by Gina Scarpa

 

The minute Dan's Funeral came to a close, I was never more hooked on a season of Big Brother than this one. I immediately raced to the live feeds to find out what happened next, searched #BB14 on Twitter, and read every spoiler site I could get my hands on. After so many years of reality tv, in many ways, it becomes predictable at times and Dan turned the game on its head - more than once! Would he be able to do it one last night in the finale?

 

We pick back up at the first round of the HOH, where players are dipped into the water, then raised up and slammed into a wall. Because Dan "saved" Ian, they've agreed to a deal where Ian will drop early on in the first round of this competition. To me, this isn't a situation where Dan convinced Ian to do anything insane - he was a dead man walking and owed him at least that. Besides, there was still another round to go. Dan fills Danielle in to try to gain her trust back after blindsiding her showmance out the door and to the jury.

 

Just as Dan planned, Ian drops after 17 minutes on the fishing line but now, he has to get to work on Danielle. Somehow, someway, he convinces Danielle that he can't beat Ian in the second round and that she'd have a better shot. She believes and drops off, letting him coast to the final round. I don't want to call her the dumbest person to ever play the game but she's definitely the most easily manipulated, that is for sure.

 

In round two, one at a time, Ian and Danielle scale a building with windows and clean them off to reveal the faces of the houseguests. They must put them in the order they were eliminated in the shortest amount of time. Ian ends up beating Danielle by over a minute, which puts another one of Dan's unnecessary and evil plans into play. He purposely celebrates that Ian won, and asks Danielle to rip Ian a new one about the guys having a final two deal. It all goes off without a hitch and Ian is clearly flustered. For those with the live feeds, you'll know Danielle took this a little far, even making him cry outside in the backyard afterwards.

 

Before round three takes place live, the jury deliberates over the final three players. Dan is complimented for his big moves, but many don't like the methods he resorted to in order to advance himself further. Ian made some tough decisions over the season, but his original alliance didn't like being backstabbed. Danielle may be a good social gamer (I guess) but is listening to Dan's every word and following his every move worthy of a half million dollars? That one, I don't even need anybody to answer.

 

Dan and Ian face off in the final round, answering questions about what the jury members have said in interviews since their elimination. After two rounds, they're both tied but then Ian runs away with it, which makes me think Dan threw it. If he won, he'd have to make a decision between his two alliance members and risk losing. If Ian won, he knew almost positively that he was going to the end, and didn't have to cut one more person's throat to get there. Of course, Ian takes Dan just as planned, and Danielle takes her mad face out the door to meet Julie and join the jury.

 

The jury is able to ask the final two one question each before locking in their votes. Basically, the answers amounted to this: Ian felt he took control over his own destiny, while Dan owned up to every horrible thing he did to the jury members. The two talked over one another and shook their heads in amazement or disgust at one another, which made for a very entertaining ceremony. Danielle, so frustrated with everything Dan has put her through this season, asked Ian if he was aware she and Dan had a final two deal. No, he was not - and he's surprised to hear about it! Is ANYONE surprised that Dan has done something shady in this game? Apparently Danielle was, and now Ian is, who lambasted him for giving him his grandfather's cross and swearing on it.

 

See, and this is the issue with Dan. Don't get me wrong - he is hands down one of the greatest players in the history of the show. But it started to feel like he was getting too much amusement out of his ruthless gameplay. He kept saying throughout the season that it's what he had to do but did he have to resort to the measures that he did at times? On top of that, as I've said, his ego told him that the jury would forgive him and respect every move he made, but he should just have coffee with Russell Hantz to find out if that mentality works.

 

The votes are locked in, the keys are pulled, and the first vote (from Danielle) goes to Dan. I seriously do not understand this girl. Every other vote on the jury goes to Ian. 6-1, the Big Brother superfan wins, defeating one of the greats in the process. Does life get any better for him? I think not!  For the Ian haters out there, was he as good of a strategic mastermind as Dan?  No.  BUT!  Ian had heart, he felt bad whenever he had to send someone out the door that he was close to, he took punishments in the entire first half of the game, then went on a winning streak in the second half.  His behavior during jury speeches was both hilarious and endearing and everyone was rooting for David to beat Goliath.  

 

The finale wraps up with Julie announcing that Frank has won America's Favorite Player. Pardon me for being skeptical, but I'm pretty sure both Ian and Dan were higher up than him on the polls I've seen online. I think Big Brother just wants Frank the Tank back in the house for Season 15.

 

Final thoughts on the season?

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa