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RSS'Paradise Hotel 2': The best-laid plans...
Paradise Hotel: 2 sees the remaining guests cement their alliances and work on strategy. Then we watch all that work go to hell when the producers throw three curve balls into the elimination. Plus, whining, moaning, bitching, complaining, and a large man weeping like a little girl.
The name's Spoiler, Spoiled Spoiler.
Last week, Zach spent his plotting and scheming and making everyone think he was in their corner. He finally allied with Chris, and the pair looked unstoppable.
This week, we got a lot of James complaining about how treacherous Lauren was for not making out with him, and how Zach is a self-obsessed egomaniac. Pot, meet kettle.
Also, TD is getting seriously insecure -- is Chris spending too much time with Myrna? Will he choose to ally with Myrna rather than TD? She sighs and moans and tells Aaron he's screwing up, since people actually like Chris while Aaron is just pissing people off. But Aaron is feeling secure when Chris tells him he's going to protect him throughout the rest of the game. Aaron is an idiot. If there was any doubt, we later see Chris and Zach conspiring -- they want to keep Stephanie in the game, and TD is seeming like a liability. Therefore, she'll be the one to go next, if they have their way. That will put Aaron in an awkward position, but oh well...
Much of the action takes place at a casino night, where the guys compete in a high stakes poker tournament while the girls get to sit back and look pretty. At least give them their own game to play! Televised poker is pretty dull, so I'll cut to the chase: It comes down to James vs. Zach, and James wins. He gets a special prize that Amanda will announce at elimination, which is RIGHT NOW!
We discover that James gets immunity, and he also gets to pick first. He marches over to TD and slaps down on her shoulder so hard I expect her to be lopsided for about a week. This ruins everyone else's plans, and I have to hand it to James -- that was actually pretty smart. Who knew?
Zach is up next, and he has to scramble. He picks Stephanie, leaving Myrna as the only available women from the New Kids alliance. Ryan goes with Lauren and Mike chooses Krista, so it looks like they're safe. That leaves Aaron and Chris fighting for Myrna's affection, and Aaron starts blubbering like a three-year-old. James shouldn't have gone with TD because it's MEAN TO ME! Chris said he'd take care of me and now I'm being thrown to the wolves, which is MEAN! Wahhhh! Shut it, Aaron.
Myrna thinks for about 2.5 seconds before she announces that Aaron shouldn't let the door hit his butt on the way out. But wait! James won more than immunity -- he won the ability to choose which guy would be booted! He picks Chris. You can just see the OG's rubbing their hands in Mr. Burnsian glee.
Unfortunately for them, there's one last twist: Chris gets to pick a woman to go home, too. He leaves Myrna in place and chooses Lauren, who was probably the strongest woman left. One again, strategery is in tatters.
Both Chris and Lauren make relatively classy exits -- and I have to admit, I'm sorry to see Chris go. Yes, he was playing the game for all he was worth, but he was never an ass about it, and he avoid drunken idiocy for the most part. Obviously, to the producers, that meant he had to go.
After the elimination, everyone runs around like headless chickens: Krista is bummed because...you know what? I'm not entirely sure what Krista is so pissy about, but she is pissy. Aaron is disillusioned with his former BFF and pledges he troth to the OGs. James tries to cozy up to TD, but she has no illusions that he picked her for any reason but strategy.
We're left with James proclaiming himself the new Big Man, Zach disingenuously coming to the OGs and saying he was on their side the whole time, and Mike and Krista lamenting that James is all about the game, not loyalty. What else is he supposed to be about?
Next week: Raheim returns! Why, God, why?
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What a slimy ep this one was! Had the producers started playin tricks early in the game, it probably would've gained viewership instead of lost it throughout the run. Oh well, its ending with a bang and thats what matters. Krista is now the strongest female in terms of alliances. Buh bye Myrna.
this episode went wayyyy downhill at the end, as soon as Chris had to leave. he was so lieable, UNLIKE james. i didnt really care about lauren leaving, OGs seemed to love her, but i dont see the appeal. Zach being back is lame....you havne't done ANYTHING since the last show that makes you think your p***ed this stage? you threaten people one season and come back the next (some multiple years later) so i guess we'll see rahiem for good in 2012 :(
cont: obviously meant chris was so liKEable
How was Chris likable? He was playing the game more than anyone, but I'm rooting for the OG's this time. Last season I was against them because of douchey Zack. It looks like it's going to be Zack vs. OG's when they realize he's playing them.
