Season 23 of Big Brother has entered the jury phase of the game, and Head of Household Kyland Young may be setting himself up for failure. With numbers dwindling and the new BB Bucks twist adding an extra wrinkle in the game, the strategy has been complicated this week. Kyland nominated Claire Rehfuss and Derek "Big D" Frazier for eviction, with Big D serving as a pawn, but the live feeds have shown Kyland's game plan is anything but straightforward.
Kyland's target has shifted throughout the week. Originally, he planned to target Claire but also considered targeting Alyssa Lopez. On the live feeds, he has settled on backdooring Britini D'Angelo because she has enough BB Bucks to potentially earn power in future weeks. He nominated her as a replacement after using the Power of Veto to remove Claire from the block. Kyland bet on Alyssa to win the Power of Veto, so when she won, he also received a Power of Veto of his own.
Though Kyland is a generally friendly presence in the house, his gameplay has begun to cause friction with his fellow houseguests. His Cookout alliance-mate Tiffany Mitchell has been harboring a growing resentment toward him for several weeks due to his close relationship with Sarah Beth Steagall, who is not in the Cookout. He has also made missteps in managing his relationships with alliance members when it comes to competitions. In the Head of Household competition, he eliminated Cookout member Azah Awasum after she asked him to throw it. Afterward, the two had a tense discussion about Kyland's choice to eliminate Azah, and Azah left the conversation feeling disrespected by Kyland. Based on live feeds chatter, Kyland also apparently threw the Power of Veto to Alyssa in an obvious manner, causing more distrust among his allies.
Kyland's strategy this week has been harmful to his long-term chances of winning the game. In addition to his friction with Cookout alliance members, he also came up with a convoluted scheme to gain trust with Claire by preventing her from winning the Power of Veto so he could use it on her himself. He ultimately did gain a Power of Veto and use it on her, but Claire doesn't trust him moving forward. This kind of transparent and transactional gameplay is beginning to bother his fellow houseguests, and it could result in Kyland being one of the first Cookout members to be evicted.
In order to regain good standing in the house, Kyland needs to course-correct soon. Kyland has an amiable personality, so he should focus on maintaining personal relationships with the other players rather than coming up with complex strategic maneuvers. The houseguests are seeing through his diplomatic demeanor and recognizing his ulterior motives, so he could be in danger if he doesn't switch up his tactics.
Big Brother 23 airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8 PM ET on CBS.