The power has flipped yet again on Big Brother Canada 9. Week #4 saw The Sunsetters reclaim the throne and make a calculated strike against those who controlled the vote in the previous round. Whenever a Big Brother season divides into two clear-cut sides, there’s a chance for this type of phenomenon to occur: it happened on Big Brother 6, Big Brother 20, Big Brother: Over The Top, and Big Brother Canada 2. The drama was gripping, unpredictable, and the houseguests made some messy moves that pulled us in for more. The outcome of an Oddball getting the boot this round was expected, but the story being tied together with the previous weeks made it just as exciting nonetheless.
Firstly, Austin should’ve never thrown the Head of Household competition to Kiefer. You need to play self-interested to win the game, but the moves you make can affect your alliances overall. Austin and her allies blindsided Latoya previously to dwindle The Sunsetters’ numbers—the last thing she needed to do was give the power back to the group of people she just betrayed. The Sunsetters were obviously going to nominate her friends and reduce her leverage.
Plus, why did she think Kiefer wouldn’t betray her or nominate her? Austin had nominated him during her HOH week after promising she wouldn’t do so, and her allies openly lied to his team, so him going back on his word fit in line with the dynamics of the house. Austin went for the “assured” safety, but it blew-up in her face and possibly will affect her game for weeks to come. This was a bad move on her part.
Secondly, The Oddballs made some major missteps with their campaigning. The group should’ve gone to Kiefer first to see who could’ve been the optimal target to get on the block. Why keep pushing Victoria after it seemed like Kiefer wasn’t down to make her a replacement nominee? All The Oddballs did was push Victoria to flip to the other side of the house and play more toward the middle in future weeks. With two major pairs in The Oddballs (Breydon/Austin and Rohan/Kyle), the pairs should’ve spread their influence to build new bridges with the house to establish themselves outside of the group.
Victoria was lucky that Kiefer didn’t put her on the block. Telling him early on that he wasn’t the target during Week #3 paid off because he offered the same courtesy to her and wanted to work with her. It would’ve been easy for Kiefer to target Victoria because the majority of the house wanted her evicted, but his move of protecting her established a new ally he could use in the future. And, Kiefer didn’t need to waste his HOH week on evicting Victoria. Someone will eventually target her based on her gameplay, and she’s making messy moves enough on her own to grow the target on her back. Small moves like these can pay dividends in the future; it wouldn’t be surprising if the pair continue to play this strategy whenever they end up in power.
Still, Victoria shouldn’t have tried to blame Beth for the Latoya flip. There’s no way Tychon and Jedson would’ve believed that Beth would blatantly turn on their alliance, let alone try to get Tychon on the block. Tychon/Jedson/Beth have formed a strong throuple alliance in the house—they’re protecting each other and it serves them well to keep that alliance strong until someone goes after them. Plus, Beth is protected by having two strong challenge competitors, like Jed and Ty, in front of her as bigger targets. Beth wouldn’t give that all up to betray Latoya and work with Victoria.
Tera and Tina have a lot of power in the house. Playing squarely in the middle has given them the wiggle room to choose any vote they want and determine their next steps. The strategy helped them to avoid being targeted during Week #3 and now Week #4; it will most likely help them during Week #5 too. The concern, however, was that the conversation about targeting the floaters has become more prevalent as the days go on. The bigger alliances have spotted Tera and Tina playing the middle, so they can’t fade into the background as well anymore. Tera and Tina need to seize power eventually to make a move or else they’ll be hit during a week where the house decides to go after pairs instead of a big alliance group.
The Power of Veto competition was the most interesting challenge of Week #4. The game involved endurance, strategic planning, and fun gimmicks to get the houseguests moving around the board. We need more games like this because it’s so simple yet so challenging. Plus, the houseguests dressed up as beavers were hilarious! I would’ve loved to compete in a game like this and push the balls toward the end goal.
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Kyle being the one evicted was the right call by the house. Sure, Austin won more competitions than him, but Kyle posed too much as a threat for what could happen later on down the season. Kyle/Rohan was a tight pair, and the pair had been chatting with Tychon/Jedson about forming a strong group. A Pretty Boys 2.0 alliance, like from Big Brother Canada 7, had formed as a dangerous rumor early on, but the men hadn’t been successful in making something stick. If the pairs kept surviving and made it farther down the season, there’s a chance something could’ve formed to steamroll the floaters. But, with The Sunsetters staying a tight group, breaking up the Kyle and Rohan pairing was an opportunity they couldn’t miss out on.
Week #4 of Big Brother Canada 9 continued the power struggle between The Sunsetters and The Oddballs. While the latter alliance dwindled and separated to ensure their survival, The Sunsetters stayed strong to chip away at the numbers. The battle of the groups is far from over, but this could be the start of the different pairs and factions breaking away to think of their chances. Jury is coming up, and with only a few opportunities to determine the groups, the upcoming invisible HOH could prove to be the most important yet. Now, if only certain houseguests could get on the same page and not make messy moves that hurt their games…
Big Brother Canada 9 airs new episodes on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursdays on Global TV, and streams new episodes the following day on globaltv.com.
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