"Big Brother" is a competition reality show in which about 15 strangers live in a house together for 100 days with no contact with the outside world in hopes that one of them will walk out with $500,000. The show just finished its 20th season (yes, 20th!!!), so it's pretty safe to say it's popular and successful. Unfortunately, I didn't start watching until season 19, and I'm pretty sure I've never regretted anything more, so please don't come for me. With that being said, the 20th winner of "Big Brother" was crowned on September 26, and I would be lying if I said the entire 90-minute finale didn't have me shook.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
To many, it might have been a surprise when Kaycee landed the five jury votes to crown her the winner. However, if you think about it, she played the best game of the entire season. Yes, even better than Tyler.
From the moment Kaycee, a professional football player, entered the "Big Brother" house, she had a strong social game. She formed relationships with just about every houseguest and gained their genuine trust and loyalty. Yes, Tyler did this too, but he did so in a strategic, manipulative way. He wanted to gain followers who would give him their undivided trust so that he could manipulate all of them into helping his game. He also repeatedly made promises he couldn't keep, which ended up being his biggest downfall. Kaycee, however, formed genuine bonds with people and was fiercely loyal to each and every one of the people in the house without being snakey, secretive, and manipulative.
The reason it might have been such a massive surprise that Kaycee not only won "Big Brother 20" but made it so far in the game, in general, is because she flew under the radar for almost the entire game. At the very beginning of the summer, Kaycee formed her final two alliance with Tyler and her alliance with Level 6. No one, from what viewers saw, ever really suspected anything about her. Every single one of her other alliance members made enemies and got blood on their hands, but Kaycee floated through the game with just her social game until the last six weeks or so.
During the last few weeks of the game, Kaycee ended up winning 9 competitions. One being the Hacker Competition, five being the Power of Veto, and three being the Head of Household (including the two wins in the three-part HOH competition). She proved herself to be a beast at competitions and still managed to get no blood on her hands. In fact, despite winning the POV five times, she never ended up using it. She always let her alliance get the blood on their hands, instead.
It's easy to say that Kaycee was an average player because she floated under the radar for so long and avoided making big moves in the game, but her strategy worked because she let everyone else get blood on their hands. It's ultimately the reason she won the game. Tyler left a bitter taste in the jury's mouth after evicting almost all of them and did a terrible job at explaining himself during the last few moments of the finale. Yes, Tyler played a strong game through his willingness to make major moves and his ability to win so many competitions, but he lacked the loyalty and genuineness that Kaycee possessed.
At the end of the day, Kaycee was always herself and never pretended to be anything but. She remained loyal and genuine to every single houseguest in the game. And that is why she deserved to win the half-million-dollar prize.
