Ahead of the first live eviction of Big Brother 24, Paloma Aguilar unexpectedly left the game due to a personal issue, leaving both of Head of Household (HOH) Daniel Durston's nominees for eviction in the game, and, because of this, Daniel should have been allowed to play in the next HOH competition. Daniel always knew that his HOH reign could be affected by the Backstage Twist, but the details were not revealed until the live eviction by host Julie Chen Moonves. As Backstage Boss, Joe "Pooch" Pucciarelli sent three houseguests, Paloma, Alyssa Snider, and Brittany Hoopes "backstage" with Backstage Passes, which meant that they could not participate in any competitions, vote, or be nominated, but they could still somehow go home. America was able to vote for which of the three women they wanted to save from eviction. No one knew how the twist was going to work.
Daniel nominated Michael Bruner and Terrance Higgins for eviction. However, when Michael won the veto and saved himself, the house encouraged Daniel to replace him with Taylor Hale. After Paloma revealed her plan to target the strong men in the house to Taylor, Taylor warned Monte Taylor that Paloma was coming after him. He asked Paloma about it, and Paloma said that Taylor was lying. The house turned against Taylor, and viewers were outraged about their microaggressions toward her, including calling her "aggressive" without any apparent reason. When Daniel nominated Taylor, he told her that maybe she should apologize for some of the things that she said in the house, leaving Taylor upset and confused.
On the live Big Brother episode, after Paloma's exit was aired, Julie spoke to the houseguests and told them that the Backstage Twist was over. She revealed to the audience, but not the players, that Brittany had won America's Vote. She then told the houseguests that the original plan for the first elimination would not have culminated in a vote and eviction, but instead would have been a battle between one of the two nominees chosen by the house and one of the Backstage Pass holders. Whoever lost that competition would have gone home. Since Paloma was one of the five people in jeopardy, and she went home, the twist ended with Alyssa and Brittany safe from elimination. Because the Backstage Twist would have replaced the eviction, Taylor and Terrance were also declared safe. This meant that both of Daniel's nominees were left in the house, and he was the only houseguest who had no way to keep himself safe in the upcoming week.
However, Daniel should have been allowed to play in the HOH competition. Although there was always a chance that his nominees could have remained in the house because of the Backstage Twist, Daniel played through the week under the assumption that Taylor was going home. Under normal circumstances, he would just have to accept that the twist threw a wrench into his HOH plans, but this situation was anything but normal. Because of Paloma's exit, Alyssa, Taylor, and Terrance were all made safe without having to face the possibility of the battle that would have occurred if she had stayed. They received a second chance without having to do anything. They all then had the chance to compete for HOH. It would have been more fair to Daniel to allow him to play in the HOH competition as well, especially since Julie even used the word "resets" to describe what would happen next in the game. Now Daniel must face his three nominees, Michael, Terrance, and Taylor, any of whom might hold a grudge against him for nominating them. Because of the unusual event of a houseguest leaving early and changing the plans for the game, Daniel should also have been given the privilege of a second chance. This is especially true because he won two competitions in order to gain his power, while all of the people who were safe only ended up that way because Paloma left. They did not earn their safety.
Big Brother twists have derailed many houseguests' games over the years, but this situation was especially unusual because of Paloma's exit. Because no one even had the chance to be evicted, Daniel should have been able to play in the HOH competition. This is why social game is such an important part of Big Brother. The HOH may have power one week, but a twist could completely change that the following week. This is just another reason why Big Brother houseguests should "expect the unexpected."
Big Brother airs Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.