No, you choose to save your chance to play for later.

As you head into the backyard, you see it's been decorated with several tall pillars and stone walls. From one wall, you can see a green laser light beaming from the wall and out into the yard until it's stopped by a pillar. You can also see some mirrors on stands throughout the yard. You go to stand on the starting spot and read out from a card to explain the rules of the competition.

John - "Welcome to the Gladiator Gauntlet, where you'll have the chance to battle for glory, safety, and prizes. This week's Gladiator Gauntlet competition is called Laser Focus, and here's how it works. When the competition begins, you must move the mirrors scattered throughout the backyard to reflect the green laser all the way from its starting point into the glass globe on the opposite side of the yard. There are several obstacles standing in the way, so you'll need to position the mirrors carefully to get past them. Once the laser light has reflected off all five mirrors and into the glass globe for three seconds, your timer will stop.

Now you must choose whether or not you want to play in this week's competition. If you choose to play this week and earn the fastest time, you will win safety from nominations this week and a special luxury prize. If you choose to play this week and earn the slowest time, you will receive a punishment. If you choose not to play this week, you will have the opportunity to compete in one of the next two Gladiator Gauntlets. You have one minute to tell Big Brother what decision you have made."

This is a simple decision for you. You're in no danger of getting evicted this week with Daisy Mae as the HOH. There would be some benefits to playing, such as winning that luxury prize or preventing another player from winning, but you decide you'd rather wait and see how the next two weeks play out.

John - "Big Brother, I choose not to compete this week."

You are directed to head back inside the house to your sequester area. Your decision made, all you can do now is wait to find out the results. While you're in isolation, the rest of the houseguests get their turns to choose whether they play for safety this week.

ETHAN - "I choose not to compete this week."
DANIELLE - "I choose not to compete this week."
DAISY MAE - "I choose not to compete this week."

DAISY MAE (Diary Room) - "Because I'm the current HOH, I'm already safe from eviction this week. Big Brother let me know that if I played and won the Gladiator Gauntlet, the safety I won would be for next week instead of this one. However, if one of my allies wins HOH next week, that safety wouldn't help me any. I'd rather wait and see who wins the next HOH before I make that decision."

MARCUS - "I choose not to compete this week."
RAQUEL - "I choose not to compete this week."
CHIRAG - "I choose not to compete this week."
LIAM - "I choose not to compete this week."

LIAM (Diary Room) - "I want Julian to play and win the Gauntlet this week, so I'm abstaining to give him the best chance possible."

ALINA - "I would like to compete in the Gladiator Gauntlet."
VICTORIA - "I am going to compete for safety this week."
EUGENE - "I will compete in the Gladiator Gauntlet."

EUGENE (Diary Room) - "I was on the block week one. I don't want to have to go through that again. Winning this competition is the only way I can make sure that happens. Sorry, Alina. I've got to look out for myself on this one."

ISABEL - "I choose not to compete this week."
ELLIE - "I choose not to compete this week."
ROXY - "Big Brother, I would like to compete in the Gladiator Gauntlet."

ROXY (Diary Room) - "Ellie, Isabel and I had a discussion and we agreed that one of us should play this week to try and block Julian from winning safety. I volunteered to be that person since I feel like I have the most similar skillset to Julian of the three of us. Isabel's got the brains and Ellie's got the muscles, but I've got a bit of both, so I like my chances regardless of what competition it is."

JULIAN - "Big Brother, I choose...not to compete this week."

JULIAN (Diary Room) - "I decided to not compete in the Gladiator Gauntlet. I know that some people are probably targeting me, but I don't think Daisy Mae is one of them. I'm going to trust that our agreement will hold and save this safety net for a rainier day."

In the end, only Roxy, Alina, Victoria, and Eugene decided to compete. After making their individual decisions, they stand on the starting spot waiting for Big Brother to start the competition. Soon, the horn sounds signaling them to begin.

