Big Brother Australia 2020 – “I Wanna Destroy Those Boys”

As finale week approaches, Big Brother had one last twist in store to really shake up how the final few evictions would pan out.

Big Brother’s white room is back, but this time, housemates aren’t going into the house – it’s a limbo before going out where one evictee returns and another walks away with some cool hard cash. It’s safe to say the events of this week shaped who emerged in the final five for the final week, making these episodes some of the most crucial yet.

WEEK 6 RECAP

EPISODE SIXTEEN:

On Day 34, the housemates wake to both Daniel’s snoring and Kieran’s celebrations for surviving his sixth eviction of the season. And while Mat and Daniel had previously been targeting the nominee pawn prior, they instead see Kieran as a potential ally to help evict the couple – Chad and Sophie.

For the episode’s task, housemates would be able to enter a special glass booth and try to grab either a blue or pink piece of confetti. If they manage to grab a pink piece, they would receive a reward, but if they claim a blue piece, they can inflict punishment on another housemate.

Sarah went first, and picked a blue piece of confetti, punishing someone to play the role of resident dishwasher, so she chooses Kiera, who isn’t entirely happy with the decision. Chad also grabbed a blue piece of confetti and was allowed to force one housemate to hand over their belongings to Big Brother for the day. Kieran, again, receives this punishment.

Daniel and Mat enjoyed Kieran’s dishwashing duty by ensuring the kitchen was a mess for Kieran to clean up. When Sophie went in the booth, she claimed a blue piece of confetti and banished Daniel to stand at the front door and not participate in the task. Finally, Sophie and Sarah won some KFC to enjoy in the diary room.

For the Nominations Challenge, housemates had to stand on a wobbly board and balance a ball on a platform at the same time. Kieran instead had to balance two balls instead of one as part of a punishment. The last person standing wins the challenge, as Chad manages to do so, beating out Daniel. Wanting to honour a deal with Mat and Dan, Chad targets Kieran and nominates him alongside Mat.

Despite some campaigning from Kieran and a unwillingness for the house to act and vote out one member from the bromance, Kieran is finally evicted in a unanimous 3-0 vote. However, Big Brother unleashes a twist as he stops Kieran in the hallway of the main entrance and transports him into the white room, a room where everything is completely white. Big Brother tells him to survive as long as he can in there, as there may be a way to get himself back in the game from the stay.

EPISODE SEVENTEEN:

At the start of the episode, Kieran discusses with Big Brother how the white room mechanic will play out and why there are two buttons standing in the centre of the room. Big Brother tells Kieran that if he cannot handle the white room anymore, he can press the button and leave the house immediately. Meanwhile, in the main house, the housemates wake up to find every single object in the living room, kitchen and dining room is missing, and even the water has drained out from the pool. Big Brother reveals he is not behind the missing items and asked every housemate to visit the diary room to state their opinion on what happened.

In the white room, Kieran jokingly asks for a glass of red wine and a steak, but Big Brother says that that wouldn’t be white. Kieran then asked, as a response, for a vanilla milkshake instead, saying that was white. Big Brother later tells Kieran to think of the white room as a halfway house, in which Kieran adds on by calling it a prison.

After conducting some interviews with Big Brother as to who stole the items, Daniel is called into the diary room where he is greeted by a bunch of the kitchen appliances and his missing fish. Big Brother says that he has to choose one of the two options, but not both. He regretfully declines his fish and accepts the appliances instead. When Sophie is called in, she receives a KFC reward for being the 1000th diary room entrant.

At the Nominations Challenge, each housemate must wear a brown harness vest and are all individually hooked to a heavy bag that is 70% of their total body weight. In each housemate’s lane are three boxes filled with a number of puzzle pieces and a small mount. Each housemate is given a ring of 30 keys, in which only three can open all the boxes. The aim of this challenge is to open all the puzzle piece boxes and assemble the puzzle pieces as quickly as possible. The first housemate to complete this will win the challenge – with Daniel claiming his second victory of the season. He immediately nominates Sarah and Sophie for eviction.

