SPOILER WARNING: With Angela evicted Thursday night, the Big Brother 28 house has been completely reshaped. An Icon finally went to jury, a split vote exposed just how fractured the Newbies have become, emotions boiled over after the eviction and, after an incredibly long wait, a new HOH took power. If you are avoiding episode or live feed spoilers, this is your warning because we are talking about everything.
Devens entered Thursday as one of three nominees alongside Dee and Angela, but once again he delivered when his game depended on it. Devens won the BB Blockbuster, guaranteeing himself safety and leaving Dee and Angela as the final nominees. Then came the vote, and it was much closer than the Newbies versus Icons storyline might have suggested.
Drew and Melody voted to evict Dee, while Yash, Taylor and Devens voted to evict Angela. By a 3-2 vote, Angela became the second member of the jury, and with Angela evicted, suddenly Barrett’s big HOH looked very different than it did when the week started.
Angela evicted, but did Barrett get the result he wanted?
First, credit where it is due. Barrett finally won power, took the shot he had been talking about and put all three remaining Icons on the block. That was bold. It guaranteed that somebody from the group would leave, and after weeks of the Icons controlling so much of the game, Barrett deserves credit for finally forcing a breakup. But once the dust settled Thursday night and Angela was evicted, it is difficult not to wonder whether Barrett really thought through what he wanted his HOH to accomplish.
Devens survived by winning when he needed to. Dee survived the vote. Angela went to jury. Of those three, Angela was the player who presented the smallest competition threat going forward. She had won one BB Blockbuster, but no HOH and no Veto. Even analysis before the eviction pointed out that losing Angela was a far less favorable result for Barrett than getting Dee or Devens out.
So yes, Barrett technically succeeded. An Icon left. But strategically? We are not nearly as impressed. He spent enormous political capital, damaged relationships and put a giant spotlight on himself, only for the house to decide which Icon would actually leave. Dee and Devens, arguably the two more dangerous players of the three, are still sitting there. That is a pretty expensive HOH.
Angela sent to jury as the Newbies may eliminate the wrong threat
This is also where our frustration with the Newbies, and honestly with a lot of the strategy this season, comes in. We keep waiting for somebody to think two or three moves ahead instead of simply celebrating whatever victory happens to be sitting in front of them. With Angela evicted, that question becomes even harder to ignore.
Sometimes the correct Big Brother move is not getting rid of the easiest available person. Sometimes you keep a weaker competitor because that person can actually improve your path to the end.
For a flashback to what strong endgame strategy can look like, go back to Big Brother 16 and Derrick Levasseur, who we still consider one of the greatest players ever to win this game. Derrick understood that Victoria was not somebody he needed to eliminate simply because she was still there. Anyone who watched that season knows why: Victoria rarely presented the kind of competition threat that made keeping her around dangerous.
Derrick and Cody eventually reached the Final 3 with Victoria. Keeping her there gave both men an excellent opportunity to reach the Final 2, and Cody ultimately won the final HOH and chose Derrick, who went on to win the season. That is threat management.
Derrick lied, manipulated and controlled his season without needing to humiliate people along the way, something we talked about yesterday. More importantly for this week, he understood that not every player still standing represented the same level of danger. Compare that with Barrett having Angela, Dee and Devens vulnerable and somehow ending the week with Angela sitting in jury. We just do not love it.
After Angela is evicted, Devens stays loyal without knowing the whole story
There is another fascinating part of Thursday’s vote, and we have to give Devens some credit. When the decision came down to Dee or Angela, Devens voted to keep Dee.
What makes that even more interesting is that, as far as Devens knows, his relationship with Dee is considerably more solid than it has actually been. He has no idea about every conversation in which Dee has entertained turning on him, distancing herself from him or helping move the target toward him. Devens was not voting Thursday thinking, “She tried to backstab me, but I am keeping her anyway.” He appears to believe the loyalty runs much deeper both ways.
Come on, somebody wake Devens up.
