Now that Big Brother 23 has reached the jury phase, it’s time to take a look at the game overall. Usually by now I would have had a few op-eds about the season, complaining my tail off. But I’ve had very little complaints this season.
There haven’t been zero complaints, though, so let’s get those out of the way first. The one thing about this season that hasn’t been an A+ for mw is the drama has been light. We have had virtually no arguments and no actual blindsides, and no split actual split votes. Last week’s vote was 7-2, and that was the most exciting vote so far.
But lucky for us, the gaming this season has been top notch, and during the past two weeks, the drama element has even been on the rise. And as The Cookout alliance sees cracks, and the latter part of the game is upon us, we can expect more drama.
This cast is a smart one. And they have been playing since Day 1. They’re strategic, they’re loyal, they’re really good at lying, and they love the game. So for any fight that we’ve lacked, they’ve made up for it with gameplay.
And that leads me to The Cookout alliance. Normally, I’m not a fan of large alliances because they steamroll the game and make it really not fun to watch. And what I find interesting are there are people in this fandom saying The Cookout is steamrolling, when in actuality, they are not. They’re just a very smart alliance, who mapped out their whole strategy early in the game.
They have all paired up with someone outside the alliance, and each of them were in other alliances. If you think about it, up until this week when Kyland won HOH, only two members of The Cookout had been Head of Household. That is all the proof you need to see they have not been “steamrolling.” They have just been playing smart and have proven to be an influential group.
Tiffany’s plan for the plus one has been brilliant, and while they didn’t even need to put that into motion yet, those plus ones have been crucial in keeping suspicions down. That along with the alliance in-bickering anyway. It’s all just really working out brilliantly. And when it’s time for them to go after each other, watch out. That’s going to be some good TV.
And for anyone out there who thinks this alliance is unfair, you might want to sit down. This alliance is well overdue, and I couldn’t be happier to watch them play.
Last week’s move made by Derek X deserves it’s own part of this post. Derek X executed the perfect backdoor against THE game front runner. Christian was this season’s Drew, Hayden, Jackson, Cody … he was that alpha male comp beast that we’ve been screaming at our TVs for years to be targeted and sent out. And it happened flawlessly. And I say flawlessly, because DX wasn’t an immediate target afterwards. And while he might be a target soon, he is a smart and physical player, and could easily get himself out of any trouble.
From day one, this has been a very likable cast. I mean there were a few people the majority of us wanted to see gone, and they’er gone! That in itself is incredible.
Even the most boring player isn’t that bad. Even the most annoying player isn’t that bad. And it’s really refreshing for there to be no problematic houseguests left in the game. I’m not saying those who are gone were problematic, but a couple of them were questionable.
And now let’s talk about my favorite part. There’s only been one showmance, and it was broken up last week! I HATE showmances, as do a lot of fans. There are apparently some people out there who love them, or the show wouldn’t push them on us so hard every season. I’ll never understand why anyone would watch this show for hookups and showmances, when Love Island comes on right after, and some for of The Bachelor is on all year round. But anyway, thankfully Alyssa and Christian are split up, and there are no other showmances in the house. Sure Hannah and Derek X are cute, and Sarah Beth and Kyland are creepy, but I don’t see either of those going anywhere. So lucky for us, they’ll all be focused on playing the game.
It’s really refreshing that I was able to write this with minimal complaints. The past several seasons have been very painful to me as a fan and as someone who covers the show as a job. I was starting to lose faith in this show that has entertained myself and so many for years. But Big Brother 23 has reminded me why I fell in love with this silly summer guilty pleasure so long ago.
Welcome back, Big Brother. I missed you.
