POPGEEK

First, we need to spend a moment on the veto competition.

WHAT. Also, THE. And of course, FUCK???

The costumes were strange by themselves; they were elaborate enough to qualify the houseguests for a community theater production of Alice in Wonderland.

But then, the surreal and twisted imagery of these people wearing fake mustaches, pig noses, and French maid outfits as they jeered and mocked the competitors…did they do that of their own accord? Were they ordered to do it by Big Brother? Or are they really that sycophantic when it comes to Evil Dick?

Which, of course, brings us to the real point of this post: Unpacking Evil Dick’s game.

He’s taking a fascinating tack, this whole “brutal honesty” thing. The idea of someone who takes these whispery, backstabbing conversations and then turns right around and broadcasts the details to the whole house, even as he rails against the lying and the under-the-bussing that’s a fact of life in the Big Brother house? It’s made for some great TV, if nothing else.

At the same time, as strategy, it sorta blows. All week, I’ve been contemplating Kail as the first worst player in the BB8 house; she pushed way too hard way too fast, and attempted to assume a role of “master manipulator” that didn’t quite fit, especially since she seemed to make bonehead calls regarding who was the real “threat” to her game. (Joe? Probably a threat. Dick? Not so much.)

However, I’m now turning to Evil Dick as he takes his place on the HOH throne, and I see how his strategy has the same fatal flaw that Kail’s does: He’s pushing too hard, too soon. Even if you’re in the majority of the house and you actually LIKE Evil Dick, it’s hard to deny that he is suffering a BIT of a power trip, and even if you don’t buy it as a “power trip,” it’s at minimum some asshole behavior that will make it harder and harder to stay on his side throughout the course of the game.

The mild advantage Kail has had to this point is that her machinations have at least taken place within “confidential” meetings and diary room babblings. Now that Dick’s targeted Kail, however, she can’t squirt a fart without Dick broadcasting the “betrayal” of her gas to the house.

Which, of course, draws a potentially even bigger target on Dick’s back; if his plan is to play the game with this level of aggression and “honesty,” it won’t take long before even his best friends realize he’s not worth having around, and band together to take him out.

On the other hand, the bigger that target gets, the smarter it may be to keep him around as a disliked attention grabber. Say what you will about Jen, but she’d be a great person to bring into a final two, since no one likes her and unless you’ve somehow managed to become an even bigger jerkhole than Jen, you’re guaranteed the votes. Dick might find himself slipping into that same category: Players who are only worth keeping around because they suck so bad, not because they have any value as players in the game.

Screencaps courtesy of Hamster Time, easily the greatest BB website around.