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114. Kyle Carpenter (Big Brother 24, 8th place) [16/16]
On night one I absolutely hated Kyle because not only did he seem like he was going to be a DR shouter, but he was also a huge try-hard who seemed proud of still living with his mother and doing nothing with his life other than making TikTok videos or some pseudo(to the 10th power)-influencer shit like that. And this continued for the first few weeks. Every time he came on, especially during a confessional, I just groaned at how painfully he was obviously just trying to be a fan-favorite AND a favorite of the house and just go along and be one of the cool kids. And then he started crushing on one of the hottest women of the season and to be absolute befuddlement, despite being one of the less-attractive guys of the season, she actually started crushing back. And at first this just added to my frustration with him but then, for a brief period, it actually gave me a bit of hope for him and his story arc, as he was actually put into the extremely rare position in which his showmance was not a part of his alliance, and he was going to have to choose between the two. I kinda thought this could actually make for some interesting gameplay, regardless of whether or not he himself actually became bearable.

And this was very briefly the case. It was kind of interesting to see him fluctuate between Alyssa and the Leftovers, and coming up with creative ways to avoid responsibility for such decisions. But after a while it got kind of bothersome that it felt like he was leading Alyssa on. I have to be fair here - I get pissed off when alliances Im not rooting for lead outsiders on, because its like someone with power dangling it in front of someone who doesnt even know they have it, so I have to be pissed then an alliance that I AM rooting for (even if its largely for one person) do it too. Not that it really matters, because for seemingly no reason, with only the most ridiculously-stretched circumstantial evidence to back up his claim, Kyle decided that all of the people of color in the house were working together, and everything went to hell.

At first this was kind of brushed off, as he only talked to Michael and Brittany about it. And listen, even Julies initial reaction was I think its just typical game paranoia but then he pressed about forming an alliance of himself, Michael, Brittany, Turner and Alyssa despite Michael and Brittany verbally expressing to him just how uncomfortable this was for them and despite Monte, Taylor and Joseph constantly expressing loyalty to him and to the Leftovers alliance and it was like, he just couldnt read the damn room and absolutely HAD to make it a race issue. Which totally misses the goal of the Cookout as far as future seasons go which was hopefully this doesnt HAVE to be the case ever again as opposed to hopefully this happens again and again.

For now the idea gets brushed aside and the split house twist happens, and Kyle ends up outside with Terrance, Alyssa, Joseph and Turner. And despite this being Terrances HoH, Kyle is the dramatic focal point here, completely throwing his alliance under the bus to save his girlfriend while simultaneously more or less gaslighting Joseph into going apeshit and blowing up his own game. And it was REALLY frustrating to see Terrance continue to not target Kyle despite everything funky going on in the house seemingly coming back to him.

When they got back inside, things seemed poised for Kyle to make the endgame. He was effectively aligned with everyone left in the house in one way or another, and his closest ally, Turner, had just won HoH. Then Michael and Brittany picked up on Kyles position and decided to reveal what he had said about racially-based alliances earlier in the game. And make no mistake, that was gross of them to use it as a strategic tool but at least it meant that he was finally going to get his, right? Kinda. He got called out for sure, and it led to his elimination, but it also led to one of the most uncomfortable weeks in recent BB memory, with the houseguests having to put the game on hold and navigate their emotions about this.

And like, Im torn here. On one hand, Im willing to believe that his comments and plans came out of ignorance rather than hatred and he seemed more sincere about wanting to learn and become better than other CBS reality contestants who have made egregious errors (and you know, didnt promote his book at the finale or aggressively pass off any wrongdoing and then finally get ejected several rounds later). But on the other hand, he DID play it off as okay I did say that but until he saw the reactions from the non-white houseguests, and also Im not sure he got sufficiently roasted, at least not in the house. The jury was actually more aggressive and he got to control the narrative for them. In the house, it was very diplomatic, and Terrance straight-up wanted to keep Kyle, which Ill talk about more when we get to him. Across the board between the house, the jury, and Kyle himself, the response probably evens out to a net neutral for the purposes of what is my opinion of how it went down, but it was still an incredibly awkward situation that really should never have happened in the first place.

And yet somehow the finale made it worse by not only Kyle not having to say anything about it at the reunion, but also getting the girl in the end AND somehow, for some reason Ill absolutely never understand, placing in the top 3 for Americas Favorite. For all the admonishment he received all summer long, it was as if his poor behavior was ultimately rewarded and thank GOD Taylor won (the game AND Americas Favorite) because otherwise this would have made for a really crappy ending. I hope he becomes better from this experience, but in the context of the season I really just don't see any way I could have put anyone but Kyle last. He was obnoxious, he was an intrusive and pervasive force on the season, he made one of "those" mistakes, and his story arc was ultimately unsatisfying. Pretty much everything that puts someone smack dab at the bottom for me.

113. A losing finalist