What a season. It surely was unlike any other I’ve ever seen. Sure, there’s usually one or two small controversies surrounding a house guest or two (and usually after the season has aired) but those really are small issues. None compare to the racism, sexism, bullying – Amanda, I’m looking at you, and downright hate in the house this season. Because all of this was not only present in the house but at an all time high for any reality show I’ve ever seen, it was incredibly difficult to separate the personal from the game play and root for anyone as all of the good people began to get evicted.

While many would say that separating the two is near impossible, I agree to an extent. To what extent? Well, I talked about the difference between being a likable house guest and being a great game player here so I won’t rehash that. Long story short, sometimes what you say and do hurts your game, so you have to be smart about what you say on a personal level, social level, and game level. When this all merges…based on the final three, Andy, Spencer, and Gina Marie… they’re all likable but things have been said on the live feeds by all three of them that cannot be ignored. So it comes down to who had the most tact overall? Who played the best social game? Who played the best game period? Andy in my opinion was the most likable house guest of the final three and the best game player of the final three. Watching Andy kill it in the final competitions was so exciting! Ahh! But if you insist…

Here’s my breakdown:

Likable House Guests: Andy, Candice, Helen, Howard, Elissa, Jessie, Judd

Semi-Likable House Guests: Nick, GM, Spencer

Great Game Players: Andy, Helen, GM (Second Half of Season)

Great Game Players Overshadowed by Their Likability (Or Lack Thereof Which May Have In Turn Hurt Their Game Play): Aaryn, Amanda, Jeremy

As you can see based on my thoughts above, only six people knew how to and did attack the game but three of those people were so unlikable that the win really only belonged to one of three other people. One of which? Andy. Andy played a great game the whole way through. There’s a difference between floating and playing both sides. He played both sides hard. There’s really something to be said about the people who decided not to root for Andy because of his “tattle tale” strategy. If you don’t like his strategy, that’s one thing. But to completely disregard how strong of a player he was is ridiculous. Every single house guest is guilty of ratting people out (and calling people out to confront them about He said, She said nonsense) in the house, that’s part of the game. Lying to and about people. Backstabbing. Playing people. But because Andy used these techniques to his advantage in every way possible, he’s the only “tattle tale” of the house? Give me a break. Andy earned his way to the win. Well deserved win!

GM stepped up her game towards the second half of the season so props to her for stepping up when it mattered. However, too little too late on top of taking into account the merge of being a likable house guest AND a great game player, which is what we all really hope to find in the winner. If GM stood any chance of winning, she burned that opportunity with her terrible answers to the jury’s questions. Yikes. Those were possibly the worst answers to a jury ever. She knew that she had no game play the majority of the season so all there was to fall back on was the “I have a good heart, I am who I am” run around. It was almost too hard to watch, that hot mess. Especially since I thought Spencer for sure was going to get second place. At least his answers would have made more sense. Not that he stood a chance at winning against Andy but a well spoken plea next to Andy’s was clearly too much to ask for.

While my dream final four was Helen, Andy, Candice, and Elissa, the show took a number of turns that only allowed for Andy to make it to the finals. Helen would have been my choice for the winner with Andy in second place so Andy winning was the next best thing! As for America’s favorite, it was great to see Elissa, Howard, and Judd acknowledged. My choices were Helen, Candice, and Jessie. Judd and Howard definitely round out the most likable house guests in my opinion so it would have been nice to have seen Judd or Howard win…especially since Elissa is more financially content among the three of them. It’s easy to say that it’s not about the money, it’s about all that Elissa had to endure in the house. For this season in particular, I understand. Still, Judd or Howard definitely could have used that prize more. Although I hear Howard already has a cameo role on a soap opera so something tells me Howard is moving up and will be just fine. Something tells me that all of the people who deserved to win and all of the people who were respectful will be rewarded in more ways than one, in better ways than they could have ever imagined outside of winning the game.

This season sure was something special. It will be memorable but not for the right reasons. There was little game play, limited twists, and lots of drama. Real drama. In a way, a season like this was overdue. I mean, c’mon this is a social experiment. Recently there seems to have been a rise in racism and sexism outside of the house as well, so the timing just doesn’t seem like a coincidence. This season was bigger than the game. As frustrating as it was to watch, it probably needed to happen to change more than the house guests’ lives. It’s time a season affects the lives of the viewers. In a really weird way, this season was the viewers’ season. If you didn’t like it, was it because there was a mirror put on you or because you have to speak up against something you don’t normally give attention to. If you watched the game for the game, like I did, great. But now is the time to speak up against racism, sexism, bullying, and hatred. Now more than ever. As you can see, there’s a need to talk about it. So let’s talk about it, love on each other, and look forward to another season of Big Brother. Everyone auditioning for season 16, let’s make this the viewers’ season it deserves to be.

Stay tuned for season 16 of Big Brother next summer.