Sarah is annoyed at the nomination, especially because she was singled out as the only person without a partner in crime within the house. She also talks to Sophie about how close the vote may potentially be at the eviction. With Mat and Daniel still considering eliminating one member of the power couple, Sophie and Sarah receive one vote each at the eviction, forcing Daniel to break the tie. He decides to evict Sophie, who is also granted a second chance by Big Brother as she makes her way to the white room. When she walks in, she is surprised by Kieran who scares her from behind the door.

EPISODE EIGHTEEN:

With both Kieran and Sophie in the white room, and together, they discuss the white room and what may come from it in the coming days. Back in the house, Sophie’s in-house flame seeks revenge on the Mat and Daniel duo for evicting her from the house and leaving him without his primary ally. While Dan thinks Chad is okay with what happened and tells Big Brother he’s handling it well, Chad suggests otherwise and is angry the final four alliance was broken by the pair. With Sarah on his side, a new duo has formed to go after the nearly unbreakable bromance.

In the white room, Sophie is equally frustrated and hoping to enact revenge on the boys, truly out for blood if she happens to return. But perhaps the first enemy to her game is Kieran’s rambling and boring stories, sending us all to sleep. In the house, Daniel and Mat, now satisfied with breaking up the showmance, discuss bringing Chad to the final three and targeting Sarah next.

But at the Nominations Challenge, things are a little different, instead of an eviction, the winner will earn some power in the game and potentially influence the future of the game. The four must catapult a ball into a basket, and after a few tries, Mat ends up winning the challenge and is ecstatic to learn he now holds a new power in the game. The four enjoy a soiree courtesy of Big Brother, until the TV screen flashes with live video of Sophie and Kieran inside the white room.

Sonia appears before the two evicted housemates, revealing that one of them will return to the game and the other will walk away for good. But to decide who will gain their second chance, Kieran and Sophie are faced with a massive dilemma. On the screen before them, they will see an amount of money that will gradually increase over one minute. At any point, either contestant can hit the buzzer to freeze the total and win that amount of money. If someone takes the money, they will be officially evicted from the game. But with no clock to keep time, the timer could end before anyone presses the button. If so, challenge winner Mat will decide who returns and who goes home – with no money in hand.

Additionally, the money that rolls over will actually be deducted from the prize money, leaving a dint in cash for the eventual winner. Unaware of who won the challenge and how long a minute really is, it’s on for Sophie and Kieran to press the buzzer and walk away with some cool hard cash. After some time, Sophie declares she isn’t taking the money whatsoever, and Kieran has the decision to stay or go home with cash now. As the ticker hits over $15 000, Kieran slams the button and is out of the game.

Relieved and elated, Sophie bids Kieran goodbye as Chad and Sarah appear excited to welcome back their former ally, but Mat and Daniel look pissed they’re back in a final five with the power couple. Truly angry with what took place, Mat and Daniel throw respective tantrums, Big Brother reminds them twists are an everlasting part of the game and something they were prepared for before entering the house. All while Sophie sips a glass of champagne, with revenge well and truly on her mind.

REVIEW

THE WHITE ROOM TWIST

This season has been a lot of trial and error, that’s been evident every week as we’ve been introduced to a new format, new rules, new gameplay and ultimately, new twists. So did the white room deliver? Absolutely. Kieran vs Sophie, one returns and one is out. It made for great television and beats Angela’s bunker by far! I like that this twist doesn’t just outright favour on housemate like the bunker. This gave an opportunity for two people, with only one able to receive the glory of it all and actually re-enter the game. Sophie’s revenge arc built in the white room promises to make the last week really interesting, while Kieran’s seven-times nominated run ending in a $15k payout is a great finish for his story this season. It wasn’t perfect, personally, I dislike that the money comes right out of the prize pool – I believe production could have had $15k on side for this twist that isn’t taken away from the ultimate winner. But that’s okay, game’s gotta game. But I also think this twist would be a bit more favourable earlier in the game. Probably around final ten or nine. Final six seems to cut it way too short. But at least it was fun to watch. At least there was an element of unknown unlike the bunker, which we knew resulted in Angela returning, seemed to be at random (or more likely, FOR Angela), and didn’t really deliver any game changing moments other than some funny scenes and Garth taking out Ian because of Angela. All in all, the white room was a success and if it returned next season, I’d be a great supporter of it! Well done to BB for keeping the fire alive right until the end and throwing one more spanner in the works for these players.

