Following the first eviction of the season, the new week started off with the Head of Household competition. Earlier, the houseguests had filled out a survey based on their first impressions of each other. The competition involved correctly guessing the most popular answer to the various survey questions. The first houseguest to buzz in was given the opportunity to answer. If they answered correctly, they got to eliminate someone from the competition. If they answered incorrectly, they were eliminated. The last houseguest standing became the new HoH.
Based on the survey results, Hamza is the houseguest that the most people were surprised to see cast this season. Hamza was also voted as the houseguest likely to have the fewest number of people attend his birthday party. Kaela eliminated Hamza from the competition. He was the sixth to be eliminated. Ryan, the 39-year-old fire safety technician from Calgary, won HoH. Shortly after the HoH competition ended, Ryan let Andrew know that he is ready for a parade of 10 people to tell him that Andrew has to be nominated. Ryan said Andrew was eliminated from the HoH competition first for a reason. While Ryan believed he would become a target if he didn’t do what the house wanted, Hamza encouraged him to take shot since will be a target no matter what move he makes. Hamza also suggested that he should be nominated instead of Andrew. Hamza explained that he would have a better shot at winning the Power of Veto than Andrew would, which would allow Ryan to get someone else out of the house as a backdoor target.
When it became apparent that Ryan was going to give the house what they wanted by nominating Andrew, Hamza asked to be nominated anyway. He worried that he would go on the block as the replacement nominee if not, meaning that he would no longer have the opportunity to fight for his life in the veto competition. Ryan had already planned to nominate Hamza next to Andrew, so Hamza got his wish. At the nomination ceremony, Hamza was nominated next to Andrew. In the diary room, Ryan explained that he nominated the two people in the house that he is closest with because it was the only way to get the house behind him. Not only was Hamza nominated, but Ryan also chose him to be a have-not for the week, meaning that he can only eat slop, he can only take cold showers, and he can only sleep in the have-not room. Given that there are no beds in the have-not room, the have-nots have been sleeping on the floor.
Though Ryan nominated Andrew and Hamza next to each other, neither was his true target. Ryan hoped that he could please the house by giving them the nominations that they wanted, then get his true target, Olivia, on the block in the event that the Power of Veto was used on either of the two nominees. Erica, Jessica and Johnny were randomly selected to compete in the veto competition. Ryan went to work trying to convince those three that it was in their best interest to throw the veto competition. Ryan hoped that one of his two nominees would then be able to win the veto. The houseguests saw right through Ryan’s plan, and they were motivated to fight for the veto in order to keep the nominations the same.
The veto competition was Tomb Raider inspired. The competition involved both a physical component and a mental component, as the houseguests had to climb a wall numerous times in order to find all of their puzzle pieces. Once they found all of their puzzle pieces, the goal was to complete the puzzle in order to reveal a code to unlock a tomb. The first player to unlock the tomb would not only win the Power of Veto, but would also receive $5,000 cash, and an advanced screening of the new Tomb Raider movie. Erica ended up winning the Power of Veto. Erica assured Hamza that he will have the votes to stay over Andrew. Hamza argued that they need Andrew in the game as well. While Erica wasn’t against having them both in the game, she explained that using the veto is not the best move for her. Ryan pitched to Erica that they can get a strong player out if she decides to use the veto this week. Erica ultimately decided against doing so. Andrew and Hamza remained nominated.
On Thursday, the second live eviction of the season took place. Hamza survived the chopping block. Andrew was evicted by a unanimous vote of 10-0. The HoH competition then got underway. The houseguests were paired up for it. Hamza is paired up with Veronica. The winning duo must decide which of the two of them will become the new HoH for the week. While a new HoH has already been crowned, the remainder of the competition will not air on TV until Monday night’s episode at 9 ET.
