A season full of disappointment came to an end last night with the Season 17 finale of Big Brother airing. As far as finales go, it could have been worse. In fact, after a frustrating and nonsensical season, I was expecting it to be much worse. They managed to put together a fairly entertaining finally, though, as the final three battled it out to see who would ultimately win the half million dollars. Along with that, we got to hear the always interesting jury deliberations, which almost never have any impact on how they end up voting. In the end, it all came down to a few votes, crowning the winner of Big Brother 17. For once I can say that this group of houseguests managed to get something right.
The night started with the first part of the three-part HOH that would determine who got to pick who went with them to final two. The third person would walk away with nothing. Like seasons in the past, this first competition was an endurance one. After Steve fell off, Vanessa worked her manipulation on Liz, convincing her to drop off by acting like she could stay up there all night. Liz, who was fairly certain Vanessa would take her to final two anyway, took the bait and gave the first HOH to Vanessa. This left Steve and Liz to compete in the second part of the HOH, which consisted of grappling up a wall and solving a crossword puzzle. Unsurprisingly, this mental competition went to Steve.
Before the final part of the HOH was played, which would pit Steve against Vanessa, we heard from the jury as they discussed what each of the three had done to make it to the end. The discussion, which was led by past contestant Dr. Will, was an interesting one as it became clear that some houseguests still carried grudges while others were able to respect big moves. Most seemed in agreement that Vanessa played a solid game but got by mostly on her competition wins. They wanted to hear more from Liz and Steve about what their actual strategies were, as the two didn’t accomplish as much during the game.
In a close competition that dealt with accurately guessing how the jury members completed various sentences, Steve managed to pull out the final HOH win. Making the smart decision, he took Liz with him to the final two, knowing that even though she would for sure get Austin and Julia’s vote, he would have a better chance of getting everyone else in jury’s vote over Liz. The questioning of the two contestants by the jury, in which they had the chance to plead their case as to why they should be the winner of Big Brother, made it clear that it would be no contest. Steve had well thought out answers and could justify everything he did in the game, even when it looked to others like he was doing nothing. Meanwhile, I’m not even sure if Liz could have managed to convince herself that she deserved to win the game.
While Liz did get Austin, Julia, and Vanessa’s vote, the rest went to Steve, solidifying him as the winner this season. There’s always something rewarding about seeing a super fan win the game. Steve’s reaction was priceless as he was clearly shocked and overjoyed to have won a game he had grown up watching and admiring. While the season was a rocky one, even I was satisfied with seeing Steve walk away with the half a million dollars. Some may argue that Vanessa deserved it more but in the end, Steve did what it took to win the game and because of that, I was glad to see him win.
[ Photo credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS]
Follow Us
