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Big Brother 16 recap: Derrick Levasseur dominates, Battle of the Block

By Ryan Gamble

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The Big Brother 16 season was an interesting one, with a lot of alliances, a dominating duo, and a few game twists designed to keep fans tuning in during all 40 summer episodes.

The summer 2014 season was very memorable, helping viewers remember Big Brother 16, years after it had aired on CBS. It was noteworthy, not just because of the houseguests, but due to it being the first season shown in high-definition and the network rolling out an astounding 40 episodes. Sixteen houseguests played the game, which lasted 97 days, with three chosen by a public vote to become Team America and carry out missions for the viewers.

Big Brother 16 cast and alliances

There were a number of alliances that formed within the BB16 cast, but one of the most notable was the Bomb Squad. Caleb Reynolds and Frankie Grande put together an all-guy alliance with Devin Shepherd, Derrick Levasseur, Cody Calafiore, and Zach Rance. Derrick, Cody,  Frankie, and Zach would break off with Christine Brecht to form a sub-alliance called The Detonators.

The Detonators alliance would work very well, with Derrick, Cody, Frankie, and Christine making it all the way to the final six. Winning Head of Household three times and making it all the way to the season finale before even being nominated, Derrick found a way to work with nearly everyone in the BB16 house. Cody won the final Head of Household Competition, opting to take Derrick to the final two instead of Victoria Rafaeli.

Victoria might have gone down as the best pawn in the history of the reality competition show. She survived being nominated five straight weeks, as Derrick and Cody worked hard to get houseguest after houseguest sent straight out the front door. She couldn’t survive being nominated that sixth time, though, leading to her finishing third place for the season.

Team America and Battle of the Block

Viewers got to select three houseguests who would carry out missions for them and it was announced during the season premiere. Called Team America, this secret alliance consisted of Derrick Levasseur, Frankie Grande, and Donny Thompson.

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For each mission that they completed, each member would receive $5,000. If a member of Team America won the season, they would earn an additional $50,000. Missions included hiding personal items and starting up a neighborhood watch to keep the houseguests safe, convincing someone to become a pawn and then getting them evicted, and convincing houseguests that someone in the BB16 cast was related to a past houseguest.

Battle of the Block took place during the first chunk of the season. It involved having two HOHs and each selecting two nominees. The sets of nominees would play against each other in a competition called Battle of the Block. If they won, they would be safe, leading to the opposing duo going on the block and the opposing HOH losing their power.

An interesting note about the Big Brother 16 cast, is that Nicole Franzel was part of it. She was evicted twice during the season, winning a Battle Back Competition to get back in the game after the first eviction. She was nominated for five straight weeks, but much like Victoria later, she was a bit of a pawn. Nicole would finish in seventh place but was invited back to participate on Big Brother 18. This was also the season where Jeff Schroeder proposed marriage to Jordan Lloyd

Next. Dynamic Duos All-Star Cast Idea. dark

If producers ever decide to do another season of All-Stars, with a focus on the best duos the game has seen, Derrick Levasseur and Cody Calafiore would be good returning houseguests. They called themselves The Hitmen as they worked behind the scenes to get many of the BB16 cast members evicted. For some viewers, due to how well they played the game, Big Brother 16 has become a favorite season.

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