Reality TV Thoughts

The Crossovers have somehow stuck together the entire season against all odds. Despite Dee and Angela being eager at multiple points throughout the season to send Drew packing (Dee even nominated him!). Despite Dee sending Mallory packing during her second HOH. Despite Drew having every possible reason to turn on the Crossovers. They have made it to the final 10 together and Drew is more loyal than ever. But what about Barrett?

Week 8 of Big Brother 28 is such an odd week. On paper, there is so much happening. The year 1000 twist, the start of the jury stage, Devens almost getting himself evicted. Yet, it’s a mostly mundane and boring week. Barrett’s fully turned on the Crossovers, but we don’t get to see the payoff for that because of another horrible Blockbuster result. It’s yet another disappointing week.

The Year 1000 Twist

For the second year in a row, a redhead has been eliminated by a competition instead of a normal eviction vote. Unlike the White Locust though, the lowest point of Big Brother 27, the Year 1000 twist was just kind of… boring? Of course, Rachel was the main character of BB27 when she got eliminated by the White Locust, while Haley wasn’t that important to the house dynamics. So, while not as atrocious as the White Lotus, much like the White Locust, it still harms the integrity of the game and sets a bad precedent for the future.

The final 10 time travel to the medieval times thinking that they are about to play in the next HOH competition. Instead, when they arrive, they are greeted by Britney Haynes, who tells them that they accidentally killed the King’s favorite hog and now the king wants one of them to pay the price. They will compete in a series of competitions to determine who will be sacrificed. The first is a skill-based stacking comp in which the houseguest who wins will not only earn their own safety, but also a stone of safety and two stones of sacrifice. The stone of safety can be used by anyone to ensure that they survive the night. The stones of sacrifice will force whoever is chosen to compete in a different competition, where one will earn safety and the other will need to continue fighting for their life. Britney explains all of this in the most monotone voice possible, just as sick of production’s antics as most fans.

Dee wins the first competition, which was oddly controversial. People claimed that the producers picked the stacking comp because it was similar to a comp she did on Survivor. However, the Survivor comp was a puzzle and not only that, Dee sucked at that competition! It just seems like people are looking for any opportunity to discredit Dee because they don’t like her. Anyways, despite Angela pleading with Dee that she needs the stone of safety and doesn’t think she’ll do well in the other competitions, Dee gives the stone of safety to Devens to properly thank him for using the diamond veto on her. She also cracks the strategy for the stones of sacrifice. She realizes she should give the stones to her allies so that they’ll have as many chances as possible to save themselves. She gives the two stones to Haley and Drew, since they’re both capable in competitions and would probably give the stone of safety to Angela. Barrett is not pleased the Dee did not pick him despite their connection. With the stones given out, Britney tells everyone except Drew and Haley to head back into the Big Brother house to await the competition winner.

Once back in the house, Lala, Taylor, and Yash realize that they are at a massive disadvantage since neither Drew nor Haley would save them and are clearly working with the icons. Lala especially has a hard time with this. Fortunately, Taylor comforts her and is able to get her head back in the game. Now, to start the second competition, Drew and Haley must complete a different puzzle, in which they must assemble a giant cube out of differently shaped pieces. This competition is hosted by BB23 AFP Tiffany Mitchell. Drew is able to beat out Haley and earn both one stone of safety and one stone of sacrifice. He has to go back to the house and announce to everyone who he will be giving stones to.

Drew comes back with a big decision to make. By voting to evict Mallory, he drew the line in the sand, betraying F.A.P to stick by the icons. Now, Melody and even Barrett are pissed at him while the icons trust him, for now at least. Despite Melody trying to hide her anger at Drew in order to stay safe, Drew decides to dig his own grave further and give Angela the stone of safety. He also gives the stone of sacrifice to Barrett, hoping he’ll be able to survive and all of the Crossovers will be safe.

