After a self-eviction, the show's plan for an eviction night twist gets shattered.
Big Brother Season 24 is already one of the most unexpected and chaotic in recent memory. Thursday's first live eviction night saw a contestant go home, but not in the way that most expected.
Before the live eviction vote could kick off, it was revealed that Paloma Aguilar had decided to leave the house early, due to "a personal matter," which the show implied was related to the increasing anxiety and stress she dealt with during her week on the show.
Paloma's decision to walk -- which also makes her only the fourth Big Brother contestant to ever do so -- also threw the show a curveball, and the long-hyped "Backstage Twist" was thrown out all together.
Host Julie Chen Moonves explained what the twist would have been to the houseguests, and how things would be changing following Paloma's exit.
"This week, five of you were in jeopardy of going home. The two nominees [Taylor Hale and Terrance Higgins] and the three players that were sent backstage, Alyssa [Snider], Brittany [Hoopes] and Paloma," Julie shared. "The original plan tonight would not have culminated in a vote and eviction but instead a battle between one of the two nominees chosen by the house and one of the backstage pass holders. The loser of that head-to-head competition would have gone home immediately."
"The backstage twist was planned to send one houseguest home tonight. Since Paloma was one of the five people in jeopardy of being eliminated and she is no longer in the game, that changes everything that was to transpire tonight," Julie continued. "The backstage twist is now over. That means Alyssa and Brittany, you two are no longer in jeopardy of going home and you are both safe tonight."
Julie went on to explain that "since a key element of the twist was that no one was going to be voted out and evicted this week like a normal show," Taylor and Terrance are also safe from eviction.
Essentially, this means that the show resets, so to speak, and the houseguests then faced off in the next Head of Household competition.
The remaining eligible houseguests went head-to-head in an obstacle course race challenge, with each winner of the two-person races earning a spot in the actual Head of Household competition.
In a surprise development that no one predicted, houseguest Jasmine Davis won in her race against Terrence, but then twisted her ankle after stepping off the victory platform. The show quickly cut to commercial as Jasmine clutched at her ankle while laying on the ground. However, as the show came back, Jasmine appeared to be in high spirits but still in quite a bit of pain. It's unknown at this time how the injury will impact her gameplay.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that no one was sent home due to Paloma's premature exit, that doesn't mean the mood was much lighter. Many of the houseguests had formed friendships and alliances with Paloma, and they were brought to tears by her departure.
Throughout the episode, the show explained how Paloma suffered from anxiety and was not sleeping more than two or three hours a night.
"I want some privacy. I'm serious. I physically cannot sleep in this house. I'm exhausted," Paloma shared in the diary room. She also wasn't eating regularly and was asking other contestants to vote her out.
Eventually, Head of Household Daniel Durston called everyone into the living room to read an announcement delivered by the producers.
"Houseguests, due to a personal matter, Paloma will no longer -- Paloma will no longer be continuing in the Big Brother game," Daniel read through tears. "She wanted to pass along that she loves you all and wishes you all the best."
It was an emotional development in this controversial season.
New episodes of Big Brother season 4 air Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on CBS.
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