Big Brother has been on the air for over 20 years. Like any show that has been airing for almost a quarter-century, Big Brother has tried various things to mix up both the gameplay and the drama. Sooner or later, every reality show adds "twists" to the proceedings. It helps reinvigorate a show's waning popularity, it helps keep things fresh and exciting, and it keeps potentially complacent players on their toes.
However, not all twists are created equal. Some throw the game into disarray in an exciting and unpredictable fashion, and some just throw the game into disarray.
Premiere Night Eviction - Seasons 9-16
The premiere night eviction twist sounds like a good idea in theory, but it didn't go over well with the fanbase. As is evident by its title, the Premiere Night Eviction twist saw various houseguests getting booted out of the house on night one. This twist appeared on five seasons, beginning with the 9th and ending with the 16th.
The fans didn't care for it. Some thought that it was unfair to put players through the grueling audition process just to kick them out on night one, and some thought that night one evictees didn't have the development necessary to make their boot interesting or emotional.
BB Takeover - Season 17
BB Takeover was a disaster. Whereas other twists at least have potential, BB Takeover was a failure from day one. This twist saw various celebrities issuing a number of their own unique twists into the game.
For example, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan introduced both the Two Additional Houseguests and The BB Fast Forward twists, and Kathy Griffin the Last Laugh twist. Big Brother 17 was plenty interesting enough without the constant twists, and the entire idea was abandoned after just three weeks. It has never returned.
Camp Comeback - Season 21
Camp Comeback was an interesting twist ruined by an unfortunate boot order, resulting in one of the show's biggest controversies. This twist appeared on Big Brother 21 and saw the first four evicted houseguests remaining in the house. One person of the four then earned their way back by winning a competition.
Unfortunately, the first three contestants were people of color, and they were all eliminated by white houseguests. Adding to the controversy was the fact that Cliff Hogg, the only white houseguest of the four, was the one who re-entered the game.
Battle Of The Block - Seasons 16-17
Battle of the Block saw the houseguests on the block competing against each other in a specialized competition. The winners of the competition would then dethrone the Head of Household and take over their reigns.
It's a good idea in theory, but it only resulted in mega-alliances that easily steamrolled the competition and ran the house. The twist was quickly and easily manipulated by the smartest contestants, and it made for extraordinarily boring Big Brother.
The Saboteur - Season 12
Appearing in Big Brother 12, The Saboteur was a twist that had a houseguest going undercover as a mysterious "saboteur" and attempting to sabotage the house. They needed to remain undetected for the first five weeks, and if they were successful, they would win $50,000.
The role was given to Annie Whittington, and they gave a dreadful performance. Hayden and Enzo immediately pegged her as The Saboteur, and she was evicted in a unanimous 10-0 vote in the first week, placing last. It was then given to Ragan Fox, but by then, nobody really cared anymore.
Coup d'Etat - Seasons 7 & 11
The Coup d'Etat twist is very simple - the wielder has the power to remove the two nominated houseguests from the block and put up two of their own. It's not one of the most creative twists, but it has the potential to cause great drama. Unfortunately, it wasn't even used in Big Brother 7, as Boogie failed to use it after the allotted three weeks.
The twist was utilized by Jeff Schroeder in Big Brother 11, and much of the fanbase accused production of blatantly interfering in the house. It was never used again.
MVP - Season 15
Appearing in just one season (Big Brother 15), the MVP gimmick was another "mysterious houseguest"-type twist. One houseguest was chosen by viewers to be that week's MVP, and they would anonymously nominate a third houseguest for eviction.
Unfortunately, one of the contestants was related to one of the most popular Big Brother contestants ever, and it resulted in some extreme bias. Elissa Slater, the sister of Rachel Reilly, was given the MVP role three weeks in a row, and some fans thought it was very unfair to the rest of the contestants.
Coin Of Destiny - Season 23
The Coin of Destiny twist in Big Brother 23 was an abysmal failure. The coin gave the anonymous winner a 50/50 chance of dethroning the Head of Household and making their own nominations. But after weeks and weeks of intriguing build-up (and the premature eviction of Derek X), it all came to naught.
Claire Rehfuss won the coin, but she was in the pocket of HOH Tiffany Mitchell. Claire won the coinflip but ended up nominating the same two houseguests that Tiffany had, effectively nullifying the coin's potential (and causing Kyland to audibly snicker).
Round Trip Ticket - Season 18
The Round Trip Ticket twist was decent enough in execution. Paul found twelve envelopes, and one of them contained a "round trip ticket." These envelopes were given to Julie Chen on eviction night, and if the player's envelope had the round trip ticket, they were placed back in the game.
There was just one problem - the twist expired just four weeks after it was found. Therefore, the twist expired before it had any relevance on the season, and it had absolutely zero payoff.
Bonus: Big Brother Canada's Secret Suit (Season 4)
Big Brother Canada is filled with some deplorable twists, and none were as badly utilized as the Wild Card twist from Big Brother Canada 4. The twist allowed two evicted houseguests to remain in a secret part of the house and watch its events through live feeds. One of them then won their way back into the house with a slew of knowledge that others did not have.
The winner was Kelsey Faith, who immediately blew up Mitchell Moffit's game and had him evicted. Mitchell was the clear favorite to win, and this twist completely ruined everything.