Big Brother: All-Stars – Why Mike Won

If anybody had told me five years ago that I’d be writing a column called “Why Mike Won,” I’d have told them they were crazy. If they had said I would be happy about it, I would have had them committed! But here we are, and that is indeed the situation. But how did it happen? How did Mike make it to the finals and then easily beat Erika? Why did Mike win?

Each week – sometimes a couple times per week – we’ve been looking back at What All-Star Houseguests Should Have Learned to examine a player’s loss. This time, however, we are here to see why Mike became the winner. What did he do right? Did he make any significant mistakes? Let’s take a look.

Considering how much of this document is based on Will’s play, it should come as no surprise that Mike followed many of these rules as well. That is certainly the case with the first, which says the most important thing to remember is scheming and plotting.

We already know that Will is the best schemer ever, and now has a Reality TV Hall of Fame induction to show for it. But Mike learned by his side, and he picked it up quickly. Mike was instrumental in a number of the deals Chill Town made, sometimes playing the good cop to Will’s bad cop, sometimes appearing to act on his own when really doing so in concert with Will. Plus, of course, Mike used his showmance strategy to wrap Erika around his finger while Will did the same with Janelle. If anything, Mike’s worked better because Erika actually came to believe him even after she and Janelle figured out they were both being played! It didn’t really matter by that point, but it showed just how well he played her.

Chill Town had secret alliances with just about everybody. As was revealed in the finale, almost everyone was told they were an honorary member of Chill Town, starting all the way back with Jase! Chill Town allied at one point or another with Jase, Janelle, Howie, George, Danielle, James, and Erika – at least. Mike looked them straight in the eye and lied to their faces when it was necessary. And somehow, some way, he and Will got away with it.

Mike and Will made people think it was in their best interest to keep them around, align with them, or nominate/vote off their best friend. It was a two-pronged attack, and Mike was definitely a partner in crime here. This was not coattail-riding, Mike knew how to scheme and plot, and he showed it.

And in this season maybe more than any other before it, this rule took center stage. Jurors (well, other than Marcellas) seemed to want to know they were beaten by one of the best. They wanted to say they lost to somebody who really and truly played the game. And how did he play that game? By scheming and plotting, that’s how.

I’m jumping ahead a bit to the jury section, but I have to mention something here. It was a classic reality show moment when Danielle asked Mike a question about him lying to her about being “her Jason,” and then Mike turned it around by saying he knew damn well that she had told several other people the same thing and she knew it too, so he would not apologize for outplaying her. Some jurors would have taken offense to such a statement, but not Danielle. She smiled and you knew at that point (if there had been any doubt) that her vote was going to Mike.

Still, that sort of lying and plotting behavior could easily lead to a situation where people turn on a player or, barring that, vote against them at the end. Danielle knows that only too well. The second rule says not to scheme and plot too much, to keep scheming secret, and not to backstab until it’s absolutely necessary. Mike did well in all three areas. Yes, he had multiple deals across the various contestants, but he did so quietly, making sure everybody kept their mouths shut about it. Operation Double Date might not have worked quite the way they expected it to, but they kept Janelle and Erika in the dark for so long, it was amazing. And at the same time, they kept many of the others in the dark as well!

Part of the rule says players should “Keep ‘em guessing, and always make them think you’re on their side.” Of course, that’s how Will did it his first time around, and that is how Will and Mike together did it this time.

Another key was that Mike and Will resisted the urge contestants often have to reveal the pending outcome of a vote. They looked into James’ eyes and flat-out lied about keeping him in. Then they did the same to Danielle. The idea, of course, is to make sure they don’t see the knife coming at their back until there is literally nothing they can do about it. Don’t give them a chance to stage a comeback. Mike, along with Will, did this almost flawlessly.