HOLLYWOOD—It has come to an end “Big Brother” fans. The end of “Big Brother 26” is upon us as a winner was crowned on Sunday night as a new player has entered the ranks. This is easiest one of the best seasons of BB in years because the AI Arena delivered a curveball and a new approach to gameplay that has not been seen in a very long time: unpredictability.
Yes. I love the new players, but I absolutely, and I mean absolutely am ready to see another crop of returning players to come back and play again to shake things up. With that said, Rubina was evicted by Makensy at the Final 4, setting up our final 3 of Cam, Chelsie and Makensy. Makensy should have tossed Cam because I think Rubina was likely to take her and she had a better chance of victory against Rubina. Makensy could have taken out actual threats to her game on several occasions because she has held so much power in the later half of the game.
Part 1 of the 3-part HOH was endurance as always and Makensy was seriously struggling after only about 20 plus minutes. Wow, Cam was planning to cut Chelsie to impress the jury! Talk about endurance, this competition only lasted a little over 30 minutes, with Makensy falling first, followed by Cam giving Chelsie the victory. So Makensy and Cam are now going to battle in Part 2, and the pacing on the episode is moving quite fast. We quickly left Part 1 and went right into Part 2. This competition was quite elaborate with a Raven delivering the instructions on the competition. Yeah, this was a puzzle, not a hybrid of days/events in the game and physicality like in previous years.
Makensy had an early lead in the competition, over Cam who struggled on the puzzle. Yeah, Chelsie you might want Cam NOT winning this competition because if he battles you in Part 3 and he wins, you in danger girl. Just like that, Makensy took Cam out before he could even complete the first puzzle. So with Part 3 being questions Chelsie could have an edge, but don’t count Makensy out.
Yes, it’s Makensy vs. Chelsie, the two ladies are going to fight it out. Chelsie realized her head is saying take Cam, while her heart is saying take Makensy because she feels she deserves it. I couldn’t really argue with that assertion because Makensy has fought her way to the end of the game. It is time for the Jury Roundtable, which is no longer being hosted by Dr. Will Kirby. For BB26, BB24 winner Taylor Hale is hosting. Look, I love Taylor, but I would be lying if I didn’t say, I would have LOVED to see Dan Gheesling or Danielle Reyes hosting. Danielle is the reason we have the jury, and Dan won in a landslide and lost in a landslide. Who better knows how the jury works than these two?
With that said, Rubina joined the jury and Kimo and T’Kor were shocked, but not really, and now the discussions kicked off. The jury was excited to see Taylor as the host of the Jury Roundtable. Rubina’s arrival was fun. Chat started with Makensy and her competition wins. Angela really is an advocate for Makensy, as was Leah, but Quinn didn’t like that Makensy voted out Leah over Chelsie or Cam during her first HOH win. Kimo pointed out that Makensy’s moves were a result of Chelsie’s influence.
Rubina gave kudos to Chelsie and her game as well, Quinn pointed out Chelsie’s fantastic lies that wooed people and that she has to own it. Angela is not a fan of Chelsie at all. That is a vote that she may not get it, but I loved that Taylor called Angela out. That was excellent, and the bitterness is important! T’Kor pointed out that social maneuvering is critical versus competition prowess. Chelsie’s jury management is questionable.
So now the conversation turns to Cam. His social game is a killer instinct. Quinn and T’Kor gave kudos to the guy, and Leah realized that his social play was amazing, but his ability to win competitions were not top tier. Rubina made the argument that Cam’s competition wins are not a sole victory of the game. Angela your head is a bit bigger than it should be. Kimo wants to know social moves made to crown a winner, but c’mon if that was the Jury Roundtable that was beyond lackluster for me. I remember these segments being more exciting and intriguing to watch.
Yeah, we haven’t even finished the first hour of this 2-hour finale and we are completing the Part 3 of the Final HOH between Chelsie and Makensy. We’re getting 6 questions from each member of the jury, which statement is false about their game. Wow, both ladies are guessing and I’m surprised Chelsie got that last answer incorrect. With that said, Makensy could actually make the game changing move and take Chelsie out and win this game. Like how Chelsie got that final question wrong and had it right in the beginning, that baffled me, literally baffled me.
Cam you better get into Makensy’s ear and sell her on the fact that if she takes you, it is an absolute slam dunk for her to win the actual game. Cutting Chelsie hands down is the move of the season, and while it would be a bummer to see it happen. Some of the greatest BB players of all time have never won the game. Chelsie has played terrifically, but it’s apparent neither of these ladies studied important facts about the jurors.
