Did anyone imagine the first half of the jury phase would turn out this way? Big Brother 24 has been a roller coaster of twists, truthbombs, and tensions between the houseguests. No one can say this season has been predictable; the houseguests have continually played a hard strategic game, sometimes to their own detriment. And even when alliances seem to be on stable ground, a quick decision or revelation changes everything up. The best way to go over the last four weeks of the game is to hit the big moments.
Week #6 could’ve been the end of Taylor’s game. Her Head of Household (HOH) reign exposed a crack in her strategic capability. Specifically, she would shift her opinion based on the last person she chatted strategy with. All Taylor had to do was nominate members outside of The Leftovers alliance; making it a simple HOH week would’ve worked out to her benefit since it would show her alliance trust and not complicate things. However, her promising safety to Indy, Jasmine, and Alyssa off the bat only came back to haunt her when she broke those deals. Never make initial promises early on as you’ll never know if those plans will need to change.
Indy’s eviction came from a place of being the stronger threat. Being nominated against Terrence didn’t help because he didn’t have strong bonds like she did or the higher potential to win challenges. Plus, as the men feared a potential women’s alliance, eliminating Indy helped to quell any possible option. Besides, Indy kept talking about leaving the game and refusing to join the jury. She stopped (mentally and emotionally) playing the game once she realized she didn’t have the power anymore. Indy wasn’t going to win Big Brother 24; she didn’t have the social or strategic connections to protect her, so it was only a matter of time.
Week #7 introduced the indoor/outdoor twist that split the house into two separate games. This twist was very interesting in theory because it separated the players and prevented them from knowing what was happening on the other side of the house. Plus, it’s a great way for the houseguests to make a big move or have weaker players/alliances get their shot to fight back. We saw how quickly new groups formed and how their games shifted without certain people around. Though, my only issue with this twist was how the indoor/outdoor groups were chosen–this should’ve been a random draw. Having the HOHs Michael and Terrence choose the groups only allowed them to set up their targets and telegraph who was most likely leaving. Unfortunately, it took out a lot of needed drama.
In the indoor faction, it was obvious Jasmine’s days were numbered. The other four houseguests were members of The Leftovers alliance, so unless she won the Power of Veto (POV), she wasn’t going to stick around. Her only chance was to win POV or heighten the paranoia against Monte. If Michael and Brittany wanted to take out a huge threat, they would’ve had the option to turn the tables on Monte, who had talked about evicting Michael sooner than later. Michael and Brittany knew from Taylor that Monte had thrown Michael’s name out, so they missed several huge opportunities to strike if needed.
Meanwhile, the outdoor faction was where the full chaos erupted. Did anyone else think the group got very nasty toward Joseph? Alyssa, Terrance, Kyle, and Turner let him have it with no justification. Sure, Turner tried to protect himself from getting evicted, but he joined right in to put the target on Joseph and lashed out. A lot of the blame here goes on Kyle for setting up the pieces for Terrance and Alyssa directing their anger toward Joseph. He framed the fake narrative of the Monte/Joseph/Taylor power alliance and made the deals that sealed Joseph’s fate. Joseph never had a chance because someone had an agenda against him: Kyle wanted his girlfriend to be protected and he wanted to eliminate an alliance he feared was running things. There’s no problem with taking out a threat, but his actions were also driven by biases and prejudices he formed early on (we’ll get to this shortly).
Week #8 was the week of Kyle. Simply put, everything from the strategy to the decisions focused on what Kyle did. Let’s get this right up front: Michael and Brittany are at fault for not sharing what Kyle said about the POC houseguests weeks earlier (i.e., him trying to form an all-white alliance to evict all POC houseguests in a fictionalized all-POC alliance). They held onto that information and used it as a strategy for their benefit to get what they wanted at the right time. Sure, it may have been tough at the moment to chat with Kyle and speak their thoughts, but this topic could’ve been discussed with the entire house and Kyle could’ve been evicted weeks earlier. The timing of the reveal and how it came to be doesn’t fully sit right with me.
