The first live double eviction of Big Brother 14 was full of yelling and screaming. The second double eviction was less volatile, but a LOT more intense. In this episode we get to see all of the rapid-fire game decisions and strategy sessions that went down, all of which left Dan in a very vulnerable position. But we all know that Dan the Man can talk his way out of anything.

During the Double Eviction

It turns out Dan’s actual target during the double eviction was Ian, his pawn, and he made sure that Jenn, Danielle and Shane were all on board with voting Ian out against Joe.

But when Ian won the Power of Veto, Dan had to shift gears. He told Jenn that he was going to try and get Shane out, but Danielle wasn’t going for it. So Dan had to quickly switch gears AGAIN because he knew if he put Shane up as the replacement, Shane probably would’ve stayed 2-1. You don’t nominate someone like that unless you can get him out.

Damage Control

With Dan wasting his HoH getting rid of Joe, he now has to cover his bases. Jenn is angry at him for not nominating Shane like he said he would. Ian is angry at him for not nominating Jenn and getting her out since she’s a stronger player than Joe (barely). And Danielle is angry at him for putting her life in the game on the line.

That’s not a very successful HoH reign for Dan, making a bunch of enemies and getting out an utterly useless floater who never won anything. He also has to worry because if anyone rats out his big attempted game moves, Dan is screwed because Ian and Shane will figure out that Dan was actually targeting both of them.

But Dan is so good that he enlists Danielle to help him control all the fallout from his short HoH reign. Danielle talks to Shane and says that Dan originally wanted him up as a pawn (which is only half true, because he actually wanted him up as the target), but Danielle saved him. So that protects Dan and her. Meanwhile, Dan makes sure Ian is still on board with their Renegades 2.0 alliance, even though Dan does not want Ian to be there at the end because he knows Ian would beat him.

The HoH Competition

The HGs are each given a Memory Lane where they must drop a ball into the right day that an event happened. So it’s half-knowledge, half-luck and skill.

Danielle and Jenn each have one terrible round that kills them. At the end of regulation, Shane and Ian are tied, which is kind of amazing given the fact that one has a photographic memory and the other is decidedly less intelligent.

They both know the correct answer to the tiebreaker question, but Ian drops his ball one spot closer and Ian wins HoH for the third time this season. So Ian is guaranteed a spot in the final 4 and he is now just a few competitions away from winning this entire game. And everyone else knows it. At this point I think Ian could even beat Dan.

Pandora’s Box

Ian gets a second Pandora’s Box and it’s a message from someone who loves him. Unfortunately that video message is from Big Brother 13 winner Rachel Reilly (now Rachel Villegas, because she got married to Brendon this weekend). Rachel laughs, is totally annoying and her advice for how to win is to think about “BRENDON!” and to “straddle-gize,” which is talking game while straddling someone.

While Ian tries his hardest not to vomit, the four other HGs get video messages from their actual loved ones, including Jenn’s mom, Shane and Danielle’s sisters, and Dan’s wife. Dan cries, and in the diary room he’s actually somewhat upset with himself for daring to show emotion. Man, Dan is REALLY committed to winning this game. He’s lucky he found a woman who is willing to share him with Big Brother, because I suspect he loves this game almost as much as he loves her.

The Nominations

Ian originally considers putting Dan up as his pawn to cover up the Renegades 2.0 alliance. Obviously Dan doesn’t want this, because while he’s OK nominating his own alliance members as pawns, he doesn’t want them to do the same. It’s hypocritical, but very smart.

Dan busts out the MIST, his special power to talk anyone into doing anything. He makes a compelling case for putting up Shane as a safer bet and his rationale can be that Shane is a tough competitor.

As always, Dan wins and Ian nominates Jenn and Shane. Even when Dan totally screws up during a live double eviction, he still walks away smelling like a rose. That’s just more proof that he’s the best to ever play the game.

The problem is that, while Dan might want to get rid of Shane this week, Danielle is STILL not sure about doing it. It’s a good thing Dan latched onto Ian, because Danielle is not strong enough, mentally, to do what needs to be done.

See Who Won the Power of Veto>>

On Wednesday we’ll see the Power of Veto competition AND the eviction. Then Thursday will be ANOTHER eviction, getting us down to the final 3.

(Image courtesy of CBS)

John Kubicek

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire DiariesSupernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.