There is a new king in town.
After a run that saw complete domination by a small group of players, it was the undercover cop from Rhode Island who ended up taking the win. Derrick’s game play was one that ended up being respected by the Jury that had been sent there by his moves, and his 7-2 win over Cody tonight now places him in the pantheon of Big Brother Greats that are debated as to whom is the “Best of All Time.”
In the span of around 60 hours, the two strongest competitors in the House were eliminated and the endgame of this season became completely clear. The departures of Frankie and Caleb have set a finale that is almost assured, barring a last-second swerve. After 12 weeks and 13 evictions, we are at the point where everyone has an equal footing and chance to win.
In that same span of time, we saw two completely different approaches to campaigning to stay, and while Caleb’s attempt to stay in the game was understandable – and admirable – Frankie’s attempt sealed the opinion on what type of player and person he was in the House.
The appeal of the unknown has been a part of Big Brother since the introduction of “Pandora’s Box.” Seeing the opportunity that comes with the unknown prize or punishment has been a storyline that has played out over several seasons, and this year was no exception. It was pointed out this season that no previous Houseguest has ever refused the allure of Pandora’s Box, and once again we saw that play out in Frankie’s push to have the rest of the remaining Houseguests join him in pushing the button.
Once again, we saw this come back to haunt the House – and Frankie’s allure to the potential of the button started a week that began with him firmly positioned in the Final Four and ended with him speaking with Julie tonight.
It is an important rule in Big Brother that the “social game” of a player can often be more important than their competitive play. The ability of a player to weave their way through the House and be seen as an asset and ally to as many people as possible can make or break a game. When a player develops these alliances, they can walk through the game and win the entire thing – Dr. Will Kirby is a testament to this. When someone forgets this and strays from playing a strong social game, they can burn out spectacularly (Witness the spectacular flameout of Shelly’s game in BB13).
In the case of evictee Donny, the lack of a strong social game and weak strategic thinking were glaring weaknesses that could not be overcome by strong competitive play and a good personality.
Over the years, the phenomenon of the “Superfan Houseguest” has developed. These are the Big Brother Houseguests that have been longtime fans of the show – either through watching the show on CBS, or even subscribing to the Feeds. Some of these players have been very successful in their runs on Big Brother, using their understanding of the game to get them to Endgame (or even win, in the case of Ian). There are the fans who have ben successful in more limited ways, usually by underestimating the stress and challenge of the game – these players, while making a good run, have far more often than not burned out before the end (in this sense, McCrae comes to mind). Then, there are the players who are simply looking for the “Big Brother Experience” – the ability to be in the House, to see it all and enjoy everything without actually stepping up and playing the game fully.
In this regard, Nicole was the exemplar of this type of HouseGuest – and in this regard, her time in the House can be regarded as a success for herself.
In Big Brother, the difference between “going home” and “ruling the roost” – and vice-versa – an be as little as one day – or even one hour – of game time. Many seasons past have seen alliances fall apart due to the dreaded Double Eviction days where two Houseguests go home in the span of an hour. Fallout from the Double Eviction can wreck a person’s entire game (witness Jordan and Shelly’s blowout after Jeff’s eviction in BB13).
In the span of a day, Nicole went from “possible removal of a known enemy” to “enemy remaining and two allies gone” and while she returned to possible power, her game has been weakened severely.
Typically in Big Brother, the show is defined by moments of Houseguests stepping up and becoming the great gamers we knew they could be. Rachel, as an example, won Big Brother 13 by stepping out of Brendon’s shadow and playing her own game. Two years ago, Ian showed the kind of player he was by engineering Mike “Boogie’s” eviction. This season, however, has seen a different focus. Time and time again, we have seen potentially great players fall victim to a moment of weakness in their game that changed the course of the season.
This week’s HoH run by Cody showed one such moment, and although it may prove beneficial in the long run his allowance of that weakness to come through proved to be game-changing once more.
It isn’t often that a week goes as smoothly for a Head of Household as it did for Derrick this week. From the beginning, every move he made to get his ultimate target out was set for success and performed by a House united in its belief that the biggest, strongest and most dangerous Houseguest of the season needed to go. One Houseguest was convinced to put himself up to ensure that this happened, and by the time the Veto Ceremony took place there was very little question how the week would end.
Indeed, for Devin the hope that he would remain in the House evaporated faster than any one could predict – and his acceptance of this loss was the icing on the cake that was delivered to feed watchers and Houseguests alike.
At the beginning of the season, two things were made pretty clear. The first was that there was a major alliance, one that was already influencing the direction of the game and was intent on eliminating the so-called “weaker” players in the House. Led by Devin and Caleb, this Alliance – known as the Bomb Squad – was planning a systematic elimination of those outside of it by nominating weaker players and pitting them against much stronger players in the Battle of the Block competition. The second was that the alliance even had an “inside player” in the form of Paola, who was willing to throw competitions in the name of safety. This strategy worked… for about 1 1/2 HoH cycles.
By the end of Devin’s HoH reign the script had changed, the Bomb Squad had essentially exploded and Paola was out of the House – and in tracing back the root cause, the reasons were timeless in the annals of failed BB alliances.
In the annals of Big Brother history, there have been players whose names evoke immediate reaction. Their gameplay was so legendary, so remarkable that fans across the land remember their names to this day… as the worst players to ever be in the House. From Mike “The Godfather” of BB5 to Brian in BB10 and Keith (and by extension, the entirety of “The Regulators) in BB13, these players played or overplayed so poorly that their fellow Houseguests were given essentially a free week to slide through.
After this week, a new name has been added to this pantheon of horrible gameplay – Joey.