However (and let’s make this clear), the way Michael and Brittany shared this information doesn’t take away from the seriousness of what Kyle did. Both things can be true and one shouldn’t negate the other. Michael and Brittany used information, but it was information that Kyle said to them. Kyle didn’t just have a theory—he put his plans into action by trying to form an all-white alliance. Even after Michael and Brittany talked him down, he continued to campaign and made plans to evict the POC he believed was running the game (i.e., Joseph, Monte, and Taylor). Plus, he said a lot of things that showcased his biases and racism and proved there was a problem going on. Kyle was at fault for everything he did, and he admitted such during chats with his fellow houseguests when the truth came out.
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So, it’s quite disappointing that the edited Big Brother 24 episodes came out with a narrative where it painted Kyle as the sympathetic victim and Michael/Brittany as the opportunistic villains. Everything from the chosen scenes/diary rooms, the tone of the dialogue, and the background music was heavily made in Kyle’s favor. Big Brother 24 wanted us to hear Kyle’s point of view, feel sympathetic to his “mistake,” encourage his growth, and be suspicious of what Michael/Brittany did. The episodes were framed around Kyle’s journey.
But why didn’t we get the point of view told from the remaining POC houseguests left in the game? Hearing from Monte, Taylor, and Terrance would’ve been a better and more sincere journey because they were the houseguests affected by what Kyle did. There were three houseguests who could’ve shed light on what it felt to find this out in the Big Brother house and their conversations with Kyle about his racism. Instead, it was a sympathetic narrative about Kyle having a bad week and being the victim of a shady game move. We shouldn’t be led to feel bad for Kyle being exposed and subsequently evicted; he is not the victim in this situation.
I loved the jury segment during Week #9 because the jury members were open with Kyle about their disgust and issues with what he did. We as viewers got a serious representation of how bad his actions were and how they affected the people around him. Jasmine looked baffled, Joseph was disgusted, and Indy was furious with what Kyle did. We need more real and raw scenes like this because they discuss the topic in a genuine way while showcasing entertaining drama. Sure, it ended with the note of Kyle growing, but it didn’t hold back too much by letting him have it.
Speaking of Week #9, the round showcased yet again why it’s important to make the big move instead of waiting it out. Michael winning HOH could’ve been his opportunity to eliminate a threat who had been throwing his name out as a target (i.e., Monte or Turner). Instead, he gave them a reprieve to evict someone who wasn’t in The Leftovers alliance and granted Turner safety. Sometimes you have to take a risk and make the move; you never know when you’ll have the chance to get out of a threat. Michael should’ve listened to Brittany because his blunder came back to haunt him.
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Terrance’s eviction was set in stone the second the POV wasn’t used. Alyssa had the votes to stay, and she had the connections to benefit others later in the game. Alyssa being terrible in challenges also worked in her favor! The problem with Terrance’s game was that he kept holding grudges and putting his power into the losing side. Had he used the goodwill from winning HOH and POV weeks earlier, he could’ve built new bonds that would’ve protected him. And if he had stopped talking trash about Taylor and trusted her, she could’ve been more open to working with him. Instead, all his bad words and actions came back to hurt him when he truly needed votes. Should she have trusted him? Absolutely not. Nothing Terrance has done this season has shown Taylor she can trust he wouldn’t try to evict her yet again; Terrance would’ve gone for her the first opportunity. Terrance couldn’t get it together before it was too late.
Michael’s eviction during the double eviction was a long time coming. He avoided eviction for many weeks and developed a huge target due to his many challenge wins. Unfortunately, all it takes is one challenge loss to end someone’s game. Kudos to Taylor, Monte, Turner, and Alyssa for taking the shot when they could. It’s a big strategic move for their games, and it’s one many players either don’t get the chance to make or have the courage to take. Though, we do have to give Michael credit for nearly avoiding this fate; his “Gentlemen’s Agreement” alliance with Monte and Turner looked strong earlier in the week if it hadn’t been for some last-minute discussions with Taylor. Michael is a great Big Brother player; hopefully, he comes back for a future season to see if he can continue his winning streak.
Week #6-9 hit the high highs and some lows, but these were very entertaining weeks. Strong gameplay, important moves, and shocking twists rocked the house. Big Brother 24 has been delivering the drama. If the momentum keeps up until finale night, this may soon turn into a Top 5 season based on the season’s riveting journey.
Big Brother 24 airs on CBS on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8/7c.
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