James is in power. Frank and Bridgette are on the block. How is The Game going for the Houseguests who remain?
I think James is making the same mistakes he made last season. He is friendly with everybody, but tangential to everybody. He had a choice to make this week and he “sided with the House.” It seems that The House consists of Nicole and Corey, who cannot win comps to save their lives, Paulie who is a legitimate force to be reckoned with, Zakiyah because Paulie’s abs, and Paul because Paulie’s abs. (I kid!) That’s five. The other side consists of Frank and Bridgette. Those are the two targets. Da’Vonne is on the outs with the showmances, but not likely to side with Frank either. Victor is somewhat of a wild card, but likely to be loyal to Paul. Michelle is still in the House, I’m reasonably sure.
James and Natalie are caught in the DMZ between Frank/Bridgette and the other side. If James had sided with Frank and Bridgette, it would have been four on five with Day, Michelle, and potentially Victor up for grabs. Paul seems to have declared allegiance to Paulie, but I think Paul will go where the wind is blowing.
If, as James assumes, it is just two versus eight, James and Nat benefit from evening things up and letting both sides duke it out until they whittle each other down. Moving to quickly end this kind of power balance hurts the people in the middle the most. James did the same thing last season. James’ position is precarious. He is afraid of reprisals, but keeping a bigger target in the House will definitely delay any reprisals, especially if the momentum starts to shift.
My current MVP is probably Paulie, in terms of sheer domination. He’s been protected by the team twist though. He’s too dominant in the competitions. I fully expect he takes the next HoH. Perhaps this week was the best time to take a shot. The potential for a backdoor is there.
Socially, I think Paul is playing a good game. He came in too hot, but he quickly learned to go to ground. I think he’s insinuated himself nicely. He was a logical third eviction and he wriggled out of trouble. I get the feeling Paulie would choose Paul over Zakiyah, despite their… showmance? Is it a showmance? The edit has ignored them.
Showmancing The Stone 