There have been many Big Brother alliances throughout the past 24 seasons, but The Leftovers is one of the most refreshing of them all. The seven-person alliance made up of Joseph Abdin, Michael Bruner, Kyle Capener, Taylor Hale, Brittany Hoopes, Monte Taylor, and Matt "Turner" Turner was formed when they grew tired of one side of the house dominating every week and bullying Taylor. The houseguests who felt excluded by their former groups came together at the suggestion of Kyle, and The Leftovers alliance was born. When Turner was the Head of Household (HOH), he decided to take some action, and, instead of backdooring Taylor, he worked to have his housemates evict Ameerah Jones.
The Leftovers alliance was formed after the Big Brother houseguests chose their Festie Bestie partners. Therefore, they did not choose their partners strategically for this alliance. However, most of the pairings work perfectly in order to keep the alliance members safe. Kyle and Turner are Festie Besties with Daniel Durston and Jasmine Davis, respectively, two players outside of the alliance. When Taylor's Festie Bestie, Nicole Layog, was evicted, she joined Alyssa Snider and Indy Santos, which gave her an even better chance of staying in the game since she has two non-Leftovers in her trio. Michael and Brittany are in a more vulnerable position since they do not have a pawn in their pairing. Although Joseph and Monte were originally in the same situation when Ameerah was evicted, her Festie Bestie Terrance Higgins joined them, so now they have a pawn in their trio too.
The Leftovers have positioned themselves to make it intact to the Final 7. In Big Brother history, large alliances normally do not last for various reasons. A notable exception to this was The Cookout alliance from Big Brother 23, whose six members stuck together until they reached the Final 6. If The Leftovers continue on the path they have created, all seven of them can survive. The Leftovers is one of the most refreshing alliances in a long time, with some fans comparing them to the Sovereign Six (Janelle Pierzina, Howie Gordon, Rachel Plencner, Kaysar Ridha, James Rhine, Sarah Hrejsa), which was created to defeat The Friendship alliance from Big Brother 6, one of the most beloved seasons of the show.
The Leftovers Were Underdogs
Everyone loves an underdog, especially in the Big Brother house. The Leftovers were struggling to gain power, so when Turner turned the house upside down by backdooring Ameerah instead of Taylor, fans cheered during his epic veto speech. He not only changed the course of the game, but he stood up for what was right and spoke out against those who were bullying Taylor. Although The Leftovers have kept their alliance a secret, they made it known with that vote that they were not going to allow the bullies to dominate the game anymore.
The Leftovers Communicate & Respect Each Other
When Monte won HOH, he wanted to use it as an opportunity to evict Nicole from the Big Brother house. However, he knew that this would mean that Taylor would have to sit on the block for the third time in four weeks. He had an honest conversation with her where he told her that he would not go through with the plan if she did not feel comfortable with it. His respect for Taylor was admirable. Similarly, when Michael and Brittany realized that they were the most vulnerable members of the alliance, they came up with an alternate plan to evict Alyssa and then convince Indy to join them so that they would have a non-Leftover member in their trio. Everyone in the alliance agreed that this was the best course of action, although veto winner Kyle had some inner conflict because he had promised to keep Alyssa safe by taking her off the block. In the end, Kyle's Festie Bestie Daniel used the veto, so Kyle did not have to make a decision, but it was refreshing to see Monte and the rest of the alliance were willing to reconsider their plan in order to protect Michael and Brittany. Overall, The Leftovers have created trust through their open communication.
There Are No Coasters In The Leftovers
A Big Brother coaster is someone who joins an alliance but then does little to further their game. They are usually passive and do not win competitions or perform well socially. However, they usually make it far in the game as stronger players know that they will easily win jury votes if they take the coaster to the Final 2 with them. Many Big Brother fans feel that an example of a coaster is The Cookout's Derek Frazier, who went to the Final 2 with Xavier Prather, taking second place over more deserving players. Coasters are frustrating to watch since they reap the benefits of their alliances without doing anything. In The Leftovers, every player is contributing in some way to the alliance's success. Turner, Monte, and Michael have all won HOH competitions, while Kyle, Michael, and Brittany have won veto competitions. Taylor has acted as a pawn in order to evict Nicole. Although Joseph has not won any competitions yet, he tries his hardest for the good of the alliance. Any member of The Leftovers would be deserving of the win based on their gameplay so far.
The Leftovers Are Not Turning On Each Other...Yet
Even if a Big Brother alliance makes it to the end of the game intact, they will inevitably have to turn on each other. However, many houseguests get paranoid early on and evict their own strong alliance members when they feel that they have the chance. One of the most infamous examples of this happened during Big Brother 23 when Derek Xiao destroyed the eight-person Royal Flush alliance, which had the potential to dominate the game, by backdooring Christian Birkenberger when he was HOH. Derek turned on his alliance member way too early, which led to his own demise two weeks later. Although Michael, Brittany, and Taylor have formed a Final 3 within the alliance, and Kyle is in a showmance with Alyssa, who is not in the alliance, so far, The Leftovers have remained loyal to each other. They do not see each other as threats, although they know that they will eventually have to evict each other if they make it to the Final 7.
The Leftovers alliance has been a pleasant surprise during Big Brother 24. They came together to flip the house and fight for what was right. Plus, they have America rooting for them to continue their reign until they reach the Final 7. Although they started as the underdogs in the game, they have quickly become fan favorites. So far, The Leftovers are keeping things fresh in Big Brother house.
Big Brother airs Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST and Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.