A decade of twists, evictions, and houseguests have brought us to this moment. Big Brother Canada kicked off its tenth season embracing its full wackiness and game show vibe for Week #1. The first round of every season is a short week that speeds up gameplay and spends most of the episodes introducing the players, but there’s no information from the 24/7 live feeds, just what the episodes tell us. Based on the first week, we didn’t learn much about these houseguests. The pacing moved too quickly that anything could’ve happened, forcing us to take the information at face value.
Before we get into the gameplay, let’s take a moment to discuss the house. Big Brother Canada loves to create a big and outlandish space that blows the theme out of the water—Big Brother Canada 10 was no exception. They said this was a season about game shows. Well, they gave us game shows! Colorful lights everywhere, mysterious doors on the walls, a spinning wheel in the living room—this house was sensory overload. Although, the bright colors did positively balance the trademark chrome and steel that Big Brother Canada loves to include. Hopefully, many of these doors and game show elements reveal hidden twists; it would be nice for them to play a part instead of only being a decorative piece.
The challenges were also fun and fair. I loved that anyone could’ve won the Head of Household or Power of Veto competitions; they were easy party games that any amount of physical and mental level could take part in. And the possible winners made the outcomes more exciting. The one part that could prove troubling down the line is how players are chosen for the POV. Spinning a wheel isn’t bad, but the spin mechanic looked heavy, and the players struggled to spin the wheel. Big Brother Canada 10 needs to watch the houseguests and make sure they properly spin because players could manipulate the spin to land on an ally with the right amount of force. The last thing the game needs is a cheating controversy.
Once again, Big Brother Canada excelled in casting a diverse and inclusive group of players that represented Canada. Casting is one of the highlights that this franchise does greatly, and those qualities helped push other shows to follow suit. The problem, however, was that Week #1 didn’t highlight a majority of the cast. Who are these players? We don’t know because the episodes only focused on a small handful of them.
Hermon, Moose, and Josh formed a tight trio after the Head of Household win. Jessica and Melina got nominated, with Kevin as the replacement nominee. Jessica and Hermon have drama, and Melina secluded herself. Stephanie doesn’t know geography and Jay likes having a good time. Beyond that, we didn’t learn anything about these houseguests that weren’t included in their introduction videos. Granted, it’s the first round and there are only two episodes to fill an entire week of gameplay, but everyone else seemed like background furniture just to keep the pace moving. Even Melina’s eviction interview (a point where we could actually learn more about her) got yadda-yadda-ed so they could introduce a twist. Big Brother Canada is about the houseguests and their gameplay; let’s learn about these players so we can care when they get eliminated.
For Week #1, it was surprising how much Moose was featured in the diary room confessionals. Hermon won HOH, but Moose was framed as the mastermind making the strategic moves and pushing for Jessica’s eviction. Big Brother Canada 10 could be setting Moose up as the “puppet master” role, especially since he’s in a powerful men’s alliance and someone he wasn’t aligned with got evicted. Kevin’s edit was somewhat similar, but his “villain” persona seemed like it foreshadowed that his days were numbered. Moose could be the player that slips through to the jury phase because the targets get placed on his stronger allies. We should keep our eyes on Moose; he’ll either thrive behind the power or he’ll get exposed for his shady gameplay.
Kevin played too-hard-too-fast, especially with how he gossiped and betrayed Melina. Did he not realize that revealing the truth about Melina could be traced back to him? Sure, Melina would get evicted, but then everyone would know that he spilled the truth and betrayed someone to stay in the game. I don’t foresee Kevin lasting long on Big Brother Canada 10. As of now, he’s got “pre-jury boot” written all over him, and unless he worms his way into a strong group or manipulates the houseguests into targeting a new threat, he could become an easy elimination.
Jessica also has “pre-jury” boot written into her gameplay. She didn’t have the nuances or tact to know how to campaign to Hermon; it was like a car crash for how badly their conversation went. It’s never a good idea to name names for who should be nominated, especially in the first round when players don’t know each other. However, Jessica could’ve framed her conversation to be around people she DIDN’T want to be nominated and who seemed like active members of the house. Players get away with protecting people they like to hang out with in the early weeks because the game lasts for months. Jessica needed to appeal to Hermon’s favorability and show that she was on his side; instead, she further made herself look like someone Hermon couldn’t align with.
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Melina’s eviction came across as the easiest choice. Being introverted and needing time away isn’t an issue; Big Brother is filled with a balance of loud and quiet players. However, Melina actively separated herself from the group and didn’t care about campaigning; she hated the process and didn’t want any part of it. You have to be welcoming and actively try to get to know the players. Simply hiding in the background to avoid being nominated wasn’t going to help her; the bonds formed in the first round matter for the first few weeks. Melina let the game move past her.
The premiere week of Big Brother Canada 10 was a round filled with game show shenanigans and fast moves. Some houseguests emerged as key players while others exposed themselves as possible next boots. But for the most part, we didn’t get to know the houseguests well enough to assess their potential. With plenty of Big Brother Canada nostalgia and hidden door prizes to be won, it’s still early in the season, so anything could change.
Big Brother Canada 10 airs new episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on Global TV, and streams new episodes the following day on globaltv.com.
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