We’re back and ready to continue the countdown on the Top 10 events in Big Brother 13. If you missed the first half, then get caught up on events #10-6 before you read on.
#5: Lawon Self-Evicts & Brendon Returns
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
The HGs were warned the next evictee would have the chance to return to the game. After initially ignoring this warning, the Newbies, with Daniele’s blessing (“This is genius!”), set in to action the stupidest plan of the season. Instead of insuring a Veteran would be evicted the Newbies allowed Lawon to go up on the block as a renom and voted him out. Why? Super-powers, of course! A phoenix from the ashes, of sorts.
The look on Lawon’s face was priceless that night when Julie informed the HGs of the rest of the twist’s details. It only got better when he wandered aimlessly about the backyard while Brendon demolished him in the competition. You’d almost feel bad for the guy, but then you remember he did it to himself.
In lieu of an even trade, one Vet for another, or even a plus-up, one Vet for a Newbie, the Newbies lost an alliance member while the Veterans regained one of their strongest. How was this ever allowed to even be a possibility? I mean who would do that? Which leads us to our next Top 10 moment of the season.
#4: Shelly Flips Kalia’s HoH
For all the viewers who said Shelly didn’t do anything this season, you’ve got to stop only watching the shows! CBS completely cut this out of the broadcasts and gave zero credit where it was due.
Shelly was the mastermind of this event when she planted the seed in Kalia’s head and convinced her that evicting Rachel was just plain crazy. Why get rid of Rachel when you could keep her and gain the favor of the Veterans and restore Jeff and Jordan’s trust? Kalia, ever eager to please those around her, let that seed grow in her mind and it took off from there. While the initial plan suggested by Shelly was to renom Porsche, not Lawon, the net effect was the same. Shelly protected her alliance and screwed Team Dani when Lawon went up against Brendon and left the game utterly confused.
This might not have been the “biggest” plan of the season, but it sure was the best executed. Kudos to Shelly on a job well done for this task alone. I was impressed.
#3: Pandora’s Box Brings Back Duos
The Newbies had a plan: whatever you do, don’t open Pandora’s Box.
Rachel’s fate was nearly sealed. Porsche had the power of HoH and only 2 Vets remained. The choice was clear. They had to get rid of Rachel. It probably would have worked too. Enter stage right, Pandora’s Box.
In a move that may have exchanged $500K for $5K, Porsche took the bait, opened the box, and changed the landscape of the rest of the season. Sure, it was no guarantee that Rachel and Jordan would be safe, but it gave them a great opportunity to make that happen. Instead of leaving the game in 5th place, Jordan and Rachel were safe while Shelly took the fall.
It was a colossal mistake by Porsche. Par for the season.
#2: Fast-Forward Eviction Show
Was there a more exciting night this season? I’m not sure even the Big Brother 13 finale will rival this episode. It was a 60-minute extravaganza of Big Brother fireworks.
There was something for everyone in this Fast-Forward episode. Dani-haters? Bam! She’s gone. Jeff-haters? Bam! He’s gone. Fists of fury were flying everywhere that night with a blow-up before the show and a bigger one after when Shelly threw strategy to the wind and got in Jordan’s face for a screaming match.
Jeff will undoubtedly have heartburn for years to come over that missing clown shoe accidentally discarded during the Veto. A solid 30 seconds went by between his first shoe and Porsche finding her second. He could have done cartwheels back with the second shoe if he had spotted it on the side and still had plenty of time.
I already mentioned colossal mistakes were par for the season, right?
#1: Daniele’s Backdoor-Jeff Plan
What else did you expect here? Daniele’s “Backdoor-Jeff” plan defined Big Brother 13.
Daniele claims she was bored. She wanted to play the game her way rather than the game that was in front of her. I claim it cost her the crown.
After Evel Dick left the game, Daniele was awarded a Golden Key giving her safety for the next four weeks. She spent that time building friendships with the Newbies while cementing her alliance with the Veterans. Daniele was positioned to run the game from the inside out but just couldn’t wait. During Week 2 (week TWO!) Daniele began pushing Brenchel to side with Dominic over JeJo (Daniele later claimed this was Brenchel’s idea. It wasn’t). Over the next week the news worked its way back to JeJo after Brenchel got cold feet with the idea. From there things went downhill fast. Daniele’s plan was outed and the house was divided. There was no going back. Daniele played the rest of the game on the defensive side of things. One failure would mean eviction and it eventually did.
I won’t argue getting Jeff out of the game was a bad idea. Like him or not, he’s a strong competitor and he was going to get in her way. Daniele just wasn’t patient enough. Had she held her tongue, built those Newbie relationships on the side and publicly stood by the Vets she could have been golden. Why bother trying to turn an alliance on itself by pushing Brenchel to go after Jeff when an inevitable Newbie HoH win would have provided the opportunity to evict Jeff while cloaking her actions? She would have saved face with the strongest alliance while letting the Newbies do her dirty work.
Failure or not, Daniele’s plan to backdoor Jeff made for one heck of an exciting season. Its impact on almost every move since Week 2 makes it the #1 event of Big Brother 13.
What makes up your Top 10 moments of BB13? Share your thoughts!