I figure it’s safe now to post my review of Big Brother 14, as the finale was on Wednesday. And a huge congratulations goes out to Ian Terry, the youngest person to win the $500,000 grand prize on CBS’ Big Brother. Any by a vote of 6-1!
Called It
Now, if you remember, I picked Ian as my choice to win Big Brother 14 when the HouseGuests were announced and told you about it here and here. Unfortunately, JoJo Spatafora was sent out pretty early on in the game (before she really had a chance to prove herself as a player, in my opinion). Britney Haynes was my second pick once the game reset and the coaches were allowed to play. I’ve been a huge fan of Britney since her season (BB12) and was really upset when she was evicted both seasons. I’m also really glad that both Britney and Ian had a strong friendship and alliance within the house. Though Erika Landin will always have a special place in my heart for being my favorite HouseGuest in the first season I ever watched (BB4), I think that Ian and Britney knocked her out of that rank and placing first and second respectively of my favorite HouseGuests.
The Final Three
The way things played out, I was okay with the final three (Ian, Dan Gheesling, and Danielle Murphree). I feel really bad for Danielle. I didn’t really like her as a HouseGuest, but she was just too trustful of Dan and basically blind throughout the entire game. In his Big Brother Live Chat with Jeff Schroeder he explained that he wasn’t going to take Danielle to the finale if he won the final Head Of Household competition. And even if he had, I doubt she would have won. Taking into account that Dan has won the game before (BB10), I still firmly believe that the jury would have voted him to win over Danielle. She shadowed him the entire game – even until the end when she was the only HouseGuest to give Dan a vote.
Though Dan and Ian made it to the final two, it wasn’t certain (to me, at least) that Ian would be winning the game. I think that his response to Danielle’s final question (Did Ian know that Dan had a final-two deal with her, too) pushed the jury over the fence. Dan gave Ian his grandfather’s cross as collateral for their deal, and Ian had no idea that Danielle was also under the assumption that she’d be taken to the finale had Dan won the final HOH.
There’s a lot of viewers who are – shall we say, pressed – that Dan didn’t win. In my opinion, Dan played a good game – but he definitely is not one of the best players of all time. He’s a good manipulator, but I just wasn’t that impressed with his game. Actually, Dan had been one of my personal favorite HouseGuests (as was Janelle Pierzina) up until this season.
I also find it comical that Julie Chen, the host, also called Ian’s win by a 6-1 vote in an interview with Entertainment Weekly hours before the finale. Ian definitely deserved to win. He played a fair game, won competitions, and had a good social game (especially since the HouseGuests were very unsure about him early on in the season).
Season 14
I was more excited than usual for this season of Big Brother, possibly because of the coach twist (I liked three of the four coaches). Halfway through, though, I was really unhappy with the season. It wasn’t dramatic enough, and it was just a regular power struggle between Frank Eudy and the majority of the house. Frank should have gone home early on in the game – and definitely did not deserve to win America’s Favorite HouseGuest. However, once the season was drawing to a close, it got more intense and I was really happy with the way it had turned out. There was a good amount of drama, intensity, and comedy this season. I think Big Brother had hit a slump, mainly due to the decision to keep bringing back former HouseGuests, but I think they’ve paved the way to bigger and better seasons in the future with Big Brother 14. They just need to get rid of that horrendous new techno theme song!
I’ve been toying with the idea of applying to be on next season… what do you think? Are you going to apply? What did you think of this season and the finale?
