Reality television is defined by its amazing villains. In a genre filled with intriguing contestants, there’s nothing fans enjoy more than that one person you love to hate, those dramatized, chaos-causing folks who make these shows worth watching. And few series have had as many amazing villains as Big Brother; created by John de Mol on CBS, this renowned reality competition has offered many of the medium’s best antagonists. It grants viewers insight into the minds of these (sometimes) cunning characters. Developing such a proud reputation of its villains that it has viewers wondering every season just which new player will take up this illustrious title.
Despite its many worthy contenders, fans of the show’s latest season think they have the answer. This installment has been more chaotic than most, filled with invigorating personalities who just can’t resist sowing discontent and adding even more obstacles to this already complex game. Yet one has risen above the rest, someone who has steadily become more vocal — in the worst way possible — and has orchestrated some of the messiest Big Brother moments to-date. There are many candidates this season, but when it comes to who is Big Brother 26’s true villain, nobody deserves the title more than Quinn Martin.
‘Big Brother’ Creates Reality TV’s Best Villains
There have been astounding villains throughout Big Brother history, with this archetype taking on many styles and appearances who all thoroughly delight those watching at home. And some of these people even managed to win the game! Whether it be Jun Song’s uncaring treatment of her fellow cast or Paul Abrahamian taking manipulation and deceit to a whole new level, many of these contestants have seen their callousness rewarded by making it far in the game. And even if they don’t win, a good villain becomes the moniker for their season, someone who fans will always associate that iteration with and who future players will aspire to be like. There are many of these kinds of players, yet this season has managed to set themselves apart…though not in the way you might think.
Early into Big Brother 26, while many of his fellow contestants noticed what a threat Quinn Martin could be, none could have anticipated just how much messiness he’d be able to stir up. And it’s understandable why they wouldn’t even register him when other people’s villainous tendencies were much more vocal. Angela Murray’s early outbursts and open mocking of other contestants established her almost immediately as 26’s resident antagonist, with players and fans alike shocked by just how petty this Salt Lake City grandma was ready to be. And when she began to mellow out, realizing that her actions didn’t seem to make others want to trust her, Tucker Des Lauriers rose up quickly to take her place. The man’s open call-outs of other players and tendency to turn eviction ceremonies into his own personal pulpit created many jaw-dropping moments, many of which could have solidified him as the real villain. But while these actions were loud and caused strife, they failed to really paint either of these people as utter villains in this game — instead, they allowed the real villain to slip by unnoticed for far too long.
‘Big Brother’ is Filled With Messy Villains, But Not Like This
As strange as it may seem now, Quinn began Big Brother 26 with more power than most. The early Ainsley twist left him with the Deep-Fake power, guaranteeing him an anonymous HOH giving the young man confidence as he began to forge alliances in the game. He quickly found himself flushed with them; whether it be his “Visionaries” trio with T’kor Clottey and Kimo Apaka or his membership in the ill-fated “Pentagon,” Quinn seemed secure in the house — though that didn’t stop him from creating his own problems. An early example of this was when he jumpstarted one of this season’s biggest blowups by misconstruing a comment Angela had made about the Black players in the house to T’kor, leading to an intense conversation that ended with Angela screaming she wasn’t racist to everyone she saw. Angela’s decision to act like that was her own, and fans were happily surprised to see her calm down and apologize to T’kor, the women having an enlightening conversation about race and how she should have listened to what the other player had to say. No matter how it ended, though, this action caused one of the series’ most uncomfortable blowups and made something very clear: Quinn could not be trusted.
The contestant’s chaotic actions have only snowballed, his blatant backstabbing of every person he’s been aligned with not only increasing tension in the house, but even sending some of his own allies home. Players like Tucker and Angela openly called out his scheming and, after overestimating his own power, even his closest friends are reconsidering their bond — but that’s not actually what makes Quinn this season’s villain. Every player in Big Brother needs to be cunning to make it through the game, but what paints Quinn’s actions as more malicious than most is the loud smugness that he projects at every single opportunity. The player lauds himself constantly as a mastermind in this game, celebrating his every action as though he doesn’t constantly need stronger players on his side to get anything done. Quinn is a villain on Big Brother 26 because that’s clearly what he set out to be when he was selected for the show, his misguided attempts at campy malice only serving to irk everyone around him and distance himself from the iconic antagonists he’s clearly trying to emulate.
There’s Never Been a Villain Like Quinn Martin – And That’s Good
For all of his actions on Big Brother 26, it’s undeniable that Quinn has excelled in a way similar to so many other iconic villains. One of his biggest enemies, Tucker, was evicted due in part to Quinn’s manipulation, and while many of his alliances have fallen apart, he’s found solid security with players like Chelsie Baham and Cam Sullivan-Brown. Yet it’s difficult for fans to appreciate the small victories that Quinn has accumulated because, as the season so far has shown, the man just cannot seem to let them speak for themselves. He feels the constant need to create useless conflict and mess things up for everyone, including himself, so desperate to be this season’s villain that he fails to recognize just how much damage he’s doing to his own reputation. It’s an oversight that has deeply hindered what could have been an overwhelmingly successful game, but hey, all of this gossiping and needlessly-messy strategy has given Quinn exactly what he wants: he is, hands-down, the true villain of Big Brother 26.