Cliff’s post-Power of Veto decision could have potentially disastrous consequences on Big Brother 21. With numbers dwindling in the house, every choice matters to set up the players for success. Cliff started the week strong to strike against the Six Shooters alliance, but he backed away from that decision for the chance at two weeks of safety. Once again, someone from the outsiders got the boot while the majority alliance kept strong. This one move created two potential outcomes: (1) Cliff will survive to see the majority turn on each other and he’ll ride the wave of success, or (2) he only bided himself two weeks until the majority picked him and the rest of the outsiders off. But which timeline are we in now?
If I was in Cliff’s shoes, I would’ve made the strike against Six Shooters. He started Week 4 with all the right determination and strength – he nominated Jack and Jackson, and he fought hard to give the outsiders some leverage. Unfortunately, he went for the sure-thing instead of making a big move once Jackson won the POV. Cliff should’ve lied and manipulated Christie into a sense a calm so that she wouldn’t use her Diamond Power of Veto ability. Once she didn’t use her power, Cliff could’ve then placed Holly, Christie or someone else from the Six Shooters alliance on the block; guaranteeing that someone from the majority would leave. Now, the majority is still in tact and a shield (Isabella) got the boot. Cliff ended the week in a much worse spot for the future.
Only time will tell if Cliff’s decision planted the seeds for success. If Six Shooters abide by their deal, Cliff earned himself a jury spot, which is all nice and good, but he ruined any fan social capital and resume-building in the house. He needs to hope that Lady Luck causes the alliance to turn on each other for him to have any shot of staying. Cliff has won multiple challenges, so he’s already a competition threat in the eyes of the opposition. All he did was potentially delay the inevitable for a few rounds; he should’ve made the shot.
On the opposite side, Christie is leaving Week 4 in a great position. Due to her campaigning and strategic prowess, she prevented Six Shooters from losing a team member. In addition to that, she built in-roads with Kat and Jessica (essentially pulling them in as side votes), she developed a shaky agreement with Nicole, and she didn’t burn her power. Right now, everyone in the house loves Christie and they don’t want to place her on the block. That’s an amazing spot to be in this early in the season.
Jackson, meanwhile, is slowly inching himself closer to an eviction. If Six Shooters were to ever turn on themselves, I could see it either being Jack or Jackson as the first casualty. Jack because of all the obvious reasons, like his physical capability, ego, leadership tendencies, and his racist/misogynist attitude. But, with Jackson, it’s many of those same qualities, but it’s his shady decisions too.
Firstly, Jackson has tried on a few occasions to end his showmance with Holly; obviously, they have an on-again, off-again thing going on. Part of this reason stemmed from Holly not wanting to have sex anymore with Jackson on camera (i.e. live feeds), even though they’ve already hooked up in the house multiple times now. His player ways pushed Holly and Kat together to create a firm Final 2 alliance – they’ve developed a collective opinion that Jackson is trouble. So, the showmance alliance is shaky at best.
And secondly, Jackson’s attitude during his stint as a Have-Not rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. He has irritated houseguests with his whining about wanting food, and he has threatened a few individuals if they so dared to eat any of the food he planned to save for himself. Christie has even talked about getting rid of Jackson because of his attitude. These tidbits could be the spark that tears apart the alliance.
I would love to see Jackson go because he’s a cheater. (Point. Blank. Period.) For those unaware of the rules, when you’re a Have-Not, you’re not allowed to eat any food except for “slop,” which is this disgusting protein-alternate. Have-Nots also have to sleep in a separate uncomfortable room and take cold showers; if a Have-Not breaks the rules, they’re punished with a penalty vote, nomination, or another form of punishment. In this case, Jackson CONSISTENTLY sneaks food into the showers in his pockets to eat and then dispose of the trash – this has gone on for several days and multiple times during the day. Twitter has blown up about this because EVERYONE can see it, but the Big Brother producers have done nothing about it. Jackson continues to get off without repercussions. If he nor the producers respect the rules of Have-Nots, then why even waste our time with this in the game?
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Between the two challenges, I liked the Head of Household competition the best. Sure, the game was a simple match-based questionnaire, but it forced eliminations of the last two people who answered the question. Sometimes games can stretch on for too long, so this change helped to avoid a tie-breaker. Regarding the Power of Veto competition, the game might’ve been complex and unique, but the way of determining the final times was a bit suspect. As a viewer, you had to trust the editors’ and producers’ words that the houseguests achieved the time they did. However, after how they ignored Jackson’s cheating and how they brushed the racism under the rug, the level of trust right now is nearly non-existent.
Isabella’s eviction is the end result of her terrible gameplay. She did many bad things to destroy her relationships and trust; whether it was throwing Kemi/Nicole under the bus or ignoring needed advice to avoid betrayal. Bella had every opportunity to strike against the Six Shooters before they turned on her, but her lack of movement came back to haunt her. Hopefully, Bella will use the time outside of the Big Brother house to grow from her experience; she turned nasty and vile in the game, so this could be a huge learning opportunity for her. I can’t wait until Jack and Jackson get their dose of reality too.
Week 4 had a strong start before it imploded during the POV ceremony. Once again, a combination of powers and lack of strategic gameplay prevented the game from delivering a solid outcome. We were left once again to see the outsiders getting picked off by the majority alliance. Bella’s eviction came from her poor gameplay, but the outcome wasn’t great nonetheless. The houseguests have to get their heads in the game or else they’ll be steamrolled by the majority alliance until there is no one left.
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