Barrett goes out to face a sweaty Haley in a balance beam competition. Carry “grapes” from one end of a balance beam to the other using a plastic tube. Cody Calafiore is hosting this challenge, giving his best possible impression of a British voice. Despite having a rough fall at one point, Barrett is able to beat Haley to survive the night. He will be given two stones of sacrifice to give to anyone who hasn’t been chosen yet. Those two people will compete against Haley in one final competition, in which the winner will choose which of their opponents they want to send packing.

Barrett comes back into the house and is being courted by both the icons and the Lala, Taylor, Yash trio. The icons want him to send in Lala and Taylor so that Haley will have the best chance at survival. Yash however, wants to be sent in because he thinks he has the best chance at beating Haley. Barrett has a tough decision to make. Well, not that tough, because he is still hurt that Dee sent his best friend, Mallory, home. It seems that decision is what finally causes Barrett to fully flip sides and become loyal to the other newbies. He picks Yash and Lala to face off against Haley, much to the dismay of his former alliance.

Haley, Lala, and Yash face off in the final competition of the night, hosted by BB27 AFP Keanu Soto! The three houseguests must successfully stack 30 differently shaped pieces to make the king a crown. It is a close showdown between Haley and Yash, but Yash is able to beat Haley and then promptly chooses to send her packing. Unfortunately for Haley, she doesn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to her fellow houseguests.

Haley Thogmartin: Outgoing, Bubbly, and Fun

Haley made it way further than I thought she would, coming just short of the jury stage. I think she would have had longevity if she survived the twist, but I guess we’ll never know. Even if she did make it further, though, I cannot envision her ever winning. Most of the house never really vibed with her, much like I predicted, so I don’t think she could have gotten the votes to win. Nevertheless, I found myself not hating Haley by the end of it. She had a lot of frustrating moments, especially at the beginning, but she was also unintentionally funny. Her always complaining about having a hard week, her face during the Lyric blindside, her describing herself as outgoing, bubbly, and fun. She provided a lot of entertainment throughout the season even if she wasn’t always likeable. The Thog will be missed.

Strategy Throughout the Rest of the Week

Zingbot comes to visit the houseguest, slightly earlier than expected. After roasting all of them, he uses the Time Machine Table to change the past, leading to the HOH competition. The houseguests are competing in a booth competition, answering true/false questions about Zingbot’s adventures in the past. It comes down to a tiebreaker between Drew, Melody, and Yash. Yash throws the tiebreaker because of his deal with Dee, meaning Drew and Melody are the only two trying to win. Drew is unfortunately able to beat out Melody, making him the new HOH.

Drew’s game plan is simple. He wants to stay loyal to the Crossovers at all costs. He also wants to prove to Melody that she can actually trust him. That leaves an easy three nominations of Lala, Taylor, and Yash. There is a lot of talk about the potential renom, though. The icons all want Drew to nominate Melody, but they know that Drew might be hesitant to do that. So, Devens reluctantly volunteers to be a renom, hoping that it won’t actually happen. Dee correctly calls this a stupid move, but he seems confident that Barrett and Drew will stay loyal.

Yash wins his second veto of the summer, ensuring his safety and messing up Drew’s original plans. Now that it’s looking more likely that Devens will be on the block, the icons try convincing Drew to nominate Melody instead. However, he knows that if he does that, they’ll probably end up flipping the vote on Melody. He tells Melody he’s going to keep her safe no matter what. She still doesn’t trust him though, telling him that if he nominates her, she’s going to ruin his life outside of the game. She also goes up to Drew’s HOH room every night for wine, admitting in the DR that she’s trying to work her magic on him. It seemingly works, as the closest Drew is to nominating someone besides Devens is when he briefly considers nominating Dee for being selfish during her HOH reign. He quickly backs down the second she pushes back on that, though. Once Yash uses the veto, Devens is nominated in his place.

