Ali ❤️‍🔥

Everyone is still blaming the powers the Icons got, but I think the bigger reason Devens, Dee and Drew got so far is because most of the other players never learned how to PIVOT. Instead of using the Icons to their advantage, they spent too much time being mad they were there, then mad when they won comps or got powers. And let's be real, besides the DPOV, Dee's bribe power was considered SHIT. The internet laughed at it. Yash literally declined it. Then Dee took that same power and made it valuable. That wasn't being handed an advantage, that was smart gameplay. And the whole “Icons vs. the newbies” thing? Dee and Devens WERE newbies to BB. Angela was the only returning BB player. Survivor is a completely different game, and Dee and Devens had to adjust too. Oh, but hey! They got voted for powers because of their followers!! It was so unfair! Okay, let's look at that. Devens had 113K and Dee had 183K on Instagram. Jason had 196K and was already a reality TV star, while Lyric had 600K+ on TikTok and 400K+ on Instagram. They easily could've been voted into the Time Capsule too. But they weren't. Why? Because viewers didn't think they'd actually DO anything with it. Let's not forget that America also voted for Drew, Mallory and Melody, who all had less than 2K followers. The point is, if you want America voting for you, give them a reason to. And THAT'S where the gameplay comes in. Instead of having the “us against the Icons” mentality and crying that it's unfair, use them to your advantage. Use them as shields. Let them protect you. Build relationships. Keep your options open. Build several alliances. Then strike when the time is right. Mallory had potential, but she got stuck in the “us vs. the Icons” mindset. She didn't need to work with all of them. Build something with Dee, Devens, even Angela on the side. But she refused to and blamed them instead. Even Hayley knew what she needed to do to play. Then you have Barrett, and yes, at least he tried. But he struck too soon, then after taking the shot, sat in his HOH room and seemed to assume everything would go his way. A diehard BB fan should know better. You don't make the big move and then sit back. You WORK. Talk. Check votes. Keep people close. Especially when you've been working with them and already know how they play. Drew understood that. He built relationships with them, and even when it hurt him at times, he knew how to use those relationships to his advantage. Barrett could've been right there with him, but his ego got in the way. He was so proud of himself for taking the shot that once he made it, he basically froze. He didn't keep working to make sure the move actually happened. So yes, powers mattered. But some of these players spent way too much time focused on what other people had instead of figuring out how to use those people, powers and relationships to help their OWN game. It's a lot easier to blame the Icons than it is to admit you let them play while you sat back and watched. #BB28 #BB28Finale #BBCrossovers

Can we finally stop pretending the powers are the only reason the Icons got as far as they did? Take every power out of the game for a second and look at what actually happened. There were THREE Icons and 14 other people. If 14 people couldn’t outplay three, that’s not because production handed the Icons the game. That’s because they got outplayed and outsmarted. The Icons knew relationships and alliances were how you got ahead. If they had an advantage, THAT was it, knowing how to play the game. But let’s be real, if you’re going on this show, you should probably understand how important alliances are. The rest of the house had plenty of power too. Kamu, Haley, Lala, Yash, Drew, Barrett and Taylor all won HOHs. They had opportunities, but they were either working with the Icons, did nothing with them or, when they did try to make a move, the relationships the Icons had built protected them. And really, the only person who HOH was actually hurt by the powers was Yash. Let’s also not pretend Big Brother isn’t known for twists and powers. That’s part of the show. So if having twists means the season was “rigged,” then I guess every season of BB is rigged. The powers didn’t make Devens and Dee great players. They already were. They built relationships, made alliances, adapted when they needed to, and survived when other people had power. That’s not rigging. That’s getting outplayed. #BB28 #BB28Finale #BigBrother28