Dr Will: I have so much to say about him that the thought of writing it all down caused me to avoid actually opening up my laptop and doing so for two whole days after finishing the season. I will start by saying that I had always said Big Brother US’ format was inferior to the original premise of the show, and that having the contestants vote each other out results in boring winners and uninteresting results. Well, Dr. Will Kirby well and truly challenges my thought process as he is quite possibly my favourite Big Brother winner of all time. And I do mean that. Big Brother 2 on its own is already a fantastic season, I probably couldn’t even pick between it and BBAU2001 if I took bias out of it, and the fact that Will wins it, just makes it all the better. And the best part is, how in the fucking world did this man not only win the show but also won the first show. Comparing BBUK and BBAU, Will is the type of winner who would not arise as a champion until almost a decade into the show. And if the format that I am a massive proponent of was used he would very likely have been evicted early anyway. His win is so narratively pleasing that I can’t even believe it’s real.
I have read many people on Reddit and on podcasts state that Nicole should have won against Will and whilst I will give Nicole credit for what she achieved, I just cannot agree with that statement. And yes, I do look at a player's in-game position as one of the biggest factors in how I would assess players in social strategy games, but Nicole was not necessarily poisoned better than Will to win the game. As I mentioned Nicole’s only shot at winning once TOP had succeeded in almost destroying Chilltown was if she were at the end with Kent. Will at least had an obvious win against Nicole, but he could have also easily beaten Kent and Hardy IMO. And had Chilltown had the comps go their way and he ended up with Mike or Shannon at the end alongside him, he more than likely would win against either of them. The man had win equity despite being hated by half the house. And just like Nicole he also worked his way from a poor position to a better position to where he was sitting very likely to win once he evicted Hardy. Once Monica had lost part 2 of the HOH comp, Will had won. I don’t think it’s fair to rank Will as a worse player than Nicole in BB2 due to lack of dominance since he did better than she did at actively securing himself a winning position in my mind.
Whilst I do give him credit, I cannot pretend like his first half of gameplay was great. If anyone from TOP had won that week 2 HOH comp, then Dr Will would have been evicted in week 2 and never would have become the legend he is today. He got very lucky there and also got very lucky that Shannon was happy to fall on her sword for him, although he probably stays nominated beside her regardless anyway. And he then got lucky again that someone as unpredictable as Kent got HOH the week Mike went home. But in fairness to Will, he has to be given credit for arguably handling relationships with these HOHs better than his allies. I think Will did take a while to realise that he does need to care about the other players to succeed, but once he does, he very humbly submits to a position of no power and even plays up to it and demonstrates perfect threat management. He very astutely observed who the power players were in Nicole and Hardy and managed to establish bonds before securing a deal with them to keep him safe. He managed to allow himself to sneak through the middle section of the game whilst the TOP alliance crumbled, and then he was also able to let the duo in power take out threats for him and leave little blood on his hands. And my favourite move of his was when he threw the HOH comp at the final 4 and secured himself all the power, he needed to oust Hardy and ensure he had the win set up from there.
His game was super fun and interesting whilst also risky. And I love that he chose to go along this route of being unapologetically evil and openly admitting to lying. And the fact that he was everyone’s biggest enemy and was the one to take down the cocky duo, it’s just so pleasing. He is an absolute master of reading and analysing social hierarchies it seems. I firmly believe everything he did was calculated and purposeful. He knew exactly how to rectify himself with the jury and that was to be the one to take down the pair no one wanted to see win. And it all ended up working perfectly. Now of course, he also got extremely lucky that Hardy was ineligible to compete in the final 4 HOH which ensured his chance of victory would increase, but he still actively made use of any situation at any point which solidifies the confidence I have in him as a player. He pioneered the game that we know today, and many players after him have used him as a blueprint. I love his philosophy on how winning competitions does nothing more than make you a threat and burn people. And I do agree with him. The basic concept of this game is human chess and he’s able to actually perfect it whilst still being his obnoxious self.
As a character, he is fantastic, even aside from his gameplay. He’s fun, he’s hilarious, he’s polarising, he’s energetic, he’s obnoxious, he’s arrogant and he’s just plain and simply good TV. He knows how to ham it up to the cameras, but he does so whilst being genuine about it and having fun. It’s so fascinating to watch someone be such a dick yet be so charming at the same time. It is so weird to watch. He knows how to piss people off but can also reel them back in instantly. It is insane. He is a master at human manipulation and coercion, and I would love to find out where he developed these skills. And it’s not a bad thing that he was sexy as all hell. I very much look forward to watching him play again on All-Stars, which is my favourite US season. He is without doubt my favourite houseguest on Big Brother 2, and is in my opinion the best player of all.
