a f—ing idiot, I believed Dee and Devens. Because I didn’t know what I was going to do if I won.”
Drew: “I can’t wait to watch this and see all the f—-ass alliances. I’ve literally been in, like, three.”

---

He cannot get a lid off, which unlocks the pickle jar story.

Drew: “I can’t open this anymore.”
Melody: “You want help?”
Drew: “No, I can do it myself. Remember when I opened that jar of pickles? That was so hot.”
Drew: “I mean, that was so cool.”

[The tags cross here. The version that fits is Melody opening the jar and Drew admitting he had already loosened it — worth an ear.]

Drew: “I was like — but I definitely opened it up for you.”
Melody: “Then why couldn’t you have gotten it?”
Drew: “Because, like, you haven’t had a lot of wins in this game, and I needed to give you one over me.”
Drew: “Does it make you feel better?”
Melody: “No.”
Drew: “Why not?”
Melody: “Because it was a gimme.”

Drew: “Take what you can get. It was a gimme when I had to go win a Blockbuster against you and Lyric.”
Drew: “I’m just kidding. It actually wasn’t. I was terrified.”
Melody: “Yeah, like halfway through doing that I felt like I couldn’t feel my body anymore because my adrenaline was so high. I was, like, picking up the puzzle pieces and I was just like… I don’t know how to describe it. I really don’t. I feel like I was outside of my body.”

---

The tea party, and Jason’s word for the two of them.

Drew: “What do you think about me and Barrett when we were during the tea party and then Jason was like, middlemen?“
Melody: “I was like, yeah.”
Drew: “You were like, yeah, they are. F— you.”
Melody: “Were you not? You still f—ing…”
Drew: “I’m not.”
Melody: “No, you’re not anymore.”
Drew: “There’s one left.”

Melody: “But it just, like, pisses me off. Like, I can’t even be mad, but I am. Because, like, that wasn’t supposed to work. And, like, the only reason it worked for you is because of me.”
Drew: “Well, how did it work for Barrett?”
Drew: “No, I, like, credit you a lot. You’re my saving grace. I’m trying to be yours. This week, I was.”

---

Barrett’s birthday is next Wednesday, which is how the double eviction comes up.

Drew: “Dude, we’re all going to make it to Barrett’s birthday.”
Melody: “Knock on wood. We don’t know that.”
Drew: “It’s next Wednesday.”
Melody: “Yeah, but what if this week’s a double?”
Drew: “That’d be bad.”

Drew: “If it’s a double and me and Barrett are on the block, can you keep me?”
Melody: “What’s in it for me?”
Drew: “I want HOH and you’ll be safe again.”
Melody: “Who would love to keep you?”
Drew: “You. My best friend, Josh.”
Melody: “Do you think that the Icons would save you or Barrett?”
Drew: “I have no idea, to be honest. I think it changes every week.”

She answers straight away. He does not.

Drew: “Would you save me?”
Melody: “Yes.”
Drew: “Ahh, really?”
Melody: “Only if you returned the favor.”
Drew: “Yeah, duh.”
Melody: “Like keep me over Barrett. So would you?”
Drew: “Perchance.”

---

Then he brings up the vote she was going to cast against him, and she does not flinch.

Drew: “I’m gonna remember that. I remember the fact that you were gonna vote me out against Mallory.”
Melody: “You were gonna leave with or without my vote.”
Drew: “You think? How so?”
Melody: “Maybe. I don’t know.”
Drew: “Well, how would you know if I was leaving with or without?”
Melody: “Lucky guess.”
Drew: “So I did need to win.”

He asks for the count. She gives him the count.

Drew: “Who’s going to vote me out?”
Melody: “Taylor, Lala, Yash, me.”

Drew: “You were going to vote me out and I still kept you off the block?”
Melody: “At least I’m being honest with you. And I told you this before. I told you that when you were on the block that I was going to do that.”
Drew: “I know. But you needed five to go. Who was the fifth?”
Melody: “Well, I guess you’ll never know then.”

He plays first-initial with her instead. She gives him an M, and the M is herself.

Drew: “What’s the first initial?”
Drew: “M. You’re M?”
Melody: “Mm-hmm.”
Drew: “You were the fourth. Yeah, but who was the fifth?”
Melody: “I don’t know.”
Drew: “Well, then why were you so certain I was leaving?”
Melody: “Maybe you weren’t.”

Drew: “I still can’t believe you would vote me out. That hurt my feelings. I hope you know that.”
Melody: “Well, you got your payback pretty quickly, didn’t you?”
Drew: “How?”
Melody: “By voting Mallory out.”
Drew: “Oh, I guess, right.”
Melody: “You knew how bad that was going to hurt me.”
Drew: “I know. I’m sorry.”

Drew: “You forgive me?”
Melody: “No.”
Drew: “Really?”
Melody: “Really.”

---

He describes winning the Head of Household, and it is the most animated he gets all hour.

Drew: “It was such a fluky game, too. I was like, oh my God, this is so Taylor-coded.”
Drew: “I was pissed when I walked in there and there wasn’t a rope. I completely convinced myself that it was gonna be the rope one. And I was like, they’re done.”
Drew: “And then it was three buttons. A 33% chance.”

Drew: “You should have seen how fast I ran. Because it was, like, you had to start here, and then there’s this holding area, and then you go run there. I f—ing booked it. I dusted them. It was so funny.”
Drew: “I didn’t even need to run that fast. I could have f—ing speed-walked, because the clue didn’t even show up and I was sitting there waiting. I was like, what the f—’s going on?”

