Celebrity Big Brother Recap Season 3, Episode 14: Last Chance Double Eviction

If ever there was a chance for Todd Bridges, Lamar Odom and Cynthia Bailey to get it together and send one or both of the game’s most dominant duo, Miesha Tate and Todrick Hall, packing, it was tonight. Wild things have happened on double eviction nights.

By the same token, if ever there was a time for either Miesha or Todrick to decide to backstab their alliance partner and send the other one home, tonight was the night to do that, too. Would they honor their Final 2 the way they’ve honored no other alliance in the game?

Would they have the power to do that? Would Todd play spoiler again and win the Veto and/or the Head of Household to put one of them in jeopardy? Could Lamar or Cynthia win anything and really shock the whole house, and America at home?

There were a lot of moving parts, but also some genuinely heartfelt moments that proved the humanity beneath the gameplay. For all that Todd admitted that he was salty and bitter that Todrick had targeted him and Lamar, betraying their Final 4, he was still supportive of his efforts outside the House.

And it wasn’t just lip service, either. When Todrick talked about wanting to reimagine classic fairy tales with more diverse representation, Todd was all for it, telling him to make it happen to his face. And in the Diary Room, he said he’d be first in line to buy tickets if it happens.

As someone who was a young Black face on television many years ago, he certainly understands the value and importance of representation and people being able to see someone who looks like them on their favorite shows.

That’s why Todrick also noted that while there was no strategy this season, like this past summer’s Cookout alliance, to bring all the Black players to the end, it was incredible to see that four of the Final 5 were Black. And it’s true, it just happened that way.

But, that’s a testament to efforts to diversify casting, because it gave players more people in the House with shared experiences that they could gravitate toward. At the same time, you had people like Todrick and Miesha — who couldn’t have less in common, in many ways — who gravitated toward each other, too. But it’s still so important to see.

The first Veto competition was a struggle for Todd because of the outfits, with him describing himself as looking like a Teletubby in the skintight luge outfit they had to wear for their luge runs.

We’re not sure why the sleds had lugers already on them, as it just made things more awkward, but it might have been to slow the sleds down as it wasn’t about fastest time, but closest to a pre-determined time.

Todrick and Miesha were determined to take out the other side, as in all things, which Miesha did by quickly dispatching poor Cynthia first again. That poor girl can’t catch a break in this House. Even in a one-on-one competition she finds a way to get eliminated first.

From there, we almost expected Miesha to pick Todd and Lamar to square off as it would definitely eliminate one of them automatically. Instead, she put Todrick up against Todd, who equated it to the video games he plays at home. It’s all about timing.

Whatever it was, his strategy worked, as he edged out Miesha’s biggest ally in an upset that certainly left her rattled. She turned around and eliminated Lamar herself, leaving Todd the last one standing between her and her fourth competition win.

Unfortunately, Todd had been paying close attention to the game and had learned a lot even from his first run. Despite this being Miesha’s third, he still edged her out by less than a second, setting himself up as spoiler.

Now, best case scenario for the other side of the House would have been Cynthia winning, as it would have forced Todrick to put Miesha up and she’d have been able to get voted out. Instead, Todd was going to take himself off, with Cynthia going up as replacement.

From there, it came down to Todrick having to cast the tie-breaking vote right to Lamar’s face, with him scared that Lamar would be angry. Instead, Lamar appeared at peace with how things played out, exiting the game with his head held high — after he had to duck down to fit under the door frame.

With Lamar gone, it was Todd and Cynthia vs. Todrick and Miesha, but only Miesha could play in the HOH competition with them. Todrick, as out going HOH, was ineligible. So it was two against one and their second-to-last chance to break up the power duo that’s been just sailing right to finale night.

And talk about a nailbiter of a competition. It was a best-of-seven rounds competition where they had to identify what BB Flix movie audio clips were talking about from three different posters. The first to ring in with the right answer gets a point.

Todd got out to a fast start, scoring the first two points. But then he began to falter, and by the end of six rounds they were all tied with two points apiece and only one round left. This is about as tense and exciting a game as anyone could have hoped for.

It was anyone’s game and it all came down to this final question and this final moment. And as we’d just seen, this was a competition where any of the three were capable of taking it. Could Todd or Cynthia pull off the biggest upset of the season?