Bringing Zach from PH1 was OK because it interested viewers of the original season. Bringing back Raheim only a few weeks after he was "cast out of Paradise forever" reeks of desperation on the part of the producers fueled by falling ratings....a last resort (ha ha!) to stir the pot and restore interest. Are any of the remaining guests worthy of the ultimate prize (a lifetime supply of condoms?)? Mike + Arron = Dave from PH1....Mike being smart and Arron extremely abrasive. Christa is Charla's (PH1) counterpart...extremely insecure and without much guile but manages to survive week after week by keeping a low profile. I'm hoping the drama amps up between now and the finale.
Raheim returns? So much for "will have to leave Paradise Hotel FOREVER!!!"
I hate the "we make it up as we go along" aspect of this show. No other reality show leaves you wondering when and how it will reach a conclusion. PH2 could go on forever, or end next week - how would we know?
I vowed to quit if Rahiem came back, and gol-darn it, I'm sticking to it. Since both Real World and Survivor have more sex and scantily clad women, its not so bad!
Did anyone notice how in the preview of the episode in which "a blast from the past" was to return to Paradise they cut to a guest (Mike, if I remember correctly) saying something like "wow, that was really mind-blowing" to make it seem like the guests were shocked by Zach's return. But when that episode aired, it had a scene of Mike entering a room with two of the girls and dialog that went something like this....Mike: "Wow that was really mind-blowing." Girl1: "Yeah, completely random." Girl2: "Yeah, random." It was very obvious that they weren't referring to Zach's return but something completely unrelated that was never shown or explained in any way. The only reason this clip was even shown (as it had absolutely no context and made no sense whatsoever) was because they had used Mike's "really mind blowing" remark" totally out of context to embellish Zachs "stunning" return to Paradise and then had to somehow fit it into the following weeks episode. It was an example of how the story editors unashamedly manipulated "reality" by inserting totally unrelated dialog for dramatic effect. They probably thought no one would notice so "what the heck?"
I wasn't expecting all the twists either, but it will actually make the show better in the long run.
It's like reading a book or watching a movie -- if you are taken by surprise, it makes it even better.
All the guests were shocked by the elimination ceremony - both the Newbies and the OGs.
The only thing I didn't understand was Aaron. Did he expect Chris to sacrifice himself by going to Lauren or Kristen? If he would watch his actions, people would like him better. But the way he behaves, he can't expect for people to want to save him.
I'm a PH1 fan and at the time I was not a Zack fan. But it appears he has matured and he's here to play the game. And that is ultimately what it is all about. He knows how to play it better than anyone else. Really, now that Chris is gone, he seems to know more about strategy than the rest of them. Loyalty will only go so far. Making strategic moves to cut out the strongest person opposite of you is how you win.
I agree with the poster above. i can't really blame anyone's actions in that episode. if james had gone for anyone else besides td, then mike would have to go for either lauren, which would put ryan in danger, td or one of the new girls which would put him in danger. by going for td, he knew he was getting rid of aaron or possibly chris and he would be saving mike for sure and incidentally saving ryan. chris was smart and played the game flawlessly but the producers twisted the game far beyond what anyone could hope to predict. unfortunately, there was nothing he could have done about that and james strategically took out the head of the snake by sniping chris. aaron was an idiot. he had no strategy and hoped that chris would somehow save him from the huge hole that he dug himself into. he created friction with myrna which was stupid b/c that meant td was the only one he could confide in and had no fall back option. chris on other hand was smarter and created a relationship with myrna so she could be his fall back option in case steph or td failed for him. aaron really couldnt expect anyone to save him at that point. chris isn't going to sacrifice himself for aaron. chris was only at fault for making aaron an impossible promise. raheim's return will be interesting.
i wonder what Zach was thinking after making out with Stephanie at the end. Was hard to tell with the look on his face whether he liked it or was thinking " i just messed up".