---

Barrett comes back up, and Melody has been watching him closely.

Drew: “He knew Mallory didn’t have the votes.”
Melody: “Yeah, but he was never gonna vote her out.”
Melody: “I mean, maybe — if he would have. He’s a really f—ing good actor. He seemed f—ing pissed when she was the renom.”
Melody: “That was the first time I’ve ever seen Barrett show, like, really any emotion. That’s how I knew he was being serious.”
Drew: “I was pissed, but, like, relieved.”

Then, seven hours before Devens does exactly that, Drew floats volunteering.

Drew: “Would you rather have gone up? You should have volunteered.”
Melody: “Why the f— would I do that?”
Melody: “Exactly.”

Melody: “I’m not mad at you for that. Why would I be mad about that?”
Melody: “Would you have voted me out?”
Drew: “If you were there? No. But I don’t know.”
Melody: “You don’t know what? Me versus Taylor?”
Drew: “You versus Taylor, Taylor’s out. F—ing Taylor’s out. I don’t give a f— what’s going down.”
Melody: “Even with the Icons?”
Drew: “Yeah, I’d pull a Barrett.”

Drew: “But I think Taylor would have gone over you anyways. I would bet on it. Because Taylor’s won a veto.”
Melody: “So? So did Mallory. They’re equal. And Taylor is a pain in the ass. Mallory should have stayed. That was f—ing bulls—.”
Melody: “But Mallory also won the Blockbuster. Only because she f—ing had to. Or she was going to go home.”

She circles back to Angela, and then widens it.

Drew: “It’s so interesting to me, like, that’s the one that you’re annoyed with the most.”
Melody: “No, I don’t like any of them, really. Game. I mean, like, I don’t really like anyone in this house.”

---

Then the Haley story, which is the closest thing to a fight in the hour.

Melody: “You going up on Haley — she was your ally. You were talking s— about me to her, bro.”
Drew: “No, I actually never was. You know what’s really funny is I was never going to tell you this until after, but she told me right before the HOH. She’s like, I kind of like Melody. She was like, I would never put her up.”
Drew: “And then you went upstairs and said, I’d put your ass up. Because I’ve been trying so hard to make sure she liked you. And then I went up, because you said something.”

Melody: “Because I told her that I would put her up?”
Drew: “Yeah. You were in the clear. And then I hear that. She goes, I’m so surprised. Melody just said she’d put my ass up.”
Drew: “So then the next morning they go, yeah, so… Drew, like, I think you’re gonna go up. Because they didn’t want me to use the veto and take you off.”
Drew: “So thanks.”
Melody: “I’m sorry.”
Drew: “There’s things that you’ve done that have f—ed me too. You put us in that situation.”

She does not buy a word of it, and she has a witness.

Melody: “Yeah, but I don’t believe her for one f—ing second.”
Drew: “She was gonna put f—ing Lala up, and then you came up here and started chatting.”
Melody: “Lala and who?”
Drew: “Taylor.”
Melody: “It would have been me. And if you don’t believe that, you’re f—ing dumb. Because I was even talking to Mallory about this.”

Melody: “When Haley was talking to me that one time, last week, we were walking, and she told me that story too. She was like, I told Drew that you were never a consideration. Like, I liked you, whatever, blah blah blah, you weren’t gonna go up.”
Melody: “And I was talking to Mallory about it, and I was like, dude, what do you think? And before I could even finish the thought, Mallory was like, she’s lying.“
Melody: “And I was like, yeah. Because there’s no way in hell that I had that strong of a f—ing feeling about it and was wrong. She was going to put me up regardless.”

Then the receipts, going all the way back to day one.

Melody: “She always had some bulls— to say. She started a f—ing rumor about me on the first f—ing day.”
Drew: “What was the rumor?”
Melody: “That me, Lyric, and Mallory had a f—ing maiden alliance the first f—ing day. And she was always talking about us.”
Melody: “And then she put a target on Rome and Lyric’s back too, and so did Kamu. All of those people can go f— themselves.”

And then she thanks him for the one thing that came out of it.

Melody: “But thanks for going up there and saying that, because you earned me a spot on the block.”
Drew: “You’re welcome.”

Melody: “Well, I didn’t want to — I didn’t know what else to say. And you know who sold me out? F—ing Lyric. B—-ass Lyric.”
Drew: “And I don’t know what Barrett said, because it was between me and Barrett. And Barrett said something in this room where I was cooked.”

Melody: “Yeah, not my, like, smartest game move. But she was going to put me up.”
Drew: “I don’t believe for one second that she… Now that we’re talking about it, I’d be surprised if she did.”
Melody: “And then she was all pissed at me for starting a rumor about her and Kamu having a showmance.”

Melody: “The fact that she was like, I wasn’t going to sit here and be made a buffoon of. And her being like, well, I heard you say all those things about me. And I was like, I did. And I don’t like you.”

Then the part that explains her whole week.

Melody: “And I have a feeling she was not going to save me if she had won over Barrett. That’s why I was so nervous.”
Melody: “But I knew you were going to make that deal anyway. I was like, Drew obviously has an allegiance to the Icons that is higher than me. And I was just hoping that Barrett would win.”
Drew: “Do you feel like that still?”
Melody: “No.”
Drew: “You promise?”
Melody: “Mm-hmm.”

