"Possibly the biggest threat"—Deal or No Deal Island host Joe Manganiello reacts to Dickson securing the $5 million case

In Deal or No Deal Island season 2 episode 4, which premiered on NBC on January 28, 2025, Dickson consulted with his allies, David and Parvati. Encouraged by their advice, he entered the temple to face the Banker, rejecting multiple offers before securing the $5 million case—saving himself from elimination.

Host Joe Manganiello was very impressed by Dickson's gameplay. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on January 28, 2025, Manganiello praised the contestant on his recent performance and stated that it made him "a new fan favorite" and "possibly the biggest threat in the game."

"Dickson is such an endearing person to be around, and the way he played at Temple not only made him a new fan favorite, it made him possibly the biggest threat in the game… this was his coming out party. BIG DICKSON ENERGY!!!" the host said.

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Deal or No Deal Island host Joe Manganiello reflects on Dickson's performance

In Deal or No Deal Island season 2 episode 4, Dickson entered the temple to face the Banker and chose number four as his first case. As the game progressed, he strategically picked the next cases based on his favorite Deal or No Deal models.

In the first round, Dickson took off three numbers from the left side. Seeing this, the banker made an opening offer of $421,000, however, Dickson chose to continue and declined the offer.

As the game progressed, the Deal or No Deal Island contestant grew more confident with each case he eliminated. Rejecting every offer from the Banker, he even turned down a final offer of $3,200,000, trusting that his chosen case—number four—held an even greater amount. Dickson's intuition was right and managed to add $5 million to the prize pool, saving himself in the process.

Reflecting on Dickson's temple gameplay, Joe Manganiello shared in the interview with EW, that his game was heavily influenced by Nick’s Temple battle in season 1.

Manganiello recalled that Nick had entered the final round of the temple with both high-value cases still in play. However, unlike Dickson, the Deal or No Deal Island season 1 contestant chose to accept the Banker's final offer—only to later discover that he had the highest-value case in his possession, costing him the chance at an even bigger prize.

"At the end of the day, people at home dream about pressing that button and saying, “DEAL,” but as much as Dickson wanted to do it, he held back and rode his case all the way and avenged Nick’s decision from season 1, securing the highest value ever added to the final case in the show’s history," the Deal or No Deal Island host continued.

Manganiello praised Dickson for his knowledge of the briefcase models, calling it a "great callback to the original format’s history."

Later in the interview, the Deal or No Deal Island host was asked whether he believed Dickson eliminated Storm due to his growing showmance with Maria-Grace. Manganiello felt that it was the most probable reason for Storm's elimination. He explained that while a showmance can increase the power of the involved contestants in the game, it also puts a target on their back.

Since Maria-Grace had secured immunity earlier in the episode, Dickson seized the opportunity to break up the showmance by choosing to eliminate Storm when he gained the power to do so.

"Be warned, you can go there, but you had better play a near-perfect game. Because if you leave yourself open, someone is looking at your romance as a team-up and will be lining up in the wings to take a shot. Maria Grace earned safety in the axe throwing challenge and Storm did not, and as a result, as soon as Dickson got power, he took him out," he explained.

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Deal or No Deal Island season 2 episode premieres every Tuesday on NBC.