There is something admirable about the loyalty he continues to show. The problem is that loyalty becomes dangerous when you are giving it to somebody who may not value the relationship the same way. And once again, this is where Dee’s game starts feeling sloppy to us. Flexibility is essential in Big Brother. You should absolutely change direction when circumstances require it. But there is a difference between adapting strategically and making so many contradictory moves that the people closest to you have no idea you have repeatedly considered cutting them.
Devens just helped keep Dee in the house. The question is whether she remembers that the next time his name becomes convenient.
Dee survives after Angela is evicted and immediately reminds Barrett
Dee had an emotional reaction after Angela left. According to the immediate feed updates, she paced through the house crying and even joked that Angela would laugh at her for crying. Then the gamer came back out.
Only minutes later, Dee was essentially pointing out how embarrassing the result should be for Barrett. He wanted her gone, yet there she was, still in the house. Ouch. She is not wrong about that part.
Barrett took a huge shot. Dee survived it. Devens survived it. And now both of them have every reason to remember who put them in danger. Angela evicted was technically the outcome of Barrett’s HOH, but it may not have been the result that helps him the most moving forward.
Melody, please grow up a little
Then we have Melody, and our relationship with Melody as viewers continues to be complicated. Credit where it is due: Melody has made it very deep into this game without relying on competition wins. That means her social game has worked. Staying alive in Big Brother matters regardless of how you do it, and there is absolutely skill involved in maintaining enough relationships that nobody takes the shot. But lately the emotional swings have been exhausting.
After Thursday’s vote and with Angela sent to jury, Melody went off by herself and vented about the game, complained about Yash, talked things through with Barrett and described her relationship with Drew as something of a hate/love situation. And this is not the first time Drew has become part of an emotional meltdown.
Earlier in the season, after Barrett decided to reveal that he and Drew had been playing along with the Icons and keeping information from Melody, she became furious with Drew for lying to her. She rejected his attempt to hug her and later backed away when he tried again.
We understand feeling betrayed. But Melody, you signed up for Big Brother. Somebody you trusted lied to you about their game. Welcome to Thursday.
You can be hurt. You can reconsider whether you trust Drew. You can absolutely target him if you believe he betrayed you. But discovering that another player had relationships you did not know about cannot become a full emotional crisis every time it happens, especially when your own success has largely come through social positioning rather than winning power yourself. Maybe win some power first.
Barrett created some of this mess himself
And we cannot discuss that Melody and Drew situation without looking at Barrett too. Why did he tell her? Seriously. What was the strategic payoff in exposing Drew’s game to Melody and creating another trust problem inside a group Barrett himself needed?
Barrett revealed information about one of his closest allies, damaged Drew’s relationship with Melody and then later won HOH and blew apart even more relationships by taking his shot at the Icons. At some point, Barrett has to ask what he expects his endgame coalition to look like when he keeps exposing or weakening relationships around him.
Winning HOH is one thing. Having people who still want to protect you when the HOH key leaves your hands is another. And now, with Angela evicted and Barrett unable to compete for the next HOH, he may find out very quickly how much some of his behavior comes back to haunt him.
Big Brother 28 eviction exposes the real divide
Thursday’s 3-2 vote that saw Angela evicted may ultimately matter almost as much as Angela leaving. Drew and Melody voted together, while Yash, Taylor and Devens voted together. That is not a united Newbie group anymore.
Yash and Taylor even indicated afterward that they owed Barrett an explanation, while Drew was already wondering whether he or Barrett could be the next person heading to jury. The cracks we have been talking about are no longer theoretical. Everybody can see them now.
And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Nearly four hours later, the new Head of Household finally emerged.
Yash wins HOH after Angela is evicted
Yash is the new HOH. Oh, Yash. You are one lucky man.
That does not take anything away from winning the competition. Yash earned the power, and with his Veto performance followed by this HOH, he is building quite a competition résumé. But there is one enormous wrinkle that makes this HOH unlike almost any other one he could have won.
Remember the BB Bribe? It is still binding.
The deal prevents Yash from nominating or renominating the remaining protected Icons during his first HOH. Earlier feed coverage documented Dee publicly explaining that the agreement protected all three Icons, not merely herself. With Angela now gone, that protection applies to Dee and Devens this week.
