Big Brother 8: Zach Is A Little Slow On The Uptake!

Warning: If you're not watching Big Brother 8, move on to my next post. Although I've hardly missed a moment of the tv broadcasts, I haven't blogged about it... and I can't possibly bring you up to speed now! :::smirk:::

Let me just say... While I think he's played a good 'fly under the radar' game up until last week, Zach proved last night that he isn't the 'sharpest knife in the drawer'.

In the lightning round that was last night's live broadcast... with Dick as HOH, Eric and Jameka nominated for eviction, Zach won the POV. He only had a minute or three to decide what to do with it, but still... it only took me a millisecond to figure it out (and shout at the television)... USE IT! Ole 'o-dee-doe-dee-doe' Zach, however, remained true to his "alliance", and chose not to use the power. Yikes.

STOP:

1. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, that if he used it, Dick would have been forced (had no other choice, but) to put up Daniele, and she would have easily left the household. He and whoever he used the POV on were the only two who could vote, so it was an easy eviction.
2. His alliance with the Donatos (Dick and Daniele) is a sham. He is the third wheel on a bicycle. Advance the game to the final three, and he is the odd man out. Advance the game with one of them and Jameka, and he's likely safe.
3. The likelihood of Jameka winning HOH and putting Zach up, given past performance (although you have to take into consideration she wasn't eligible for much of her duration), isn't likely.
4. He chose not to use it, so with Eric evicted, he made a somewhat enemy of Jameka (in the unlikely event she won HOH), and given the persuasive powers of the Donatos.
5. IT WAS JUST SO EASY. He would have shared the final four with Dick (who everyone in the jury house dispises), and either Eric (America's player, unbeknownst to and not particularly liked by the jury) or Jameka (who has less than an iota of respect for the Donatos, but is well liked by the jury). AND YET, HE FOLLOWED THE ORDERS OF THE DONATO ALLIANCE, AND VOTED ERIC OUT OF THE HOUSE. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

PROJECTING INTO THE FUTURE:

With the scenario of a final four comprised of the Donatos, Jameka (HOH unlikely, given history) and Zach (equally as unlikely, given history)...

1. There is at at least a 50% chance that the Donatos will win HOH, and he will be put up for eviction.
2. His actions left, at most, a 2:2 split in loyalty. (Had he used the POV, the odds would have increased significantly... but at the minimum, 1:1:1. And he would have competed against Eric and Jameka (both weak) for HOH). The object at that point would have been to keep Dick in the house, because unlikelihood that anyone would vote for him. Now stop for another moment and consider that he just lost two votes... from Jessica and Eric!
3. He has seen the Donatos play both sides of the alliance and should know that he can't trust them not to make deals with Jameka (although that would be unlikely, given Jameka's friendships in the sequester house), but it doesn't matter, since they will always be true to themselves.

I'll confess... I've never been a Zach fan. It's not anything he's done (until the last week... when I totally fell out with him), but it's more his inaction as a player. Perhaps that is the mark of good strategy... but I find it a tidbit lame. His success has been because of his lackadaisical attitude (I think strategy is too empowering of a word), because he hasn't truly connected with ANYONE, and (to their credit) the Donatos know that.