Big Brother Blowout: Leftovers Pull Off Epic Blindside -- Plus, Julie Talks Bullying with Evictee

After misreading basically everything about what was going on in the House, we have to give them credit for actually figuring out most of The Leftovers alliance. The only person they couldn't figure out was Kyle -- and we've got our own question marks about him.

Those question marks seem to grow with every episode, and this time they were even sealed with a kiss ... or two ... or three.

Yes, the showmance that naively thinks they can keep themselves secret went there this time, which is far better than Kyle constantly telling her how aroused she makes him. We get it and we're good without the deets, my man.

Still, it's funny how they think if they lay low no one will figure it out. Everyone knows. They always know. But what's been inconsistent across "Big Brother" seasons is whether or not the other Houseguests will have a problem with it or not.

Sometimes it's a power duo that terrifies them, other times no one seems to worry about it and then that duo powers right through them. The Leftovers, though, should be very worried about this particular duo.

Kyle got out of having to evict his showmance this week becuase Daniel played the Veto to save Alyssa and Indy from the Block. In response, Monte sent Nicole and Taylor up. Nicole and Daniel were confident they had the votes, but so were The Leftovers.

With the breakdown in the House, Kyle actually turned out to be the swing vote. His loyalties to The Leftovers versus his loyalties to Alyssa is only going to pull him tauter and tauter each week. How long before he chooses a side?

Honestly, we still say The Leftovers need to either rope Alyssa in to secure Kyle, or they need to create a fake sub-alliance with Alyssa and Kyle. That way they can vote together, and how The Leftovers want, until they're ready to cut Alyssa out.

Of course, at some point, The Leftovers are going to have to turn on themselves. The Cookout never did that last year, and while that was bigger than the game, it also meant that Tiffany (who was the mastermind behind so much of the season) had no shot to win.

She even knew that keeping the whole alliance to Top 6 would seal her doom. Someone is on the bottom of this alliance, and with a visible and growing showmance with a huge Leftover target, Kyle may just be that person.

So did he stay true this week?

There was another wrinkle to consider. If every Leftover voted to keep Taylor and everyone else voted to keep Nicole, that would put Monte in the position of casting the tiebreaking vote. By doing so, he'd expose himself and possibly the whole alliance as he'd been publicly saying he wanted Taylor out, but he'd have voted Nicole out.

In other words, the secrecy of The Leftovers was at stake. Could they convince those outside that Nicole was the bigger target? Well, Nicole made that a little bit easier by her latest visit to Monte. Honestly, she just needs to stop talking to him.

This time, in an effort to ingratiate herself with him, she told the Head of Household that if she survived this week she'd go gunning for the Festie Bestie duos of Turner and Jasmine, and Alyssa and Indy. This, of course, was a lie. But she did say it and that's what mattered.

Needing a way to get those three ladies to considering targeting Nicole, Monte shared this intel with them. Nicole had previously told them she wanted to go the distance with them, so this threw up red flags. She also revealed she was a cop/detective before becoming a chef, but that actually led them to wonder if she was lying to them.

So, how did it all play out? Ultimately, the House got a sense of the direction the wind was blowing and it was a near-unanimous blowout. Even Daniel probably knew the truth at this point -- and the remorse he should feel for his cockiness in putting her on the Block! -- but couldn't write her name down.

It wasn't going to be enough to change anything, but it did leave Nicole with a 9-1 vote against her. In her save-me speech, Taylor slammed Nicole for the terrible gameplay of basically wanting to be on the Block, and Nicole smile the whole way.

Outside, she told Julie the speech was funny and accurate, too. She had outplayed herself, as had Daniel.

When Julie revealed to her the existence of The Leftovers, Nicole was all smiles about it until Julie got to the part where she mentioned one of the big factors behind the formation of the group was Taylor's unfair treatment in the House.

Nicole had no comment about it, but she may not get off as easy if she does exit interviews. Ameerah owned up to taking things too far about Taylor last week and she wasn't nearly as bad as Nicole and Daniel were.

As for Daniel, while the House celebrated surviving another week, he started sulking immediately. It continued until the broadcast ended. He is allowed the time he needs to feel sorry for himself, but if he can't shake it off, he might as well pack his bags (as he said he would) and get ready to go next week.