Drew: “It was really just so I could get in and play the game first.”
Melody: “Yeah, I get it, but, like, you didn’t have to go through with the deal. But I understand.”
Drew: “But then all three of them would have been pissed if I didn’t win that HOH.”
Drew: “Especially after last week. I had a crazy week and a half.”
Melody: “Yeah, you did.”

Melody: “I love the name Mosh Pit, too. I literally kept being like, f—ing good-ass name wasted on this stupid-ass f—ing bulls—, bro.”
Drew: “It’s okay, dude. We’re top eight.”

---

He wants a hot streak. She points out that everyone does, and then he names the exception.

Drew: “I want to hit a hot streak in some of these competitions, though. I’ve got to. I think that’s my only way.”
Melody: “I think that’s everybody’s only way.”
Drew: “Yes and no. But there’s some people who don’t have to.”
Melody: “Like who?”
Drew: “Some people don’t ever win anything. They just keep doing that until they’re at the end. Like last season. Ashley.”
Melody: “Yeah, but no one really likes Ashley that much.”
Drew: “She won. It doesn’t matter if people like you or not. You get $750,000.”
Melody: “That’s true.”

---

He wants to know what his nominees are saying about him. He gets a running joke instead.

Drew: “What do Lala, Taylor and Yash talk about me? What do they say?”
Melody: “They don’t say much about you.”
Drew: “Why not?”
Melody: “You’re not a hot topic.”

Drew: “I must be so boring.”
Melody: “Yeah, you kind of are. Your noms were boring.”
Drew: “I could have made them really exciting. Would you have been excited then? Oh, wow. These aren’t boring at all. These are actually really scary.”
Melody: “No, I would have been pissed.”
Drew: “Oh, I know. But it would have been boring.”

Then she wants what Dee and Angela said about the renom, and he will not give it up.

Melody: “What did Dee and Angela think?”
Drew: “They didn’t really say much, but Angela’s, like, not excited.”
Melody: “You’re not going to give me anything?”
Melody: “I’ve given you so much.”
Drew: “What have you given me?”
Melody: “Um, vouching for you extremely hardcore for multiple weeks.”

Melody: “Give me something. What did they say?”
Drew: “No. I’m not giving you anything.”
Melody: “Please. Why?”
Drew: “You didn’t give me anything when I said, what does Yash, Taylor, Lala think? And you said, you’re not a hot topic.”
Drew: “Like, they don’t say anything. Like, they haven’t mentioned me once.”
Melody: “I’ll tell you if you tell me.”
Drew: “Oh, f— no. Because you just straight up lied to my face right now.”

Melody: “Do you want to talk about lying to people’s f—ing faces?”
Drew: “Yeah.”

She begs. He enjoys it far too much.

Melody: “Please.”
Drew: “No, you’re not a hot topic.”
Melody: “Please. I want to know.”
Drew: “You’re using me. You’re using me and I see right through it. I’m starting to regret my renom.”
Melody: “Please.”
Drew: “No. F— off.”

Melody: “I guess I’ll go ask them myself.”
Drew: “You’re not a hot topic.”
Melody: “Did that one really get to you? I f—ing nailed it with that one.”
Drew: “No, I just think it’s funny because you said that and I’m like, yeah, I’m sure they’re not talking about the person who just put them up.”
Melody: “Not as much as you think they are.”
Drew: “I hope not. That’s actually really cool if they aren’t.”

He gives her one line in the end, and it is Angela’s.

Drew: “No, she’s just like… she’s like, I wouldn’t have done it that way.”
Melody: “Okay, Angela, well, you wouldn’t have done it anyway.”

---

He tells her to calm down. She declines, and gives a reason.

Drew: “You gotta chill out.”
Melody: “No, I don’t think I do.”
Drew: “Why not?”
Melody: “I don’t want to, and I don’t have to. In fact, now, if there’s any time to not chill out, it would be starting now.”
Drew: “Why?”
Melody: “We’re in jury.”

Then she finally hands him the thing he has been fishing for all hour, and it is worse than the silence was.

Drew: “What do they say about me? Do they say how cool I am?”
Melody: “Yeah.”
Drew: “No, they don’t.”
Melody: “No, he’s so handsome. Why would he do this to us?”
Drew: “I don’t think they said that. Maybe Yash did, but I don’t think Taylor likes me. I don’t think Taylor’s liked me this whole game.”

Melody: “I mean, Taylor and Yash were talking about how this was, like, a good move. Like, after the renom, they were like, he might have, like, a chance at, like, winning if he makes it to the end.”
Drew: “Oh, man. So now I’m a bigger target? Jesus Christ.”
Melody: “Bro. Everyone is, like, an equal target.”
Drew: “They’re like, wow, this is a good move.”

Melody: “You would have been a bigger target if you put me or Barrett up.”
Drew: “Oh, I know. That’s why I didn’t do it.”

The nominees themselves, in her telling, are taking it well.

Melody: “Lala was just like, I’m unbothered. Like, I’m just disappointed.”
Melody: “Taylor didn’t really say much to me about it.”
Drew: “Yeah, Taylor came up here and she was like, yeah, I expected it.”

---

They put music on. And then, an hour after the wine bottle of the night before turned into an energy drink and an orange creamsicle, Drew asks the only question either of them cannot answer.

