Big Brother 19 was basically the season of Paul, so how did he not come out on top?
In season 19, Paul essentially played a perfect game of Big Brother, akin to that of Big Brother legends like Will Kirby and Dan Gheesling. Somehow, however, he fell just short of the win. What went wrong? Here are three key mistakes that could’ve cost him the $500k.
He chose the wrong pair
Going into the final eight, Paul’s plan was flawless. He found himself in a cluster of power duos without a partner, so he became the third wheel to every partnership, with the intention of taking the place of whoever was eliminated.
Instead, he ended up bringing the complete pair of Josh and Christmas to the final three. Fortunately, this turned out okay, since Paul was able to convince Josh to bring him to the final two, but it was a risky move, and one that very well could’ve landed him in third place. Josh and Christmas were an extremely close pair, and Josh is a strong competitor, so things could’ve easily gone differently.
If Paul had actually formed a partnership with someone, he would’ve had guaranteed 2/3, if not 3/3 odds of making it to the end from the final three. Also, he probably would’ve had a few less bitter jury members to deal with if he’d stopped stabbing everyone in the back and chosen a side earlier.
He should’ve minced the meatball
If you’re going to hell, you might as well do it thoroughly. Paul had basically already screwed everyone over by the time he got to final four, so why not piss off the final pair by getting Josh out instead of Kevin? Paul had all the power that week, so he could’ve pulled anyone he wanted up with him.
Josh was by far the strongest competitor left in the game at that point, and he was tightly aligned with Christmas. If Paul had taken Kevin and Christmas to the final three instead, he would’ve won the final HOH easily. Kevin was so likable that he might have had a shot of winning against Paul, but Paul would’ve been able to choose to bring Christmas, and it would’ve been a landslide. You heard what the jury was saying about her!
He didn’t own up to his accomplishments
In my mind, Paul’s greatest downfall was his performance during the jury question period. Elena may have been right about his poor jury management skills, and he didn’t even come close to making up for it at the end.
The things that Paul accomplished in Big Brother 19 were remarkable. He had the complete trust of every person in the house (except for you, Cody), and nobody even fully understood that they’d been manipulated by him until they got to the jury house! I’m certain that, had he wanted to, he would’ve been able to organize a “cleansing fast” like Dr. Will did in season 2. He had them all eating out of the palm of his hand.
He made the cripple win a foot race, he got Josh to win a mental comp, and he even had Raven feeling like she was the puppet master of the season. The man played like a legend. On top of all that, he managed to escape the block for the entire season, despite having a target on his back from the minute he walked in the door.
Yet, when the jury asked him about his lying, manipulating, and backstabbing, he pretended that he had no idea what they were talking about! The most he could come up with was, basically, “I’m sorry you feel that way, but…#Friendship?” For someone who’s clearly a master manipulator, he completely failed to bend the jury to his will when it really counted.
To make things even more confusing, after giving very vague and evasive answers, he attempted to take credit for his actions with his final speech. At that point, it was too little too late, and the bitter jury members were ready to award Josh (who performed surprisingly well in the finale) the crown.