Hey, remember when we said Ovi Kabir‘s Nightmare Power wasn’t as great as it sounds on “Big Brother 21”? Well, lo and behold, TPTB managed to come up with something that’s even worse: the Chaos Power that Jack Matthews won on Sunday’s episode.
Even he knows it’s bad. You could tell by how much he tried to feign giddiness in the Diary Room. His excitement quickly morphed to disappointment as he read aloud the power: He can force a redraw of the Veto players up until the final six.
See, this even sounds bad on paper, unlike Ovi’s, which kind of sounds decent on paper until you start to think about it. Forcing a Veto redraw promises nothing to the power holder except a redraw. This power doesn’t offer Jack safety or allow him to play in the Veto like the Ring of Replacement did for Christmas on “Big Brother 19” or ensure that the people he wants can play in the Veto.
SEE ‘Big Brother 21’ spoiler: Now it’s Jack’s turn to do something very, very dumb
If and when he uses it, all it does is put the chips back into the bag for another draw. You risk picking the same names again aka the name(s) you didn’t want in the first place. As the weeks go on and the players dwindle, the probability of picking the same players again increases.
The power is only potentially useful in a backdoor situation. If Jack and Gr8ful want to backdoor someone and that person’s name is originally drawn, he can use it and hope that person isn’t drawn the second time. Similarly, if Jack fears he’s going to be backdoored and he isn’t originally drawn, he can enact it and hope his name is drawn the second time. In the former situation, the power is best used with more people left; in the latter, it’s best applied with fewer people to increase Jack’s chances of being picked.
SEE ‘Big Brother 21’ recap: Who did Jack nominate for eviction?
But in any situation, it’s all left up to fate and whose chip is drawn. The power doesn’t guarantee anything like these powers usually do. Ovi’s grants immunity to the original nominees, though it doesn’t protect the holder unless he is an original nominee.
Worse, unlike Ovi’s power, which would be done in secret (well, until he told Jack and Jackson Michie he had it), Jack would have to out himself at the Veto ceremony to use the Chaos Power. He’s already put on quite a show to insist to Jackson and Holly Allen that he didn’t win it, so if he doesn’t come clean to Gr8ful before he uses it, it could burn some bridges.
Look, it’s good for Jack to win it. The power could change the game, but not really and not that much; it’s just that weak. And at the very least, it eliminates any anxiety for Jack, who’d be wondering who has it if he hadn’t won it. Plus, anyone would take any advantage they could get. “Big Brother” has had a bunch of twists flop over the years — like all three of last year’s Power Apps, two of which were never used and the third, well, Kaitlyn — but in this case, no one would bat an eye if the Chaos Power goes unused.
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