Big Brother 20 Review: “Week 4”

Did that eviction outcome really happen on Big Brother 20? How?! Life coach and resident psychic Kaitlyn got handed the easiest challenge in Big Brother history… and yet STILL failed to win her way back into the game. A seven-piece puzzle stood in her way of competing for a half million dollars; her loss will live in Big Brother infamy. We as viewers don’t deserve the gift of drama that Kaitlyn gave us every week she was in the house.

The fourth week of Big Brother 20 served as the culmination and finale to Kaitlyn’s storyline. After weeks of talking about nothing but Kaitlyn’s dating life, her obsession with showmances, her erratic behavior, and her sloppy gameplay, the pieces laid the foundation to this moment of her dramatic eviction. We followed her roller coaster month until it imploded her game. Her plot might be some of the best footage we’ve seen in years. Kaitlyn never had a chance to win Big Brother 20 (she ruined any chance she had after supporting Swaggy C’s eviction), but she provided amazing feeds and emotionally-fueled scenes in every episode.

Kaitlyn, for the longest time, had the votes to stay in the house. Level 6 (minus JC) wanted to keep her around since she provided a vote to them, and Tyler could easily manipulate her. Plus, both Bayleigh and Scottie agreed to vote Rockstar out to gain some favor with Level 6. All she had to do was stay under the radar until the eviction and not rock the boat – enter Kaitlyn. Her paranoia, neediness, and the comments she made put too much of a target on her back. She already was a competition threat, but they couldn’t stand to be around her any longer.

Angela, who we need to give some credit because she actually started playing the game, spearheaded the vote against Kaitlyn after the life coach was saying untrustworthy things around the Level 6 women. And once the women flipped their votes, the rest of the house followed suit. It’s a shame Angela didn’t get the focus in the eviction episode because she got Kaycee and Rachel to turn on Kaitlyn; without her, Rockstar would’ve gotten the boot and potentially earned her spot back in. Maybe Angela’s non-existent game will actually help her get far?

Kaitlyn should’ve taken the week to reaffirm her relationships and convince people that she was better for their games. Her ongoing votes and challenge wins needed to go to the majority alliance (or whoever would help her that week). Her downfall stemmed from being too invested in the romantic drama with Tyler, Faysal/Haleigh, and Brett. The emotions got the best of her and by the time of the eviction challenge, she had reached the boiling point and it distracted her from winning. A clear head would’ve helped her focus during such an easy puzzle.

Even though Kaitlyn was his best friend, Faysal made the right choice picking Haleigh over Kaitlyn with the Power of Veto. Haleigh had Faysal’s back since the beginning and she earned his trust; Kaitlyn broke it too many times with the Steve and Swaggy evictions. He cemented a longstanding alliance with Haleigh thanks to his power. Though, he needs to cool it with his aggressive showmance attitude. Haleigh doesn’t need him pressuring her into anything she doesn’t want to do.

Sam’s game (or at least the game with the viewers) suffered during her Head of Household power-trip. A new side of the formerly sweet country woman emerged and shocked everyone to their core. Sam spouted vile comments about other houseguests, she did the same things that she criticized other people for doing (like cuddling up with guys), and she treated people with disrespect, thinking her word was law. For any viewer watching only the episodes, the shift in Sam’s edit might’ve seemed confusing at first, especially since Sam came across as the sweet Southerner before. However, her nomination speech couldn’t be overlooked or twisted – the world was going to see the real nasty Sam.

Sam’s nomination speech (and subsequent diary rooms/scenes) is one of the most disappointing speeches in reality TV history. Flirting has always been a tactic on reality shows; both men and women use it to propel themselves further by manipulating others and fostering relationships. However, Sam not only chastised Haleigh and Kaitlyn for being flirty with guys, but she said they don’t respect themselves and that what they were doing was the opposite of female empowerment. And, further on in conversations, she criticized Haleigh/Kaitlyn for wearing baggy clothes that teased men, and that no one could blame any of the men because THEY can’t control themselves since they’re men. Was she serious?!

Social media erupted because of her speech. Sam lost any chance of winning America’s Favorite Player. (She had been in the top of fan votes since the first week… not anymore.) For her standing in the house, tensions have cooled, but she needs to repair the damage with Haleigh or else she could find herself on the block soon. She still has a chance at winning, but the odds are decreasing fast.

In addition to Sam’s speech, Bayleigh and JC’s chat about derogatory words served as another hot topic for the week. Controversy isn’t new to Big Brother (we’ll never forget you, Big Brother 15), and there have been a few instances already this season with JC and the ice cream scooper or Angela/Rachel in the backyard. However, JC and Bayleigh’s argument was the first that made it to the weekly episodes. From an editing standpoint, it’s great to see these real-life moments included in the hour because earlier seasons of Big Brother focused on people discussing real issues, and those plots helped to tackle important debates, as well as get to know the players. We as viewers got a more in-depth discussion between the houseguests than we ever had on Big Brother 15.

In regards to the argument itself, both JC and Bayleigh were wrong with how they handled the situation. Neither houseguest needed to say the derogatory words to each other, regardless of if they were used as examples or in defense of their positions. They knew how offensive the words were and, even after it was explained to them how bad those words affected them (and communities around the world), continuing to use those words didn’t help either of their cases. Both Bayleigh and JC needed to take a minute to educate each other in a rational and calm manner.

The fourth week of Big Brother 20 erupted in one drama-filled moment after the next. A week we all thought would be a dud due to the BB App Store twist turned out to be eventful and possibly one of the most important weeks in Big Brother history. We lost an important player in Kaitlyn and the house tackled issues that needed to be discussed. Let’s hope this momentum continues now even though the lightning rod for drama is out of the house.