I must admit I am on the edge of my seat watching Cam and Chelsie plead their cases to Makensy. Cam what are you doing? You needed to convince Makensy to take out Chelsie and you give that weak, happy go lucky speech. I really thought with Makensy’s speech she was about to cut Chelsie, but nope, she cut Cam. Julie totally roasted Cam and the fact that he was humbled by his inability to win was hilarious, but I’m happy to see it. Julie you’re asking the right questions, but while Cam was chatting, he really never planned on cutting Chelsie if he won the Final HOH.
I was intrigued to see how the jury reacted to seeing Cam evicted from the game over Chelsie with Makensy’s victory. Kimo was right with his guess for Cam, but when the jury learned Makensy won the final HOH and evicted Cam, Quinn was shocked by the look on his face. The questions got underway with Angela posing her question to Chelsie that some felt she had plenty of lies and deception in the game. She admitted that she lied that at times that she keep things close to the vest when to withhold information too soon it would result in her being booted. Hmm, you should have owned it Chelsie. Not a great answer.
Quinn posed Makensy’s moves that benefited Chelsie and not her, Makensy not a great answer either. T’Kor pointed out Chelsea’s influence and the greatest moves were taking out Quinn and Leah from the game. Yeah, I don’t think Makensy was expecting to hear that. Leah’s question about Makensy’s social capital in the game, and she acknowledged that she stood by Chelsie when her game exploded and yeah, they both benefitted from it.
I loved Rubina’s question about a player positioning herself strategically, social and skillful. Yeah, it feels like Makensy knows she made a mistake. I loved Chelsie owning her game and putting it out there. Kimo posed a similar question to Makensy who did point out that her competition prowess was just as impressive as her social play in the game. Cam was allowed to answer a single question, who he gave to Chelsie about differing their game. Chelsie argued that her social game was impeccable.
This jury Q/A was ok, nothing blockbuster in my opinion. I don’t know about that showmance Chelsie, because Cam was not feeling you the same way that you think. The final 2 speeches from Chelsie and Makensy were not fantastic. Both ladies stumbled with the speeches and the jury felt a bit bored with both ladies as it felt they rambled a bit on both parts. If you get to the final 2 of BB, you better start preparing a speech if you’re in the Final 3.
Kimo had the best speech when he cast his vote, as did Rubina. I guess BB is forcing people to say a certain phrase when they vote. Voting is over and now the pre-jury returns to make their voices hear and it feels like a LOT of people were excited to hear from them. I think Tucker as America’s Favorite Player in the bag. We got to see the pre-jury and they look better dressed than the actual jury members. It was nice to see Joseph get a bit of love after being hit hard by Hurricane Milton and Helene. Julie called out Tucker on him thinking Cedric blindsided him, but that was not the case. I was surprised to see Lisa giving kudos to Chelsie for her Diary Room antics compared to who she was in the actual house.
That was a sweet moment between Rubina and Tucker as it was official the two planned to give it a run, and Makensy was tasked with a question about where her relationship with Matt stands. This is so cringey to watch. It was funny witnessing Matt called out one of the most iconic moments of the season between him and Angela, and the awkwardness between those two was way too much for me. Like I had to change the channel. This might have been the most cringiest ‘reunion’ segment.
Are we seriously returning to Angela’s frustration with her meats and cheeses being eaten by Brooklyn? It was a hilarious moment, but jeez, it was not as funny as they actually thought it was. Julie admitted that there was a big secret and revealed that Tucker was the AI Instigator. That was not stunning, just look at the BB Comics because it was obvious, and Julie spilled that Tucker earned money as well.
Julie announced that Joe Biden is no longer running for President of the United States, and that Kamala Harris is running against Donald Trump. Yes, it shocked the jury of 7 and the final 2. Julie did not spill all. Tucker was doing a bit much for me. Time for the votes to be read, and no surprise it was Chelsie who was victorious over Makensy with a vote of 7-0. Clean sweep, I think if Makensy had evicted Chelsie, she would have easily claimed the victory.
Top 3 America’s Favorite Player was Angela, Tucker and Quinn. I was happy to see Quinn and Angela cracked that top 3 which not many always get that shot. Julie did want to announce a non-finalist or pre-jury winning that top prize. What? We’re not getting “Reindeer Games” for a season 2? We saw the return of Jankie who revealed another sing-a-long. What a sucky end to an amazing season. A second season of “Reindeer Games” would have bene quite fantastic or even a Celebrity edition. Not this time around, looks like summer 2025 is when BB27 hits our TV screens. With the reality competition celebrating 25 years, could we see some returning players or a legends season? One can hope.
