Summary
- Big Brother 25 has a strong group of pre-jury houseguests, many of whom had impressive gameplay but were outmaneuvered by their fellow houseguests.
- The show is throwing back to earlier seasons by having a jury of 7 instead of 9, meaning 8 out of 17 houseguests didn't make it to jury this season.
- Luke Valentine was expelled for a racial slur and won't appear with the other pre-jury houseguests on finale night.
Big Brother 25 has one of the strongest groups of pre-jury houseguests in the history of the game, with varying degrees of gameplay that could've kept them in the game longer if they hadn't been bested by their fellow houseguests. In its milestone 25th season, Big Brother is throwing back to earlier seasons of the show when there was a Jury of 7, instead of 9. This means that eight of the 17 houseguests didn't make it to the jury this season. Luke Valentine was expelled during week 1 because he said a racial slur, so he won't appear with the other pre-jury houseguests on finale night.
Throughout Big Brother 25, the live evictions have taken unexpected turns, either because the houseguests have flipped their votes and blindsided and backdoored contestants, or because of twists. Both Jag Bains and Cameron Hardin were unanimously evicted from the house, but they are still playing thanks to Matt Klotz using the Power of Invincibility on Jag, and Cameron becoming a Zombie winning the Resurrection Rumble and Do or Die competitions against fellow Zombie Jared Fields, and resurrecting his game. The evicted houseguests who didn't make it to the jury are a strong group. Here's where they rank according to their gameplay.
7 Mecole Hayes
Mecole Hayes was the final houseguest to be evicted before the jury began. She played such an under-the-radar game that it was easy to forget that she was in the Big Brother house at times. Although she had an impressive finish in the grueling Pressure Cooker endurance HOH competition, placing third behind runner-up America Lopez and winner Cameron with an incredible time of 13 hours and 30 minutes, Mecole didn't win any competitions during her time in the game.
Mecole wasn't anyone's target until Cameron decided that he wanted Felicia Cannon out of the house before the jury began. Therefore, he had to nominate Mecole, her number one ally, in order to prevent Mecole from winning the Power of Veto and using it to save Felicia. He assured her that she was the pawn. Mecole chose not to campaign against her Final 2 partner, Felicia, and try to win the Power of Veto to save herself. When that didn't happen, she still seemed to be safe. However, after Felicia blew up the house during her Power of Veto speech, the houseguests had a change of heart, and decided to evict Mecole instead.
6 Kirsten Elwin
Kirsten Elwin was the first houseguest to be evicted from Big Brother 25. She wasn't nominated by HOH Reilly Smedley, but instead was one of four people nominated because she lost the Humili-verse nomination competition on premiere night. However, Reilly opted not to save her, and left her on the chopping block. Kirsten was accused by her fellow houseguests of playing too hard too fast, and trying to form alliances too quickly. However, Kirsten's bold style of playing was a refreshing change from the timid strategies that have dominated the game in recent seasons. Although Kirsten barely had the chance to play, she was a force to be reckoned with.
5 Izzy Gleicher
Izzy Gleicher aligned with Survivor legend and The Traitors season 1 winner Cirie Fields and Jared when she immediately recognized them as mother and son because she's such a big fan of Cirie. She kept their secret until the end, staying fiercely true to Cirie, who became a very close friend. Izzy was so loyal to Cirie that she even vowed not to use the Power of Veto when she was nominated so that Cirie wouldn't be backdoored. However, she didn't win it.
Although Izzy never won a competition, Cameron saw her as a threat because she was part of the trio of Cirie, Felicia, and herself. Cameron called Cirie the president, Felicia the vice president, and Izzy the secretary of defense. Izzy's greatest move in the game was when she chose Cameron to be her Piggy Pals punishment partner. As HOH, Cameron had nominated her for eviction, and she was able to prevent him from scheming by forcing him to work with her for 12 hours to complete 2,000 laps in the backyard, while filling a trough with dirt, all while dressed as pigs.