They could not. We’re not sure what it is about Todrick and Miesha this season, but they’ve certainly seemed unstoppable, and with her third HOH win, Miesha has been the dominant competition force of the season.

She stayed true to Todrick, throwing Todd and Cynthia on the Block, but the real power at this stage of the game comes with the final Veto of the season. If Miesha wins, she keeps her nominations the same and Todrick votes Todd out. The same happens if he wins.

However, if Todd or Cynthia win, not only do they take themselves off the Block, Miesha has no choice but to put Todrick up and then whoever won the Veto (Todd or Cynthia) casts the sole vote to evict.

In other words, a Veto win for Todd or Cynthia not only ensures their safety, it sends Todrick out of the House!

This was a variation on the classic game that requires Houseguests to identify what days things happened in the House. But just knowing them isn’t enough, as they have to roll a ball down a ramp, tipping it one way or the other to try and land it in the corresponding numbered space.

It quickly became clear that Todrick and Miesha had been studying for this game, probably all season and certainly in the more recent days, as they quickly pulled ahead and left Todd and Cynthia in the dust. Across nine rounds, the latter two only scored a point apiece.

In the end, even though it no longer mattered save for that resume building Todrick is so worried about, it was a tie between Miesha and Todrick. In the tie-breaker round, Miesha pulled off the win yet again, making it two on the night and five wins overall for her finale night resume, while Todrick is stuck at 2.

This was a prime opportunity for Miesha to backdoor Todrick if she wanted to because she’d literally only have to deal with his upset and outrage for one commercial break, pretty much. But she stayed true to their ride-or-die deal and left her nominations the same.

Also, she was clearly threatened by Todd and his ability to win competitions. Not evicting him at this stage opens up a scenario where he could win the final HOH and then send her home, sitting in one of those Final 2 chairs with Cynthia.

She’s at least pretty confident that if Todrick does win it, he’ll take her. If Todd or Cynthia were to win it, she knows they’d take one another. What better way to redeem a light resume than to take out the season’s biggest competition beast.

So she went the safe route, leaving her nominations the same and giving Todrick the honor of, for the second time tonight, standing up and giving his vote to evict live to the face of the person leaving. And like Lamar before him, Todd took it with grace and dignity.

Todd even credited Todrick with the best game of the season during his save-me speech and blurted out to Julie he was going to vote for him. Julie said he still needed to go home and watch the episodes, because she knows what’s really been going on, but we’ll see what happens.

When it comes down to Todrick and Miesha — and they’re pretty likely going to be the ones in those Final 2 seats — the vote could be even closer than we thought. As time passes and evicted Houseguests are able to separate game from personal, they may respect Todrick’s season-long hustle to get him and Miesha where they are.

They may also respect the fact that without Miesha winning all those comps, Todrick would have never lasted this long. It was definitely a power duo, with each playing crucial roles in their dominance. It could be a very close vote indeed.

In fact, it could wind up so close that it’ll be up to us. In the final twist of the season, Julie revealed that because Chris Kattan quit the show, he won’t be at the finale or part of the final vote. That means there will be eight jurors voting, setting up a potential tie.

And so, during the live finale, as soon as the Final 2 are determined, the voting options will open for America to cast a potential tie-breaking vote. If the Jurors are deadlocked, it’ll be up to America. Based on how we’re reading the room right now, that would be good news indeed for Miesha.

Miesha Tate (35) added two more comp wins to her resume, and she’s pissed off far fewer people than Todrick. If she’s in one of those Final 2 seats against either Todrick or Cynthia, she’s probably going to take home the win. That said, she could still blow it if she can’t argue more convincing than whomever is sitting next to her, and defend some of the cut-throat moves made throughout the game. Grade: B

Todrick Hall (36) might still have a chance to win this game. He’s certainly played the best overall game, despite not bringing it home with comps. But he aligned himself smartly with the one person who could get it done, and would stay loyal. The danger he faces is how he treated people in the House, and the fact they got to go home and see about it and read about it. If he can defend himself, and not play the victim too much, and maybe own up to his faults, he could still pull off a win. But we’ve not seen that capacity in him, and if he gets combative when challenged, that could hurt him — especially if he’s next to Miesha.. Grade: C

