‘Big Brother 18’ live review: A team twist, new competitions, and Da’Vonne gold

“Big Brother” fans, it’s finally here! Tonight marks the first episode of the new season, and of course that means a getting-to-know-you night full of surprises. Also, apparently it means the foundation to a two-night premiere event where we end up losing a houseguest before the feeds even come on.

We’re going to be reviewing tonight’s premiere LIVE, so check back soon to get some other updates!

Meet the newbies – The show did a good job once again of getting characters, whether it be Bronte and her over-the-top voice, Glenn and his mobile dog-grooming business, and Bridgette, who seems determined to prove people wrong. Also, there’s Jozea and his desire “to be the next President of America.” Okay then. Michelle also apparently is going to use this show as a weight-loss platform way more than she should.

The houseguests all enter the game – For the most part, this produced some fun little moments, whether it be Bronte’s “zen” Diary Room or Michelle already catching on to Tiffany being Vanessa’s sister … though she acted like it was some sort of brilliant revelation on her part. The one thing we hate? The constant talk about showmances ALREADY. The game just started, and this is all so annoying and tired.

Returning players – As the rumors out there suggested, we did get to see more of James Huling, Frank Eudy, Nicole Franzel, and Da’Vonne Rogers on the show this summer! They are are sticking together, and Paulie was smart to admit to being the brother of Cody right away. For Tiffany Rousso, however, she held the cards close to her vest.

Team twist – Yeah, this happened, much to the chagrin of everyone. Here are the teams, along with some silly nicknames.

James -Natalie, Victor, Bronte (Team Unicorn)

Frank – Michelle, Paulie, Bridgette (Category 4)

Nicole – Corey, Glenn, Tiffany (Freakazoids)

Da’Vonne – Paul, Zakiyah, Jozea (Big Sister … what?)

Now, the first competition. It was a rocket-themed endurance with different prizes. In last place was Team Da’Vonne, who found themselves as Have-Nots for the week. Team Frank was in the third place and secured a “mystery punishment.” Meanwhile, Team James won the challenge and got two weeks of safety, while Team Nicole got a cash reward.

The second comp – This was more of a competition for safety than anything else, and the winners were Category 4! Great news for them, but more bad news for Big Sister: Day clearly made a big mistake with Paul, who is a total control-freak.

The third comp – We ended tonight with Big Sister FINALLY winning something, which is glorious since Da’Vonne is wonderful entertainment and we want to see her and Paul hating each other a while longer. Meanwhile, the Freakzoids are in big trouble heading into Thursday night. We HATE the team twist for the most part; yet, we just gotta deal with it for now. It just sags and hurts what could have been a great premiere since it removes all strategy. Grade: B-.

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