I started watching Big Brotherin Season 3. I quit just after Season 5 then came running back in time for All Star Season 7. In all these years I have never encountered a final 2 that consisted of the actual 2 best players in the house- it’s craziness.
In Season 3, Danielle (the best player of the season) did make it to the final 2 but instead of sharing it with her secret alliance partner Jason, she was there next to the undeserving winner Lisa.
Like Season 3, Season 4’s best competitor, Allison, took 2nd place. And while I couldn’t tell you who was the other best player of the season was, I can assure you that it wasn’t the winner, Jun.
Season 5’s best player, one of the most underrated in history, got 4th place. Nakomis developed the “6 fingered plan” which was the first incarnation of the concept now known as “backdooring”. Of course, back then it was a sound strategy and manipulative trick whereas now a change of format has houseguests complaining about being “backdoored” when their eviction was really just a bought of bad luck. Needless to say, this All-Star player’s legacy goes far beyond her meager finish while I had to do actual research in order to remember that the final 2 for Season 5 were Drew and Cowboy.
Season 7, All-Stars, had Will Kirby. He too got 4th place, which is ridiculous since he has always been and remains to this day the best player to ever play the game. Danielle (S3) and James (S6), the next best players, placed 6th and 7th respectively. The final 2 (Boogie and Erika) had floated under the radar or rode coattails throughout the entire game.
Season 8 ended with the Donatos. *stews in hatred and tries to forget*. Eric and Jessica (5th and 6th places) should have had it wrapped up.
Season 9 consisted almost entirely of people I hated, but best gameplay of the season awards have to be given to Natalie (5th place) and James (6th place) while the final 2, Adam and Ryan, were just sort of there.
And then there was season 10, a season where I liked almost everyone more than I’ve liked Big Brother contestants in a long time (which is to say that my hatred for April, Libra and Jerry was more on par with my hatred for Season 4’s Jun than Season 8’s Dick). I even picked out a few contestants who I liked as much as some of my all-time favourites (Memphis most certainly rivals S3’s Jason and S8’s Eric in likability paired with respectable gameplay while Dan’s strategy, charm and manipulation tactics put him closer to Dr. Will than any contestant before him). Memphis and Dan, I feel confident in saying, played the game better than anyone else in the house and, for the first time ever, the best players have made it to the end.
They did it by picking the right alliance, cleverly strategizing, knowing when to trust, when to lie and when to win competitions. They knew who to team up with and who to evict. They knew how to hedge their bets, hide their true loyalties and take calculated risks in order to reap rewards. They played an almost perfect game and thus are the most successful 2 person alliance in BB history (except, perhaps, for the Donatos, who were not so much an alliance as an unholy genetic mistake). The Renegades did what every alliance has ever tried to do- make it to the final 2, together.
Other than my early favourites being evicted first (Brian, Steven, Angie), this season has turned out almost script perfect, easily the best since All-Stars and possibly in the top 3 of all-time (season 3 is awarded 2nd place).
Long Live The Renegades!