Just when you think that Paul is starting to lose control, he always manages to reel it back and continues to stay in power. Around this time, we were witnessing the demise of Paulie and what some were calling one of the best games of Big Brother anyone had played. The house woke up though and turned on Paulie quick, including Mr. Friendship himself. Each episode, I am just waiting for Paul to slip and for the house to wake up, but it still hasn't happened. I didn't think it was going to be possible for Paul to pull this off, but it is starting to look like he will. What was really interesting is that in Jessica's eviction speech, she basically tells the whole house that Paul is in control of the game and that if they don't get him out, then none of them will win. To no ones shock, no one in the house really believes this except for Mark. He sees it plain as day, however he doesn't know how to approach it. He says something to Jason about it and even though we didn't see it, he probably relayed this information to Paul.
With Alex being the HOH, this is basically another week of Paul dictating his minions on what to do. The main target of the week is Cody, which for Paul is the right move to do. There has been a lot of talk about once Cody is gone, then Paul will be the biggest target in the house. However, Paul has done a wonderful job of planting a target on Mark and Elena concealing him for a few more weeks. Alex wants to put up Elena and Matt and then backdoor Cody. Paul winds this back though and says they should put up Mark and Elena so they don't piss off two couples and run the risk of the two showmances teaming up with Cody. This is some great thinking by Paul even though he is probably giving Matt a little too much credit because Matt is always volunteering to go up on the block. He most likely would not have cared.
Meanwhile, everyone's favorite House Guest Kevin is being seen talking to Cody a lot and this is raising some eyebrows in his alliance, especially after he attempted to make a deal with him in front of Jason. His side of the house pull him to the HOH room and tell him to quit talking to him, which is incredibly dumb. He just wants to be sociable and if he is and Cody wins HOH, he is protected. Cody really doesn't have anything going for him unless he does win HOH if he stays this week. No one should have to sit around by themselves all week without anyone to talk to. They need to lighten up.
In the Final Temptation Competition of the summer, it was a race between Matt and Cody to finish in last so that they end up on the block and are for sure to play in the Veto Competition. In an error on Cody's part, he ends up accidentally scoring a point ensuring that Matt gets last and goes on the block. Mark wins the competition ensuring that he is safe for the week. This creates some problems in Alex's eyes because now she can't put up a showmance. She approaches Paul and Jason about going up as a pawn because they are going to have the best odds to beat Cody if he gets drawn to play Veto. Paul says he would go up, but he obviously doesn't. We didn't see it on the show, but on the feeds Paul did some great manipulation to get Jason to agree to go on the block. Alex also is going to put Elena up as a "Pawn" and she is not happy about this. She is seen by Christmas talking to Mark and Cody, asking them if they won the Veto to pull her down. Christmas over hears this and calls out Mark in front of everyone about how he talks to Cody and he flip flops to where ever the power goes. This leads to Josh coming in of course where he gives his input. It was pretty funny that Mark admitted he plays both sides in the DR, but in the actual argument he did a terrible job of defending himself. On the other hand, Christmas calling him out was really not like her. Christmas has flashes of brilliance, but she can't seem to piece it together. It makes me wonder what she would be like if she didn't have that broken leg.
In the end Matt, Elena, and Jason are on the block and it looks like Cody is going to be backdoored unless his name gets drawn for Veto. If that happens then it will be interesting to see who the house goes after, or should I say who Paul goes after.