After 87 long days of gameplay, Big Brother 28 has ended, and the franchise has crowned its latest winner: two-time former Survivor player Rick Devens. Devens not only won $750,000 but also the AFP (America’s Favorite Player) prize, which the public awards to one player each summer. Oh, and he also won $10,000 because of a twist during the season, so Devens had definitely been playing the wrong game all along.
I’m kidding (sort of), but suffice it to say, Devens took the Big Brother game by storm from the minute he set foot in the house alongside Survivor 50 foe-turned-friend Dee Valladares and Big Brother 26 alum Angela Murray. The three were part of the season’s first twist and were named the icons to fight alongside 14 newbie players for the win.
From the start, it was clear the icons had a leg up, not only because they were the only ones who could compete for safety during Week 1, but also because of their gameplay knowledge and overall game experience. They obviously used both of these factors in their favor to consolidate a solid power structure in the house and formed an alliance called "The Crossovers" with two other players, Drew Campbell and Barrett Pfeiffer.
The icons also had a solid relationship with the three biggest physical competitors in the house, who were also aligned (the "Red Corner"), and consolidated a massive coalition against the rest of the house. In Week 2, Devens made his first big move of the season by publicly calling out Rome Seymour (the de facto leader of the other side) and nominating him for eviction, as Devens was Head of Household at the time.
One by one, members of the ‘’other side’’ were evicted, and even though several players wanted to target the icons, they couldn’t since they had no power or wouldn’t due to fear of retaliation. The icons eventually decimated the "Red Corner" after the trio got bored with the game and wanted to shake things up in the house.
Devens and Valladares also gained advantages early in the game through a public vote, which they used at the right times to advance. Devens played the Diamond Power of Veto for Valladares and saved her from eviction, while Valladares used her Big Brother Bribe to actually bribe Yash Patel (one of the main physical competitors left in the game) to not nominate them in exchange for $5,000.
While they met bumps and bruises along the way, it wasn’t until Week 8 (the beginning of the jury phase) that the icons met their biggest obstacle: the double eviction. Devens went full beast mode and saved himself from the block, and it wasn’t until the following week that they lost their ally, Murray, who became a jury member.
Both Devens and Valladares survived until the Final Five, which stunned Big Brother and Survivor fans alike, as two players of their calibre and reputation shouldn't have been allowed to progress that far on principle. But it speaks volumes about their joint ability to outwit, outplay, and outlast that they managed it in the first place.
Unfortunately, after Taylor Brown won Head of Household at the Final Four and Campbell won the last Veto, both Valladares and Devens were put on the block against each other. After Devens convinced Campbell to keep him, Valladares was ultimately voted out on day 77.
During the final week of the game, the decision on who would go to the end came down to Brown (who won the first part of the Final Head of Household) and Devens (who won the second part). Devens continued with his winning streak and defeated Brown in the third part of the competition. Devens then eliminated Campbell and advanced to the Final Two against Brown. The final decision came down to the jury, who, in a 6-1 vote, chose Devens as the winner of Big Brother 28.
As mentioned earlier, Big Brother’s host Julie Chen Moonves then announced the America's Favorite Player award winner: Devens again! This double win makes it the second time in Big Brother history that someone has won both the season and the America's Favorite Player award, after Taylor Hale was the first during Big Brother 24. During the season, and because of the Pharaoh's Curse, Devens also won $10,000, making his total Big Brother prize an outstanding $810,000 gold pot.
Congratulations to Devens on becoming the first Survivor player to win Big Brother. Anyone who watched the live feeds knows how well the icons and Devens played all season long, thanks to their social, strategic, and physical gameplay (especially Devens in the final stretch, as he went full beast mode every time his butt was on the line). While I was rooting for Valladares in particular to take home the win, I, for one, am ecstatic to always see Survivors triumph both on and off the island.
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