Alyssa Lopez thought she had a good path forward in Big Brother, with Xavier Prather by her side but, as we learned on Double Eviction night, the plan for their "Final Two" was never actually a thing. Xavier, of course, always intended to protect The Cookout alliance, but the big surprise of the night was when Alyssa revealed to Julie Chen Moonves, after her eviction, that she didn't want to take Xavier to the Final Two as she told him.
CinemaBlend had a chance to submit questions to Alyssa Lopez ahead of her arrival in the jury house and decided to ask Alyssa who were pick was, since Xavier wasn't who she wanted to take to the Final Two. She shared part of her plan, as well as her thoughts about how her ideal Final Two partner let her down:
My preferred Final Two [partner] would’ve been Hannah. I really did want to continue that loyalty with Hannah. Me leaving on her HOH honestly I think was a waste of her HOH power. I would’ve taken Hannah to the Final Two.
Big Brother fans may remember that Hannah Chaddha ultimately nominated Alyssa Lopez during the Double Eviction and per The Cookout's pre-arranged plan, set up Lopez to go out of the game over Xavier Prather. Many would likely now agree with Alyssa's opinion that Hannah sent out the wrong person, especially now that she's now up for eviction herself alongside Tiffany Mitchell.
The revelation that Alyssa planned to take Hannah to her Final Two is certainly interesting. Alyssa spent most of Big Brother Season 23 by Xavier Prather's side, even when her showmance partner, Christian Birkenberger, was still in the house. Of course, perhaps she realized that she didn't have a chance of winning with Xavier in one of the Final Two chairs.
Fans criticized Alyssa Lopez early in the season for allegedly using her showmance and Xavier Prather as a shield, showing no gameplay of her own. However, I think this is further evidence that suggests the opposite. Beyond her two veto wins before elimination, Alyssa's quote proves she was thinking well ahead of her strategy to win in the house. She was far from a passive player in the game this season, even if she wasn't the most impactful. Ultimately, that's a large part of why she survived in the game as long as she did, and that's something noteworthy to be proud of. Hopefully, Big Brother fans recognize that, and Lopez is viewed as her own player and not defined by the people who protected her.
Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on CBS. Stick with CinemaBlend as the season winds down for more analysis on who is playing the best game and who could be the next person out of the house.
