Analysis of Will Kirby’s game BB2
Dr. Will is remembered as this “Master manipulator puppet master” that he portrayed himself to be. But the reality is actually a lot more impressive and a lot more entertaining to watch.
Dr. Will was never a puppet master. The only person whose game he had control over, was Shannon’s and that’s because she had feelings for him.
This isn’t a dig at Dr. Will, dude is to this date; my favorite player to play the game.
But he actually had very little control over people and their emotions.
His initial strategy was to implement this idea of control in that “if I’m the head of a cool kids club like alliance, openly. Everyone else is going to want to be apart of it.” This ended up being one of the worst strategic moves of the season, he and boogie were two of the most hated and seen as arrogant snobby players who thought of themselves as better than everyone else, Justin probably would’ve been included if he didn’t do what he did.
In fact, his strategy was so bad in the beginning, that he kept bragging to people about how good of a player he was at this game that people immediately turned on chill town and that cliquey alliance, and they got absolutely smoked for the first 4 weeks.
What he did in this time, for about one week, he was apologizing for his behavior, Nicole called him out on it saying he sounded “disingenuous” and politely told him that she wasn’t buying it. And this is where the game critically changed. And I don’t think any other player in the history of big brother played the game in the way Dr. Will did.
Everybody feels innately terrified of being socially ousted or ostracized. It’s a real fear and it’s rational to feel that way. Because when you’re casted out, you feel like nobody likes you, even if you’re not being bullied, you can feel it in the way people treat you and speak to you, that they see you as lesser, they see you as weak and not liked by anyone but they still tolerate you.
Will theorized this, and he theorized this on the spot: instead of trying to apologize and take back his mistakes. He would own it 100%, and double down on the label people perceive him as, and instead of doing anything dangerous, he would tell people that he isn’t a good person and because of that reason, nobody will ever vote for him if he makes it to the final two, and for that reason, he will also be the person most likely to be thrown on the block in the following week, with the highest chances of being sent home once he touches the block.
He utilized this theory like an ultimatum to home or die trying method and it worked beautifully.
His very first one to one: he goes to Shannon, they both are emotional about one of them going home, she offers the idea about going home for him and he latches on that and plants the idea that of the two of them he’s more likely to make it further into the game. So she sacrifices her own game. Starts being nasty and rude on purpose to kent and hardy specifically and to other houseguests she’s lively with a mild attitude. She goes home.
The second one on one: Kent wins HoH. Will is an obvious nominee. He’s the final remaining member of the very cliquey “chill town” alliance. Everyone thinks Will is going to be nominated and sent packing. Will goes to Kent and tells Kent “everyone here hates me, you know. It’s like last of the mohicans, if you put me up, easily im going home” they both laugh about it and Will’s tone of voice is in “charm” mode. Bro talks to kent and theorizes “it may be better for you to keep me in the house this week. Because next week, we don’t know who wins HoH and there’s no target that everyone agrees on to be going home, it could be anybody, it could be you.” Kent agrees with him and says “so, you’re telling me this because you think if i dont nominate you, you’ll be nominated next week?” Will says “absolutely and I’ll likely go home. Im just trying to buy myself another week here. And if i win HoH i won’t put you up”
Kent agrees to this and doesnt nominate Will.
Nicole, Bunky, Hardy and Monica all instantly perceive Will as an even bigger threat now because he surely said something to convince Kent not to nominate him.
The very next one on one is probably hands down his strongest social move and it gets overlooked: his one on one with nicole.
She says to him “I don’t know what it is, you don’t like me for whatever reason and I don’t know what I did to make you feel that way but I’d like to know why you feel that way” and in a very innocent tone he says “not at all. If I did anything that made you feel that way, it wasn’t my intention at all”
He very strongly builds this innocent persona and very much so later in the night he gently jabs at her ego. Seeing if he can do so and get away with it.
It creates this unique hate love dynamic and it slowly gets stronger and stronger. He keeps making her laugh and then he annoys her. Then he apologizes and does it again and later in the game he starts saying messed up stuff to her because he knows the pattern is too strong now for anything to change. This is ELITE. Because it subconsciously influenced how she made decisions around Will and what she said to OTHER houseguests and how she targeted other houseguests even if she had him in mind too.
The stuff he would later say is stuff like “I mean, I think you’re a b!tch and I don’t get along with you but you’re not the lowest of the low.” And then he won’t apologize but he’ll make her laugh and then apologize.
Here’s the crazy part: she starts seeing the dynamic and the pattern that he developed with her yet NOTHING CHANGES. Episode after episode she starts calling it out and he denies denies denies. Then he’s honest about other stuff. He tells her “I feel it is best for me to be at the forefront of other people’s minds and for me, it’s easier to be at the forefront as a bad person than as a good person” and she gets upset with him, tells him that’s a stupid way of thinking and morally wrong. And he shrugs gets a bit embarrassed and then smirks at the camera. This dynamic with Nicole carries the game hard
But the dynamic with the audience is what won him the game.
The entirety of big brother 2 feels like a “dr will tv show” he knows how to be funny, how to entertain through talking and how to build a narrative that makes Nicole (probably the best player in the season) look like one of the weakest and most manipulative players even when she’s not. That takes skill. Lots and lots of high social EQ skill.
Him talking his way out of being evicted week after week is one caveat. Him coming up with something new every week. Such as a possible alliance existing. Or bunky building momentum by winning challenges. Or throwing the final HoH because power duo is in the house and “you and me gotta team up against them Monica. But I’m not going to say this to you, I want you to think it yourself”. Dude’s social skills and strategic thinking are unparalleled.
He was never a puppet master. Instead he understood perspective is important, more important than anything else in the game itself and took advantage of it in the best way possible.