Drew: “I’m so curious to see what people think about the way you and me are playing this game.”
Drew: “They’re probably pissed.”
Melody: “Why?”
Drew: “They probably just think we’re really dumb.”
Melody: “No, they definitely do.”

---

Where it stands: Drew got the ceremony he wanted. Yash came down, Devens went up as a volunteer, and Melody — who spent Sunday morning being campaigned against by three separate people — is not on the block. He kept the promise he made her at three in the morning, and the cost is that Taylor and Yash now read him as a player with a case, which is the exact thing he told Devens he did not want.

What she gave him back is not reassuring. Melody named the four votes that were going to evict him last week and put herself in the list without blinking. And when the double eviction came up, she said yes to saving him immediately — he was the one who would not say the same about her over Barrett, and answered “perchance.” She does not respect Angela’s game, does not believe Barrett is loyal, does not believe Haley ever meant to spare her, and finished the hour with “I don’t really like anyone in this house.” The only thing she has actually retired is hoping Barrett wins instead of Drew — and she retired that eight hours after telling him to his face that he is a liar.

The line that will matter on Thursday is the smallest one in the hour. Drew asked why she would not calm down, and she said: we’re in jury. Everything she does from here is being watched by people who will vote.

5:27 PM — Melody (alone, on the phone)

Nobody else is in the room. Melody is talking into the phone, to somebody at home, and it is the only unguarded five minutes of feeds anyone has got out of her this week.

Melody: “And I miss doing stand-up. And I miss listening to music that I like.”

Then the part she has not said to a single houseguest.

Melody: “This has somehow been a lot easier than I thought it was gonna be, and also extremely hard. Um, especially now that Mallory is gone. I kind of feel depressed, and I knew that was gonna happen if she left. And it’s even s—tier because she didn’t make it to jury.”

The sentence that follows — something about being stuck with the rest of them — runs out before she finishes it. What she does finish is what she plans to do about it.

Melody: “Honestly, it makes it a little bit more of a motivation to win, so that, like, I can shove it in all their faces. And also I don’t have to live with a bunch of them. If they just keep dwindling down and I’m still here…”

---

Then a party the feeds never showed us.

Melody: “They threw us, like, a mid-season party and it was so cool. And they had a cake of the memory wall, and it was so good. I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten a cake that big. It was a lot. It was really good.”
Melody: “And the food was really good. It was pizza, and they had cannolis, which are my favorite. And I drank red wine and I danced and it was cool. It was really, really, really, really fun. They played music for us.”

---

She takes stock, and it is the most generous she has been about herself in days.

Melody: “I am so proud of myself for making it this far. Like, I always knew I could do it, but the fact that I’m actually sitting here doing it is f—ing insane to me. And I hope, um, you guys are still proud of me.”
Melody: “I’m not — I’m just in a weird spot. It’s really weird not being able to, um, write down my feelings and think out my thoughts fully.”

And then, alone, with nobody to score points off, she says the truest thing anybody has said about her game all season.

Melody: “And I knew that my social game was gonna be my strength. I didn’t know that it was going to be my only strength.”

She does not let that stand for long.

Melody: “Not for long. Not for long. I’m speaking it into existence.”
Melody: “So many players have just turned the f— up at this point and just started winning a bunch. And I have a feeling that’s going to be me. It’s all set up perfectly. All I have to do is grab it. And I plan on doing that. So I think it’ll all work out.”
Melody: “And I know you’re rooting for me.”

---

She is aware of the audience even here, and says so.

Melody: “Um, lots of other things that I can’t talk to you about, um, because there’s too many people watching potentially. And yeah — but lots of other stories to be had. It’s gonna be so fun to talk about this with you.”
Melody: “We’re gonna laugh, we’re gonna cry, we’re gonna be angry. It’s gonna be such a hoot.”
Melody: “And I am so excited to hear your perspective, and describe everything to you, and it’s gonna be insane.”

Then a request, twice.

Melody: “And once again, I really hope you are posting on my Instagram for me. I do want you to be posting on my Instagram.”
Melody: “Be silly. Be fun. Because I like that. And I think it would be cool to see you when I get back.”

---

The last stretch is the house getting into her head.

Melody: “And also, I cannot dream about anything else besides Big Brother. It’s so f—ing weird. But I guess it makes sense, um, because this is just, like, my entire life right now.”

Melody: “Also, I already know you’re so annoyed with how much I’m saying um. I already know I say it so much on TV too. You’re probably so fed up with that.”
Melody: “But in my defense, my brain is probably getting stupider being here.”

And then the closest she gets to saying what the summer has actually been.

Melody: “Wow, this has been insane. This is — I can’t even, like, describe to you. I’ve felt several new emotions that I’ve never felt before.”
Melody: “I’m just thinking about all the times I’ve cried on live television and on normal television.”
Melody: “But you know what? I cry everywhere in public anyway, so I guess I’m just being myself.”

5:58 PM — Drew and Barrett (Storage Room)

Ninety seconds in the storage room, which is all they need. Drew is counting.

Drew: “You, me, Taylor, Yash. That’s four.”
Barrett: “Yeah.”
Barrett: “But she’s not protected by the Icons in any way.”

Neither of them uses her name. Neither of them needs to.

Drew’s answer is to question whether the Icons are the threat everybody keeps saying they are, starting with the one who just volunteered for the block.