KIERAN BIDS BUH-BYE

FINALLY the season-long pawn gets his exit. Kieran should have gone Day 3, but for all I’ve said about Kieran and his truly messy gameplay, well done to him. He came around in the end, and there’s still some key strategic and social flaws to his game but I give credit where credit’s due – to survive the block so many times is an incredible feat and even if often bigger threats were sitting next to Kieran, he clearly had some elements of a social standing to get people on his side. And he’s an alright guy, house chores permitting. I do question Chad (and Sophie’s) decision to take him out though. Clearly, those two are more loyal players than Dan and Mat, since they were quick to target them next. But Chad and Sophie chose to honour the final four alliance, which to me, was a big mistake. Without the white room twist, they wouldn’t even have the chance to really take them out now anyway. Sophie would be gone, because of their mistake to not strike first. It’s funny how Kieran went from being a threat in the beginning to being such a non-threat at the end, yet was voted out because housemates wanted to stay loyal. You can’t write this stuff.

THE FINAL FIVE

What a final five we have, let’s dive into them all.

Mat – He’s an alright player, but what can we say that really separates him from Daniel? These two have been a tight duo since the outset, but at least Daniel has made somewhat of a strategic game really count since the beginning. He’s always been a dominant threat, whereas Mat really came alive in the middle of the season. Is that a bad thing? No! Coasting to stay clear of being targeted is an excellent strategy, and I think overall, Mat has played well. He’s often recognised who is a threat and where to strike, which is evident when he was ready to take the shot against Chad and Sophie. Mat is a strong player, and from the start, I called him making it this far. But if he sits in the finale, I don’t think he can win. Australia hasn’t warmed up to him, and even moreso, if he’s there with Daniel, how do you separate the two and vote one over the other, gameplay wise at least? I think Mat deserves more credit than he gets for the game he’s played, but in the end, I don’t think it’s a strong one to earn Australia’s vote. What hurts him even more is that I think Chad, Sophie and Sarah will see Mat as a bigger threat in the end, just for being more likeable than Dan as well. I imagine Mat would be the strategic choice to vote out before the finale if they can, although it might be in Sophie and Chad’s better interest to vote out each other and bring both Mat and Daniel to the end, since they’d likely win against them both. Sarah beats them all.
Daniel – Much like Mat, what can you use to separate Dan from Mat? What is great for Daniel is that out of everyone, he’s been the largest presence since the season began. Daniel has long been regarded as the king, and making it to the final five much less, the final three, incredible. He did it through playing a strategic game and died his game down when he had to and the heat was building on him. That’s a great game that we really should commend him for. He’s the driving force of the season, really central to the house story. But that’s often from a lot of things that people DON’T like about Dan. He rubs people the wrong way, and that’s why Mat edges him out for Australia’s vote. Sure, Daniel has the AFL background which really could drum up a lot of votes. But I think the voice of the fans will be larger than it is for Dan, and while he might walk away with 2nd place, I can see a majority swinging for anyone but Daniel. That said, Daniel may be targeted for his AFL status and being a strong threat throughout. If the trio of Sarah/Chad/Sophie see this as high potential to lose them the game, they might wanna target him over Mat.
Chad – Much like Dan and Mat, how do you separate Chad and Sophie? They’re a strong pair who have made decisions together. But there’s some clear differences between them. Sophie, without a doubt, is the brains behind the operation. Chad plays a good strategic game, but nowhere near a great one. Sophie has endured a lot more, sought out targets and evicted them when necessary, and Chad has acted more reactionary when in power. This is why I think it’s Chad’s best scenario to sit with Daniel and Mat at the end, because Australia will vote Chad to win for being the best strategic and social player left. Both Sarah and Sophie beat Chad out entirely, but if they’re not there, Chad’s got the W. Unfortunately, I do not see Chad doing this at all, and if the romance manages to make the final three together, I think we’ll see Sophie edge out Chad. Chad gets points for not being evicted, as Sophie has, and for probably just being a little more likeable overall. But I don’t think it’ll matter. I worry Australia will split votes between Chad and Sophie in the end, and that will make someone like Mat or Daniel win. So that’s a big thing to think about before voting.
Sophie – This week really was a redemption week for Sophie. She got out her target Casey, a really impressive showing on her part, and then gets evicted, brought back in. If she manages to deliver on this revenge arc, I find it hard to see why Sophie wouldn’t be the most deserving player left. Sophie has played very well strategically, well socially, and impressive physically. The only person who I think beats Sophie is Sarah, so even thought Sophie has this arc to eliminate Mat and Dan, it’s probably in her better interest, again, to vote out Chad and Sarah. Because she will no doubt beat the boys. This is where there’s a key stumble upon winning this game. Sitting at the end and winning the game against the other two finalists are two very different achievements to be made. Sophie will have to really make a move this week to secure Australia’s vote, no matter who she sits next to.
Sarah – Little Sarah has been the biggest surprise and best player out of this season. Her social gameplay, bar none, has been the best of the season and delivered extremely well for her and the show. Sarah, especially with both duos targeting each other, has the best chance to sneak through to the end and really come out with it all. And let’s give credit to Sarah for actually managing to position herself so well right up until the final five. I really thought the house might target her last week for being a sneaky threat, but no, Kieran and the romance were more important. That just shows how great her social game has been. What hurts Sarah going into finale week is the fact she is such a quiet threat, and there’s still a chance the other four realise this and target her. Which they should, because I highly think Sarah will win it all if she makes it to the final three. But there’s also the fact the other four are such amazing physical players, Sarah might not be able to beat them. I am concerned she’s too quiet (which is her rightful strategy) for Australia to respect her and vote her to win, but that’s only a small setback. For the most part, we’ve really enjoyed Sarah all season. And the Casey eviction episode was a stand out for her. She has been the biggest threat in the smallest pond without anyone even really considering taking her out. Sarah has the best chance to make it to the end and win it, her demise will only come true if the others work that out.

