‘Big Brother 27’ weeks 10-11 review: Zing! Zap! Double Eviction!

The Mastermind’s “Month of Mayhem” has kicked the final few weeks of CBS’s Big Brother 27 into high gear. While not as thrilling as the first half of the season, Big Brother 27 has gradually recovered from its self-inflicted damage. The shadow of The White Locust twist and Rachel’s unfair elimination still hung over the early hours of Week 10. But thankfully, the second half of Week 10 and the entirety of Week 11 delivered enticing drama and gameplay. The houseguests finally stepped into their own to play their games – some to their benefit, and others to their detriment.

A moustached menace.

An overarching theme of Week 10 and Week 11 stemmed from Vince’s weak-willed and disloyal gameplay. In his pursuit of keeping Morgan as his “number one” ally, he’s wronged everyone else who saw any trust in him. Kelley, Lauren, and Keanu were all evicted, feeling the bitter sting of Vince’s betrayal, his word that meant less than air. And to make each situation more egregious than the last, Vince would continually apologize and make them believe he didn’t mean to … before betraying them again.

You would think that Vince’s actions were planned, a premeditated strategy to fool the others. You would be wrong. In each ally path, Vince lost control and refused to own his gameplay. At least with Kelley, she’s been prepared time and time again to expect the worst; he’s continually nominated her despite having a Day 2 alliance. The nomination would’ve been fine on its own, but for Vince (as Head of Household) to evict her through a tie, that was the final nail in the coffin. It’s a terrible move for any player to backstab a Final 2 alliance. Like, why still keep her in the game this long?! She’s going to be a jury vote!

Even Keanu’s eviction, while not unexpected, added fuel to the fire. Keanu believed in his heart of hearts that Vince was a trusted ally – his unshakeable Final 2. So, why take the position to evict Keanu at Final 5? He was never coming after Vince! If his only reasoning was to secure a win, a better move would’ve been to lull him into a false sense of safety and then have someone else do the betrayal. In its current form, it stings more when it feels out of the blue.

Putting the ‘blindside’ in ‘BFF’.

On the other hand, the most truly baffling move occurred during Week 10 of Big Brother 27. Seriously, in what world was Vince nominating Lauren a good idea?! Lauren has shown time and time again that she’s prioritized him as an unshakeable ally – she wants him as her Final 2. And yet, Vince crumbled under the stronger emotional guilt and manipulation by Morgan to get Lauren on the block. It’s an amazing move for Morgan, and a devastating mark against Vince. There’s no way he’ll get Lauren’s jury vote, let alone Kelley’s either.

Based on Big Brother 27’s worst moves, Zach not using his secret power still stands at the top, followed by Mickey nominating Jimmy. However, Vince blindsiding Lauren comes in at third. It’s a shame that she got evicted during the Double Eviction; we missed out on the potential crash out of her telling Vince off. Winning the BB Blockbuster again could’ve been the start of Vince’s game unraveling, but that moment came to be in the cards elsewhere.

If Week 10 confirmed anything, it’s that this is Morgan’s game to lose. Her competition resume is now stacked, thanks to her recent HOH and Power of Veto (POV) wins. But it’s the perceived control that will claim her the crown. Everyone believes that Morgan controlled all of Vince’s HOHs, even back to the first week with Zae’s eviction. Arguably, that assessment is right – she maneuvered and tipped him down her path. Vince is culpable for every bad and destructive decision he made; we can also acknowledge that it has benefited Morgan more than anyone. This is a strong reputation to build; this is how you can win Big Brother! Claiming a move like getting your ally (Vince) to betray their closest ally (Lauren) is a chef’s kiss moment.

The sting of Zingbot’s zing.

During Week 11, the biggest storyline focused on whether the house could get Vince and Morgan broken up. “Broken up” as in being allies in the game, not romantically. Though based on Zingbot’s roasting and the new edits by Big Brother’s production, everyone is aware of how uncomfortably close the pair are. Between the long hugs and nightly cuddles, this is emotional cheating. Zingbot’s zing on Morgan was positively savage! Sometimes Zingbot goes for the jugular – those moments are treasured by Big Brother fans because there’s no hiding from the truth.