Drew: “But they haven’t won. Devens hasn’t won an HOH in so long.”
Drew: “Do you think he’s been trying?”

Barrett gives him the benefit of the doubt, and Drew talks himself into agreeing.

Barrett: “He was doing pretty good in that last one.”
Drew: “He was. He was definitely trying to get that one. Because it mattered a lot.”
Drew: “I think he’s been trying.”
Barrett: “I just think he’s better at… Dee and him have proven to really excel in the quick.”

Then Drew relays a read of Angela’s that neither of them buys, and Barrett puts himself in it.

Drew: “And Angela’s like, no, I don’t think he’s going to win. Lala’s really good.”
Barrett: “And I am.”
Drew: “And I was like, what? And I was like, oh, that’s fine. Then we have Taylor.”
Barrett: “Yeah. It literally doesn’t matter. But I think he’ll definitely win.”

---

And then the actual point of the conversation. Barrett is the vote everybody has to come and get, and so far nobody has come.

Barrett: “Nobody’s had their first big conversation with me about trying to vote Devens out, so I don’t know how much they’ll try with me.”
Drew: “Melody doesn’t think he has the votes to go.”
Barrett: “If Melody thinks that, I wonder if everyone else just assumes that.”

Barrett: “But they’re going to pitch me at some point.”
Drew: “They have to. Taylor definitely will.”
Drew: “Taylor pitched you against me.”
Barrett: “Yeah.”

Somebody walks in on them, and that is the end of it.

Barrett: “Hey. Hi, guys. We got pizza.”

5:58 PM — Drew and Barrett (Storage Room)

Ninety seconds in the storage room, which is all they need. Drew is counting.

Drew: “You, me, Taylor, Yash. That’s four.”
Barrett: “Yeah.”
Barrett: “But she’s not protected by the Icons in any way.”

Neither of them uses her name. Neither of them needs to.

Drew’s answer is to question whether the Icons are the threat everybody keeps saying they are, starting with the one who just volunteered for the block.

Drew: “But they haven’t won. Devens hasn’t won an HOH in so long.”
Drew: “Do you think he’s been trying?”

Barrett gives him the benefit of the doubt, and Drew talks himself into agreeing.

Barrett: “He was doing pretty good in that last one.”
Drew: “He was. He was definitely trying to get that one. Because it mattered a lot.”
Drew: “I think he’s been trying.”
Barrett: “I just think he’s better at… Dee and him have proven to really excel in the quick.”

Then Drew relays a read of Angela’s that neither of them buys, and Barrett puts himself in it.

Drew: “And Angela’s like, no, I don’t think he’s going to win. Lala’s really good.”
Barrett: “And I am.”
Drew: “And I was like, what? And I was like, oh, that’s fine. Then we have Taylor.”
Barrett: “Yeah. It literally doesn’t matter. But I think he’ll definitely win.”

---

And then the actual point of the conversation. Barrett is the vote everybody has to come and get, and so far nobody has come.

Barrett: “Nobody’s had their first big conversation with me about trying to vote Devens out, so I don’t know how much they’ll try with me.”
Drew: “Melody doesn’t think he has the votes to go.”
Barrett: “If Melody thinks that, I wonder if everyone else just assumes that.”

Barrett: “But they’re going to pitch me at some point.”
Drew: “They have to. Taylor definitely will.”
Drew: “Taylor pitched you against me.”
Barrett: “Yeah.”

Somebody walks in on them, and that is the end of it.

Barrett: “Hey. Hi, guys. We got pizza.”

6:13 PM — The Crossovers (Drew, Devens, Dee, Angela and Barrett)

All five of them in one room, again. Devens walks in from a very long shower, and Drew tells him what he missed.

Drew: “We were just doing a kumbaya, saying how much we love each other. And then you walked in and we just, yeah.”
Barrett: “And then we’re done.”
Devens: “It’s all ruined.”

Then Devens notices the thing they should all be noticing.

Devens: “I guess nine people was the secret number for us to just always be able to be together.”
Angela: “Yeah, right?”
Devens: “It keeps happening. At the pool today, I came inside and I was like, wait, was I just out there with all the crossover people and didn’t even address it?”

Drew had already clocked it, and clocked who was watching.

Drew: “We were, but then I looked over and Taylor was on the other side, because I was going to say something. Taylor was just like…”
Devens: “Gotta be careful about that. I mean, we do when we don’t, I guess.”
Barrett: “Yeah. We do, but also very not a secret, I don’t think.”
Devens: “Or at least it won’t be in two days.”

Dee has been finding out the same thing from the other direction.

Dee: “I went outside, and then I look over, and it was just me and Yash. And I was like, oh, I’m going back inside.”
Dee: “Where are my friends at?”

---

Angela wants to know what the other three actually are to each other, and the room has an answer ready.

Angela: “I don’t get that relationship out there very much.”
Drew: “Which one?”
Angela: “Melody, Yash, and Taylor.”
Drew: “Well, I think it’s like — yeah, I think there’s no other option.”
Dee: “Yeah, that’s true. Yeah, survival, I guess.”

Devens does the arithmetic out loud, and it is three separate consolation prizes.

Devens: “Yash lost Kamu, Melody lost Mallory. Taylor’s tired of Lala.”
Drew: “Taylor doesn’t work with Lala.”
Devens: “Ever.”

He has the receipt too.

