Big Brother 3: Why Eric Lost

Before we get in to this week's look at why a houseguest was evicted, I guess we have to re-evaluate whether or not they really "lost." With the twist we will end up seeing one of them back again. However, I find it unlikely that one of the ex-evictees will come back and end up winning the whole shebang. Maybe that's just wishful thinking since I don't think they should be able to come back and win. If I'm right, we'll have a column called "Why XXX Lost AGAIN" at some point.

But we'll worry about that when it happens. For now, let's just look at Eric.

Eric was one of the original Group of Six. He was also in the men's suballiance with Roddy and Josh. He was also in the couples suballiance with Roddy and Lisa and Chiara. He was also in bed with Lisa - literally. The only one of these alliances with any secrecy at all was the guys suballiance, and even there the women apparently had some inkling that things could come down to gender. As we've seen over and over again, open alliances are just waiting to get stomped.

Now, add to that the fact that one of these alliances involved an affair of the heart, and you can see why many of the other houseguests were worried. Just as with Will and Shannon last year, at least one of the couples had to be broken up. As much as Lisa and the other three whined, it really was the best strategic move, as Gerry said. Franky, I was glad to see somebody using their brain for a change and realizing that, like them or not, you have to vote people out in order to progress. The four-strong couples alliance had to be broken up. Since Gerry had made a deal with Roddy to save his own skin the previous week, that left only Eric and Lisa - the knight and the queen.

So it was strategy that got him nominated; what got him voted out? There were a couple of surprises. Had Chiara stuck by her supposed friend, Lisa, Gerry would not have needed to break the tie. Had Josh gone with his gut regarding Eric's recent behavior, again Gerry would not have needed to break the tie. The vote could have been quite lopsided. Meanwhile, Danielle voted for Eric at least in part because of the gender issue. Jason voted for Eric probably because Danielle told him to, but also because he knows Eric is more of a threat than Lisa. Marcellas voted for Eric probably for similar reasons. And Gerry broke the tie by voting Eric out because of Eric's strong pushing - showing he was a leader.

Eric thought he was in a secure position. He was in multiple alliances; he found a girlfriend; he was a leader. But what he thought of as positives are quite negative in the eyes of other players. The strong must be eliminated, and Eric was in too strong a position to be allowed to remain. That is why Eric lost. If the houseguests have any say in who returns, it is also why he will not be voted back in.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline, and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

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