The Cookout is steamrolling through Big Brother 23. Week #6 was no exception as the secret alliance manipulated the remaining houseguests and controlled the vote. As we’ve chatted about in previous reviews, it’s cemented at this point that the Final 2 will be members of the alliance. Unless there’s a complete implosion, nothing will tear them apart. The Cookout will go down as one of the best majority alliances to play Big Brother. And just like previous majority alliances, their group game has skyrocketed with excellent plays, but their individual games have amassed many messy moves. It will be a miracle for some of The Cookout members to win when it comes time to turn on each other.
The Cookout is following in the same direction as The Bomb Squad from Big Brother 16 and The Committee from Big Brother 22. Specifically, the alliance members made moves to benefit the alliance, but those moves hindered their individual games. A great example of this was Tiffany and Hannah disregarding Claire and Derek X.’s campaigning to get Derek F. out instead of Britini. Derek F. does nothing for Tiffany’s and Hannah’s game, except for the fact that they’re in The Cookout together. Derek F. is closer to players like Kyland, Xavier, and Azah in their alliance, so he would keep them around longer than the other two. Plus, “Big D” has openly stated he wants women evicted from the house–if someone from the alliance were to go first, he would target them. This could be the move they’ll look back on where they lost Big Brother 23 because they sacrificed too much for their alliance instead of their personal goals.
Kyland made a huge mistake by betraying Britini and placing her on the block. What was he thinking?! If he didn’t plan to honor the safety deal for the week, he shouldn’t have agreed to it. His going back on his word made him look shady, sketchy, and someone the players couldn’t trust to honor their word. Kyland could’ve kept Claire on the block or turned the vote against Derek X. to take out a huge threat. Now, Britini is heading to the jury angry at Kyland, and since she’s the first jury member, she’ll talk to everyone and vent her frustrations to them. Kyland needs to think about jury management–he’s off to a terrible start with a move that most likely will cost him the game.
The same goes for Kyland’s strange decision to steal the Head of Household (HOH) away from Azah and Tiffany. He said he didn’t want to win HOH, so all he needed to do was mess up an answer to make it look believable. Kyland should’ve played along because it would’ve built stronger bridges with Azah/Tiffany, and the blood would’ve been off his hands because they would’ve targeted Sarah Beth instead of him. It’s a baffling move that hindered his reputation in the house, just like his choice to openly throw the Power of Veto (POV) so he could win the power to save Claire. Everyone saw through his move; he orchestrated a bad play that fractured his relationship with Claire. Very sloppy round for Kyland.
Derek F. isn’t going to win Big Brother 23. His social game is strong since he’s well-liked in the house and by America, but he’s built the reputation of being the easy victory at the finals. Everyone wants to bring him to the end because it’s expected that he won’t win. The problem with this mentality is that Derek F. is fine with this. Why even compete on Big Brother if you don’t want to win? It feels like a wasted spot. He has the potential to pull himself out of being an easy pawn, but he needs to play harder and orchestrate the moves himself instead of going with the flow. If not, we’ll have to brace ourselves for a season of Big D being carried to the end.
The BB Casino twist sounded fun in theory, but due to the current makeup of the house, this only gave the majority alliance more power to control the others. The games allow for more power to ensure that Cookout members will avoid the block. Kyland got his way with the second POV, but if anyone else had won it, the alliance would’ve put someone else on the block to ensure they were targeted. I’m curious for the following weeks because they have stronger powers that could shake things up; the roulette and the HOH overthrow could easily shift things back to the big alliance. It’s not fun for any majority alliance to have complete control without any opposition. Hopefully, there are some surprises to keep the players on their toes.
The biggest issue with this twist was that it gave the houseguests a good idea of who America liked or not. Based on the 50, 75, and 100 values, the houseguests could easily tell who America would favor in future twists and what they thought. Britini wouldn’t have landed on the chopping block so fast if it weren’t for America giving her 100 BB bucks; Kyland and The Cookout saw her favoritism and needed to get her out. These twists should be avoided because it gives the players too much knowledge; if they think the viewers like or hate an alliance (or specific players), they’ll change up their gameplay to go for or against the viewers.
Based on the three games, the clear standout was the return of OTEV. This challenge is a clear Big Brother favorite because it’s fun to play, campy, and it’s easy to understand. Plus, the houseguests have different strategies they implement to advance their games, like Azah giving Britini the right answer or Kyland purposely throwing the round. OTEV is a must for every season.
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Britini’s eviction had to happen eventually. She was the main pawn of Big Brother 23, and besides working with Azah and Derek F., she didn’t have many other strong alliances who would’ve protected her. It’s a shame she got blindsided in a cold and cruel manner; she looked visibly heartbroken by Kyland when he betrayed their deal and acted like he didn’t care. Though, Britini might get the last laugh on the jury; she’s highly competitive, so those who wronged her may regret their actions very soon. The Cookout claimed another victim along the way.
Week #6 of Big Brother 23 became a messy week of betrayals and self-sabotaging moves. The houseguests are making strategic plays for their short-to-mid games, but the final outcome might come back to haunt them. There’s no turning back now as the jury phase has started, so every betrayal counts. Britini’s blindside could be the first of many that will play on finale night.
Big Brother 23 airs on CBS on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8/7c.
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