My only critique, however, is that Vince should’ve gotten the savage relationship-based zing, not Morgan. He is the one in the romantic relationship who is crossing the boundaries and not respecting his partner. Morgan is justifying her closeness, but he should be blamed more than her. Think back to Big Brother 16 when Zingbot zinged Christine for being cuddly with Cody; she was in a marriage outside the house, not him. Big Brother has had its fair share of “cheatmances,” like Austin/Liz of Big Brother 17 and Daniele/Nick of Big Brother 8. The fervor should be more on the cheater, not only the single person.

But from a game standpoint, Ashley/Ava/Keanu would’ve only had a shot had they won a POV. Morgan and Vince kept winning back-to-back challenges – they’re on an unstoppable roll. Winning a POV competition could’ve flipped the game since they would’ve had the power to get the pair on the block. Regardless of Keanu striking a deal with Ashley & Ava, their fates lie in the hands of what they do in challenges now. Unfortunately, Ashley & Ava don’t have the strongest track record with physical games. Let this be a learning lesson for future players: don’t leave physical threats too far into the game. If you have a chance to evict them on Eviction Night, then evict them!

Double the trouble, double the disaster.

Week 10 was a Double Eviction week, which saw both Kelley and Lauren sent packing. Frankly, Kelley was never going to win Big Brother 27. Even though she won challenges, she intentionally made bad moves that ruined any goodwill. Asking to be nominated, spilling secrets from people trying to work with her, and intentionally annoying houseguests were just some grievances. Kelley made it this far mostly because she won safety competitions, like the BB Blockbuster. She started making alliances, but there was too much built against her. Kelley had no idea of how to play Big Brother, nor did she want to at times.

Lauren’s downfall, on the other hand, came from betrayals and passivity. Does anyone else remember when fans claimed she was a frontrunner to win? Before her first HOH, she played under the radar and had a good shot to win. Unfortunately, since foolishly getting Adrian evicted, she’s suffered one bad move after another. From all her allies getting evicted (Rylie, Katherine, Zach, Kelley, etc.) to Vince betraying her, she could never get a strong footing back. Lauren lost every leverage she had; she went from a solid position to being on the outs.

But the biggest issue came from her passive gameplay style. Lauren would never push and fight to make the changes she needed – she would let others direct. For instance, if she knew that Morgan was jealous and wanted her out, why didn’t she try to repair that relationship? Or form a Final 3 with her, Vince, and Morgan? Sometimes it was a case of not making it happen, but most times, it came from her not wanting to try. She purposely didn’t play the game, instead waiting for the game to play around her. It’s a shame because Lauren is a Big Brother superfan. However, her performance goes to show that not all superfans know how to play Big Brother.

The dwindling numbers.

For Week 11’s evictions, we were treated to shortened rounds of gameplay to speed up the game. As mentioned above, no amount of extra time could’ve saved Keanu. By Week 11, he was one of the biggest physical threats, and yet also an underdog. Despite his terrible strategic reads and combative gameplay style, he had a strong argument for winning Big Brother 27. Had he won the right competition or listened to Rachel’s and Will’s advice earlier, his entire game could’ve changed for the better. Keanu is another case of someone winning their way to the top. In any other season, one loss would’ve sent him out pre-jury.

Ava’s eviction, on the other hand, stemmed from her passivity overtaking her social game. From a personality standpoint, she had some of the best personal relationships. Everyone, including people she fought or roasted, liked her. The problem was that she took too long to utilize her social game as a strategic one. Let’s face it: Ava was playing to win the title of America’s Favorite Player (AFP), not Big Brother. She provided reactions, commentary, and offered needed votes on Eviction Night. However, she was never in any strong alliances or plans that shook up the house.

Ava created great TV, but it was never going to be a strong enough game to convince a jury. If she had kept the momentum after winning her first HOH (e.g., evicting Zach), that could’ve been the fuel to set her up in the second half. It makes no sense why she wasn’t included in the Judges’ alliance. She was good with all of them, but they didn’t see her as a strong enough player to strategize with.

Overall.

Week 10 and Week 11 of Big Brother 27 righted the wrongs of the Mastermind’s earlier twists. In a post-Rachel world, the houseguests stepped up to maneuver the jury phase, playing the game with both good and bad moves. The twists, like the Double Eviction and the Mastermind’s shortened eviction, suited Big Brother’s style, keeping up with the momentum of the season. While a few moves left us baffled, the penultimate rounds have reignited some excitement ahead of Finale Night.

Big Brother 27 airs new episodes on Sundays, Wednesdays & Thursdays on CBS.