Warning! The following text contains spoilers for Big Brother Episode of season 26, which aired on Thursday, August 22. Watch the live feeds with a Paramount+ subscription or on Pluto TV, read at your own risk!
Tucker Des Lauriers Week 5 Head of Household week has come to an end and he achieved his goal in the end. As expected, Brooklyn Rivera was sent out the door and Big Brother 26 is entering its sixth week. Julie Chen Moonves, as usual, made a few announcements to give viewers an idea of what’s coming next, and I’m surprised by one thing she said and one thing she didn’t say.
While we stream Big BrotherLooking at the live feeds and following Week 6, we have an idea of what to expect. Suffice it to say, this week is a little different than what we’ve seen in past seasons, and I can’t help but speculate on some of the reasons why.
The AI Arena will continue in Week 6
While there’s never a set time for the end of a major twist that starts a season, many people online, myself included, seemed to believe that AI Arena expires after this week. Personally, I just assumed that with the start of the AI Instigator twist, the previous twist expires, but that’s clearly not the case.
I am not necessarily angry about it, because there have been worse turns of events in Big Brotherand the AI Arena has done a lot to improve the game. That said, I’m a little leery about the timing, given that Tucker can’t play for Head of Household this week. Keeping the AI Arena just a week longer than expected gives him another chance to stay in the game. I’m not saying production did this because he’s at risk of being backdoored this week, but I can’t rule it out as a possibility. I’d say if this twist is going to be too far into the season, they might as well give him the prize money now.
We still have no idea when the double eviction will take place
Normally Big Brother has done a double eviction through Week 6, or at least hinted at plans to do so. It’s possible that AI Arena will make this more difficult, as it adds another competition on top of the usual schedule. If that’s the case, we may see one later in the season when the twist finally blows over.
For now, I’m OK with that. Big Brother is doing very well with this cast right now, so we don’t need to force anyone out just yet to move the game forward. Season 26 makes up for a lot of worse moments from previous seasons that I’d rather forget, and I sincerely hope it marks the beginning of a new era in the game. If late double evictions are a natural casualty of that, then so be it.
Big Brother returns with a new episode on Sunday, August 25 at 9 p.m. ET. Tune in to see who won the AI Instigator and HOH of Week 6, or stop by CinemaBlend beforehand because we have a spoiler post for those who just can’t wait. Also, be sure to check out our 2024 TV schedule because it’s full of shows premiering in the next few weeks.