He still has a chance if a non-Leftover wins Head of Household, or if he wins it himself. He did win the first one, so there's no reason to think he couldn't pull it off again. Then he could get all the revenge he wants with his nominations, though securing votes could be more of a problem.

Monte Taylor (27) pulled off the latest big blindside for The Leftovers, with a huge assist from Daniel's boneheaded use of the Power of Veto. He's kind of slid into a leadership role in the alliance, proving he's a great negotiator, a level head and a calming presence. How long can they keep this group together, though? Grade: A- [Besties: Joseph & Terrance]

Joseph Abdin (24) is quietly winning our hearts more with each week. He's almost the puppetmaster working behind the scenes, but in a benevolent way as he seems to be a genuinely decent dude. We've not seen much from him in comps yet, but his social and strategic game is on point. If he's been laying low with his physicality, he could be a huge gamer threat. Grade: A- [Besties: Monte & Terrance]

Taylor Hale (27) cracked us up with her save-me speech, which she'd definitely been practicing. With one of her two nemeses out of the House, Daniel shouldn't feel empowered to keep attacking her. On top of that, she has friends and allies. In a great position, it's time to see what kind of game she can play without people coming after her all the time. Grade: B+ [Besties: Alyssa & Indy]

Matt "Turner" Turner (23) continues to be calm and cool and quiet. After chastising the House for bullying and backdooring Ameerah, he was involved in this latest move, but more as a silent partner. He's giving the other side time to forget. Grade: B [Bestie: Jasmine]

Michael Bruner (28) is in the most vulnerable Festie Bestie duo, but at the same time, he's kind of note. So far, he has won every Veto competition he's competed in and is dominating in overall comp wins this season. There's no reason to think he can't continue to be a strong competitor and have some say over his own fate (if anyone in the House can do it, it'll be him). Grade: B [Bestie: Brittany]

Brittany Hoopes (32) has the benefit of a great comp partner, and she helped him win one of those Vetoes. If they're on the Block together, they'll be vulnerable -- and it would be a great way to definitely weaken The Leftovers. But as much as they're vulnerable, they're also pretty intimidating, so we would never rule them out. Grade: A- [Bestie: Michael]

Kyle Caapener (29) is a potential threat to defect from The Leftovers if they come after his girl, but he's also painting a target on his back by getting so deeply in bed with her (ahem). If The Leftovers doubt his allegiance and believe he'll always put Alyssa first -- and we're very close to that -- they're very close to where they won't need him for numbers. That is, if they can hold onto power consistently enough to pick off the other side one by one. Grade: C+ [Bestie: Daniel]

Terrance Higgins (47) is chilling as a shield for two of The Leftover members. Not a great place to be, but at least they're both great competitors, so there's a solid shot they can avoid the Block come eviction night. Grade: C+ [Besties: Joseph & Monte]

Jasmine Davis (29) got on board with the House, but it was more to be on the right side of the numbers. She now knows she's on the wrong side of what's happening, so if she doesn't grab power or start scrambling, she's going to become a target sooner rather than later. Grade: C [Bestie: Turner]

Indy Santos (31) is in the same boat as Jasmine and Alyssa. All three women seem to have each other's backs, but The Leftovers have them in their sights. Grade: C [Besties: Alyssa & Taylor]

Alyssa Snider (24) is in an interesting situation. Her showmance with Kyle actually makes her a bigger threat and someone they should eliminate sooner, but his allegiance to her makes it less likely he'll support it. Will they do it anyway once they don't need his vote, or keep her around to appease him -- or maybe fall apart altogether? Alyssa and Kyle are in a swing position in the House. Grade: C- [Besties: Indy & Taylor]

Daniel Durston (35) is in big trouble. He's basically alone in the House, because even the trio of girls above doesn't seem inclined to stick their necks out for him. He's a savvy gameplayer, though, so if he can shake off the loss of Nicole, we might be able to see him at least try to change his fate. As he was the worst one to Taylor on that key night in the bathroom, though, it may not matter to The Leftovers how much he scrambles. Grade: D [Bestie: Kyle]

