On Thursday, we took a trip down Monte Taylor’s game. Yesterday, we discussed why Matt Turner could be the winner of Big Brother 24. Today is all about Taylor Hale’s game and whether the houseguests will see her as a worthy winner.
Taylor has had one of the toughest journies to the Big Brother finals. She started off the season as an easy week 1 boot. The majority of the houseguests saw her as some sort of she-witch that was ruining their experience. Basically, she had not one single ally in the first week of the game.
If Paloma Aguilar hadn’t decided to leave the game, there was a good chance that Taylor would have been the first player evicted. Due to a twist that we never saw playout, however, she may have won her way back into the game and Big Brother 24 house.
Taylor spent the first couple of weeks of Big Brother playing from the very bottom. Her only sort-of allies were Michael Bruner and Brittany Hoopes. Brittany was also playing pretty far towards the bottom of the game. Michael won some respect when he won the first Power of Veto and showed himself to be a potential competition beast, as well as a level-headed player.
Week 2, Taylor was on her way out once again. However, luck remained on her side because Joe “Pooch” Pucciarelli volunteered to go on the block as a pawn. As Big Brother fans know, pawns go home. This made Ameerah Jones and Nicole Layog see this as the perfect opportunity to take out a potential threat in Pooch, and take a number away from the men.
Taylor was still floating on an island alone in week two. She tried to work her social game to make people actually want to play with her, but the damage seemed done from being labeled as a social pariah in the first week. The following week, people also thought “okay, we’ll just take Taylor out now.” However, Joseph Abdin and Kyle Capener had another vision for Taylor and their future.
With Pooch’s eviction, and Ameerah’s policing of the houseguests’ activities, Joseph knew that he could be the next out if he didn’t do something soon. This led to the forming of The Leftovers. Joseph and Kyle didn’t like the treatment that Taylor had been receiving in the house, and they saw this as a chance to form the big alliance of the season.
Taylor, Michael, and Brittany seemed like they were kind of becoming a trio and they were all still kind of at the bottom of the house, so they seemed like perfect players to add to the newly formed Pound (Joseph, Kyle, Monte, and Turner).
After the Leftovers formed, Taylor saw the block quite a few more times. However, for weeks, the Leftovers were in power, going blindside crazy, and being very loyal to one another. She didn’t really have to worry about eviction, but rightfully, she was a little stressed each week.
With Taylor finally finding a solid alliance, she was able to build relationships within the Leftovers and outside of them. After Turner’s speech, the houseguests were more conscious of their treatment of Taylor and were less anti-Taylor.
Taylor’s game strength has always been her social game. She wasn’t always as active as she should be in the game as an introvert, but when she socialized and was given the chance to do it, she was able to make players like her. She left each one of the jurors being Team Taylor.
Taylor has a great story of escaping the block many times, using her social skills to make players not only like her but want to protect her. However, Taylor doesn’t have a great resume when it comes to big moves or strategic maneuvering.
Yes, some could argue her making people like her was a major part of her strategy. It did help keep her safe. However, can it be said that Taylor directly influenced any of the major evictions? You could argue that Taylor had a hand in getting out Ameerah (as part of The Leftovers), Terrance Higgins because she refused to change her vote, Daniel Durston and Nicole Layog because their hatred for her ultimately led to their demise, and maybe Alyssa Snider, only because she built a strong enough bond with Monte to keep her safe.
Taylor definitely helped set the tone that allowed the Leftovers to strive because those who were being targeted in the first part of the game were the players who were the most anti-Taylor. However, she only won a few competitions, and therefore, couldn’t directly control much of the game. Turner and Monte both have the credit for taking out Michael.
That move alone is one of the biggest in the game. Turner has multiple big moves attached to his name. Taylor can only really take credit for directly evicting Indy Santos. Taylor would really have needed one more big move to secure her win. If she had won the final Head of Household and taken out either Monte or Turner, then her resume looks even better.
On Thursday’s Big Brother 24 episode, we saw that the jury seemed definitely more pro-Monte and pro-Turner’s games. There was barely a mention of Taylor’s game, so that makes it seem like the jury is leaning towards rewarding either of them the $750,000. That’s why it would have been critical for Taylor to win the final Head of Household and carry herself to the end. Unfortunately, this was not to be as she lost part 1 of the final HOH and part 2 of the final HOH. This means her only chance to make it to the finale is if Turner or Monte brings her there.
It’s hard to tell how the jury will view Taylor’s game. Will they reward her for facing so much adversity at the start of the game and now making it to the end? Or will they have wanted her to make a flashier move by taking out a big, or would they have wanted her to be a more strategic player who manipulated her way to the end?
Most of Big Brother 24 revolved around Taylor. Whether it was Taylor being public enemy #1, the players’ constant obsession with her, or even players forming an alliance with one of their main objectives to right the wrongs done to her at the beginning of the game. You can’t think of the story of Big Brother 24 without having Taylor as the center of it. When Joseph said Taylor was the face of the season, he was more right than he realized.
The jury may also see it that way. This season was very much about Taylor, whether people like it or not, and that could be enough for them to also make her the winner of the season. She overcame so much to get to the end, and that may be enough to earn the respect of the jury and get her the title and the money.
We’ll have to wait and see.
Did Taylor do enough to win Big Brother 24? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
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