Big Brother 25 started with the twist of a Survivor player joining the cast for the first time. Cirie Fields entered the house and quickly showed why she’s one of the best to never win. Almost every houseguest wanted to work with her and she avoided becoming a target. But Cirie isn’t perfect. She made at least six mistakes this season that future houseguests should avoid if they want to win the game.
6
Research Before Entering the Game
It’s unclear how much time Cirie had before agreeing to do the game. She got advice from The Traitors cast member Rachel Reilly before the season. But there were gaps in the Survivor alum’s knowledge of the game. Other houseguests had to explain to her that nominating your target is a risk since they can automatically play into the veto competition and the veto winner is also off-limits for nomination. Cirie was also shocked after the double eviction that there is usually a Head of Household competition next. Understanding the game helps you plan the right moves so don’t skip your studying.
5
Don’t Turn on Your Muscle Too Soon
Cirie started the season by making an alliance with the older houseguests after finding out the younger ones were working together. The younger houseguests had an edge in the physical competitions. One of Cirie’s allies who could give the other side a run for their money was Hisam Goueli. The muscular physician proved he could win by winning the second HoH competition and nominating Riley Smedley and Cameron Hardin. The Professors didn’t celebrate.
They were offended by Hisam’s speech and believed he wanted to work with the younger houseguests who could win instead of them. Felicia Cannon won the next week and made it her mission to evict Hisam to show him a lesson. She was successful and that unfortunately means Cirie’s side of the house had to rely on Jared Fields to win and protect them. Jared was eliminated in week 8 and if Hisam was still in the game, then there would be another muscular person on their side.
4
Don’t Keep Your Rivals Around Too Long
Cirie has done a good job building relationships with everyone and getting information. Matt Klotz told her that he won the power to reverse an eviction, but it was available for a limited time. The live feeds cut their full conversation, but Cirie is powerful enough to convince Matt what to do with the power. Jag Bains was evicted with 10 votes, but the power was played for him to stay. It’s possible Cirie wanted to “flush” the power, but it just made a houseguest she wasn’t working with a problem for her later game. Jag is still in the house and he’s another competitor winning competitions. If you have the opportunity to let your rival go home, then let them go.
3
Don’t Confuse Your Alliances
The Big Brother 25 house was stacked in Cirie’s favor with all of her alliances. However, the alliances became too much once she couldn’t keep the names and the members straight. Cirie relied on Izzy Gleicher for help, and after her eviction things got messier. She asked Mecole Hayes about one of the alliances, and she replied that it was an alliance she wasn’t in and couldn’t help. Luckily, Mecole was willing to laugh off the situation. If Mecole was a more paranoid player, she could’ve resorted to targeting Cirie for being in alliances that didn’t include her.
2
When Your Ally Gets Heat, Stay Quiet
Jared was caught lying to other houseguests about Jag spilling the beans on the Izzy eviction. The argument primarily involved Jared and Cory Wurtenberger while Bowie Jane, Matt, Cirie, and Jag watched. However, Cirie repeatedly interrupted the argument to ask if she ever did or said the things Jared was accused of which unnecessarily turned the attention to her. Other houseguests already noticed Jared and Cirie were close. However, they were willing to separate them in this argument and Cirie piping up led to Cory starting to question her and even saying he hoped she’ll be truthful in her answers. Jared’s constant lying was beginning to taint how houseguests saw her game. If she simply listened to the argument like everyone else, she could’ve left unscathed.
Cirie did make it clear to Izzy and Jared that she preferred Jared going further in the game than her. She was willing to fall on her sword if it benefited his game, and her messy handling of the blow-up was probably part of that strategy. But future houseguests shouldn’t repeat this strategy if they’re playing a self-interested game.
1
Continue to Build Relationships After Making Amends
Cirie showed her cards to Bowie Jane by blindsiding her with the Red Utley eviction. That was the first time Bowie Jane realized Cirie didn’t have plans to work with her in the game. However, Cirie apologized to the DJ privately and it helped their relationship. That first apology didn’t have a lot of follow-ups, which led to Bowie Jane making other plans. She worked closer with Cameron and was quick to join the plan to evict Izzy. Once again Bowie Jane hurt Cirie’s game by voting to evict Jared. Bowie Jane started the season being a loyal ally to Cirie. It’s one of the biggest pitfalls for Cirie that she was so quick to let her go and not try to get her back on her side.
Cirie continues to go strong in Big Brother 25 with a few allies after losing her most loyal ones. She has a shot at winning the $750,000, but the road to the final two chairs is a lot rougher because of her previous mistakes.