Despite feeling safe, Barrett is ready to flip on the Crossovers and send Devens packing if he loses the blockbuster. Even Dee and Angela contemplate turning on Devens. Angela especially is paranoid that Devens is closer with Barrett and Drew than with her or Dee. That means Devens is in a must win situation in order to stay in the game. As for Taylor and Lala…

Both Taylor and Lala know that they’re safe as long as Devens loses the blockbuster. They are campaigning that much, especially against each other. As a result, the week is mostly boring. In the event that Devens wins the Blockbuster, most of the house would vote out Lala because she is better at competitions than Taylor. At one point, Yash contemplates turning on Taylor if Devens wins the blockbuster, but he never fully goes through with it.

The worst possible outcome happens yet again, and Devens wins the Blockbuster, narrowly beating Taylor. Two weeks now that a blindside has been spoiled by a bad Blockbuster result. It is really disappointing, but I am still not ready to turn against the idea of the Blockbuster. It has led to so many more great moments than moments ruined and makes live evictions way more exciting than they usually are. Two bad results doesn’t change that.

With Devens safe, Lala is evicted in a 4-2 vote, with only Angela and Melody voting to keep her.

How Well did Zingbot do This Season?

On BB27, Zingbot was the best that he had been in years. It felt like the writing crew actually put effort into all of the houseguests’ Zings and there were nearly no misses. On BB28 though, we’re back to mediocrity. None of the Zings besides Drew’s lullaby and Yash’s bad haircut Zing were memorable and it felt like production took a step back. Both Devens and Lala were predictably Zinged about their age, which is both boring and unfunny. Barrett’s Zing about his chest hair and Taylor’s Zing about being boring both felt so uninspired. Maybe BB27 was a once in a lifetime season.

Player of the Week: Barrett Pfeiffer

It is impressive that Barrett has been able to make so many moves to undermine the icons while still having their complete trust. He was able to flip the votes against Drew during Dee’s HOH reign, choose Yash instead of Taylor to battle against Haley, and flip the votes against Devens this week as well. It’s a shame we have not gotten to see the payoff to Barrett’s disloyalty yet, because it’s going to be glorious. Drew even figured out that Barrett would have evicted him over both Mallory AND Taylor and he wasn’t even upset. His social game is great.

Flop of the Week: Rick Devens

It is just an undeniably bad move to volunteer yourself as a pawn, especially if you are a x2 Survivor player with a big reputation. Devens would have gone home if he lost the Blockbuster and he has absolutely no idea. His trust in the Crossovers will be his downfall.

Winner Watch: Dee Loses Her Barrett

For the first half of BB28, it looked like Barrett was by far the most loyal newbie to Dee out of anyone else in the house. Then, she made one fatal mistake. She took Barrett’s loyalty for granted and targeted Mallory while barely even consulting him. That hurt Barrett and made him rethink everything he had been doing up until that point. She clearly doesn’t value his interests, so why should he value hers? He aligns himself with what’s left of Rome’s fallen empire, not even telling Drew. Now, the guy who comforted Dee whenever she needed could be her downfall.

Oh yeah, also, Angela is fun TV, but her paranoia is spreading to Dee and causing her to mistrust even Rick Devens. She definitely should not turn on him unless absolutely necessary.

LaTrice Verrett: Lowkey Competition Beast

Lala did not disappoint at all with her run in the Big Brother house. At first, everyone wrote her off. She did not perform well in most of the early challenges and even her own fellow houseguests wrote her off as an easy player to drag to the end. Then, everything changed when she won the Wall Comp and became the oldest player to ever win it. After that, everyone was forced to take her seriously. She found herself in a new alliance with Kamu, Lala, and Yash, her HOH reign ending with her secondary target, Chuk, going home. Then, Kamu leaves and Dee wins HOH. She’s on the bottom yet again. But, she pulls out another competition win, this time winning a fitness focused veto competition. During the year 1000 twist, all hope is lost when Dee wins the first competition, but she is able to survive despite the odds being stacked so heavily against her. At the final 9, she is heartbreakingly sent packing after a bad Blockbuster result. It was nonetheless an incredible journey and she will do amazing as the mayor of the jury.