Big Brother: Season 24
Power Rankings with P
Welcome to Power Rankings with P, a newsletter ranking cast members on the reality shows I subject myself to on a weekly basis. What can I say? I love slop.
It has been a minute! My first summer back in Chicago was a busy one, filled with concerts, trips to Hollywood Beach, and a promotion at work. Corporate slay! Because of this, my beloved newsletter had to go on the back burner, but best believe I was still was keeping up with my stories. Huge congrats to Jinkx Monsoon on winning All Stars All Winners, Dorit Kemsley on her chicest season of Beverly Hills yet, and to CBS on another historic - and wildly enjoyable - season of Big Brother. Due to the format of the show, or really, the live 24/7 feeds that broadcast the cast's every move for an entire summer, Big Brother is always one of the most fascinating television shows to air all year. The ultimate televised social experiment, I have loved this show since I was in the single digits. It may never reach the highs it did in the aughts, but the past two seasons have come pretty close. After the Cookout successfully executed their mission in Big Brother 23, how could the show possibly have topped itself, and then some, the following year? Well, that is precisely why we are here today.
This issue of PRWP isn't a ranking, but rather an ode to Taylor Hale, Big Brother 24 winner and America’s Favorite HouseGuest. Against all odds, Taylor Mackenzie Dickens Hale won season 24 of Big Brother. I full-on CHEERED when Julie Chen-Moonves announced her as our winner, you can ask my roommate to confirm. Her hero’s journey is easily one of the most narratively satisfying character arcs I have ever seen on reality television, alongside Tiffany “New York” Pollard’s humble beginnings as dating show contestant to genre-defining icon, the entirety of Vanderpump Rules season 2, Jinkx Monsoon snatching the crown over RoLaskaTox, Snooki, and the three season arc of LuAnn de Lesseps as the fiancée, then the bride, followed immediately by the divorcée, to, finally, cabaret star. Like those that came before her, Taylor’s path to dual season winner and recipient of America’s Favorite HouseGuest is the stuff of reality television legend.
As she gorgeously reminded us in her flawless final plea to the jury, Taylor’s story is one of resilience. When the season began, Taylor was immediately targeted by the entire house, for no reason other than being a stunningly beautiful, kind hearted, dark-skinned Black woman. She not only was on the block for eviction weeks one and two, but found herself completely isolated, othered, and relentlessly bullied. Names were called behind her back, blame was put on her for things she had nothing to do with, cruel jokes made at her expense - it was nasty. Make no mistake, the treatment of Taylor was, simply put, racist, to the point where her mistreatment by fellow HouseGuests was picked up in news outlets like Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and other major trade publications. The vitriol directed her way was deeply personal, relentless, and stomach turning, to the point where I checked out of the season. For the season to begin like this, especially following the Cookout’s history-making performance in Big Brother 23, was disheartening, to say the very least.
It was only a few days into the season, and while I had stopped watching, I had not yet unfollowed the live feed updates accounts I follow on Twitter (shoutout to HamsterWatch). As any true Big Brother fan knows, the live feeds are the real show, so staying updated on the feeds is crucial to truly understanding the on-goings in the house. A rumor began to swell: Paloma, the lead conductor of the Taylor hate train, had suffered a psychotic break and was sent home on medical leave. Because of this, Taylor was spared from eviction. While she found herself on the block again week two, she once again would be saved. Suddenly, my interest in the season was reignited. Something truly cosmic was happening; the culprits of the racist bullying, Taylor’s biggest haters, Amerrah, Nicole (ACAB), and Daniel, all left one by one, pre-jury. It was karmic justice unlike anything I have ever seen on this show.
After weeks of being bullied, Taylor finally found herself in an alliance, the Leftovers, that would dominate the majority of the game. Finally, our hero was having fun, strategically talking game, winning competitions, and developing her killer social game. A highlight would be her relationship with Joseph, a kind hearted bro, who, in creating the Leftovers, ultimately saved the season. Big Brother 24 would have been nothing without Jaylor, know that. Though she had the support of a majority alliance, week after week, Taylor survived due to her being a genuine, empathetic, and resilient individual. Her resilience in this game is unlike anything else ever seen on Big Brother, something she readily reminded us of in her finale night speeches. Some highlights:
"I have overcome so much in this game, and I have come to understand that I am not a shield, I am a sword. I am not a victim I am a victor. And if there is one word that is going to describe the entire season, it is resiliency. And If you were to ask yourself the more resilient person in this season has been, it is me."
"Do you want the same thing where we see evictions and comp wins be the path to success? Or do we want a winner where we choose resiliency? We choose persistence as a reason to win this game. I have never given up on myself, and I refuse to do it tonight when I’m sitting next to such a strong competitor. Jury members, I’m challenging you to make the hard decision and change the course of this game and choose progress of the course of this game. I can be the winner of this season, and I promise you will not do it in vain if you choose me tonight."
I mean, come on. She was taking it! Her speeches were phenomenal, highlighted even more-so by the fact that Monte absolutely flopped with his speeches. Taylor’s final plea was the kind that changes votes; one would have to be an idiot, sorry Turner (truly, he was one of my favorite HouseGuests this season), to not vote for her. Ultimately, she won the game 8-1. As the first Black woman to win US Big Brother and the first player ever to win both the game and America's Favorite HouseGuest, I am still processing her historic wins. Easily one of the most satisfying narrative arcs in reality television history. Thanks for reading! :)