Just when I thought James Huling was going to throw away a potential game changer twist this week it looks like there’s a chance he may be ready to flip the plan and vote out Paulie Calafiore’s ally Zakiyah Everette after late night talks resulted in a new course of action, but shhhh, don’t tell anyone.
Houseguests were up late enjoying themselves when we found James and the current top target, Michelle Meyer, awake and chatting away in the back bedroom. James was sharing advice to Michelle on how to up her chances of survival while she made some comments that surprised James and gave him pause with a new idea.
Flashback to 4:25 AM BBT 8/8 for James and Michelle’s chat. They’re starting out with light talk about how Michelle needs to work on the HGs this week. A few minutes later she mentions that if she wins HoH then she’ll be ready to make a big move to go after some of the sneakier Houseguests which she promises James wouldn’t include him or Natalie. James likes what he’s hearing and tells Michelle not to count herself out just yet.
Michelle asks whose vote she might this week (FB 4:31 AM BBT). James tells her that Paul would vote to keep her. Not only that but he points out that thanks to his Care Package power she would only need 3 votes if he was aiding her in the process. If she had Paul’s vote locked up then he and Natalie could join in and save Michelle. Now that’s a big thing to say.
Several minutes later Michelle mentions how Victor told her that everyone in the house is working in pairs. We’ve got James/Natalie, Corey/Nicole, Paulie/Zakiyah, and so forth. Michelle asks James not to tell that, but guess what.
Natalie walks in and asks James to make some food with her so he leaves and they go to the storage room. This part is worth listening in on so Flashback to 4:38 AM BBT.
James tells Natalie he thinks they should keep Michelle. Natalie agrees. He says Michelle suggested she would make big moves and go after big players other than either of them. It’s hard to tell who they think that might be but it seems like Victor could be who they’re thinking.
Talk continues and at 4:41 AM BBT James says, “I’m almost kinda like set now. Maybe we should send… [Zakiyah out].” Natalie immediately agrees, “I told you.”
James worries that Paulie may be trying to use Zakiyah to do his dirty work and go after him, Natalie, Corey, etc. but with Zakiyah gone then Paulie won’t be as likely to take those shots himself. So he’s worried about Paulie, but wait for what he says in a moment.
James reminds Natalie that it’d just take their two votes plus Paul’s to make this happen. It’s definitely achievable if he’s willing to go against Paulie. That still seems like a big if to me, but maybe.
So who would James cancel out? “To keep Paulie safe I can cancel out his vote so he gets no blood.” What? You’re concerned that Paulie could use someone to come after you but you want to look out for protecting them? If you’re going to burn someone then really burn someone here and let him vote out Michelle who would stay. Sheesh.
To go along with canceling out Paulie’s James said he could either nullify the vote from Nicole or Corey. That’d put Zakiyah’s votes to stay below the threshold. Natalie says she’s onboard and has been working with Michelle to make this work if she stays.
Okay, wow, so I’m surprised by this. James is considering it and Natalie may continue to push to make it happen because she’s definitely liking the idea as we soon see her working on building support for it.
Move forward to 4:58 AM BBT to find Natalie and Bridgette stepping away for a private talk in the bathroom.
Natalie asks Bridgette who she wants to go, but Bridgette dodges the question while answering that Victor appears to want Zakiyah out while Corey may want Michelle out.
Natalie reminds Bridgette that James has the special Care Package power and it might change the plans this week. She also tells Bridgette that James would respect Victor’s HoH and support whatever he wants. Now that sounds like a cover story to me.
Bridgette cuts in that the decision will really come down to Paulie and he’s controlling the whole house. She was advising Natalie to watch out with making any plans that may run counter to Paulie’s own plans.
Bridgette also notes that she’s been asking around and everyone seems to say that they trust Paulie. She’s on to his game. Natalie says she’s also been figuring this out.
Bridgette asks Natalie not to repeat what she’s told her back to James. Natalie promises Bridgette that she can trust James now and he would never put Bridgette up again. Natalie assures Bridgette she can trust her now too. They do a spit shake on it and the talk breaks.
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Interesting stuff here. This would make a big change in the game should James decide to use his power to move against Paulie and weaken his standing in the game. If James takes this pitch to Paul then it could be enough to get Victor off James’s back too and we might see a totally different Double Eviction play out on Thursday night.
What do you think of James’s idea. He can be one very wishy washy Houseguest so I couldn’t bank any plans on this just yet, but if it takes shape and gets backing then oh my it’ll be fun to watch. Once the Veto meeting is over today it’ll be too late for Paulie to move Zakiyah to safety and the game could be on.