[LemonJam]

I didn't really post much during the season because I like to take my time before I start to pick my favourite Houseguest, decide whether I like the theme or not etc, but now that I've digested, forgotten about it a bit and remembered again I thought I'd give my take.

I'm gonna start with the theme and good lord they really went all out on this one. Big Brother Canada is never too shy to wear its heart on its sleeve and be as corny as it needs to be to create a memorable season theme. Remember was the theme of Big Brother U.S. 19 was? Yeah, me neither (side note, I swear that they've had a summer camp theme at least 3 times now?) I LOVED the theme. The intro was exceptionally done and the opportunity for a related zero-to-hero story arc would have been putty in the producers hands. Imagine that Jamar, the man who was brought up struggling through life taking down Kyle, who had a Batman villain-esque quality about him where in some aspects you can sympathise with his story, but as a viewer you know his actions are wrong.

The house itself was probably my favourite one to date. I was obsessed with the Manga room especially, which as it was all black and white allowed the houseguests to be the "pop of colour" in the room, which is insta-aesthetic af. I never usually pay too much attention to the house to be honest, but there was plenty to look at this season. The nod to Superman with the HoH room was a very nice touch.

Then there is the cast. I actually want to go out on a limb here and say this could have been one of the best Big Brother Canada casts yet. Almost everybody delivered in one way or another. Jamar and Minh-Ly I don't feel like I even have to say anything. Okay, I will be the first to admit that I believe that Jamar was maybe a bit put on, but the man is pure entertainment. He is charismatic as hell, quick witted and he didn't mind calling out the bullshit thrown his way, which I guess started his demise but I'll get to that later. Minh-Ly is an absolutely shameless shit stirrer who is exactly who she said she was in her VT, a horny, volatile woman who doesn't take any bull****. Pair these two together in a showmance and holy ****... give these two a reality show already. Outstanding. Madeleine was also a pleasant surprise, beginning the season as shameless showmance fodder to becoming a complete hell-demon once her ride or die (literally) was backdoored. I rolled my eyes when she said she had an "inner Ika" but wow. She proved me wrong. Other houseguests who showed so much promise included Angie, who flew under the radar, but the way she handled Minh-Ly's very questionable **** stirring was exceptional and proved that when pushed, she can really bring righteous entertainment value. Had she made it towards the end game, I think we all would have been rooting for her. Susanne also had potential as a passionate endgamer and John-Luke as a scrappy underdog

Even the villains of the season had some charm. Brooke and Sheldon were a pair I never would have put together in the house, but there is something quite endearing about the cool, confident, athletic Sheldon teaming up with the awkward, dorky slightly neurotic Brooke. They definitely weren't popular coming towards the shows discontinuation, but we've had much worse duos in power. Chris was actually an excellent Big Brother contestant and although he definitely had some questionable behaviour towards women he was an absolute pantomime character and is a HUGE part of why the first few episodes of Big Brother Canada were so good. I loved the juxtaposition of his DR's and VT claiming to be this put together mastermind while in the house he constantly stumbles through his words in conversations while everyone rips into him to his face and behind is back. And then there's Kyle, I didn't like him in the house and he did [/i]plenty[/i] of questionable **** but... imagine what his downfall really could have been like... imagine being taken out in a Double Eviction Neda style, because honestly? There are few things better than the dominant alliances Alpha being taken out early in the game, and it was gonna happen with Kyle. As for the others, Hira was pleasant enough, Rianne was kindof UTRfun, Vanessa was scrump af and had the worst posture I think I've seen on a human under 30, but was she really that bad? Micheal also made for a great second boot. Carol sucked though. She really ****ing sucked.

Regardless if COVID-19 never happened and the season didn't have to be cancelled, Big Brother Canada fucked up. Badly. By removing Jamar for threatening actions they've set a new bar for themselves as to what is and isn't acceptable in the game. They had to remove Kyle the day after to defend themselves looking hypocritical and, frankly, rather racist. If this was the bar they had set from Season 1 they probably would have ejected at least a quarter or their houseguests who would be out of the house, some of them would never become the legends they are today and the show would have never became the show we knew and loved. If this is the precedent for future removals in the Big Brother Canada franchise, then I am really, really worried for the show moving forward. Due to COVID-19 making the cancellation necessary the show didn't even have any time to recover from its errors. Many of its fans have turned its back from productions questionable decision making and given that it was nearing cancellation just a few years ago I almost feel ready to let it go and I think its fans do too.

TL;DR, BBCAN8 was amazing in its short stint, production ****ed up and probably won't be able to recover moving forward.