Paradise Hotel, August 27: One Down…

Amanda sends everyone to stand with the women except Alex. Alex has been here for a long time, he was one of the originals. A video montage of the Best of Alex moments starts, beginning with his arrival at Paradise, hooking up with the various girls, campaigning for king, hosting the toga party, and experiencing drunk and scary fun. For his final words, Alex tells Tara that he doesn’t take it personally, that it’s only a game, she’s a great person and they had a lot of fun; he tells Amy they’ve had each other’s back from the beginning and they’ll meet up in Arizona; he tells Desiree he respects her honesty and bluntness; Holly’s a great and beautiful girl; and finally he tells Charla he knows it’s not personal and it’s all part of the game, but reminds everyone that she’s not as innocent as she seems. He wishes everybody the best of luck and tells them they’re great people; it’s been a once-in-a-lifetime experience and he did it without getting any eviction safeties or excursions, it was all him, all the way – and instructs everyone that they should have fun with the rest of the game. Amanda asks what he’s going to miss most in Paradise: just the chance to laze around, doing whatever he wanted all day, eating, swimming, drinking, sleeping. Now, back to the real world; he gets his bags and checks out of Paradise.

Alex tells the camera that Tara surprised him a little with her vote, because they’d gotten along well with each other; that there were other people (Charla) who had never opened up to other people or done anything and that people like that (Charla) should let loose, relax, and go with the flow.

After the vote, Desiree and Tom discuss what happened. Desiree says that tonight she realized something: that she doesn’t trust Charla and Tara. Tom says that she got sucked into their decision (flashback to Desiree promising Charla that she wouldn’t tell anyone whether she was going to vote off Alex or Scott). Desiree says that she liked Alex; she tears up, and says that she was upset about Alex but she’s over it now. But Charla is constantly in her ear, talking about the game and strategy because Charla’s been here so long it’s all she talks about. Tom tells Desiree straight out that he doesn’t like Dave; that people laugh at him (flashback to Tom telling Dave he was happy to be battling alongside Dave and Keith, and how they were his best friends at Paradise). Desiree tells Tom that Keith and Tara were tight, and Tom says that however tight Keith and Tara are, Dave and Charla are ten times tighter.

Charla explains her strategy to the camera: She says that if Tom and Desiree were smart, it would benefit them to ally with Scott and Holly because she thinks they’d get further in the game that way.

Also to the camera, Tara says she hopes that Tom and Desiree are telling the truth and won’t go against them, because if they try to ally with Scott and Holly, they’re going down.

Charla, Keith, and Tara congratulate themselves on finally being in a position of power – that they wouldn’t want to be in anyone else’s position in the game right now. Charla says she likes it.

Amy tells Desiree in the bathroom that she wants to send Charla home, and that Desiree should keep her eyes and ears open. Desiree tells Amy that Charla’s making moves to solidify her position with Tom, that that’s her agenda, and if it comes down to it, Desiree promises to send Charla and Tara home before Amy. Amy says they’re trying to suck her into what they have, and Desiree tells Amy it’s not going to work.

Amy, Holly, and Scott talk about how Tara used Alex and acted like she cared for him. Scott says that Alex had a premonition that he would be going, but that Tara gave him a bit of hope, and all along she knew she was going to sidestep Alex and go with Keith. Scott says it’s terrible when a girl screws you over like that. Amy says it’s just like what Keith did – to befriend Zack and then stab him in the back.

Tara tells the camera that Alex had it coming: he lied, he cheated, he stole, and boom – now he’s out. She has no sympathy for liars, stealers, and cheaters.

Amy tells the camera that this has been no Paradise for her – that she has come to realize that Zack is her Paradise. Uh oh, what’s this? A limo pulls up to Paradise – it’s Zack! He’s told to meet everyone in the Grand Salon. Dave spots the new arrival and says that someone’s coming… shocked expressions all around as they realize that Zack is back!

Next week on Paradise: Zack’s back with revenge on his mind, promising to jump Keith with fifty guys. And there’s more: All the previously evicted guests are back too! They’ve been watching from home, and things get so out of control that some of the guests want to quit.

Anne Rogers is an editor from Champaign, Illinois, who can be reached at razzmattazzz@surfbest.net.

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