‘Big Brother 27’ season finale review: A victory won in court

We have a winner! CBS’s Big Brother 27 finished a thrilling, yet sometimes messy, season with an amazing winner that caught us all by surprise. And what a surprise it was! The social and strategic game won over a game played through competition wins and emotional manipulation. This outcome may be one reevaluated (for the better) by casual Big Brother fans in the future, but for now, it’s a satisfying victory. Though to achieve that good finish, the season finale had its challenges too.

Flying high to victory.

One thing that has stayed true throughout Big Brother’s 25-year run is that the final Head of Household (HOH) competition is run in three parts. From a gameplay and TV show production standpoint, it makes sense. A physical competition, followed by a knowledge game that’s mixed with physical, and then a quiz about the jury members. Why mess with success? The structure of determining the final HOH keeps things flowing. If we had to make a change, part 1 of the final HOH competition could’ve aired in the penultimate episode instead. So much happens in the season finale that the extra 5 minutes would’ve been a blessing to air footage elsewhere.

Part 1 of the final HOH challenge looked physically taxing. The houseguests hanging from flying drones wasn’t too difficult; all you had to do was keep your balance in place. But the constant spinning in circles sealed its fate as a tough game! Honestly, who could’ve lasted longer than a few hours doing that? The constant motion sickness would’ve been tough for anyone, and it would be hard for most physical bodies.

Morgan did a great job holding out and winning the first part. Based on her resume of winning physical challenges, she was the odds-on favorite to take this victory. Ashley hadn’t won a challenge since Week 1, but Vince’s impressive HOH streak made him the next potential obvious. If Morgan had slipped or thrown in the towel, we could’ve seen a world where Vince was heading into the final part of the HOH competition.

Emotions topple everything over.

An emerging theme of Big Brother 27’s season finale was the impending crash-out and self-sabotage of Vince and Morgan. Coming into the finale, most of the fanbase would’ve said this finale was theirs to lose. Ashley was the clear underdog who needed to win a challenge, cut Vince, and plead her case, but losing the final HOH would’ve been the nail in the coffin. So, for Vince to completely implode in part 2 was so shocking!

Did anyone pick up on the clever wordplay twist of the game? I loved how the challenge theme continued the super-spy motif and the Mastermind’s story. If a houseguest kept a cool head and knocked down the towers/solved the puzzle in time, this could’ve been an easy victory. However, Vince made a fatal error that many past houseguests (and reality TV players) fell into: carefully read and reread the rules.

None of his answers were correct, so clearly, something wasn’t working. If he had composed himself and read the envelope again, he could’ve deduced that he needed to put the order instead of the days. That moment of self-awareness was what saved Ashley’s game and changed the entire trajectory of the finale. And if there was ever a moment that summed up Vince’s emotionally-led gameplay, it was his implosion from not getting the answer. Even the challenge host Frankie Grande (Big Brother 16) looked so uncomfortably worried. It was great TV as a viewer, but as a fan and gameplayer, it was worrying for his mindset.

A fallen frontrunner.

Continuing with the self-sabotage, that’s what did Morgan’s game in during part 3 of the final HOH. You could see the doubt creep on her face whenever host Julie Chen-Moonves read one of the questions. She knew the answers! But the reality was that she second-guessed herself and then switched them to the wrong ones. You must always trust your gut; stick to your first answer unless you know it’s wrong. Morgan proved herself to be the frontrunner of Big Brother 27 heading into the finale, but she crumbled under the pressure. We rarely ever see a loss like this, especially from a top-tier competitor in the finale.

Ashley made the right call to evict Morgan, sending her into 3^rd place. Arguably, Morgan would’ve won Big Brother 27 had she been in the final two chairs. Do I think it would’ve been a clean sweep? Absolutely not. Ashley still had strong allies on the jury, and her social & strategic game impressed jury members. However, without the final challenge won, Morgan’s case would’ve been too hard for anyone to resist. The likes of Kelley, Lauren, and Keanu (and maybe Ava) could’ve tipped their votes in Morgan’s direction to recognize the best overall game. If I had to guess, Morgan will come back in a future season to seek her redemption.