Cynthia Bailey (54) would make a huge statement at the end of the game if she can somehow pull off her first competition win and then send either Todrick or Miesha home. Todd told her she’d have a better shot of winning against Miesha, but that was before Miesha added two more comp wins. We’re not so sure he’s right. But that’s Cynthia’s only shot of even getting to the Final 2. If she does, an incredibly bitter Jury might give her the win, but we have a feeling the quality of game played by Todrick and Miesha — nastiness notwithstanding — will be hard to ignore compared to Cynthia’s largely non-game. Grade: D-

Todd Bridges (56) gave us a reason to keep tuning into this show through the penultimate episode, taking it down to the wire, so we thank him for that. It’s been the Todrick and Miesha show most of the season, so viewers had to hang onto which ever underdog was next to hope for something fun and exciting to watch. And even though their dominance will carry through to the end, he at least made it exciting and tense for a few moments. Grade: F

Lamar Odom (42) wrapped his time as he spent his time, quiet and looking a little lost. He did give a shout-out to Khloe Kardashian in his farewell interview with Julie, saying that he missed her and hopes that he gets to see her soon. He’d said in the House he hoped he could go to dinner with her to at least apologize. He’d certainly like the possibility of reconciliation, but there’s been no indication how she feels about it. Either way, he was very sweet in his farewell from the game, gracious and humbled by the experience. Grade: F

• “I’m not particularly threatened by Cynthia or Lamar unless there’s a modeling or basketball competition, which I don’t foresee happening.” –Todrick
• “It’s a smart move on Todrick’s part, definitely. I’m just a little bit salty, but if I win that Veto, I’m gonna save myself and then come back and win the HOH and put his ass on there and make him see how it feels.” –Todd
• “If Todd’s taking it a bit personally, first of all, what do I owe Todd Bridges at this point, and secondly, after that performance you’re gonna walk away with that kind of stank face? The audacity!” –Todrick (after nominating Todd in “extra” elaborate ceremony)
• “We should have broke up that pair a while ago.” –Todd (about Todrick & Miesha … ya think?)
• “You know what makes me even more mad. You could’ve told me … and he didn’t do that.” –Todd (about Todrick nominating him)
• “They tricked me to get rid of Carson … and I played with integrity.” –Todd
• “I’m loyal, and now you’re cutting my throat.” –Todd
• “The HOH– [singing reprise from ceremony] Just kidding, that moment is over.” –Todrick (walking past Lamar, Todd and Cynthia)
• “See, that’s the signs that somebody’s not a gracious winner.” –Lamar
• “I know. You ain’t supposed to do that.” –Todd
• “I curse you for putting me in this f—— outfit.” –Todd (about his POV winter sports gear)
• “I’m a lot better at these games than people realize. Now it’s time to show them what I can really do … with a Teletubby body.” –Todd (during POV)
• “I cannot believe I lost to Todd. I’m such a luger.” –Todrick
• “You know what, Todd? You beat me fair and square. I guess Todrick and I have to go back to the drawing board this week.” –Miesha (good sportsmanship)
• “If I still have any fans at this point, they’ve abandoned me … They’re like, girl, you can’t win for losing!” –Cynthia (after going out first again)
• “I’m happy that Miesha and Todrick ain’t gettin’ they way.” –Lamar (after Todd wins POV)
• “Two men falling in love, it’s just still such a taboo thing.” –Todrick (wanting to diversify entertainment and stories)
• “You have a better chance against Miesha with the Jury.” –Todd (to Cynthia … but we’re not so sure)
• “I will tell you this, if I win I’m putting both of you guys up.” –Todd (to Todrick)
• “You’re gonna put me and Miesha up?” –Todrick
• “Oh, hell yeah.” –Todd
• “Todd has been sober for 33 years now, so I asked him to be my sober coach. So maybe that’s why I joined the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ cast. Because sobriety is so important to me at this point in my life.” –Lamar (to Julie … 7 years sober)
• “I don’t know if she’s watching right now, but if she is, do you have anything to say?” –Julie (to Lamar about Khloe)
• “I miss you and I hope I get to see you soon.” –Lamar
• “You still got this veto. You still got this veto. Don’t give up yet.” –Todrick (to Todd after Miesha wins HOH)
• “Not two at the same time. I’m so over you!” –Cynthia (after Miesha wins POV)
• “I gotta come back? What’choo talkin’ ‘bout, Julie?” –Todd (great fan-service moment)