TV Review: Big Brother Canada 5 “Week 7”

Wasted opportunities come back to haunt you in a reality TV show. Trust me, go back and watch some of your favorite seasons – it happens more often than you think. Karma and irony are the BFFs you didn’t know were secretly plotting together. Week #7 of Big Brother Canada 5 saw plenty of these moments: ones where the actions of the past came back to hurt one alliance and others where it could foreshadow the future. Similar to the failed eviction of Adel by the Gremlins on Big Brother Canada 2 or Debbie using her extra vote incorrectly on Survivor: Game Changers, we saw the continued phases of a domino effect. As terrible as it is to see good players get the boot, I love watching these series of events unfold. (It’s like feasting on the tragedy.)

Let’s talk about the domino effect for a minute. Ever since Cassandra’s eviction in Week #3, it became painfully clear that The Six alliance (Bruno, Kevin, Sindy, Neda, Ika and Demetres) were controlling the game. They had the chance to easily walk to the finals, if it had not been for paranoia and distrust that tore them apart. When Ika made a play against Neda during the Double Eviction, and convinced Sindy to nominate her, this became the first splinter that started toppling the dominos. Since then every member of the alliance has fallen: Neda in Week #5, Sindy in Week #6, and now Bruno in Week #7.

It’s a shame to see this once powerful alliance lose focus and turn against each other. They need to get their heads in the game because once the fighting has settled, only the floaters and weak players will be left to seize the opportunity to win. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE an underdog story! Watching as a behind-the-scenes player rise from the ashes to claim the prize is a powerful story to follow. However, when it turns into a clean sweep like this, it’s like a train wreck that I have to look away for a bit. Could you imagine a season where Karen pulled out the victory?

Bruno’s eviction is another piece in this domino momentum. After he and Kevin gave up HOH to Dillon in Week #6, their alliance suffered a blow as Ika/Demetres turned against The Six and pushed for Sindy’s eviction. This was in retaliation for them pushing Demetres and Ika to be on the block. In a numbers game when it’s clear that the veterans are dwindling and the newbies are still active, it’s foolish to not work together. They’ve turned against each other and targeted each other while the others (the floaters) are sitting back and watching. Bruno is just the latest casualty in their war – either he or Kevin was bound to get evicted this week. The signs all pointed to this elimination.

Though, Ika should have considered teaming up with the boys again. I think her pride or personal feelings got in the way during this move. With the numbers dwindling and the veterans falling, having someone in the same situation helping her might’ve been a good idea. Now with Bruno gone, I think this may come back to haunt her later on. She and Demetres are easy targets now that they’re the only stable couple/pair in the house left. William & Dre have a friendship alliance that can be broken, and William & Kevin have a finished fauxmance.

Speaking of William, if his plan was to help Kevin then he should have used both Power of Vetos. The secret one saved Kevin but by not using the main one, he kept Bruno on the block and a sitting target. Sure, there was a chance this was done to keep Dre off the block, who IS a dedicated ally to William. However, Ika trusts Dre and Ika is in a showmance with Demetres, so there was little chance that Dre would be going up on the block. I will agree that this gives William a favor that Kevin will have to owe him one day, but I could see this never coming to fruition. Kevin did break up with William, after all. (I don’t care what Kevin says – he and William were in a showmance, they were a couple, and he was using/manipulating him. Regardless if you backtrack after the fact, you’ve done dirty.)

What is going on with Karen? The minute she ended up on the block, it was like opening up Pandora’s Box (not the actually Big Brother twist, just the metaphor). I couldn’t believe how she acted to some of the houseguests because of her nomination. In the game of Big Brother, it’s rare to make it to the end of the season without getting a single nomination – only a few houseguests have ever achieved this. She should’ve taken a minute to calm down and compose herself; this will only look bad on her. I’m glad Jackie stood up for herself and isn’t hiding away in the background, despite her less than stellar game predicament.

I didn’t mind the sponsorship-infused challenge this week. Being active and healthy is a great thing; I’m glad the producers got these houseguests off the couch and performing in an endurance HOH that took a lot of energy. Though, it was a shame that it came down to the same physical threats in the end. Is it wrong to hope that someone will surprise me one day?

The seventh week of the season concluded with the latest victim of the domino effect. I figured either Kevin or Bruno would be the next to go, and while I like Bruno as a person, he admittedly wasn’t my favorite to win. I’m curious to see how the upcoming Triple Eviction pans out. I prefer Instant Evictions to the Triple, as this twist has a chance to remove a large number of good/entertaining players from the game. Let’s cross our fingers that by the end of the Triple Eviction, we’re the victims who suffer from the mass exit.