The Mastermind’s reveal.

Before we get into the final win, let’s discuss the rest of the finale. I always love the final jury roundtable; we get a great discussion with the jury members, and they have a deep conversation about gameplay. Big Brother 22 winner Cody did a good job as the roundtable host – he didn’t interfere or steer anyone down a specific path; he was just there keeping things moving. While this roundtable wasn’t the spiciest compared to past seasons, it felt the cleanest for a healthy discussion. For once, all the jury members were on the same page about the good and bad about the finalists.

Though with just the few scenes we did get of the jury members, it still baffles me that Big Brother, as a franchise, doesn’t have a proper reunion. Seriously, 25 years later, and the show still can’t find the extra time to discuss the season?! We only had about 5-10 minutes of jury and pre-jury members breaking down some key moments. And while discussing Vince’s messy Final 2 deals or Mickey/Morgan betraying Jimmy or Amy being revealed as the accomplice were fun, I wish there was more to it. We missed out on lots of drama and reveals by not having the houseguests air out the dirty laundry.

Part of it could also be the wasted time on the big Mastermind reveal. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the murder-mystery/spy theme of Big Brother 27, and the inclusion of the Mastermind. However, with the finale being only a set time, all minutes matter. The twist of Dr. Will (Big Brother 2) being framed as the Mastermind, with past houseguests screwed over by twists (Eric of Big Brother 8, Jesse of Big Brother 10 / Big Brother 11) and Frankie as the true culprits, added a nice cheeky twist. But that reveal would’ve had more of an impact had the Mastermind’s identity mattered to the season. Big Brother 27 didn’t integrate the Mastermind like a villain on The Traitors; it felt more cosmetic than essential.

Case closed.

We can all agree that Ashley destroyed Vince in the final jury questioning and speeches, right? Besides Vince’s final jury plea, it didn’t even come close. Her line of “Made enemies into allies, not allies into enemies” is the type of plea that defines a strong legacy. She used her skills as a lawyer to craft her responses to deliver the biggest hits – she knew how to unravel and destroy her target. Vince, on the other hand, didn’t own his game confidently. By the time he tried, he contradicted himself and backtracked, making himself look even messier. Like, even Kelley couldn’t stop laughing!

And messy is exactly what defined Vince’s game as the 2^nd place finisher. He got the most blood on his hands during Big Brother 27, but his path to get there was too chaotic. He betrayed allies constantly, and then emotionally manipulated them into making himself the victim, the one without power. If Vince owned his behavior in the jury questioning and made the betrayals more purposeful, he could’ve snagged a few extra votes. Jury management is essential to win Big Brother, let alone most reality TV shows! Vince may have won a lot of competitions and had allies, but he continually ruined those relationships to the bitter end.

Meanwhile, Ashley spent her summer focusing on her social and strategic games. Sure, she didn’t win many competitions, but she won them when they mattered to her Big Brother life. Plus, she effectively communicated her strategy to the jury in a way that made all her actions look very impressive. Whereas Morgan and Vince were too wrapped up in their duo ship, Ashley spent her time building and strengthening her relationships with everyone else. Morgan and Vince held the most challenge wins, but Ashley found ways to build alliances and talk herself off the block. Ashley was the strongest social houseguest of Big Brother 27, and her strategic acumen shouldn’t be ignored. The Judges alliance wouldn’t have happened without her, and her survival during Will’s eviction was no easy feat. Ashley put in the work to win Big Brother 27 – she made and won her case.

Overall.

The finale of Big Brother 27 had a stunning photo finish reveal that left us pleasantly surprised. A strong challenge and jury questioning phase kept us on the edge of our seats, including moments mixed in with tension and humor. A few shocking blunders by the finalists changed the entire path of the finale, leaving us positively unsure of where things could go. However, the same pacing and structure issues plagued the finale, ending the Mastermind’s story on a cheeky yet unnecessary finish. The Big Brother 27 finale was a roller coaster of emotions.

Big Brother 27 is available to be streamed on Paramount+.