Devens: “You know on medieval night she sprinted across the house and yelled, oh, thank God.”
Devens: “I still don’t think they worked.”
Drew: “I think it was for Yash only, right? Not for both of them.”
Angela: “Right, I agree.”
Drew: “That is silly though.”

---

The cannolis are reviewed and found wanting.

Angela: “Are the cannolis good?”
Devens: “They’re alright.”

Then Angela asks for the thing this whole gathering has been circling.

Angela: “Could we get a group hug?”

They do. It goes about as well as five people in a scrum ever goes.

Dee: “Ow. My glasses, guys.”
Devens: “You asked for this.”
Drew: “This was for you.”
Dee: “I didn’t ask for this.”
Angela: “I wanted it. Sorry. I needed it.”
Devens: “Ow. Thank you guys so much.”

Drew escalates.

Drew: “Let’s take a family picture.”
Drew: “Wait, what? You just said it. I said the same thing. A family photo.”
Drew: “Okay, come on over. Come.”
Dee: “Hey, we’re a happy family.”

The younger ones pose in front. Dee works out what that makes her.

Dee: “With our parents.”
Dee: “It was so funny when you guys were like, cheese. On the sidelines. Just to always be reminded that I’m old. It’s great.”
Angela: “Nah, it’s all right. I get you. I get you.”

Devens has been through this already, with Lala.

Devens: “I guess your uncle, huh? And I was like, what? She’s like, because I’m auntie.”
Devens: “And I was like, oh, no. I was like, no, that’s not a thing. She was like, what? That’s not happening. No, I’m not.”

---

Which reminds Drew what he heard in his own room, and it is not kind.

Drew: “When Yash and Taylor were up there, they were talking s— on Lala. And they’re like… they were like, she’s not even auntie, she’s low-key grandma.”
Drew: “And I was like, you know she’s with you guys.”

6:22 PM — Drew and Barrett (Storage Room)

They came back to the storage room and stayed nearly half an hour. It starts with the worst week either of them can imagine.

Drew: “Because if Melody wins, it’s not the worst thing for you.”
Barrett: “I know.”

Drew builds it out. Melody wins Head of Household, all three Icons go on the block, one of them comes down in the Blockbuster.

Drew: “Who do you send home?”
Barrett: “Out of the three?”
Drew: “Yeah.”
Drew: “You know what I mean? I don’t know.”

Barrett gets to the real question underneath it.

Barrett: “I mean, if Devens has taken us further than five…”
Drew: “I think he has to.”
Barrett: “Do you think he’s for real about that s—? Or do you think he’s just trying to be in the middle of the other two Icons, who already have another deal he has with?”
Drew: “He probably has another deal with them.”
Barrett: “I really don’t think he does.”
Drew: “No, I think he does. 100%.”

Drew’s consolation is that they still rate better than the alternative, and he has done the maths on why.

Drew: “But I do think we’re, like, the better option of the two.”
Drew: “And Angela hasn’t won anything. So he can be like, cool, I’m taking Angela in the end.”

He works his hands like a gunslinger while he says the next part.

Drew: “I do see this as a viable option, but I also see it being the same thing that we have in the game. You know what I mean?”
Barrett: “Mm-hmm.”

---

Then the other bad week, and something Melody told Drew that he does not believe.

Drew: “Because I was asking Melody, I was like, who would Yash put? She’s like, the three Icons. I’m like, I don’t think he would.”
Drew: “I said, I definitely think I’m on that list. She’s like, no. Like, he would for sure do it. He’s like, we’d probably be the renom.”

Barrett would rather not find out.

Barrett: “God, this HOH better be so in our wheelhouse. Or my wheelhouse. You can’t play it.”
Drew: “Ah, dude, I know.”
Drew: “I would love if you won it, because I would just feel like… because if Angela won it, I think she’d put me up for the fun of it. Like, if there was a renom, I’d be the renom.”

Drew: “But we should just win it.”
Barrett: “It’d be the easiest option, really.”
Drew: “I think you should win it.”
Barrett: “I feel really good about that. Got two months of build-up to win this thing. And then I’ll win the next one. Just trade off. I’ll win the double.”

Which is where the double eviction comes up, and Barrett wants it now.

Barrett: “I almost hope the double is just this week.”
Drew: “I do and I don’t. I don’t get to play.”
Barrett: “I think I’d be good at the veto in a double. As long as it’s not, like, a maze little thing.”
Barrett: “But then I’d just be happy that Blockbuster’s over. I don’t have to f—ing think about that anymore.”

---

Barrett has a nickname for the two of them, and it comes from a man who left weeks ago.

Drew: “But we’re top eight.”
Barrett: “Did you ever imagine the middlemen would be here at top eight?”
Drew: “Melody’s pissed about it. She’s like, I can’t believe you guys played the middle and you’re still here. That’s not supposed to work.”

Barrett: “I mean, to be fair, middle is getting a bit stretched when it comes to you lately.”
Drew: “Oh, no, no, no, no. Like, not anymore. Like, she said, not anymore, you’re not.”

Barrett has been watching his own reputation move around, and he does not understand it.

Barrett: “Well, actually, does that reinforce the middle status? I feel like I’ve been very fluid with people seeing me as Icon-strong and then not, for some reason. I don’t even know why they wouldn’t at this point, to be honest.”
Barrett: “And so just because I didn’t vote out Mallory… I don’t know what they think, because even that is like, I knew Mallory was going home.”

