'Big Brother' Heads Into the Finale With Gal Dominating the Edit

With one week left until the finale of Israel’s "Big Brother," the recap argues that the show’s editors have all but surrendered to one storyline, Gal. The article says Gal appears in nearly every scene, and when she is not on screen, two or more housemates are talking about her. Even her visit to the Big Brother room was presented as notable, because she rarely seems to drop the persona the show has built around her.

The piece also reflects on the latest elimination, Shli, saying she needed to go. It argues that her relationship with Omer gradually eroded her, comparing him to someone moving her around like a baby, and says the pair entered the house as sharp characters but faded over time. Omer, the writer notes, had hoped an older contestant would leave so his supporters’ votes would be split, but the outcome backfired on him when Shli was voted out, whom he believes he loves.

Much of the analysis focuses on Gal’s unusual presence and self-control. The writer says her strength lies in being approachable and seeming to have no ego, yet she is so rarely wounded, defeated, or forced to withdraw that she can feel almost inhuman. Other housemates, such as Aliran, Hodaya and Rafaela, are described as unable to handle her in a productive way. Rafaela, in particular, is said to identify the core issue but behave so unpleasantly that it ruins the exchange.

The article ends by arguing that something in the format itself needs to change. The writer says Big Brother once featured more rounded contestants whose inner lives were worth hearing, but now the illusion is gone. Without that illusion, the show has lost part of what made viewers invest in it.