TV Review: Big Brother Canada 5 “Week 4”

Backwards Week has claimed its victim on Big Brother Canada 5, and oh was it messed up. I love when big twists shake up the game and keep these players on their toes. Many of the houseguests didn’t know how to react with the ever-changing game. It was great to see their expressions as Arisa dropped each new bomb after the next. However, as I expressed with last week’s review, the ultimate evictee of the week was fully expected. What a shame!

Gary Glitter – the man, the energy, the presence – got the boot. He didn’t stand a chance when the main alliance, The Six, set their sights on him. As compared to his first season, Gary played a more subdued game. He wasn’t as loud as he once was, he wasn’t as strategic, and he wasn’t that big of a star. He played more of a floater game and enjoyed keeping himself in the background. It worked well to keep himself safe in the beginning, but he didn’t make any real defining relationships to protect himself. His only chance of safety would have been if Ika and Demetres turned against the alliance to keep Gary. They chose not to…and the rest is history.

Let’s take a closer look at this “What if?” move: What if Ika and Demetres turned against The Six and voted out Dre? Obviously Gary would still be around and set his sights on Neda, Kevin and Bruno. The outsiders would’ve gained more standing and the once powerful Six alliance would have faltered. Sure, I understand why they didn’t go with this move – it is still too early in the season to majorly rock the boat. However, the jury phase is coming up quickly and The Six is powerful. Ika and Demetres should’ve made the move and struck while the iron was hot. This could be the defining point they’ll look back on as the moment that cost them the win. It would be a shame if Neda, Bruno and Kevin easily walked to the finals.

Backwards Week was an interesting concept. Everything being in reverse shook up the house and made the game different for a week, which I loved. However, starting from the nomination phase, it was a clear detriment against those not in the majority alliance. Did the outsiders really have a chance? I don’t think so.  Unless they had banded together early on to select their targets, the nomination votes phased out any chance of players like Bruno or Sindy getting pushed to the block. I love when the game tries something new; we need to be open to innovation and seeing what works – that’s how we got the Power of Veto. It’s just a shame the game couldn’t have been in a different standing when this week rolled around.

Though, the bombshell of the Have/Have-Not competition was PERFECT! I usually find these challenges to be pointless in the grand scheme of the season. Seriously…has a Have/Have-Not competition affected someone’s game at all?! The benefit of having it this week caused A LOT of drama and tension for the houseguests. Not only did they pull a “Topaz” and secretly aired their reasons behind their votes, but they swapped the results and made those with the lowest votes the Have-Nots. William looked devastated! I felt so bad for him, but I loved seeing Gary’s vindication. His expression was a mixture of evil and absolute joy.

If I was in his similar situation, I would equally be as happy. These are the moments as fans we love to see. No pretension. No lies. No falseness. The drama and arguments caused by this twist was pure, genuine emotion. I loved every minute of it!

What is going on with Neda? She is riding a high horse. Her ego continues to grow by the day and it’s a shame because I am a fan of her. This may be due to her being in a different situation from Big Brother Canada 2. Whereas she was in the minority alliance and constantly fighting back then, now she’s leading the majority and has the infamy of her past strategic moves. It’s no wonder it’s all gone to her head. Though, I don’t think she’ll win the season this year. Once the immunity twist goes away, she’ll be one of the first few to be targeted come jury phase. The others would be stupid to keep her around. She is a big target.

Her attitude is also catching the attention of the other veterans. Out of everyone in the house, I think Ika will be the first one who will try to strike against Neda. There is some billowing tension between these two. It’s only a matter of time before someone tries something to get her out.

Karen, Jackie, Dre, William, Emily and Dillon are seriously lagging behind when it comes to making moves. (Is anyone else surprised I mentioned most of the newbies?) While Emily did show her potential in the second week of the season, the others have continued to float by. The newbies are starting to outnumber the veterans and if they want a chance to win, they need to set themselves apart and make some moves. The veterans are taking all of the attention and come finals, they have the bigger resume so far to secure them the win. I hope it won’t be this simply come Finale Night.

A double eviction is coming up next. I can’t wait to see who goes in the second eviction as this eviction is completely spontaneous and unexpected. We’ve seen great players, like Jeff from Big Brother U.S., get knocked out due to all the pressure of the hour-long week/eviction. Whoever is the unlucky person to go next, I hope it’s a shocking moment we don’t expect.