Oh, Big Brother. There are so few surprises left. So few people that machinations are almost impossible. At this stage of the game, larger alliances start to crumble because people start to realize that their former allies are now the ones keeping them from winning the big prize. Lucky for Dan, the rest of the players don’t know this about the game or at least refuse to admit it, so it’s keeping him safe and making it easier for him to get rid of everyone else.
Just look at what happened during the live eviction last Thursday night. When Dan won HoH, he knew it was his chance to get Ian out. Shane and Danielle didn’t seem too thrilled about the plan, but went along with it. Dan told Ian that he was putting him up as a pawn and to trust him, but was really going to vote him out. Then when Ian won the PoV and took himself down, Dan had some scrambling to do. He wanted to put up Shane and boot him, which would have been a very smart choice. Shane is great at competitions and might find a way to squeak into the final two just by winning at the right time. However, Danielle didn’t want to put her boyfriend up. Doesn’t she know the day will come? This is what always confuses me about people on competitive reality shows, you’re going to have to kick your friend/closest ally/showmance off eventually. You can’t be blinded by love. It’s not like you’re going to have a handful of poisonous berries at the end and be able to trick the gamemaster like Katniss and Peeta. There will only be one winner, so you should take the shot while you can.
Because Dan didn’t put up Shane, he put up Danielle instead. Dan said it was because she was a pawn (even though that is what he just told Ian with the intention of booting him) and he had to please the red-headed ghost that has been haunting the Big Brother house all summer. I say screw that ghost. You don’t really need her. It’s time for an exorcism. Or at least living with making the ghost angry. This is the problem with Dan’s game. When you have a final alliance with everyone, there is going to be a point where everyone knows that you’re lying. That point should be abundantly clear now to Ian, Danielle, and the ghost. Shane is too stupid to notice, he’s just happy to be there another day, but if Dan is so willing to boot him, shouldn’t Danielle know he would do the same to her?
After that whole recap, there was a POV competition and the winner is… “Save, Delete, Replay.” Yup, that is what my DVR said at this point of the show because stupid football went over on CBS and ruined the rest of the night. God, I hate the fall. This is just another reason why BB shouldn’t be allowed to linger into the fall, because some television networks are under the mistaken impression that some programming is more important that competitive reality shows. How about just cutting the end of the game off if it goes long? Ever think of that, CBS? Anyway, I caught the end online this morning.
I was rooting for Ian anyway, since he seems like more of an underdog now that ever (and because I picked him to win in week one, and I want to be right). Eventually he squeaks out another victory using this crazy ball mechanism to guess the day on which various events occurred in the house. He actually tied with Shane and they had to compete in a tie breaker question. See, Shane is still a threat. That’s your excuse to nominate him right there, Ian.
When it comes time for Ian to put people on the block, he makes a huge mistake and nominates the ghost and Shane. This week he really needs to get one of the Quack Packers out of the house, because those are the only ones who actually stand a chance of beating him. Actually, he needs to get out either Dan or Shane, because the two ladies don’t stand much of a chance in competitions or against the jury. He should have put up both Dan and Shane to ensure one was going home, even after the veto. Also, as it stands now, with the ghost on the block, Dan and Danielle are making the votes and since they’re so closely aligned they’ll vote together and decide who needs to go home (if they’re smart it will be Shane). If I were Ian (and thank god I am not, because I wouldn’t have to sit through an hour of Rachel Rilley annoying me in Pandora’s Box) I would have told the ghost that I would save her this week if she voted the way I told her. That way Ian is guaranteed to get the person he wants out of the house, because with only two votes cast for who gets sent packing, he can break the tie. This game is about getting and maintaining control, and if Ian can’t control the way the votes go, his HoH is useless.
We’ll see how things shake out on Wednesday. Right now Ian’s best bet is for the ghost to win the veto and free herself, but if not, it looks like she will finally be sent into the quiet afterlife and the remaining Quack Packers will cannibalize poor Ian. Unless Dan can get Danielle to come around and kick out Shane. Please let that happen. That really needs to happen. She needs to learn a hard lesson: in Big Brother alliances were meant to be broken.
Follow Brian Moylan on Twitter @BrianJMoylan
[Photo Credit: AP Photo]
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