Drew heard from Melody that Mallory left angry at him. Barrett does not confirm it.

Drew: “I guess Melody was saying Mallory was really mad at me before she left.”
Barrett: “I don’t feel like she really vocalized that to me, that she was that mad at you. She’s mad at both of us, but I think mostly not at me, because she didn’t know what it did.”

Mallory had asked him, before she left, whether the Drew and Barrett alliance was real. Barrett’s answer now is a shrug.

Barrett: “Who knows, man? If so, I need to see the formation of that.”
Drew: “Dude, let’s go. Let’s go as far as we can.”
Barrett: “I want to go as far as we can.”
Barrett: “I think we’ve had a fairly fun story.”

Drew tries out the end of it.

Drew: “What if this game ends, and it’s final HOH, the three of us?”
Drew: “I don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s a good problem to have, though, man. That’d be really cool.”
Barrett: “Literally, I think Mallory would just be the one pissed the f— off. All three of us.”

---

Then Drew says this is not the game he planned to play, and Barrett says his has gone exactly to plan. What follows is the clearest anybody has been about a pre-game strategy all season.

Drew: “I’ve had fun here. This is not how I thought I was going to play this game.”
Barrett: “Most of this has been kind of what I expected. I knew I wasn’t going to be very good at competitions.”
Drew: “Really?”
Barrett: “I mean, I haven’t been bad at competitions, but I just knew I wasn’t gonna be, like, a comp beast. And especially after the first one, I was like, yep. It’s confirming my abilities here.”

Barrett: “But I knew, if nothing else, I could be friends with people, and my version of being friends with people would help me.”

Then the Icons walked in, and he says he called every bit of it.

Barrett: “That was before the Icons walked in the door, and then once they walked in the door, I was like… I knew that they would get that first HOH.”
Barrett: “And then on top of that, once those powers were coming into play, I really knew they were about to get those powers. I was like, oh, this felt even better. It was, like, perfect.”

And the reason he never once considered playing against them.

Barrett: “I was not going to go home whenever my time was and be like, oh, yeah, I didn’t want to work with Angela and Dee and Devens because… that this was, like, they were tarnishing the season I was on. Like, f— no.”
Barrett: “It was like, I had three built-in friends already, because I knew who they were and how they played the game, and I liked them.”

Drew got the same advice from outside the house.

Drew: “That’s what my friends were telling me. Like, my super, super, super fans were like, if it is a returning season, do not target them.”
Barrett: “Yeah, exactly. Like, even Rachel was the biggest enemy to everyone in the house, and she still made it to the end.”
Barrett: “And also, just, like, you’re bringing back two Survivor people who are gonna be good at comps. Inevitably.”

They cannot agree which of the two is better.

Barrett: “I do think Dee is better at comps. I get confused on who is better between them.”
Drew: “I would say, like, Dee’s better at the comp stuff. And Devens is just good at the, like…”
Drew: “That’s like us too.”

---

Barrett has a regret from last week he has not said out loud before.

Barrett: “I feel like I could have won the balance beam competition last week.”
Drew: “She said she threw it. It’s not a comp to throw. You thought you could have won it?”
Barrett: “I just didn’t go that fast.”
Drew: “I wish I went a little quicker, too.”

Barrett: “If I went early, I would have hauled a little more ass, I think.”
Barrett: “But, yeah, I definitely was slow in the end there, especially with hitting my buzzer, because I didn’t know what I was at. But I think I could have won it.”
Drew: “You were so close. It’s okay, dude.”
Barrett: “But Dee being up there made me really comfy. And she still kept me safe, so that’s great, but I didn’t like how it turned out.”

---

Back to this week, and what Drew thinks he has done by leaving Melody off the block.

Drew: “If anything, like, me not putting Melody up is going to make all three of their minds race. Except Dee’s. Dee seems cool about it.”
Drew: “I think Devens is fine with it. I mean, he’s the only one that’s, like, a little worried about it, I suppose.”

Barrett has one specific worry, and he says her name twice.

Barrett: “I do not want Angela to go Angela on this week. I do not want her to do her Angela thing.”

Drew: “I think the best thing you can do, which sucks — honestly, f— it. Just vote the way you’re gonna vote.”
Drew: “But she’s already like, hmm, they’re hanging out. Melody, Taylor and Lala are hanging out with Yash. I’m like, yeah. We’re five. Because they know we’re five. We’re five.”

---

Neither of them rates Angela’s influence, and Drew has a receipt.

Barrett: “What the f— was Angela talking about? She didn’t know I was going up on Lala’s HOH. She f—ing knew.”
Drew: “Yeah, I don’t really know how much pull Angela has in general. Because she’s like, I’m going to go talk to Lala. And I was like… what?”
Drew: “I, like, don’t know if she has, like, that much pull. I don’t think she has that much pull between Dee and Devens either.”

Barrett has a theory about why, and it is brutal.

Barrett: “Yeah, unfortunately, I do think they see her as her old self, in a way.”
Drew: “Because that was about the last season they watched. They didn’t watch the one after.”

---

Then the jury house, which neither of them wants and both of them have made peace with.

Barrett: “Even if our demise is met, we just get to go hang out at a mansion.”
Drew: “It’s gonna be weird to be like, ah, man, I really hope Barrett walks… no, I don’t, actually. I really hope he doesn’t walk. But I’ll be like, ah, yeah, Barrett! Let’s f—ing hang out and not have to worry about f—ing anything anymore. It would be really fun.”
Barrett: “It would be more fun just hanging out here, though. It would be way more fun if we didn’t ever have to see the jury house.”