FINALE PREDICTIONS

Episode 19 –
NOMINATIONS CHALLENGE WINNER: Sophie
NOMINEES: Mat and Daniel
EVICTED: Mat (2-0)
Sophie’s revenge story arc comes full throttle when she smashes the challenge and immediately seeks revenge on the Alpha boys, Mat and Dan. Believing Mat to be a bigger threat up against the public, Sarah and Chad vote out Mat, risking the chance Daniel wins the final challenge.
Episode 20 –
NOMINATIONS CHALLENGE WINNER: Chad
NOMINEES: Sarah and Daniel
EVICTED: Sarah (Sophie’s choice)
Daniel, hoping to make one last move to his resume and using the ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ storyline, convinces Chad and Sophie to vote out Sarah for being the underlying biggest threat there is. In the final endurance challenge, Sophie gives the win to Chad so she can secure the final vote of the season. Wanting to make a big move, Sophie blindsides Sarah masterfully and walks to the end with her main ally and adversary.
Episode 21 –
THIRD PLACE: Chad
RUNNER-UP: Daniel
WINNER: Sophie
Australia, torn between Chad and Sophie allow Daniel to secure enough votes to seal 2nd place. But the final two weeks to Sophie’s game where she’s shown strategic, physical and social prowess wins Australia over as she takes out the win over the model and former AFL player. A true underdog story.

Are you looking forward to seeing who wins the first season of the Big Brother Australia revival? Who’s your pick to take it all out? Let me know your thoughts on the socials or in the comments below!

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The final week of Big Brother Australia 2020 begins tonight on Channel Seven at 7:30pm, continuing Tuesday at 7:30pm, and concluding with the grand finale on Wednesday at 7:30pm.

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