Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Big Brother Week 11 Head Of Household competition. Read at your own risk!
Cameron Hardin was crowned “The Comeback Kid” by evicted Houseguest Mecole Hayes, and he certainly earned that title in Big Brother Season 25. Cameron escaped seemingly certain eviction a number of times before he was finally ushered out and became the first juror, but would he have played it any differently? The evicted Houseguest confirmed to CinemaBlend and others that winning comps had nothing to do with his original strategy and was born more out of necessity.
CinemaBlend and other outlets were able to send questions to Cameron in the wake of his eviction, as direct interaction with him would break his sequester as part of the Big Brother jury. I asked if Cameron intended to win as many competitions as he did from the very start and received a pretty definitive answer:
God no. I think I won seven competitions while I was there, and winning that many competitions was not part of my strategy. Granted, I didn’t have the biggest strategy. I kind of wanted to ride the wave and go where I needed to go. But, going in I didn’t want to appear as a competitive threat. But after a couple of weeks, back against the wall, I had to start fighting. So, I just came out of the corner and started swinging every week.
Cameron’s original goal was to keep a low profile and just slide along wherever alliances would take him. Unfortunately, he was pretty much fighting for his survival from the start and successfully evaded eviction a number of times through his numerous competition wins. He even managed to win a very clutch Head of Household competition after returning via the zombie twist, which gave him more time in the house.
His game ended with being backdoored by his closest ally, Bowie Jane. It was the HOH where he seemed to be the safest that he was all game, and yet, it was his undoing. Upon eviction, Cameron didn’t blame Bowie, however, and stated that his personal shortcomings in the game led him to be evicted.
Those who have followed Big Brother online with a Paramount+ subscription would likely say Cameron’s social game is his biggest flaw. He’s the current poster boy that competitive dominance can only get a Houseguest so far if they are stubborn and unwilling to compromise with others. Sure, Cameron was targeted early on by many Houseguests, but the fact that he couldn’t even rely on his closest ally and the three-man alliance he forged a week before his eviction to save him is proof enough that he wasn’t the best person to work with.
As the first member of the jury, Cameron will have plenty of time to consider who he believes is playing the best game in Big Brother. He mentioned in the interview sent to the press he felt Jag Bains was playing the best game, so I’d wager the news that Jag won the Secret HOH is going to only further affirm that. It also may confirm Cameron is going to vote for the most dominant physical competitor at the end, which will be worth remembering as the game continues.
Big Brother airs on CBS on Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET, Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET, and on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Tune in and see how this week plays out, and who will join Cameron in the jury house next.