Big Brother 21 has a MAJOR editing problem. As with any season of the summer staple, fans can watch the 24/7 live feeds to get a closer look into the game as it plays live. Not everything can make it to the aired episodes, so naturally, certain tidbits get left on the cutting room floor in favor of the producers’ narrative or a themed plot. Sometimes it’s minimal while other tidbits are a complete hacksaw that completely whitewashes over the truth or presents a false story, like what happened in Big Brother Canada 6. That was the predicament during week 2 of Big Brother 21.
The situation with “Gr8ful” is more “H8ful” than anything else. The majority alliance seized control of the house and exerted their power with Jack at the helm as Head of Household. Typically, it takes a few weeks before the power and paranoia get to the houseguests’ heads, but not these houseguests – the majority alliance went full-blown crazy. Gr8ful has devolved into a group of egotistical bullies that treat the outsiders as beneath them. There have been snide comments, bullying tactics (i.e., shutting doors, fake rumors, name-calling, etc.), ostracizing players, and aggressive threats. Their attitude has reached the mean levels of Big Brother 19 on many occasions. But, you wouldn’t know any of that because none of the drama made it to the episodes.
Week 2 completely whitewashed over the drama like it didn’t even happen. Plus, the editing also tried to make terrible characters (like Jack, Isabella, Jackson, Christie, and Analyse) come across as likable and sweet players. Seriously! Jack, who has legitimately said racist and misogynistic things in the house, was painted as this Type-A leader with a crush on Analyse who had no choice but to nominate Jessica and Kemi for eviction since they wanted him out. Big Brother 21 ignored the fact that Jack talked badly about the women since the beginning of the season and he wanted them out, as well as many of the other people who didn’t fit his ideal standards. To make matters worse, the editing portrayed Kemi as a rude instigator for starting arguments when in fact she was defending herself.
Big Brother 21 should fix its editing to portray a more truthful look into the season. The drama, while reprehensible, is more interesting to watch than Gr8ful being showcased as this strategic competitor. They’re running the house and acting like bullies because of it; people should see how these players really are like and how they play to make an accurate assessment of their game.
Let’s talk about Jack’s HOH reign for a moment. Arguably, he had a good week in terms of achieving his goals. Both of his nominees stayed on the block, he won the second Whacktivity competition, and he repaired some of the damage he caused within his alliance during Week 1. He’s moving to the next round in a much better place than he started. Getting out Kemi did help him in the long-run since his relationship with her could never be repaired.
If I were him, I would’ve focused my attention on bigger targets instead of Jessica and Kemi because his name is still being floated as a target. The women wanted him gone, but he has bigger threats within his own alliance who would gladly backdoor him once Camp Comeback is finished. Plus, we can’t forget his asinine demand that no one in the house talk strategy to the evicted players. Houseguests aren’t following that demand, but for him to exert his power like that will only come back to haunt him. There is no way Jack will win Big Brother 21 … and he shouldn’t.
Another messy player is Isabella. Have you ever heard the expression, “Loose lips sink ships”? That sums up Isabella in a nutshell – she can’t keep a secret to save her life. Isabella has spilled everything from the formation of the Black Widows alliance to telling Sam about Gr8ful; any time someone has talked to Isabella about anything, she has gone back to someone in Gr8ful and told them the truth. Whose game is she even playing?!
The ideal Big Brother strategy is holding multiple side alliances as back-up to the main alliance you want to take through the game. There’s nothing wrong with her being a part of Gr8ful while also fostering other relationships; it’s rare for a large alliance to make it to the end, so she needs back-ups to protect herself if it happens. However, her exposing the Black Widows has destroyed her relationships with Kemi, Jessica, and Nicole. Plus, she’s exposed herself as a rat, so now people in her own alliance want her gone, as well as her showmance partner Nick. All Isabella had to do was keep a few secrets to herself. It will take a miracle now for her to survive to the end.
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We have to give David a lot of credit. For being the first person evicted, he has a great read on the house dynamic. Coming back into the house after a week away has given him a blank canvas to assess the players, survey the game, and determine a few assumptions. His scene with Kathryn perfectly summed up his aptitude; he knew that secret alliances were already created and if Kathryn didn’t know about them, the conclusion had to be that she was kept from them. Right now, his strategy is to cause chaos, but I’m curious to see what he will do if he wins the chance to come back. He’s the biggest surprise by far.
On the other hand, some of the houseguests have let me down in the strategic department. Firstly, why would Christie spill to Gr8ful about Cliff’s morning sessions? She could’ve continued listening to him unaided and helped her position greatly; she learned about a secret alliance … that information is power. Christie lost any leverage to build side-alliances. Secondly, why is Cliff spilling everything in the small room? That room has paper-thin walls. Anyone who has watched Big Brother before knows that people listen in from the door.
And finally, Jessica has crumbled under the emotional weight of Big Brother. Turning the tables on Isabella helped her push forward in Jack’s and Jackson’s eyes, but she has no clue what’s happening around her. Jessica needs to get a better sense of her surroundings or else she’ll be the next evicted. This trio also includes Analyse (only here to chill and hook-up), Ovi (playing too naïve), and Jackson/Nick (believing their own hype too much). At least Nicole and Sam are playing a smart game; besides him winning challenges when he doesn’t have to.
Kemi put up a valiant effort in her hopes of avoiding eviction. Repairing her fractured relationships with Jack and Jackson were a gamble, but the move was one she needed to make for any hope of getting the votes. She played a smart move exposing Isabella’s shady ways, and her tactics were working for a while, but nothing could overcome Jack’s need to target Kemi. In another house on another season, Kemi could’ve avoided eviction, but not with this group. She started Big Brother 21 on a rocky path and it only got worse for her; it’s a shame she only has a 25% chance of returning because she has a good sense of the game and the layout.
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Week 2 of Big Brother 21 hit rocky waters. Whether it was the bad editing or the bad houseguests, the mood made it hard to stomach the current situation. A power-wielding majority alliance is not entertaining to watch; we as viewers are left to watch them pick off the outsiders until they turn on each other. There needs to be an opposing force to topple this power structure before the bad energy takes hold going forward. Unfortunately, the situation doesn’t look good.
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