Barrett: “It’s cool knowing that we get to, at the very worst, help decide who wins.”
Drew: “That’s kind of already a success.”

Drew sets the terms for being satisfied.

Drew: “I need you to win an HOH and a veto, and then I’ll be, like, happy, too.”
Drew: “You got it, King.”
Drew: “And then I want my veto, and then I can be like, cool, dude, we played Big Brother.”
Barrett: “Well, I didn’t win the Blockbuster. But if it’s over before I even get the chance to, that’s okay, too.”

---

They try to name themselves, and it goes badly.

Drew: “The Jugglers.”
Drew: “It’s not really the coolest name, is it?”
Barrett: “No, because it has meaning to it. It has double meanings to it. Because we juggle, and we also… juggle.”

The one they actually use was a gift.

Drew: “Are we the middlemen? We have a couple names, actually.”
Barrett: “Both of those are good. I love how when Jason gave us middlemen, we were both like, f—, that’s really good.”
Drew: “That’s way better than what we came up with.”
Barrett: “Do you have anything to say, middlemen?”
Drew: “Middle woman.”

Favourite moment of the season, and Barrett changes his mind halfway through.

Barrett: “Don’t touch me, Kamu. That’s my favorite moment of the season. And it’s really something that happened so quickly. It was really good.”
Barrett: “No, you know what? Lala winning the wall was my favorite moment. That was actually really dope. I keep forgetting that happened.”

---

Barrett does the arithmetic on how long they have been gone.

Barrett: “We’ve been gone well over two months now. We’ve been gone for 68 days from the real world. That’s wild, dude.”
Barrett: “How cool though. I’m so glad you’re on the season, man.”
Drew: “Thanks for putting up with my s—. I know I’m young and annoying.”
Barrett: “And yappy.”

Then Barrett names the thing about Drew’s week that he finds funniest.

Barrett: “It’s so funny that we end up in a spot now where you were comfortably talking to Melody while you both fully know you would target completely different people.”
Drew: “Oh, I know. It’s so weird, right?”

And Drew has found the season it reminds him of. He is not being subtle.

Drew: “The whole thing reminds me of season five.”
Barrett: “With who?”
Drew: “With Drew.”
Drew: “That’s the weirdest part to me, because I did not intend for this to happen.”
Barrett: “Wait, who was his person?”
Drew: “Diane.”
Barrett: “Well, it worked out for him.”

---

Barrett makes him predict America’s Favorite on the spot.

Barrett: “Okay, finale happens. Julie says, here’s the top three for America’s Favorite. You expose yourself right now — who do you think she’s reading? And see how correct you are a month from now.”
Barrett: “There’s still some time left for things to change.”
Drew: “Yash, Mallory, Melody, Angela. Those are the top four.”

Drew: “Angela’s in, like, a Rachel situation, like last year when she won the first one. Like the first power.”
Drew: “And if Yash goes on a crazy comp win, he could be Keanu.”
Barrett: “Dude, yeah.”
Drew: “Yash is pretty funny and likable.”
Barrett: “He is. I’m surprised he didn’t get a power.”

Barrett’s own list puts Drew on it.

Barrett: “No, I think it’ll be you, Angela, Mallory. Yash may be a good option.”
Drew: “It also depends how far everyone made it. If Yash goes next week, I would bet against him.”

---

Somewhere in there is the coldest line of the conversation, and it is about the man who has been carrying the other side.

Drew: “Yash would be the best person to get out during the double.”
Barrett: “Yeah. It’s like when they got Michael Bruner out during the double.”
Barrett: “I was like, oh, he lost two in a row for the first time? Oh, now is the time.”

---

The last fifteen minutes are two superfans in the Big Brother house talking about Big Brother. They rank fan favourites by season, argue about which Alyssa was on which year, trade the names of people they want to message when they get out — Dan, Brittany Haynes, Frankie Grande, Josh Martinez, the whole Mount Rushmore — and Barrett explains, at length, a YouTube channel that made a twenty-three-minute video about the history of a houseguest’s bear shirt.

Drew: “It’s so weird that we’re talking about Big Brother in the Big Brother house.”
Barrett: “I don’t mind talking about Big Brother in the Big Brother house. I think it’s really funny.”

They have both met Taylor Hale, apparently at close range.

Drew: “Taylor Hale was pretty funny.”
Barrett: “She was incredible.”
Drew: “She almost punched me in the face.”
Barrett: “I would have let her punch me in the face.”

And somewhere in the middle of a conversation about a houseguest eating half of somebody’s muffin in 2022, Barrett finds the comparison.

Barrett: “That’s your hairbrush gate. That was muffin gate. That’s hot dog gate.”

---

They finish on what a run would look like.

Drew: “What if you start popping off? What if you start going on a crazy streak? You Morgan this thing.”
Barrett: “That would be f—ing sick. We should be Vince and Morgan. I would love to go on a Morgan streak.”
Barrett: “Do you want to be Vince or do you want to be Morgan?”
Barrett: “I feel like I want to be Morgan, but I’m probably just Vince.”
Drew: “Why are you Vince?”
Barrett: “Is it because you have a mustache?”
Barrett: “It’s mostly the mustache.”