That leaves Yash with only four available people to nominate: Barrett, Drew, Melody and Taylor. And because this season requires three initial nominees, Yash does not exactly have a giant menu.
Barrett, Drew and Melody suddenly look very exposed
Unless Yash decides to nominate Taylor, who has been one of his closest allies, the obvious three nominees are Barrett, Drew and Melody. That is incredible when you think about where this house was only a few days ago.
The Newbies spent weeks talking about breaking up the Icons. Barrett finally accomplished it with Angela evicted. Now the very next HOH is held by a Newbie who is contractually prevented from nominating either remaining Icon. You cannot write this stuff.
And it could become even more interesting after the Veto. If Barrett, Drew or Melody comes down and Taylor is the only remaining legal Newbie available as a replacement nominee, Yash could find himself forced into an extremely uncomfortable decision because the bribe restriction also applies to renominations. Feed coverage of the deal specifically described the protection as forcing Yash to choose among Barrett, Drew, Melody and Taylor.
Suddenly that $5,000 deal matters a whole lot more than it did when he accepted it.
Drew should not feel comfortable at all
If we are Drew, we are absolutely not going to sleep comfortably tonight. Yash has repeatedly been frustrated with Drew for playing the middle, maintaining relationships with the Icons and trying to have it both ways. Fair criticism. Drew absolutely has played the middle.
But there is also something hilariously ironic about Yash being angry with Drew for working with the Icons while Yash just voted alongside Devens to save Dee, has been talking game with the remaining Icons and now holds an HOH where Dee and Devens cannot even touch the block because of a deal he willingly accepted from them.
Oh, Big Brother. Apparently working with the Icons is a problem until working with the Icons becomes useful.
And to be clear, Yash should work with them if that is best for his game. We are not criticizing him for doing it. That would be ridiculous. If Dee and Devens can help Yash get closer to $750,000, use them. We just hope he remembers that the next time he gets angry with Drew for essentially doing the same thing.
Angela evicted as Barrett’s behavior may come back to haunt him
And then there is Barrett. This is exactly why we said yesterday that nobody should start measuring the confetti too early.
Barrett just spent a week in power. He exposed relationships, burned trust, targeted all three Icons and carried himself at times like he could already see the road toward finale night. Now his HOH is over, Angela is evicted, Dee is still there, Devens is still there and Yash just became HOH.
And because of the BB Bribe, the two surviving Icons cannot even be nominated. Barrett could go from running the house to sitting on the block in a matter of days.
That does not mean his original nominations were wrong. Putting all three Icons up guaranteed that one would leave, and taking that shot deserves credit. But everything surrounding the move matters too.
Barrett may have spent far more political capital than necessary to accomplish the least valuable version of his goal. Now some of the people he irritated while he had power are still in the house, and he no longer has the HOH room protecting him.
Sometimes Big Brother karma takes a few weeks. Sometimes it apparently needs about four hours.
Yash has the power after Angela is sent to jury
For now, Yash holds the power, and on paper his choices seem straightforward. Dee and Devens are protected. Taylor appears to be his closest ally. That leaves Barrett, Drew and Melody staring directly at those nomination chairs.
But this is Big Brother, and nothing stays straightforward for long. The Veto could force Yash into an uncomfortable renomination. Relationships could shift again. Drew could talk his way out of danger. Barrett could repair some of the damage from his HOH. Melody could finally win the power she has managed to survive without for so long. Or Yash could simply take the shot sitting right in front of him.
What we do know is that with Angela evicted, the old Newbies versus Icons storyline appears to be dying quickly. The house is splitting into smaller groups, old loyalties are becoming increasingly conditional and people who spent weeks worrying about one alliance are suddenly working with pieces of it themselves.
Now we are having fun. Because if Barrett, Drew and Melody really do hit the block together, the Newbies will have officially gone from celebrating the breakup of the Icons to targeting each other in less than 24 hours.
Welcome back to Big Brother.
Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS, with episodes also available to stream on Paramount+.
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