Nicole Layog (41) followed Ameerah in every way. She was too cocky sitting on the Block and certain she was safe. She was a big strategic and powerhouse threat in the game. And she was cruel to Taylor. And so, she went out just like Ameerah -- at least it doesn't appear she was completely blindsided at the very end. Grade: F

• "I either had to leave Alyssa on the Block and send her home or save her and go against my alliance. And here comes Daniel saving her for me and my hands are clean. Unfortunately, I only found out that Daniel was going to do this right before the meeting, so some of The Leftovers were kind of blindsided." --Kyle (about using Veto)
• "Daniel probably thinks he has the votes to keep Nicole this week, but I don't think he does. Congratulations, Daniel, you just backdoored your best friend in the House." --Michael
• "I tried to hand Daniel and Nicole a life raft this week, but it looks like they want to keep steering a sinking ship. They pretty much sealed Nicole's fate and unfortunately she has to go home this week." --Monte
• "Kyle did use the Power of Veto on me this week and it makes me so happy. He has definitely built back the trust that was broken last week and I feel like we're in a really good place right now. It's like the hottest thing ever when someone takes you off the Block, are you kidding me? I wanted to kiss him right there." --Alyssa (after Veto)
• "I'm so angry I'm shaking. I have no choice but to have faith in my alliance." --Taylor (on the Block)
• "Monte, you don't have the votes to send me home." --Nicole (in Diary Room)
• "This is the definition of Pooching yourself, when you overthink something and you screw yourself over." --Joseph
• "I was a police officer for ten years before I became a chef. I was a detective for two of those years." --Nicole (to Alyssa, Indy, and Jasmine)
• "So please help us because I don't know how to figure out this game." --Indy
• "Are you f---ing kidding me? These are a bunch of clowns." --Daniel (to Nicole about other Houseguests)
• "Can't get too comfortable in this game. That's people's biggest flaw, they get too comfortable." --Daniel (getting too comfortable)
• "No, don't look at me. I had a bit of a situation out there in the pool because of you." --Kyle (just putting it all out there to Alyssa)
• "Once we make it to another one week, then we can kiss on the lips." --Alyssa (to Kyle)
• "Oh, we have to wait now?" --Kyle
• "I want to wait now." --Alyssa
• "Really?" --Kyle
• "No." --Alyssa
• "I'm willing to risk it all in this House just to kiss this man. And he is the best kisser ever." --Alyssa (blushing in the Diary Room)
• "I think Monte's trying to f--- with you and be like, alright, it's gonna flip so then you vote that way." --Alyssa (to Jasmine; she's not wrong, either)
• "If Taylor says, she's gonna f---ing win this game, guys." --Indy (to Alyssa and Jasmine)
• "We can vote Nicole to stay and if it doesn't work out, we can just like and say that we did." --Jasmine
• "I can't lie. I suck at lying." --Alyssa
• "Girl, you're at 'Big Brother.'" --Jasmine
• "Nicole, to quote a big brother superfan, Rihanna, 'You look so dumb right now.' Choosing me as your Festie Bestie you thought was your security blanket. But here you are, both of us sitting on the chopping block because your closest ally in the House thought that you would still be safe." --Taylor (save-me speech)
• "Remember, y'all can't split the check. Play for yourself." --Daniel (after Nicole leaves)
• "I thought it was amazing and comical. She spoke nothing but the truth. I thought that I would be able to manipulate her and control her game which in turn would give me safety. Clearly, the one rule I didn't follow, which was don't play somebody else's game in this House and I did just that." --Nicole (to Julie about Taylor's speech)
• "There is an alliance that started to form the night that you and Daniel confronted Taylor in the main bathroom. They're made up of seven people. They call themselves The Leftovers. And they bonded over feeling like they were the low men and women on the totem pole and they also wanted to stop what they felt was the unfair treatment of Taylor in the House." --Julie (to Nicole)
• "Buy my plane ticket. I'll just start packing my bags now. Nicole, wait for me in LA. Ugh, I have to live with these people. Oh my god, just end the season already." --Daniel (as House celebrates)

"Big Brother" airs Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.