It’s almost time to board up the “Big Brother” house for another year, but not before some confetti rains down at its front doors.
The CBS reality competition is winding down its 28th season, with the 90-minute finale set for Thursday at 8/7c. It’s been a long (and historic!) summer of backstabbing, vote-flipping, and traveling through time at the dining room table (yep, that’s a normal thing to say here), but only three players — Rick Devens, Taylor Brown, and Drew Campbell — now remain in the running to collect the $750,000 grand prize.
But which of the Final Three will actually stand in that confetti shower when all is said and done? And more importantly, who should? Before “BB28” officially comes to a close, let’s look at the cases for Devens, Taylor, or Drew to win before you lock in your finale predictions.
The newbies
Let’s start with the trickiest of the bunch, and that’s Drew. Yep, the kid’s still here, and “Big Brother” fans appear to have little middle ground with him; you either love him, or you really, really don’t. And that’s sorta fair! Playing both sides of the house is a much-maligned strategy, and for many of us at home, it’s been frustrating to watch him evict his own underdog pals and run information back to the reality TV icons all summer — especially when those same icons have nominated him for eviction at every possible opportunity.
But even if you’ve found Drew’s gameplay slimy and joined Dee in calling him a little weasel, you have to admit: Whatever he’s been doing has worked for him, and I’d argue he hasn’t been playing both sides nearly as much as some might suspect. Rather, his loyalty has really lied with the icons all season; he formed friendships and faux-alliances with Melody, Barrett, and Mallory, but his moves in the game never once benefited that trio. And when the walls have started to close in on Drew strategically, he’s emerged triumphant from every single must-win competition, including two Blockbusters and three of the last four Power of Vetos. If Drew is sitting in the Final Two next to Devens — more on him in a second — there seems to be jury-wide skepticism that Drew could ever pull off the win, but his argument for that prize money is stronger than they might think.
Taylor is also a curious case, and her potential win will depend on how much the jury appreciates a quiet game. As Taylor said herself in Sunday’s retrospective episode, her strategy was to look unthreatening throughout the season, ensuring that whomever sat next to Taylor on eviction nights would likely go home instead of her.
To Taylor’s credit, that did happen, over and over and over again; she’s been at risk of eviction no fewer than five times, and every time, she’s stuck around. She’s also pulled out crucial competition wins when they’ve mattered most, including the Final Four Head of Household, and her social game has been admirable. But the question remains: Is playing the wallflower — even on purpose — enough to win it all?
The icon
Lastly, let’s go back to Devens — always the “Survivor” bridesmaid, but perhaps the “Big Brother” bride. Now that he’s officially outwitted, outlasted, and outplayed fellow “Survivor” alum Dee Valladares, Devens looks poised to win a CBS reality show at last… but he needs to get to the Final Two first, and that’s not inevitable.
If Drew wins the final Head of Household competition, it is highly probable he’ll take Devens to the end with him in a move straight outta the Cody Calafiore playbook; in that scenario, Devens likely wins, even though Drew has a solid résumé of his own. If Taylor wins HOH, though? It’s almost certainly curtains for Devens, whom Taylor has already said she would evict in order to get a big move under her belt for the pivotal jury Q&A. Taylor’s got some newfound confidence after winning the penultimate Head of Household, and if she finds herself on a competitive hot streak in this HOH three-parter, Devens could fall short of the win once again.
Of course, if Devens does reach the Final Two — through his own HOH win, or Drew’s — he’s got an iron-clad argument to present to the jury: He was a season-long threat who didn’t even hit the block until Week 9, instead using his charismatic social game and many sub-alliances as means of protection; he created a bond so durable with Drew that his in-house “son” never betrayed him, even when he really should have; and when Devens needed a competition win to get out of a scrape, he got it, every time. Jeff Probst would be proud. (Actually, we know he is!)
Now it’s your turn. Who do you think will win “Big Brother” Season 28 — and who should? Cast your votes in our polls below, then hit the comments to back up your choices!
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