Big Brother historically has swayed younger when it comes to casting. And when an older individual does get the chance to play, they are often evicted early. Then came Big Brother 26’s Angela Murray. The 50-year-old Utah grandma came in hot, eager to be a larger-than-life character. She succeeded. Eight weeks in, Angela’s game is simply unmatched. She’s been HoH twice. She’s survived eviction night twice. She’s even been saved by the veto three times. It’s completely unheard of and, frankly, incredible. To study Angela’s game is to understand the dichotomy of playing with heart, emotion, and strategy. Plus, a little bit of luck and trust.
Big Brother is the hit CBS reality series that watches a group of Houseguests who battle for power and safety in real life. Since 2000, Big Brother has captured the allure of one of the best social experiments on television. With cameras and microphones capturing every word and action, Big Brother lives by the mantra, “Expect the unexpected.” Angela Murray sure is living by that phrase!
Angela Murray Is a Wildcard on ‘Big Brother’ 26
When Angela Murray entered the game of Big Brother, the realtor showcased the bubbly personality of someone who was living out their dream. She earned a major victory to start the summer, winning Head of Household week 1. She set the tone of the season as she set her sights on Matt Hardeman and his “crazy eyes.” Following her epic meltdown speech on the stairs of the house, she ended up also calling out some of her allies as the paranoia set in. Yet, when she found herself on the block the following week, she was not evicted from the house. Perhaps she was the lesser of two evils, or she was not seen as a threat. No matter the decision, this crucial moment proved beneficial to the path Angela set.
When she won her second Head of Household, her power was hijacked by Quinn Martin with his Deep Fake HoH. While it could have been a problem for Murray, she used it to her advantage to establish beneficial bonds, including with Tucker Des Lauriers. This earned her a spot in the short-lived Sixth Avenue alliance. And, despite being an easy target when it came to nominations, she managed to be blindsided herself when she was saved by the Power of Veto three times — which is completely unheard of. Just like wearing the same striped shirt when she was saved (her lucky veto shirt, it seems). This is also during a season where the Power of Veto was used for eight straight weeks. Just when you thought she was down and out, she keeps on staying. But why? What is it about Angela Murray that makes her an asset to the game? Is she simply just being underestimated?
Heart Is an Overlooked Aspect of Angela’s Gameplay
Angela has been playing with a strong sense of conviction, willing to speak her truth. Whether her truth is fact or paranoia is a completely different story. Angela has been no stranger to having her emotions explode because her heart is on her sleeve. It’s aided in blowing up others’ games countless other times as well. And yet this strategy is keeping her safe despite being seen as a wildcard. She’s battling the difficulty of morality within the game. She gets easily worked up, bringing her tears in multiple conversations. But she can flip on a dime and expose house secrets that have influenced crucial game decisions. Her paranoia when it came to players like Brooklyn Rivera, Hardeman, and Martin, who she gladly continued to call out until their subsequent evictions, placed giant targets on their backs, diverting it from her.
Her early connection with Tucker Des Lauriers appeared to be like it was the making-of a reboot for The Odd Couple, but it helped insulate her. When Tucker established a showmance with Rubina Bernabe, Angela was truly terrified that he would never pick her over Rubina in the final two. Tucker talked her off the cliff rather than flipping on her. Despite not being too much on the televised version of the show, she’s bonded with Leah Peters. Their mother-daughter-type relationship provided Leah a reason to save her when the opportunity arose. She’s used her tears to her advantage and gained sympathy for her plights in the game.
She has some challenge victories under her belt, but not nearly at the rate that Tucker or Makensy Manbeck have established. Angela knows when to pull out the W. Being on slop can be a major pitfall for players in Big Brother. Knowing that being a Have Not was not good for her mental and emotional game, she opted to risk her safety during the chicken coup HoH challenge to ensure that she was not one of the players to drop their egg and become a dreaded Have Not. It was quite a brilliant move that made the others realize that perhaps they were underestimating her.
Angela Murray Plays ‘Big Brother’ To the Beat of Her Own Drum
When it comes to being a colorful character, Angela Murray is providing. She’s handed Big Brother fans an abundance of memes and clips. Whether it was her taunting walk before Lisa Weintraub‘s eviction or taunting Brooklyn Rivera in her goodbye message for eating her charcuterie board, Angela is the gift that keeps on giving. Angela Murray is an enigma. Even host Julie Chen Moonves knows it. As she puts it in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “I think people in the house genuinely like her and see her as a fun mom figure. Plus, they aren’t threatened by her, so why not keep her? Plus, I bet they don’t want to get in trouble by their real moms by voting her out!” If Big Brother 25 is any indication, they might have to cut Angela like the players had to vote out Cirie Fields and Felicia Cannon back-to-back in the final five. Will we learn that Angela Murray is a secret mastermind who has complete control over the entire house? It’s possible! No matter what happens here on out, Angela Murray is a Big Brother all star, and there’s never been someone quite like her.
Big Brother airs every Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday on CBS. All episodes and the Big Brother Live Feeds are available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
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