Hall of Fame Moment: Six Fingers To Success on ‘Big Brother 5’

This verse from an oft-quoted poem could very well be the subtitle for Big Brother. The annals of Big Brother are littered with plans gone astray, fallen apart, badly executed, sniffed out and snuffed, or just dropped for a better one (supposedly). When the house was virtually held hostage by the tyranny of the Horsemen, and head Horseman Jase, the other members of the house knew some decisive action had to be taken – for the game, and for their own sanity.

Nakomis (or Jennifer) was the author of this ingenious and very, very risky idea. Nakomis of the multi-colored hair and tattoos who the houseguests dismissed as a freak early on. Nakomis who they quickly learned was far more than her appearance indicated. Nakomis who – she learned with the rest of the house during the game – is the half-sister of one the Horsemen, Michael.

The rules of Big Brother this year, as in prior years, state that the Head of Household (HOH) nominates two people for eviction, and the non-affected houseguests would vote to evict one of them. And, as in past seasons, there would be a Power of Veto competition that gave someone the power to remove one of the nominated players and force the HOH to nominate someone else.

That Power of Veto is golden. In other words, if one of the nominated houseguests wins the Power of Veto competition, they can remove themselves. Another wrinkle this year is that only the HOH, the nominated houseguests, and another houseguest of each of their choosing are permitted to participate in the Power of Veto competition.

Jase had shown himself to be formidable in these competitions. He won Power of Veto twice (he removed his girlfriend, Holly, the first time, himself the second). So Nakomis was smart enough to know that nominating Jase wouldn’t at all ensure his exit. In fact, nominating Jase, and him saving himself, only made him more impossible to live with. So how do you get rid of Jase without giving him a chance to save himself?

Six fingers. Ensure the HOH is willing to make two “dummy” nominations. That part was easy, since Nakomis won HOH herself. The rest was where things got tricky.

For the plan to work, she had to have the support and participation from the rest of her alliance. Adria, Natalie, Will, Karen, Diane, and Drew – who was back-pedaling from all things Horsemen – were onboard immediately. That left lone-wolf Marvin and Michael. Nakomis smartly used Marvin as one of her nominations to keep him reined in. Nakomis also knew there was no way Michael could be told about the plan and trust that he wouldn’t tell Jase about it. Not much Jase could do about it, but a cornered Jase was liable to do just about anything. Why open that can of worms?

So, there you have it: the HOH, two nominees, and three players, all playing for the same goal. Six fingers.

So, as planned, Nakomis nominated Marvin and Diane. Nakomis’ nomination speech about why she nominated Diane and Marvin was perfectly plausible, and she delivered it with a straight face and only a hint of a wink in her voice. Her performance was so convincing, Jase even hugged her in thanks. Drew won Power of Veto (as planned) and removed Diane. Nakomis then nominated Jase. As planned.

Even at this point, Nakomis chose not to show her hand. In fact, she did a fantastic job of convincing Jase this was his penance for his past deeds, and it was up to the house to decide if he was truly redeemed. This left Jase reeling because in his own mind, he wasn’t so bad to anybody, and Marvin was surely the one everyone must have been after.

No one ever corrected that thinking.

Sure, Jase and Michael did some brainstorming, and Jase brushed against the idea of this plot, but he never could get his head around the idea that a) he wasn’t the popular loved figure he saw himself as, or b) these people would be smart enough to set such an elaborate plan in motion. Jase was absolutely hamstrung by this uncertainty. Credit the rest of the house for keeping him guessing all the way until he heard Julie Chen announce the voting results.

Neither Jase nor Michael were sure what was happening. Because he was unsure, Jase wasn’t able to commit to the full-fledged campaigning he was capable of (or have Michael do on his behalf) and he was prevented from unleashing his full wrath because he had to show he was a changed man. So Jase went, and he went quietly. The celebrating we saw when Jase left had as much to do with Jase’s exit as it did with the successful execution of a dangerous plan.

There were so many places where it could have gone wrong. What if Michael found out and told Jase? What if Will and Karen decided to form a tacit alliance with Jase and Michael for their own immunity from nomination? It would be Marvin going home and battle lines would have been clearly drawn! What if someone had felt sorry for Jase and told him he was the target all along? He’d still be leaving, but there would be some very uncomfortable days before he left. We know he’d pee in a pile of towels (CBS chose not to broadcast this, but live feed watchers know all about this new level of nastiness), how much lower would he be willing to stoop?

Nakomis devised this plan weeks ago, and couldn’t get buy-in because of the inherent risks. She was brave enough to take the bull by the horns when she had the opportunity and successfully orchestrated Jase’s exit. The other members of her alliance performed perfectly and brilliantly and kept Jase off-balance all the way to Julie’s lap where he had to deal with Holly before he could catch his breath. It was the most ambitious plan in Big Brother history, and clearly a Hall of Fame Moment.

Congratulations to all of them.

Sting7 has been a respected published writer for 16 years, as a music editor, entertainment critic, columnist, and interviewer. He also has a curious love for pro-wrestling! You can email Stinger at stingseven@yahoo.com.

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