Last night, following a failed attempt at usurping the throne from the Donatos, Zach became the final evictee by Dick’s hands. It was fun to watch Zach play the role of the underdog as the odds seemed stacked against him, so I wasn’t surprised when things played out just as I had expected. Zach played an impressive game in the final weeks of Big Brother 8, but it just wasn’t enough. So let’s take a look at where Zach went wrong in his game.

Zach had a very interesting game style. Not only did he try to stay “under the radar” he seemed to try to stay completely out of the range of everyone’s radar. There were times during the early season when I wasn’t sure from the broadcast shows if Zach was even still around. While Jameka played “under the radar” by appearing to not be a threat Zach took the approach of seeming almost detached from the whole game. Following the disbanding of Mrs. Robinson’s Alliance Zach didn’t really seem to team up with anyone. There were times when he seemed close to the Donatos, but I was never convinced. Zach mentioned on Julie’s couch that he “got close to Daniele”, which I think would cause Daniele to laugh. As such, I think Zach’s first mistake was not building any real friendships. While I’ve previously preached you don’t want to get lost in friendships in this game you do still need to be sure to have people that like you enough to vote for you in the end should you make it that far. This didn’t really end up mattering for Zach, but considering how close he was to the end it could have potentially cost him $450K.

Waiting until the very end of the game to start playing is a risky move. Zach would like us to believe he always had the capacity to win the competitions, but waited until the clutch moments to do so. I’m not totally convinced of this, but if he says this was part of his game plan then I’ll consider its effectiveness. If you win things along the way you have the chance to influence who goes and who stays each week. That’s a great boost to surrounding yourself with supportive, like-minded players. If you’re just floating down the lazy river you’re at the mercy of those in charge of the flow. Had Zach won things earlier on he could have tried to save Mike or Kail so he didn’t end up fighting against Dick and Daniele in the final moments with only Jameka as a duct-taped alliance. But even when Zach started winning the power of choice he didn’t wield it so well.

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Zach’s biggest mistake was just like Eric & Jessica’s failing point. When Zach stood there with the PoV and the chance to eliminate Dick or Daniele he chose to sit on it and let the Donatos stay in the game. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think most people could tell you that it’d be better to go up against Eric or Jameka in competitions, both of which would have survived longer had D&D been sent packing. Zach talked about no one being brave enough to try and get the Donatos out of the game when he nominated the two of them. He must have been including himself there because it missed his chance and sure enough, when the time came the Donatos struck back and eliminated him.

Zach might not have visibly joined the race until the last few weeks, but I’ll admit that I enjoyed watching him fight and win competition after competition. He played a good, clean game and was a stand up guy even in the face of such bitter nastiness poured over him by Dick and Daniele. While he sat evicted on Julie’s couch Zach still praised the Donatos for their strong game and competitiveness. Zach may have the honor of being the final eviction from the house, but that honor carries no prize. So I wish him the best and hope he can find a way to earn that $20K he needed to start his scuba shop. Good luck Zach!

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