Steve Moses immediately freaked out his Big Brother houseguests in the beginning of the game. Steve gave nearly everyone serious Ian Terry vibes, as a sweet innocent looking young guy who might be a secret evil genius. Then, Steve preceded to do nothing for the next seven weeks of Big Brother 17. Now that is all starting to change. After his live eviction Head of Household win, Big Brother 17‘s biggest floater is poised to become the biggest player.
“50% Acting”
For seven weeks, Steve was pretty much a dud of a Big Brother player. His biggest contribution was talking to the camera/walls and a hilariously one-sided “feud” with Becky. Now it’s been revealed that Steve’s under the radar presence might be intentional. In the past, lots of less than adequate Big Brother players have claimed that they are throwing competitions so they don’t seem like a threat, when in actuality they just can’t win. Steve appears to be one of the rare Big Brother houseguests who is actually making a concerted effort to appear weak.
It was clear from his Diary Room sessions and his conversations with empty walls that Steve didn’t want to be the Head of Household during the live eviction and he tried to throw it. Steve wasn’t prepared for a big move and he didn’t want to have to choose sides in the house. All of this implies that Steve knows exactly what he is been doing, he is intentionally playing both sides of the house. He has intentionally been an island onto himself, not being a target or someone people want to work with, he’s been trying to make himself a non-entity in Big Brother.
Nowhere is Steve’s manipulation of his reputation in the house more obvious than the aftermath of the live eviction. You can’t call his decision to put Jackie and Meg on the block and to have Jackie go home, smart. The way Steve handled the repercussions of Jackie’s evictions was nothing short of masterful. His “50% acting” sobbing fest to Vanessa and the twins plus his stuttering explanation to Becky and Meg made him seem like a confused, frazzled idiot. He not only moved the bullseye off his own back but onto Vanessa. Steve pit Becky and Meg even more against Vanessa, while still managing to be on good terms with all three women.
Steve could’ve easily become a new target or at least someone worthy to be suspicious of but he played everyone and made them all believe he was clueless and bumbling. Evicting Jackie could’ve been Steve’s final declaration of where his loyalties lie in the house but he is still being pursued by both factions of the Big Brother house. It might just be as just another vote in their arsenal but he’s being pursued nonetheless.
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The Deadline Is Approaching
Steve may be sitting pretty in the Big Brother house as a swing vote but he has to make some very real commitments very soon. He might have that official alliance with Austin, Liz, Julia and Vanessa but so many contestants have had an “official alliance” with those four it hardly matters. Steve’s best bet for his game is to switch sides after this week of evictions, assuming John, Meg, James or even Becky is in power.
It has nothing to do with the fact that I personally feel like the other half of the house better and everything to do with Steve is in the best position with them. None of them blame Steve for evicting their ally Jackie and he already has a close relationship with John. Most importantly though there is no pre-existing mini alliances in the group of James, Meg, John and Becky. Maybe you could count Meg and James as a twosome but that is no one near as solid as the unholy threesome of Austin, Liz and Julia. Steve’s chances of forming a steady final two or three deal is much more certain with this group than the other.
By downplaying his intelligence and perception Steve has changed his early game threat status completely. No one is threatened by Steve, no one thinks Steve is even really playing the game. This strategy only becomes a winning strategy if Steve starts playing now and starts playing hard. No one is going to award him the prize money because he tells everyone at the end playing dumb was his strategy, they’ll just think he’s plain dumb. Evicting Jackie with virtually no blood in his hands was a good start but Steve needs to start building his Big Brother resume if he wants a shot to truly turn his Big Brother game around and win.
But what do you think? Is Steve really in a good position in the Big Brother house? Has his emotional manipulation and under the radar gameplay been intentional or merely incidental? Would be better be served as a member of the Scamper Squad or the yet unnamed other alliance?
You can catch Big Brother on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday nights on CBS.
(image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
