BB28Jul 18, 5:41 PM

Evening Update: The Survivor Tribe Has the Key — and the Veto

Rick Devens added the Week 2 veto to his HOH key, giving Survivor alumni both HOH wins so far. Jason, Lyric, and Melody remain nominated while Lyric and Melody pitch for rescue—and Rome remains the most discussed replacement target. Nothing changes until the veto ceremony.

Somewhere on a beach, Jeff Probst is smirking. Dee Valladares won the first HOH of BB28. Rick Devens won the second. And on Saturday afternoon, Devens went ahead and won the Power of Veto too — while still wearing the HOH key. The Survivor tribe hasn't just checked into the Big Brother house; its alumni have won both HOHs so far, and Devens personally holds both symbols of Week 2 power.

Here's what that actually means for the board: nothing yet, and everything soon. The nominees are still Jason De Puy, Lyric Medeiros, and Melody Morris. The veto ceremony hasn't happened. But the man who spent the morning saying the veto "better be used" now doesn't have to ask anyone's permission to use it.

All times below are Pacific house time, Saturday, July 18, 2026.

The Board

Week 2 HOH: Rick Devens
Week 2 veto winner: Rick Devens
Nominees: Jason De Puy, Lyric Medeiros, Melody Morris
Evicted: Ashley Trail (Week 1)
Veto ceremony: not yet held — no one has come down, no replacement is official

A Quiet Morning, Then the Machinery Starts

Our morning note covered the feeds through 4:05 AM, ending on a quiet pod bedroom after a long night of Lyric drawing boundaries and Rome turning defiant. The house stayed quiet until 9:35 AM, when feeds flipped from the Big Brother screen to animals — the usual sign production is running an event. After a brief return to the BB screen at 10:05 AM, feeds came back to houseguests at 10:09 AM with the veto players already drawn. The one detail that mattered most, immediately: Rome was not playing.

The Veto Was Already Pointing at Rome

Before anyone touched a puzzle, Devens made his intentions unusually plain. At 11:38 AM, Drew called the draw ideal and said Barrett would take Melody down; Devens said he loved Rome but had "torched him all day." At 11:45 AM he worried out loud that Kamu might keep nominations the same if Kamu won. At 11:47 AM he assumed Angela would use it, since targeting Rome had been her idea in the first place.

Then he said the quiet part directly. At 11:54 AM: if the veto gets used, he has to nominate Rome, because the damage is already done. At 11:56 AM: the veto "better be used" — the only way Rome stays off the block is if it stays in the box. At noon, Dee told Devens that if Rome hits the block, he has to vote him out, and Devens agreed it would be crazy not to. At 12:02 PM, Drew called Rome the ringleader; Devens noted Rome already knew he was the expected replacement, though he also floated Mallory as an alternate thought. All of that is planning talk, not a decision — but it's a lot of planning talk pointed in one direction.

Meanwhile, Melody was steeling herself. From 11:51 to 11:54 AM she gave herself a solo pep talk at the gym camera — do-or-die, she believes in herself, she came here to win Big Brother.

Devens Wins It Himself

Feeds cut for the competition and came back at 2:14 PM. Rick Devens won the Power of Veto, and the live board confirms both powers sitting on him.

It was apparently close. Around 2:39 PM, Barrett said Jason nearly won the puzzle; Rome described Devens smashing his buzzer immediately while Jason paused to look at his own before buzzing. Around 2:52 PM, Lyric said she should have looked at the other puzzle, and Rome told her flatly that if Jason had won, Rome would be sitting on the block next to her. He can read a room. At 2:53 PM, Lyric predicted Devens would keep nominations the same, while Rome wondered whether Devens would keep his word — nominee speculation, not anything Devens has said since winning.

Everybody Pitches the Same Necklace

With one man holding every lever, the afternoon turned into a lobbying session.

Around 4:30 PM, Yash told Chuk the three nominees were all on the same side of the house and would have to split; Chuk described that side as imploding and its members shopping for new homes. Yash read Lyric specifically as ready to switch sides.

Around 4:33 PM, Melody and Mallory worked on a plan to get Devens to use the veto on Melody — with the crucial wrinkle that Melody wanted the idea to feel like it was Devens's own. They figured Lyric would survive an eviction against either Jason or Rome and preferred Jason go, though Melody also acknowledged Devens might just leave the board alone.

Then Lyric made the boldest move of the day. Feeds returned from another cut at 4:56 PM to houseguests snacking (no veto necklace in frame), and from 4:57 to 5:08 PM Lyric campaigned directly to Dee: she wants the veto used on her, with Rome named as the replacement. She blamed Rome's loose game talk for putting her in danger and said she'd rather Rome leave than herself. Dee said she'd pitch Devens on it. Remember where the morning note left off — Lyric privately insisting she and Rome were never a thing. By evening, she'd graduated from drawing a line to actively nominating him in absentia. That's the biggest relationship shift of the day. It's also, to be clear, a pitch to Dee — not a promise from Devens.

By 5:22 PM the house had settled into two big social clumps, with Dee and Devens together on the living-room couch. No ceremony, no official word.

What Happens Next

Devens has maximum formal control of Week 2 — and maximum ownership. When you win the HOH and the veto, there's no random veto holder to blame if the plan wobbles. Every pre-competition receipt points at Rome as the replacement, and Lyric's pitch pushes the same way. But Rome is not on the block, and nothing is official until the ceremony. Lyric and Melody are now openly competing for the same rescue seat, Jason came within a buzzer of taking the whole question out of Devens's hands, and the island alumni keep collecting keys. The Survivor tribe has won both HOHs. The Big Brother house speaks at the veto ceremony.