‘Big Brother’ 25: Cameron Hardin Finally Gets the Axe (for Good), Becomes 1st Jury Member (Recap)

*Caution: Spoilers ahead!

Season 25 of Big Brother continues to heat up as we’ve gotten to the point where evictions start to really matter! The jury is now filling out, so every houseguest who gets the boot from here on out will ultimately have a say in who becomes the next big winner.

Going into Thursday’s live eviction episode, Bowie Jane had been named the Head of Household, and she’d put Felicia Cannon on the chopping block — alongside Survivor alum and fan favorite Cirie Fields.

This season, it seems that there are no major alliances stable enough to control things, and more low-key backstabbing than is actually good for anyone’s game. However, a few strong Final Two deals have been forged — namely, Matt Klotz and Jag Bains, and the showmance duo of Cory Wurtenberger and America Lopez.

When it came time for the Power of Veto competition, Cirie and Felicia worked hard to win it, but ultimately the victory went to Jag.

Throughout the week, Jag had been trying to convince Bowie to nominate Cameron Hardin. Meanwhile, Cameron had been pushing Bowie to nominate Cory. Bowie initially decided not to listen to the pressure and stuck to her plan to nominate Felicia and Cirie.

However, with his Power of Veto, Jag had the opportunity to twist Bowie’s arm and make her choose a side — which is exactly what he did at the top of Thursday’s episode when he opted to use the Veto and take Felicia off the chopping block.

With no real option to keep her original nominations the same, Bowie fell in line with Jag’s machinations and put Cameron back on the block. (For those who need a reminder, Cameron was already evicted from the house earlier this season, but got a chance to return due to a surprise twist).

Cameron didn’t take the nomination super well, telling Bowie, “What you’ve shown today is your true character. I hope you can live with that.”

“And I’m proud of it, actually,” Bowie shot back.

Meanwhile, Cirie — who had been ruling the house early on but has since taken more of a backseat role — felt pretty good about the new arrangement.

“If this is a few weeks ago and I’m sitting on the block, my ticket is done. But now, I’m kind of fading into the background. It appears I’m checked out of the game. You never, ever want to be on the block, but sitting to Cameron? Not a bad spot to be in,” Cirie shared in a solo interview.

However, when it came time to actually give her appeal speech, Cirie cleverly underplayed her confidence and delivered a statement that essentially sounded like she was sure her time on the show was over.

“Mom and Dad, I can’t wait to see you guys, see my boys. I miss you. Honey, the next time I get a harebrained scheme, just say no,” Cirie said, referring to the decision to be on Big Brother in the first place. “And finally to the houseguests, thank you for 72 extraordinary days in this house. I will never forget any of you.”

Cameron, meanwhile, had the same tone and went with sarcasm.

“Roommates, If you keep me, I will be loyal to all of you. I will never vote to evict you, and I will throw all of the competitions, I promise,” Cameron deadpanned. “I love you guys so much. And I hope I can stay on this ride with you guys.”

In the end, the eviction vote played out basically exactly how everyone imagined it would, and Cameron got the boot by unanimous decision.

In his exit interview with host Julie Chen Moonves, Cameron took a great deal of responsibility for his own mistakes when asked what went wrong this week.

“There’s a lot of space and time in that house, a lot of time to mess up, and even though I felt I was probably in fairly good position, you let paranoia creep in and you say the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person,” he shared. “That’s what happens. I’ve been angled and lined up many times in this game and I have to say that this week is probably just all on me.”

Back in the house, the remaining houseguests kicked off the next Head of Household competition, and it’s now clear who are the main opposing forces in the house: Matt and Jag versus Cory and America. Will Cirie let them duke it out and walk over the rubble of their battle all the way to victory? Only time will tell.

Big Brother airs multiple nights a week on CBS. Check here for this week’s schedule.

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