Re: Big Brother 16
For me TV JUNKIE got it right;
Big Brother finale: Loyal to the end
Lisa Caputo | September 25, 2014 | TV Reviews | 1 Comment
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It has been an interesting season on Big Brother. Toted as “the most twisted season yet,” CBS’s hit summer series certainly saw its fair share of ups and downs. With an early alliance that manipulated the game by controlling the majority of votes each week, (and was eventually cut in half yet still held all of the power through the game), the season did become predictable and somewhat dull at points throughout the summer. But it also spoke to how dedicated and capable this alliance truly was, sticking together despite some trying times in order to maintain their power and target anyone and everyone who was not a part of their group. The Detonators, the surviving members of the original Bomb Squad, arguably became the most dominant alliance in the history of the game. In the end, though, it was The Hitmen, Derrick and Cody, who were left standing in the final two, becoming one of the few pairs to ever make it through to the very end together.
Wednesday’s live season finale was a fitting end to the season. With two very deserving houseguests in the final two and a jury comprised of people who, for the most part, had a profound level of respect and admiration for the way that both Cody and Derrick had played the game, the stage was set for one of the most stellar finales in recent Big Brother history.
Host Julie Chen opened the 90-minute special with genuine excitement and enthusiasm, something that shone through from start to finish as even she seemed as sincerely intrigued by how the finale would play out along with the viewers. Before the highly anticipated final round of the competition was to be played live, of course, we had to backtrack with pre-recorded segments that would reveal which of the remaining three houseguests would make it to that live final round and, ultimately, who would face off against one another for the grand prize.
Following the typical formula, the first round of the final HOH competition was the endurance competition between all three remaining houseguests. This endurance portion is always one of the most grueling of any of these types of competitions played throughout the season. While Victoria did her best to hang on for her Big Brother life, The Hitmen proved to be too much for her, leaving Cody and Derrick to battle it out amongst themselves. Despite their original plan to have Cody win the endurance competition and Derrick to eliminate Victoria in the second round, Derrick found himself tempted to coax Cody into giving up and allowing him to solidify his spot in the final round. When his plan failed, Derrick bowed out and gave Cody the first victory in the HOH challenge.
Though Derrick expressed to Cody that he was concerned he would not be able to beat Victoria in the second round, he did exactly that and actually ended up beating her time by fifteen minutes, with Victoria taking almost exactly double the time to complete the combined mental and physical challenge. It was a landslide victory, one that should have come as no surprise given Victoria’s season-long inability to succeed at anything even remotely physical, and it secured both Derrick and Cody a spot in the final portion of the competition.
When the competition came down to a nail-biting tie breaker, Cody edged out Derrick and earned himself the coveted title of the final HOH of the season. With the sole power to evict one last houseguest and chose who to sit next to in the final two, Cody made an extremely respectable yet also somewhat surprising decision; he opted to stay loyal to his fellow Hitman, Derrick, and evicted Victoria instead.
It was actually rather refreshing to see Cody make this decision without any hesitation, honouring his deal with Derrick despite the fact that bringing Victoria with him to the final two would have almost definitely secured him the $500,000 grand prize. It was a move not often seen on Big Brother, yet it was one that would cement The Hitmen in the history books of the game as one of the most successful alliances of all time. In the end, Cody was willing to settle for second place if it came down to that in order to stay true to his partner throughout the game. That is a rarity on Big Brother and is a true testament to Cody’s character and sense of loyalty.
With two very deserving people sitting in the final two, another rarity in this game, the jury certainly had their work cut out for them to decide whether Cody or Derrick should be crowned the winner of BB16. In a pre-recorded segment earlier in the episode, legendary Big Brother contestant, Will Kirby, returned to ask the jurors to share their thoughts about Cody, Derrick, and Victoria. While the segment, at times, seemed to hint that there could be some very bitter jury members, it also revealed that many of these past evictees gave a great deal of credit to both Cody and Derrick, and even to Victoria on some level, for their stellar gameplay this season.
Ultimately, with some time to think about the questions Will had posed to them, it seemed the vast majority of the jury entered the Big Brother studio on Wednesday with no grudges and tons of respect for both Cody and Derrick, making this a rather difficult decision. Once the final two had addressed their collective questions and made their final statements, each of the jury members seemed convinced as to who deserved to win the game. Truthfully, both Cody and Derrick made sound arguments as to why they should be crowned the winner of BB16. Cody had won some very important competitions, especially the vital ones towards the end of the season, and had played a very smart social game to collect information from the majority of his fellow houseguests, information that helped get he and Derrick further in the game together. Meanwhile, Derrick managed to not only control nearly every nomination and eviction all season, but also did it quietly enough to never put a target on his own back. Throughout the game, Derrick called the shots while keeping his hands clean, and made a very good point that despite the double nominations every week with the BOB twist, he made it through the entire season without ever being nominated for eviction. Truly, that was a feat all on its own, but to also achieve that while ultimately controlling who was evicted for most of the season was simply incredible. In the end, the jury cast their votes and while the commentary from each of them certainly suggested that they were leaning towards Derrick, one can never really know for sure, especially with both he and Cody making very convincing arguments.
Once the votes were cast, the first five evicted houseguests were reunited with the jury members, along with Cody and Derrick as well, and some the season’s biggest secrets were revealed. While this portion of the live finale is usually rushed and somewhat anticlimactic, this year’s revelations were fantastic enough to maintain a level of interest through this segment. Julie revealed the Team America twist, much to the shock and delight of the jury members, perhaps with the exception of poor Zach, who had been the victim of a number of their missions. But the revelation that Derrick had hidden his true professional identity from his fellow houseguests for the entire season, not wanting them to know that he was not only a police officer, but had also served as an undercover officer for a few years, had every one of the houseguest absolutely floored with shock and amazement. Knowing the truth, perhaps some of those jury members came to understand how Derrick had been able to play them and manipulate them so well without being caught, something that may have added to their level of respect.
In the end, Derrick was crowned the newest Big Brother winner by a 7-2 vote, with only Jacosta and Donny voting against him, officially cementing his status as (arguably) one of the greatest players to ever win the game. With a silent but deadly strategy and the ability to keep the blood off of his hands and the target off of his back, Derrick was constantly playing the game and playing his fellow houseguests, most of whom were none the wiser until they were evicted. Cody was a fantastic teammate and a great competitor in both physical and mental challenges who also had a solid social game and it was fantastic to see him win the $50,000 runner-up prize. With that said, Derrick elevated this game to an entirely different level and was the right choice to win the grand prize.
For once, this was a Big Brother finale with all of the perfect elements for success; a deserving final two, a jury mostly void of bitterness and snide remarks, and a great deal of loyalty and respect displayed despite the very nature of this game seemingly being very much the opposite. With The Hitmen making a name for themselves, Derrick cementing his place amongst the legends of the game, and Donny winning the prize for being America’s Favourite Houseguest, Wednesday’s live finale was a fitting end to the season.
What did you think of Wednesday’s live season finale on Big Brother? Were you happy that Derrick won or do you think Cody deserved it more? Did any of the jury votes surprise you? Was Donny your pick for America’s Favourite Houseguest or did you want someone else to win it? Happy the show has been renewed for TWO more seasons? Share your thoughts with us below!
