Big Brother star Cedric Hodges almost sabotaged Makensy in the AI Arena

Tucker Des Lauriers warned Cedric Hodges that his days were numbered in the Big Brother house after Cedric refused to go along with Tucker’s plan to get Quinn Martin out. It turned out Tucker was right, but not in terms of the how and why it happened.

Instead of Tucker winning Head of Household and putting Cedric on the block and out the door, Cedric himself volunteered be nominated for eviction as part of Quinn’s Deep Fake HOH. By doing so, Cedric figured he could help defeat the seemingly undefeatable Tucker in competitions and keep him on the block. But he didn’t. And then once he was finally up for eviction against Rubina Bernabe, Cedric found himself the victim of a savage stealth strike by Kimo Apaka and T’Kor Clottey, who flipped the vote to oust one of the orchestrators of the Pentagon alliance they were never invited to join.

Does Cedric regret volunteering to be nominated? Why does he think the house turned on him? And what does he make of playing with thoroughly unpredictable players like Tucker and Angela Murray? We asked the 21-year-old former Marine all that and more.

Cedric Hodges on 'Big Brother' season 26.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Okay, Cedric: What went wrong? Why are you out here talking to me?

CEDRIC HODGES: What went wrong is T’Kor and Kimo. I needed them to stay solid. They folded. And what also went wrong is I didn't win. I was the competitor and I lost the AI Arena and the Veto competition, so it all kind of crumbles from there.

Why do you think Kimo and T’Kor flipped the script to take you out?

I think because those two were personally close with Rubina. I knew going in that that was my worst case scenario was Makensy winning in the AI Arena and I'm stuck next to Rubina. They just have too strong of a personal connection with her, and maybe they feel like she can help their game more than I can, which I don't know why, but we'll see.

Let’s talk about the AI Arena. It was close between all three of you. Did you know how they were doing? Were you looking at them, or just focusing on your own thing?

So I was kind of focusing on my own thing and looking at them. I almost went up and sabotaged Makensy's balls, because I knew that if it was me and her on the block, I was going to be safer this week. But yeah, the one thing I didn't want going in was a challenge where I had to control my power on things. So maybe you'll see me say if it's a technique comp, I might be done in.

Wait, let's talk about sabotaging the balls. Take me through that. What were you going to do, just knock her things off the platform?

Yeah, so I was literally just going to go over there and stand by her, and every time she rolled one up I was going to hit it down.

Man, I wish you'd done that.

Me too.

Cedric Hodges on 'Big Brother' season 26.Sonja Flemming/CBS

Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves reacts to shocking elimination (exclusive)

When and how did you start to get an inkling you were in trouble if you were going to be up on the block at the end?

The final day I was campaigning on Thursday, I was campaigning as we were approaching, and Joseph had kind of let something slip. He was like, “I'm sorry man, I'm sorry.” So that kind of gave me an extra fire to go figure out what's going on in the house. But I knew, like I said, worst case scenario, I was next to Rubina. It was going to be hard either way.

You got the three votes to stay from your closest alliance-mates, but Joseph did flip on you. Did that surprise you?

Man, it surprised me because he said, “No matter what, I'm going to vote for you.” And I kind of took him at his word, and if he wouldn't have flipped and I would've had Leah, I would've still been in the house. But at the same time, I get he had to protect his personal game. He felt like the risk wasn't worth the reward.

Let's get to the big question you're going to be answering all day long: Do you regret volunteering to go on the block?

So pawns go home. Clearly. Do I regret it? I regret it only because I got evicted. My theory of volunteering was initially we thought Quinn was going to have a vote, so I had the votes to stay, even if T’Kor and Kimo decided to venture off and do their own thing. And then that way it would show their allegiance somewhere else outside the Collective. So the Collective and the Pentagon had a reason to target them going forward. So really, I volunteered as a loyalty test to T’Kor and Kimo, which went terribly wrong when Quinn lost the ability to vote with his Deep Fake HOH.

Rubina Bernabe and Cedric Hodges on 'Big Brother 26'.

Even Big Brother's Kenney Kelley once thought Angela was a producer 'plant'

You’re putting on a good face now but give it to me straight: How much does this hurt? I know you're a competitor. How much does this hurt to get sent out of the house at this point?