On Victoria's attempt, she starts by running through the yard to grab a mirror, then bringing it back to where the laser light starts. She sets the mirror up and adjusts it so it's redirecting the light past the first obstacle, then runs out to get the next mirror. She continues with this pattern, placing each mirror in line with the laser and bouncing the light towards the next most open part of the yard. However, when she places the fifth mirror, she realizes there's a problem.

VICTORIA (Diary Room) - "I think I'm doing well in this competition, but then I get stuck. I'm supposed to direct this laser into the glass globe at the end of the course, but this globe has a wall right in front of it blocking my path. I realize if I had one more mirror, I could place it behind the globe and that would solve my problem, but I already used all five mirrors to get to this point. So, I either need to figure out how to make my plan work with only four mirrors or find another path."

Victoria starts adjusting her existing mirrors, trying to optimize her placement. After a few minutes of fruitless work, she notices a less obvious path that goes through a tight gap between two pillars. She quickly adjusts her game plan and starts moving her mirrors across the yard. It takes a bit of fenagling to get the angle just right, but she's able to thread the needle and make it through, allowing her to move her final two mirrors and complete the challenge. The laser hits the globe and, after three seconds, the whole globe turns green signaling that she's finished. Victoria pumps her fist in the air and shouts "Let's go!" in celebration before she's led back inside to await the results.

On the edited episodes, the other three players in the competition have their attempts cut together. Roxy takes some time before moving any mirrors to look around the course, mapping out a plan before executing it. She ends up finding a route that loops back on itself to get past an annoying obstacle, opening up a straight shot to the back of the course right behind the globe. Roxy then grabs the mirrors, moves them into place, and completes the challenge.

ROXY (Diary Room) - "I didn't want to spend a bunch of time and energy carrying those mirrors around until I knew exactly where I needed to place them. So, I spent some time at the beginning trying to find the best route. I figured out that there's a point in the course where, if you point the laser back towards the start, it gives you a clear shot to the end. It's a little counter-intuitive but, as soon as I discovered that trick, I knew that was the answer."

Eugene initially takes the obvious path, setting up mirrors one at a time until he reaches the same sticking point Victoria found. Eugene decides quickly that there must be another way, and he tries a couple of other mirror configurations to see what he might be missing. He ultimately ends up finding the same path Roxy took, and manages to get it done.

EUGENE (Diary Room) - "I think I did alright in this challenge. I did waste some time trying out a few different paths, but I think I still managed to figure it out pretty quickly. Hopefully it's enough to earn my safety this week."

Alina's approach to the competition is more rigid. She also takes the obvious path at first but, rather than trying other solutions when she gets stuck, she instead focuses on making tiny adjustments to her mirrors' starting places. She spends several minutes doing this, bending the light just past each obstacle trying to reach the globe. Through sheer persistence, she eventually gets this strategy to work, and the laser light goes past the final wall to barely touch the side of the globe.

ALINA (Diary Room) - "I approached this competition the way I do everything in life. I had a plan and I stuck to it. My instincts are usually right, and by usually, I mean always. Top that, bitches!"

After everyone has been given the choice to play or pass, the houseguests are all brought out of sequester and gathered together in the backyard. Most of the obstacles for the competition have been cleared away so the players can all stand together and be seen. You can also see that something new has been brought out into the yard, but it's currently covered by a sheet so you can't see what it is. Before long, the sound of trumpets blare and the announcer from that morning proclaims that the empress has arrived. A portcullis gate on the side of the yard opens and Da'Vonne Rogers steps out wearing a white and gold tunic with a red cape and a crown. The houseguests cheer and applaud for her as she enters. Da'Vonne takes her place in front of the houseguests and addresses them.

