I can't tell you how many times I've heard the phrase "I/he/she/they deserve to be in or win _____." In reality TV and in life, success is a mixture of hard work, skills, luck and most importantly, adaptability. In the Big Brother house, winning competitions and going balls to the wall alone does not guarantee winning. A player must form strong alliances/bonds with other players, prove his/her loyalty, know when to lie and betray, adjust his/her game plan to the situation at hand and create some insulation within the house. In fact, these last few skills are the most important for a player to make it to the end.
Winning competitions can secure safety, but when a player relies on only that, he/she will more than likely get taken down before the final 3. Why? Firstly, and most importantly, winning competitions puts a huge, immovable target squarely between the player's shoulder blades. Secondly, the player will more than likely become a "meat shield" that will quickly be discarded when the opportunity arises.
This is exactly what's happening to Frank. Is he a fierce competitor who loves this game? Undeniably. Is he the best player in the game? Not even close. The blame lies partly in the coaches' twist and his unreasonably exclusive tie with Mike. Had Mike not been in the game, as well as the other three coaches, Frank would have had to develop his own alliances and strategies. He was often not allowed to go with his instincts, being handicapped by the coaches' agenda. Mike's departure, however, further illustrated Frank's inability to make logical and crafty decisions in the game, allowing himself to be fooled by Dan and lulled into a false sense of security. A sense that has brought him to this point in the game.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are Dan, Ian, Shane and Danielle. They have shown that they can win at comps when necessary, but even more importantly, they have developed strong bonds in the house, exit strategies should they find their game in peril and a willingness to do whatever it takes to get to the end, including adapting or using their personalities to create smoke screens, fooling the others into not coming after them. These four are using all the tools in the BB game to make it to the end.
Somewhere in between lie Joe and Jenn. Joe has played a vastly social game but also a very transparent one. The reason he's still in the house is because there have been more threatening targets to dispense of first. He's been lucky; but he would have to win a competition or two if he is to see final 4. Jenn, on the other hand, has not been playing a great social game. She chose to ride just under the wire the whole season, making some crucial mistakes when she was pushed into the forefront. Her foul disposition when she was nominated and her willingness to take her target off the block, voiding her one competition win, make her less likely to make it to Final 4, unless, of course she gains safety through her own win.
This brings me back to the whole misconception that certain players deserve to sit in the final 2 chairs over others. Ego drives the players themselves to make these statements and preconceived favoritism drives the fans to agree. The bottom line is this, whether through their own actions or that of others, whoever winds up sitting in those two chairs, deserves to be there. We may not like it, or them, but that's the way the BB cookie crumbles.
Stay tuned! :)
