The Final Five is officially here, Big Brother fans — and somehow these five managed to survive Haley having the worst week (every week), the blindsides, the showmances, the backdoors, the paranoia and approximately 700 “I swear you’re not my target” conversations.
Thats right BBTwitter we’re almost done, and managed to not get a single Spoiler Girl viral tweet!!
I will note, love them or hate-watch them, the icons MADE this season what it was, and they have fun doing it.
At this point in the game, nobody can hide behind a pawn anymore. There are no easy noms. No sitting pretty in the middle. And definitely no pretending that you’re “just happy to be here.”
With the $750,000 grand prize getting closer, every HOH, POV and vote matters.
And theres no point in telling someone “if its good for your game, keep me around”.
After the latest double eviction sent Barrett Pfeiffer and Yash Patel to the jury, five houseguests remain:
- Rick Devens
- Dee Valladares
- Melody Morris
- Drew Campbell
- Taylor Brown
So how did each of them get this far — and what big move, comp win or game-saving moment helped keep their dreams of winning Big Brother alive?
Let’s get into it.
Rick Devens: The Comp Beast Who Refuses to Be Evicted
If Rick Devens has taught us anything this season, it’s that putting him on the block is not necessarily going to get him out of the house.
You could nominate him.
You could target him.
You could even put him up during a double eviction.
But unless you also take away his ability to play veto, you might as well start planning for your own eviction.
Rick’s biggest flex came when he won the Diamond Power of Veto, a game-changing piece of power that allowed him to remove Dee from the block and then choose the replacement nominee himself.
Translation?
Rick basically said, “Thanks for the nominations. I’ll take it from here.”
The move completely flipped the power structure of the week and ultimately helped send Kamu Kirk out the door.
And then came the double eviction.
Melody decided it was finally time to take a shot at the Survivor duo, nominating Rick and Dee.
Rick’s response?
WIN THE POV.
Obviously.
He pulled himself off the block, forcing Melody to put up Yash as the replacement nominee.
Yash was evicted.
Rick survived.
And then — because apparently this man enjoys making everyone else’s lives difficult — Rick won the next HOH.
At this point, Rick isn’t just a threat.
He’s the guy everyone needs to get out before he wins his way to finale night.
Dee Valladares: The Social Threat With a Very Useful Bestie
If Rick is the obvious comp threat, Dee Valladares has been showing why having the right person sitting next to you can be just as powerful as winning a competition.
Dee came out of the gate swinging, winning the first HOH of the season and immediately establishing herself as someone who wasn’t going to be an easy pawn.
Then she and Rick found themselves in a pretty enviable position: a tight two-person partnership with the competition ability to protect each other.
Basically, the Big Brother dream.
One of Dee’s biggest moves came when she used the BB Bribe to offer Yash Patel $5,000 in exchange for not nominating her, Rick or Angela Murray. She made what seemed like the worst power of the season, one of the best.
That’s a pretty good example of using a power without needing to win a comp.
Dee wasn’t just hoping someone would keep her safe.
She bought herself safety.
And then there was the safety-chain twist, where Dee won the first competition, took safety for herself and gave a Stone of Safety to Rick.
Because if you’re going to have a ride-or-die in the Big Brother house, you might as well make sure your ride-or-die isn’t getting evicted.
Now Dee finds herself in the Final Five with Rick still sitting beside her.
The problem?
At some point, the rest of the house is going to have to decide whether they’re willing to let this duo reach the end together.
And that could get REAL awkward.
Melody Morris: From Target to Competition Machine
Melody Morris has had a pretty fascinating journey through this game.
And if you thought she was going quietly into the night, the double eviction would like a word.
Melody absolutely crushed it. And made the MLB eat their reel (I am going to miss this meme format though).
First, she won the final BB Blockbuster, which sent Barrett Pfeiffer out of the game.
Then she won the Double Eviction HOH.
That’s right.
She went from winning one comp to immediately getting another shot at controlling the entire house.
And Melody wasn’t exactly shy about what she wanted to do with that power.
She put Rick and Dee on the block.
The message was clear:
Break up the power duo.
It was a legit shot at one of the biggest structures left in the game.
Unfortunately for Melody, Rick pulled the ultimate Big Brother move:
He won the POV.
Of course.
Melody was forced to name Yash as the replacement nominee, and Yash ultimately became the one heading to jury.
So did Melody get her preferred eviction?
Nope.
But she still walked away from the double eviction having won two competitions back-to-back and putting the biggest remaining power duo on the block.
That’s the kind of résumé move that can matter when the jury starts asking the dreaded question:
“What did you actually do?”
Drew Campbell: The Veto Saved His Game
Drew Campbell has spent much of the season doing something every Big Brother fan knows is incredibly valuable:
staying off the radar.
But when his name finally landed on the block, Drew needed to stop playing defense and start winning.
And that’s exactly what he did.
During the Pressure Cooker POV, Drew found himself nominated alongside Barrett and Melody.
Not exactly the spot you want to be in when you’re trying to make Final Five.
Then came the comp.
The Pressure Cooker lasted nearly 13 hours, and Drew ultimately walked away with the POV.
Talk about earning your paycheck.
That Veto wasn’t just another comp win to add to the résumé.
He needed it.
Winning allowed Drew to remove himself from the block and live to fight another week.
Then, during the double eviction, Drew made another important decision when he voted to evict Yash instead of Dee.
And THAT is the kind of vote that gets remembered.
Drew chose to keep Dee and Rick in the house, effectively helping preserve the Survivor power structure.
Was it the safest move?
Well… we’re not handing out report cards here.
But it was certainly a Big Brother move.
And now Drew is sitting pretty in the Final Five.
At least until somebody decides he’s sitting too pretty.
Taylor Brown: Don’t Sleep on the Quiet Players
And finally, we have Taylor Brown.
Taylor’s game hasn’t always been the loudest in the room — and frankly, that’s sometimes exactly how you survive Big Brother.
While everyone else is making big speeches, declaring targets and volunteering to be pawns for reasons nobody can explain, Taylor has been quietly navigating the chaos from her pod.
And she’s not exactly a stranger to the POV necklace.
Taylor won a Power of Veto earlier in the season after being nominated alongside Drew and Melody.
She used the POV to save herself, forcing Haley Thogmartin to name Lyric Medeiros as the replacement nominee.
That’s Big Brother 101:
If you’re on the block, win the veto.
Taylor has also survived multiple trips to the block and continued to find ways to remain in the game while bigger personalities became targets.
During the double eviction, she was vocal about wanting Yash to stay, but the house ultimately sent him packing.
And now?
Taylor is sitting in the Final Five.
That’s what we call surviving the block.
The Final Five Are Giving VERY Different Games
And that’s what makes this endgame so interesting.
You’ve got:
- Rick Devens: The comp beast who can absolutely win his way to the end, and husband to Twitter’s fave Becca Devens.
- Dee Valladares: The social and strategic threat with a very powerful relationship with Rick. Oh and did you know she won Survivor?
- Melody Morris: A comedian who beat the meme and finally won a comp. You may know her as the one with her legs wrapped around Drew.
- Drew Campbell: A weasel/social player who has managed to stay alive and pull out a crucial POV when he desperately needed it. He has also been on like 5 other shows? Not afraid to drink the icon kool-aid.
- Taylor Brown: A quieter, but silently strategic player who has survived the block and stayed in the numbers while bigger targets took each other out.
And now?
There are no pawns.
There are no easy noms.
There are no more weeks to hide.
Every person sitting in that house is now a potential winner.
And here’s the best part:
The Final Five is where Big Brother gets NASTY.
Because everyone starts thinking about the jury.
Everyone starts counting votes.
Everyone starts wondering who they can beat in the Final Two.
And suddenly that person you called your “number one” three days ago is looking like a massive jury threat.
Expect blindsides.
Expect scrambling.
Expect Julie Chen Moonves to get told how good she looks.
Expect at least one person to say, “I didn’t have a choice.”
They always had a choice.
And now that we’re down to five, every choice could be the difference between sitting in the Final Two and sitting in the jury house watching someone else take home $750,000.
Welcome to the endgame, BB28.
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