DA'VONNE - "Hello, loyal subjects. Thank you for providing such wonderful entertainment for me in the Gladiator Gauntlet. Now, it's time for me to pass out judgment on those who participated. One of you will be handsomely rewarded for your efforts and another of you will be punished for your insolence. Let's start with the good news. One of my gladiators came out on top in this competition by lighting the globe in the fastest time. With a final time of 5:38, the winner of the competition is...Roxy! As the winner of the Gladiator Gauntlet, you have earned safety for this week and a special luxury prize. Please come up here with me to find out what you have won!"

The houseguests clap and cheer for Roxy as she bows her head in a reserved show of happiness. Roxy goes up to Da'Vonne who hands her a golden envelope. Roxy opens it and pulls out a card which says "Slop Pass".

DA'VONNE - "Congratulations, Roxy. As a reward for winning my competition, you have earned the Slop Pass. With this pass in your possession, you will not have to eat slop even if you are named a Have-Not. This Slop Pass is good for the next five weeks."

ROXY (Diary Room) - "This is great! Not only did I win, which means that Julian is still vulnerable this week, but now I don't have to worry about eating slop. I tried some last week and it is not good, so I'm really happy with this prize."

DA'VONNE - "Now it's time for the less good news. The one of you who recorded the slowest time in my competition will have to endure a punishment. With a final time of 12:06...Alina, you will receive the punishment."

Alina bows her head, disappointed. The episode cuts to shots of Eugene and Victoria to show their reactions as well. They're a mixture of relief to not come in last and lingering frustration that they didn't win. The players weren't told their times when they finished, but the editors splash an overlay over their closeups to tell us that Eugene's time was 7:52 and Victoria's time was 8:21.

DA'VONNE - "Alina, your punishment for losing this competition comes in two parts. First, you will be a Have-Not this week, forced to sleep in the Have-Not bedroom, take cold showers and only eat slop for the rest of the week. The second part of your punishment is right here under this tarp."

Da'Vonne goes to pull the sheet off the mystery object, and it's revealed to be a pillory: a medieval device once used to keep criminals locked in place for punishment and public humiliation. This reveal gets big reactions from the houseguests. Ethan jumps in excitement and terror. Eugene lets out an "Oh, s***!". Alina fights to hold back tears.

DA'VONNE - "For the rest of the week, whenever you hear my trumpets sound, you must immediately come out here to the pillory, where you will be locked in place until Big Brother lets you out. There may also be other surprises along the way, so don't get too comfortable. Now, before I leave, I have one last order of business. Daisy Mae, as the current Head of Household, you must now name three houseguests who will join Alina as Have-Nots for the week."

Daisy Mae is caught off guard by this, not expecting to have to make this decision so soon. She looks around at the other houseguests, trying to make a snap decision on the spot.

DAISY MAE - "Well, I'm not gonna make anyone do it twice in a row..."
ROXY - "You can choose me, Daisy Mae. It's fine."
DAISY MAE - "Are you sure?"
ROXY - "100%. I've got my Slop Pass. I'm good to go."
DAISY MAE - "Okay. Does anyone else want to do it?"

There's an awkward silence for a little while before Julian and Marcus both raise their hands.

JULIAN (Diary Room) - "I'm volunteering to be a Have-Not for two reasons. First, it's a sign of trust with Daisy Mae to show her that I'm with her. I also did it to take some heat off of me after my HOH reign last week. If the other houseguests see that I'm a team player, that should hopefully make them want to work with me in the game going forward."

DAISY MAE - "Alright, I'll say Roxy, Julian and Marcus. Thank you guys."
DA'VONNE - "Thank you for the entertainment, houseguests. Your empress will now take her leave."
DANIELLE - "Before you go, can I hug you?"
DA'VONNE - "Of course, girl! Get over here!"

Danielle runs up giddily and hugs Da'Vonne. She tells Da'Vonne about her daughter being a big fan, and thanks her for coming. Other houseguests join in on the fray and soon, Da'Vonne is giving hugs to everyone. She does have to leave eventually, though, and the houseguests clap for Da'Vonne as she leaves through the stone arch.