This article contains major spoilers for The Traitors season 1 and Big Brother season 25, as well as general spoilers for Survivor, The Challenge, and Big Brother.
Seemingly within moments of discovering that Survivor Titan and The Traitors champion Cirie Fields is the 17th contestant on Big Brother season 25, fellow houseguest Izzy Gleicher makes a connection that gives her a massive advantage over the other contestants. This season, Cirie is competing alongside her son, Jared, and Izzy is the only houseguest who knows they’re related. Why? Because she follows Cirie on Instagram and has seen photos of them together.
Other houseguests know Cirie’s reputation in the reality TV world, but as of season 25, episode 6, they haven’t figured out she’s Jared’s mom. Izzy being the sole proprietor of that information could allow her to make a major power play later in the game, as the number of houseguests continues to dwindle. Big Brother always comes down to a final two before the champion is declared, and given Cirie’s gameplay on her previous shows, it’s very likely she and/or Jared will be in the finale, potentially allowing them both to take home the win.
That is unless Izzy successfully leverages her ace in the hole.
Reality TV rookies can learn from Izzy
Even this early in the game, Izzy is already proving that reality TV rookies should do as much research on the genre as possible before entering a legacy series like Big Brother or Survivor. She isn’t the first-ever rookie to do so, of course, but having such a unique and game-changing advantage from the jump highlights why doing her homework matters.
None of the houseguests knew Cirie was joining this season of Big Brother; while the other 16 contestants competed in the first challenge of the season, Cirie was already in the house. By simply familiarizing herself with other reality shows and titans, Izzy has positioned herself as either a key ally to Cirie and Jared or a huge threat, depending on how she chooses to play it.
On The Challenge, which brings back veteran contestants each season alongside a new class of rookies, the ones who study up on potential daily challenges, elimination challenges, and veteran contestants’ gameplay styles inevitably do better than those who don’t. The greener someone is, the more likely they are to be thrown into an early elimination and sent home. The Challenge (which wrapped its 38th season earlier this year) has always followed this formula, and as series like Survivor (which debuts its 45th season in September) and Big Brother (which is currently in its 25th season) carry on, bringing back vets has become increasingly common.
Reality TV vets don’t have to win to be Titans
Cirie Fields has competed on Survivor four times, but she’s never won. However, when she competed against a mix of reality TV stars, an Olympian, and a bunch of rookies on the first season of the U.S. version of The Traitors, she was the sole winner—a feat that required her to backstab three teammates in the murder-mystery-style competition show and slowly pick off everyone on the opposing team. She’s cunning and conniving at turns, and she’s beloved in reality TV fandom.
Ultimately, Cirie’s win ratio doesn’t matter as much as her gameplay, which is the case for a number of reality TV Titans. The Challenge contestants like Aneesa Ferreira, Kam Williams, and Cory Wharton have never won a final despite competing on multiple seasons of the show, but they have devoted fans who love seeing them return time after time. The franchise has built its reputation as the hardest competition reality series on TV upon the backs of veterans who love the game and want to keep fighting for the win, even as the stakes get higher and the rookies get smarter.
Contestants like Izzy attract early devotees because of how they study the game before playing and leverage their knowledge to advance. If she plays her cards right during this season of Big Brother, she could become a Titan in her own right—especially if she keeps studying and learning from Cirie.
(featured image: CBS Broadcasting, Inc.)