The hardest part for me wasn't losing the opportunity to win Big Brother, or losing the money. The hardest part was you're thrown into this house, and being evicted, I lost 12 of my best friends. And that's what had really made me emotional. It wasn't that I lost the money or anything like that, but losing the friends and the connections that I've made, that kind of got to me a little bit.

Are you sitting okay now with the decision to volunteer to go up on the block. Is that sort of gnawing at you or are you at peace with that?

I'm at peace with it at the end of the day because if it would've worked, it would've set my game up to be really smooth until the end. Unfortunately, it didn't. So again, Tucker's and I rivalry — Tupac said “I'd rather die like a warrior than survive like a coward.” So I figured I'd take my shot, and worst comes to worst, I had a safety net. Unfortunately, the safety net was loose and I fell through and got evicted.

Let’s play a round of Big Brother What if? What do you think happens with your game if you go through with Tucker’s plan last week to put Quinn on the block?

I think that would've been for sure me sitting in this chair, just because Quinn's so connected in the house. Quinn also is in the Pentagon and the Collective, so I didn't have enough time or opportunity to speak with the Pentagon members and weigh that option, forcing me to go ahead and tell them Tucker's plan and side with them. So if I put Quinn up last week, didn't tell him the Pentagon's blindsided, I lose their trust. I lose the trust in the Collective. The only ally I gain is Tucker, and Tucker's main goal in the house is get to get the largest competitors out first so we can coast in the end — which didn't make sense with me being a large competitor.

Tucker Des Lauriers and Cedric Hodges on 'Big Brother' season 26.

Lisa Weintraub says Angela bullied her in the Big Brother house

Beyond the competition performances, what do you make of Tucker as a player?

Oh, Tucker's game is terrible. It's terrible! And it's not to dog him, but Tucker’s game is terrible only because I think he's focusing too much on the competition aspect and the kind of cockiness, for lack of better words, aspect of “I want to win all these challenges.” But at the end of the day in Big Brother, what is there? There's always a back door. So he's going to excel until Ainsley’s Arena is gone and as soon as it's gone, he's going out in a Veto like BOOM! And his game isn't long. He's not long for the game.

When you all were having your big blowup and you're like, “I told you that you don't have the votes.” He's like, “No you didn't!” And you can roll the tape: You told him.

Yes, I did! Thank you! I tried to, especially because I realized Tucker was a strong ally to have, so I didn't want to burn that bridge or have it crumbled too hard. But when he chose to use the Veto on Angela, I didn't have a choice. Putting Quinn up would've crumbled my entire game and the games of the people that I trust the most in the house.

Alright, you brought up Angela. Just take me through playing in a house with Angela, who's a little volatile at times. What was that like?

I think every year has a wild card, so it was cool, and it was not cool sometimes. I got blown up on, a bunch of other people got blown up on, but at the end of the day, she was still a blessing to have around, so I can't really dog her too much. It's just a unique experience to play with Angela.

Makensy Manbeck, Kenney Kelley, Cedric Hodges, Angela Murray, Tucker Des Lauriers and Leah Peters on 'Big Brother' season 26.

Big Brother 26 star Matt Hardeman hopes there will be learning lessons for Angela

With whom did you want to sit with at the end on finale night had you made it there?

I was really rocking hard with the Pentagon, so I would've had to do game analysis and figure out who I had the best chance with in the Pentagon and figure out “That's who I'm going to sit with finale night.” But anyone in the Pentagon except for Quinn. Let me give you some sauce, some little tea. Quinn was going to get cut at the first double eviction, so the Pentagon was going to go from the Pentagon to a rectangle.

Why were you guys going to take him out?

Because Quinn’s a snake! And not in a bad way, but we know he's a snake, and Cam and I talked about it. But again, the pressure being so high, so cooked all the time, we chose to hold it between Cam and myself until it got to a point where we can trust everybody in the Pentagon to cut him out. Because the moment you decide you want to go against the final five that everybody's rocking with without solid proof is the moment that the alliance collapses from the inside out.

Who are you rooting for to win Big Brother 26?

I got to give it to my big sis, Chelsie. She's an amazing player. I think she has the opportunity to go all the way, and if not her, Brooklyn or Cam — the Pentagon all the way.

Mascots for life, right?

Mascots for life. You feel me? Chip and dip, baby.