There is an old saying in professional wrestling: “To Be The Man, You Gotta Beat The Man.” It’s a simple premise, overall. To prove you are the best, you have to win against the best.
In the end, The Prodigy beat The Best Player in Big Brother and proved this to be true once more. Tonight, Ian became the Man by beating Dan, the Man 6 – 1.
After both threw the first part of the HOH competition to Dan, Danielle and Ian competed in the second of the three part final Head of Household Competition tonight. Ian won, making it an Ian/Dan head-to-head competition live Wednesday, for a guaranteed spot in the Final Two and the choice of who will sit next to them.
Ian, thinking he’s guaranteed to be in the finals because of his ‘Renegade Alliance’ with Dan, was put under fire immediately after his win. A planned attack by Dan and Danielle that Dan hopes will help his chances of convincing Ian to throw the final part of the HOH to him. Dan put his plan in to motion, making an intentional slip to ‘reveal’ his alliance with Ian to Danielle.
“You gotta admit, I played this stinkin’ city like a harp from Hell!”
– Penguin (Danny DeVito), “Batman Returns”
The best villains in classic literature often tend to be those who don’t reveal their true ambition to the hero until the final act. If one were to look at this season as literature or a story written out, then Dan has proved to be the season’s Iago. Seen as an ally to the “heroic” couple of Danielle and Shane, Dan fully revealed his true intentions to the heroine in the final act. With his move to get removed from nomination and then to eliminate the one remaining power couple in the house, Dan has paved his way to victory by placing himself in a safe position to make the Final Two. His diabolical plan to subvert his main ally is complete, and his move seals his fate as one of the biggest villains in BB History.
At least, that’s what you’ll learn if you ask Danielle tonight.
Danielle, after winning her second HOH of the season, followed it up with a second Veto win. Keeping all the power in her hands, she can now decide whether to keep her nominations of former coach Dan and resident genius Ian the same. With Shane the only person safe at the moment, using it is unlikely. However with Dan still in the house, it is entirely possible that he can talk his way off the block.
Having previously had a plan together to take out Shane before the final three, Dan could use that to sway Danielle. It could already be the plan. Even so, Danielle is known for being emotional, and her attachment to Shane could override her day-one alliance with Dan.
Shane chose to use the Veto today, taking himself off the Block and securing his place in the final four. With the Quack Pack back together, Ian chose Danielle as the replacement nominee, keeping his ‘Final Two’ partner Dan safe. With Danielle on the Block next to Jenn and only Shane and Dan voting this week, it’s probably the safest she’s felt while sitting in the hot seat so far this summer.
After promising Jenn that she would never vote her out, Dani’s in a good position with her as a Jury Vote because she won’t have to go back on her word. Yet Jenn is not giving up (though she should), vowing to campaign to stay and feeling like she has a lot of game left in her. Of course, if she has actually played the game during the first two thirds, that argument would be worth a lot more.
With Big Brother winding down, the final five played for Veto. Ian having nominated Shane and Jenn, the worst case scenario for the Quack Pack was Jenn winning, forcing one of their numbers to leave. That didn’t come about when Shane took the win in what sounds like a physical puzzle challenge. Lucky for him, as Dan and Danielle have been considering taking him out before Final Four. Assuming he won’t pull a Marcellas and not use the Veto on himself (though overestimating Shane is easy to do) Ian will have to choose either Danielle or Dan to take his place.
Ian has put his faith in to the Quack Pack, most specifically Dan, who he has made a Final Two deal with, breaking out the old alliance ‘the Renegades’ which got Dan to the Final Two before. Being included in the alliance (complete with the fist-bump pistol shoot ‘secret’ handshake) is a thrill for the young man, so it is unlikely he will choose Dan as the replacement nominee, leaving Danielle as the only option.
Every year in Big Brother, there is a player that becomes a massive target for some reason. Whether earned or unearned, this target grows as long as the Houseguest remains in the house. In years past, such targets as Jase and Brendon managed to save themselves in key moments. Rarely does the House target survive through to the Final 3. In Frank’s case, a man who had been nominated 6 times and won veto 3 times managed to make it to the Final 7- a respectable performance, but one that nearly assured to end in defeat. That Frank had dodged so many bullets on his way to Julie’s Couch was amazing; that the aim finally struck the intended target was cathartic.
In retrospect, Frank’s Big Brother run is incredibly impressive when looked at statistically. 3 HoH wins, 2 Veto wins to save himself and 6 nominations before eviction are All-Star level numbers, and almost assure him a run at the game a second time somewhere down the line. Frank’s physical game was unsurpassed, and his mental game was even the source of a win. Where Frank fell was in a social game that lacked severely. Frank was never humble about his victories, a trait that his coach instilled further into him than what may have already been festering inside. Added to this was a tendency to lash out verbally at inopportune times, along with an unbelievable streak of continually trusting the exact wrong person at the exact wrong time.It was Frank’s undying loyalty to Boogie that made him a target during the Coach phase of the game. it was his continued partnership with Boogie that solidified him as a target, and it was the trusting of Dan and members of the Quack pack alliance at the end that sealed his blindsiding.
After his first Veto Win of the Season, Dan decided to use his Power of Veto on Jenn, removing her from the block. It’s a good game move that covers his bases with all the players in the house, with one obvious exception. Joe – who Ian chose as the replacement nominee.
Taking Jenn off both repays her for using the Veto on him last week, and gives her and Frank the impression that his ‘alliance’ with them is still solid. There is a chance that Joe could go home rather than Frank. Frank has the added benefit of not being able to play for the next HOH. This, as we know, will be the first in the Double Eviction Thursday night.
With Ian finally upstairs in HOH, his second time around again proved his loyalty to the crashed, burned Quack Pack he somehow resuscitated and recovered. By nominating Frank and Jenn, he kept Dan off the block and went so far as solidifying a final two deal with the former winner after Dan won the much anticipated OTEV Veto Competition today. His first win of the season, on his birthday, no less.
Dan now having the power to save either Frank or Jenn from the block, who he formed an alliance with last week that kept both him and Danielle in the game, means we will see which side he thinks will get him farthest in the game. So far it looks as though his loyalty to the QP will last at least another week, as Ian his HOH.
Memorable game moves in Big Brother can be the stuff of legends. Some become so well-known that they become standard game strategies later on- witness the “Backdoor Plan” of Nakomis that sealed Scott Long’s fate in BB5. Others are considered so hideous that their backfiring can become infamous as well. Howie Gordon can attest to this, after his HoH that removed a key ally from the game.
After this past week, it can be assured that Dan Gheesling has entered the pantheon of Big Brother Game Masters with his Hail Mary move that assured his staying in the game. Dan had been known as a strong game player from his previous win, but it had been assumed that he was a weaker winner of the game. After his strategy came to light and his game move assured him safety this week, it can no longer be questioned- Dan has become a master of the game, possibly one of the best to ever play it.