House of Villains Episode 1 Recap: Welcome to the Villain’s Club

(Photo by: E! Entertainment)

Everybody knows iconic reality TV villains like Kenya Moore, Brandi Glanville, and CT Tamburello make their shows much more enjoyable. But watchers rarely get more than a few chaotic characters together in one season. After all, balance needs to be in order. But what would happen if producers broke the rules, gathered 10 of the messiest reality stars they could find, and made them battle it out for $250,000? Find out with us on E!’s newest series, House of Villains. Here’s everything that happened in Episode 1: “Welcome to the House of Villains.”

Welcome to the Villain’s Lair (Photo by: Casey Durkin/E! Entertainment)

As the episode begins, viewers meet the show’s first villain, Jonny Fairplay, from Survivor. He’s one of Season 7’s most savage competitors, known for his ruthless lie about his “dead” grandma while competing in Panama in 2003. 

But this game is no Survivor, and he learns that as he meets his other castmates. They include Tiffany “New York” Pollard, The Challenge’s Johnny Bananas, Shake Chatterjee from Love Is Blind, and Jax Taylor from Vanderpump Rules. And if that sounds like a lot, there’s more.

Also staying at the Villain’s Lair are Corinne Olympios from The Bachelor franchise and Tanisha Thomas from the Bad Girls Club. Finally, they’ll be joined by Love and Hip Hop’s Bobby Lytes, 90 Day Fiancé’s Anfisa Arkhipchenko, and none other than the ultimate reality TV villain, Omarosa. 

Fireworks explode almost immediately after they’ve all set foot into the house. Corinne and Omarosa bump heads after reality TV’s original villain told the blonde bombshell from Miami to check Google if she wanted to know more about her. After a few words back and forth, Corinne stormed away with a face full of tears, but not before calling the Big O a “bitch” that’s trying too hard.  

Is she trying too hard? Or just playing the game? As Johnny Bananas already said, “You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.” And from how it’s already going, this game’s veterans are fired up and ready to go, which explains why Omarosa tried solidifying a deal with Shake just a few minutes after entering the house. 

Despite the temptation, he didn’t take the offer. But could that hurt him down the road? 

Is this the Super Bowl?  (Photo by: Casey Durkin/E! Entertainment)

The cast gathers with the show’s host, Joel McHale, for the first challenge — Balls Out! It’s like human bowling meets American football. Inside this arena are 10 balls with each cast member’s face on it. Their job is to push their opponent’s balls out of the arena while simultaneously keeping their ball safe. Once their ball is out, they’re out. However, they can help their remaining co-stars by continuing to push other balls out of the arena. The last person standing with their ball wins a luxurious reward (with two friends) and is responsible for placing three cast members on “The Hit List.” 

As the challenge starts, everybody’s strategy is different. Omarosa plans to sit back and let everyone else target each other. New York’s ball is the first out, which she’s not a fan of. Suddenly, Jax turns his dial up and flies off the handle. He comes for Omarosa, who calls him “aggressive,” and Tanisha, who said Jax thinks he’s playing in the Super Bowl. Even with all the effort, Jax’s ball was eliminated by Shake, who noted Jax’s physical ability as a potential threat in the game. 

After more villains are eliminated, it comes down to Bananas and Omarosa. In the name of the game, they make a deal with each other, and it’s that Omarosa can’t nominate Johnny if he lets her win. They hug it out, and Omarosa is officially the winner of the first-ever challenge. 

Now that the hard part is complete, who will be the first three Omarosa places on the chopping block? 

Let the House of Villains games begin (Photo by: Casey Durkin/E! Entertainment)

The day after the challenge, Omarosa chats with a few of her co-stars about who they think should be placed on The Hit List. Tanisha and Omarosa talk about how hard Jax played the day before, and now may be the most opportune time to get him out. Fortunately for them, Jax entered shortly after and explained that he’s an athlete who’s always trained hard. Despite his physical abilities, Jax lets the rest of the group know he believes Bobby is the bigger competitor. 

Later in the day, Omarosa chooses Tanisha and Bobby to enjoy her luxurious reward with her. They continue discussing who should be placed on the block at the spa, and names like Shake and Johnny Bananas are thrown around.

Back at the house, the other castmates discuss who they believe Omarosa will target. Corinne seems certain she’ll be one of them, given their fight earlier in the episode, while some of the guys worry they could also be on her radar. 

Who’s going up? (Photo by: Casey Durkin/E! Entertainment)

But they won’t have to worry too much longer because shortly after Omarosa, Tanisha, and Bobby return from their spa day, the cast is swept away to a place called “The Stronghold.” It’s a supervillain’s dream fortress and even has a throne fit for the supervillain of the week. After Omarosa takes her seat, she begins to tell Joel about her three nominations. 

Up first is Corinne, which should be no surprise to the cast or viewers watching at home. She came for one of our time’s most lethal reality TV stars. What else would you expect? The second competitor she chose was Shake, who seemed quite surprised. But her third nomination is what kicked this show into high gear.

Before naming them, Omarosa gave a big speech about how the person she pondered is a man who’s no rookie at being a villain. It’s his brand, and not only is he a master manipulator, he’s a competitive beast. She says her nomination should be Johnny Bananas, but Omarosa chose Jax instead since she gave him her word.

This episode ends on a cliffhanger, but only after we see a fired-up Jax and Corinne in next week’s preview, promising to wreak havoc on Omarosa and the house if they make it out of The Stronghold unscathed. We’re already off to a great start, and it’s just the beginning. 

House of Villains continues on E!, Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET. 

TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE FIRST EPISODE? WHO ARE YOU HOPING IS SENT HOME FIRST?

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