The third Wager Task has come and gone, and we have the answer to the week’s big question: can the Housemates finally eke out a win after failing the first two. The answer is, yes! They can!

The Housemates had taken more than just a few runs at rehearsing their Presentation, so they were arguably better-prepared this week than before. Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared them for the dressing down they got from Big Brother before the commencement of the Task Presentation.

Big Brother reminded them that they had been warned before about going into areas without permission, but then proceeded to enumerate the times that they had done just that, this week. “Some Housemates took it upon themselves to force the door to the Party Room open,” he said. “B.U. and Thato tried to get back in the Big Brother House after Housemates were specifically told to remain outside.”

He also admonished the Housemates for their tendency to “drag their feet” when called to the Diary Room, going so far as to call out B.U. by name again: “You took your precious time and even played marbles when you were called,” Biggie announced.

If the Housemates had lost this Wager, it’s safe to say that B.U. would not have enjoyed a very good evening.

Once more, addressing the entire House, Biggie said, “your blatant disrespect and disregard are noted.” At this stage, you could be forgiven for wondering if there was any point in the Housemates going through with the Presentation at all, considering that it looked like an uphill battle.

Then, Biggie said, “let’s get started.” The Presentation was going ahead!

For those not in the know, the Wager Task started with each Housemate drawing an individual animal part, which would then be combined into a single, new animal. The Housemates were tasked with giving the animal a name, habitat, feeding habits and all the rest of that stuff one generally finds in biology textbooks.

As Head of House, Sis Tamara introduced the “Adaptadillia” – we’re not sure of the scientific taxonomy here, but we assume it might be something like “wagerus adapticus”. Norman said that the species was also called the “Amashifta” due to its adaptability to react to its environment, and we were about to be treated to the diverse body parts of this animal.

The peacock eye functions to attract mates during the mating season, while the buffalo, ox and rhino horns are used to hunt, attack and protect it from danger. The killer whale fin is used to navigate through water and cut through its prey. (Wait – cut through its prey? What kind of a fin is that?)

Dialling up the weird are the eyes – three of them, to be exact. It has crocodile eyes to help see it underwater, the owl eye to give it some useful peeping ability at night, while the cheetah eye allows it to see camouflaged prey during bright daylight.

If that weren’t enough, the Adaptadilla has wings! Well, one wing – a butterfly wing for camouflage. It also has an ear – for hearing, obviously. But it can also be used with the butterfly wing to allow the animal to glide. So, yeah – it’s also a wing. Like Dumbo.

Because this animal is clearly way too sexy, it has a pig snout for smell, and a cat mouth to eat and regurgitate food. Oh, and it can spit acidic saliva to paralyse its prey. Uhm… okay.

It has a giraffe leg – just the one – to propel itself. One assumes this propulsion is of the hopping variety. It has an elephant trunk that carries food, carries water and acts as the animal’s organ of reproduction. 🐘 Eeeeeeeeeeuwwwwwwww! 😬

By now, you must have realised that the animal is amphibious. It’s also omnivorous – eating leaves, grass and fruit peels during the mating season, and meat during the hibernation season. What? This animal hibernates? Okay, but hibernating animals aren’t known for hunting down apex predators during their sleepy season. Oh, yes – it only preys on apex predators. Your lions, killer whales, etc. 

In short, this is one weird animal. Which is to be expected since it was created from 17 different, unrelated body parts. While Big Brother considered their performance, everything was dead quiet, broken by Big Brother saying, “well done…” Which got all the Housemates cheering. Prematurely, it turns out, because Biggie went on to say “…to the Head of House and Deputy Head of House for instilling discipline and commitment.” The Housemates went quiet. “Counting your chickens,” said Biggie, “before they hatch.” 🐣

Then he ended their torment. “Congratulations, Housemates, you have won this week’s Wager!” Much excitement all round! The House has finally won their first Wager Task, and a full complement of luxury items for the coming week. It’s going to be a good one!

Congratulations to them.