Just when it looked like this painful season of Big Brother 9 would dwindle away into ratings obscurity, the game got a major jolt of energy tonight: There will be no more couples.  It is now every man and woman for themselves.

The big headline of the night is that Allison was evicted and Ryan, her former partner, is now Head of Household. We were told yesterday that the house guests were to expect to hear a siren sometime today. When that siren went off, all of the house guests were to rush to the living room to hear the “important game-changing announcement.” Tonight, that siren went off just after Allison and Ryan were evicted as a couple. In the end, Allison, the drug company salesperson from Boston, went home and Ryan is now in charge of the house. We also learned that America gets to vote on which already evicted house guest (Jacob, Jen, Parker, Amanda, Alex or Allison) will get a second chance in the Big Brother house. You can vote for that as we speak on CBS.com.

Tonight’s show began with the obligatory recap. Matt and Natalie won the Power of Veto and used it to save themselves. Joshuah and Sharon had to nominate another couple for eviction so they chose Adam and Sheila. Allison and Ryan were obviously the other nominees.

The house guests spent a fair amount of time speculating what the siren might be for. Some thought previously evicted house guests were coming back.  Matt suspected there might be a parallel universe of Big Brother next door that they didn’t know about and that those guests would now be integrated into their Big Brother house. (String theory, yes that would make for a much more interesting show.)

We learned that Matt is a two-faced opportunist. He told Allison, Ryan, Sheila and Adam that he would absolutely save each one of them from eviction. Crazy James got wind of what Matt was telling both sides and confronted him in front of everyone else. Matt gave him the old “that’s Big Brother buddy” line and some song and dance about how each one of the nominees knew exactly where he stood saying, “If they knew, they knew. If you don’t know, then too bad.” My head hurt after that segment.

Next, the show did a montage scene about Matt and Natalie and why their relationship, if you can call it that, is doomed to fail. We visited Natalie’s fellow bikini baristas in Salem, Oregon. (On an unrelated note - having lived in the Pacific Northwest for nearly my entire life - I really don’t get how they can wear bikinis in the dead of winter in a job where you’re required to hang out of an open window most of the day. And don’t get me started on the potential for burns from extra-hot lattes.) Natalie’s friends call her a true free-spirit and talented artist who favors painting mermaids. They say she tends to fall hard for men who aren’t good for her. We see cutaways of Natalie pleading with Matt to be nice to her. Matt on the other hand tells Natalie to give him space, make an appointment to talk to him and that she aggravates him.

Matt’s friends say the Boston roofer is just being honest, and that when he falls for a woman, he falls 100%. They also say he’ll make a good husband and dad someday, but not right now, and probably not with Natalie. My guess is that Matt is breathing one hell of a sigh of relief tonight that he no longer has to “cuddle” with Natalie in the middle of the night or consider her feelings in his decision-making.

Fast forward to the first eviction of the night. Natalie and Matt and James and Chelsia both agree to get rid of Allison and Ryan. They say their goodbyes but when Allison and Ryan try to open the door to get out of the Big Brother house, it won’t open. Then the siren goes off and host Julie Chen tells them the new rules: they’re no longer playing as couples, can still sleep in the beds together (but don’t have to), that only one house guest will now be Head of Household and that the six house guests eligible to vote have to vote immediately to evict either Allison and Ryan.

No big surprise here.  Since Ryan appears to be a genuinely nice guy and Allison was such a polarizing figure in the house, she is voted out 6 to 0. So off she goes in her black pumps, jeans and hootchie mama lingerie top to debrief Julie.

Allison leaves in sort of a huff and tells Julie Chen she is so disappointed by what happened. She then gets to see the video messages that fellow house guests made to say goodbye. Matt says he “wants to chill” with Allison when they both get back to Boston. Natalie begs Allison to forgive her and asks her to “hug a tree.” (Is it just me, or does Natalie seem like one of those girls in the first couple of Friday the 13th movies who run around in tube socks, tank tops and pig tails and are killed off by Jason in the first 10 to 20 minutes?) Joshuah gives Allison yet another lecture on how not to piss off gay people. A stony-faced Sheila tells Allison she is going to miss her and wants the best for her. How in God’s name is Sheila still in the Big Brother house? I’m guessing her number is probably up next week.

Finally, we get to the HOH competition where house guests have to remember minute details from conversations they’ve had in the past. Ryan pulls out a big win and goes from being perennial chopping block fodder to ruler of the their pathetic little Big Brother 9 world.

Again, we also hear that viewers will get to vote to bring back one of the already-evicted guests. All of them - Jacob, Jen, Parker, Alex, Amanda and now Allison - have been in isolation and don’t know what has happened either on the show or in the real world.

The next episode will have Ryan nominating two house guests for eviction in what will be the first single house guest eviction. Big Brother airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.