4 Red Utley
Red Utley was a strong player, who simply didn't have enough allies to keep him in the game. During week 4, when Cameron was HOH, Red won the Power of Veto, which allowed them to keep all of the power in their Chillers Final 2 alliance. However, the following week, when he was nominated with Cameron, the self-described "chillbilly" was manipulated by Jared into believing that Cameron had thrown him under the bus in order to save himself. He froze Cameron out without telling him why. Cameron still voted for him to stay, but he was still evicted. Red played with a lot of heart, but needed more support from his fellow houseguests.
3 Hisam Goueli
At first, Hisam Goueli was a frontrunner to win Big Brother 25. At 45 years old, he wanted to prove that older houseguests could compete strongly, and he was instrumental in forming The Professors, an alliance of houseguests who were over 30. Hisam was a competition beast, winning the Power of Veto in week 1, and then HOH and the Power of Veto during week 2. He holds the record for the most competitions won in the first two weeks. It was a refreshing change from past Big Brother seasons in which the younger players dominated the game. Hisam also played with integrity, and refused to backdoor anyone.
However, Hisam's social game was lacking. When he was HOH, he often steamrolled his alliance members, answering his own questions and not allowing them to speak at meetings. Hisam was relentless in his pursuit to evict Reilly, which did happen. However, the following week, when Felicia was HOH, she and the other Professors decided to blindside and backdoor Hisam while they had the chance. He'd said that he wanted to take a break from winning to avoid becoming a target. While his guard was down, the houseguests struck, and evicted one of the strongest Big Brother 25 houseguests. Hisam left after only three weeks, which was way too soon.
2 Jared Fields
Jared came into the house as one of the season's biggest twists. He had to keep the secret that Survivor legend Cirie was his mom, all while trying to protect her from being evicted. Jared's showmance with Blue Kim also created problems for him, as he now had two houseguests he cared about on a personal level to protect. Jared was nominated during week 1, when he lost the premiere night Scramble-verse puzzle competiton. However, he was saved from the chopping block by HOH Reilly. A strong competitor, Jared won the week 5 and week 7 HOH competitions, along with the week 6 Power of Veto.
However, Jared's social game needed work as his lies eventually caught up with him. He got into a very public argument with Cory Wurtenberger, which blew up his game. The houseguests turned on him during the double eviction when Cory was HOH. Zombie Jared didn't win the Resurrection Rumble, so Cameron was able to choose to play in the Do or Die Competition. He won, which meant that Jared was evicted for good. Jared played with his emotions, and cried a lot during his exit interview with host Julie Chen Moonves. His tears seemed to be a release after eight weeks of playing the game with his back against the wall.
1 Reilly Smedley
Although Reilly was the second contestant to be evicted, she's arguably the strongest of the pre-jury houseguests. During the premiere night Scary-verse nomination competition, she proved that she was cool, calm, and collected during a game of endurance. She focused all of her attention on not being pulled into the Nether Region. She then became the first HOH of the season, winning a balance beam competition.
Reilly was well-liked in the Big Brother house, and had a great social game and alliance. However, in week 2, when she was ineligible to play for HOH, she was relentlessly targeted by HOH Hisam, who saw her as a strong competitive threat, and nominated her. Once the majority of the houseguests revealed that they'd be voting out Reilly, she selflessly told her own alliance members, including her Final 2 partner, Jag, that they should vote to evict her to avoid needlessly putting targets on their own backs. Reilly had so much potential to win Big Brother 25, and she definitely left the game way too soon.
The Big Brother 25 pre-jury houseguests are now completely out of the game and watching from home, but their actions left a lasting impact on the house. Several of them were HOH, which is unusual for pre-jury houseguests. This is one of the strongest groups to not make it to the jury, partially because the jury is made up of two fewer people than those of recent years. Perhaps these houseguests will get a second chance to play Big Brother in a future season. For now, it's fun to imagine what could have been if these Big Brother 25 houseguests had stayed in the game.
Big Brother 25 airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EDT, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EDT, and Thursdays at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS.