So it looks like American Mom is going home tomorrow, so I should try to start with her. The key word being "try", because she makes it oh so hard. She has this cheerleader/we're doing this for America that has become so obnoxious and grating. I can't believe that it hasn't driven the house guests insane yet, like it does viewers, and they haven't seen through the whole sham long ago.
But enough of that. Let's take a note from the Helen playbook and talk about what makes Helen so grrrrrrrrreat!
To be honest, I didn't think Helen would last more than three weeks, and it was quickly looking like that might be the case. I figured the oldest one in the house she would have a hard time relating to the kids in the house. When I first turned on the feeds she was being bitched at by Amanda for talking to Elissa, who they wanted to go home that week. She was telling Helen that she was fucking up her own game, and Helen just stood there and took it.
Now look at her. She had become a force in this game. There are all kinds of personalities in the house, but there have been only three that have the gravitational pull of a planet, the kind of pull that makes people follow them. Jeremy, Amanda, and Helen. People in that house love her. Granted, they don't see EVERY time she pulls the cheerleader act out. She makes those house guests believe that she thinks they are as awesome as she says they are. To be fair, those people in the house are probably craving for any kind of positive feedback, and Amanda is willing to drown them in it.
I'm sure a lot of that has to do with her political background. She has probably read tons of business success and management self help books. She probably has Tony Robbins on speed-dial. But you have to give it to her, she is playing this game unlike most people do. She is killing with kindness. Sure, we have seen many people turn on the waterworks, and Helen has lied to people like any other player. But she is playing this weird, positive high road game unlike any I have seen before. And it worked for her. Any other season it probably would have gotten her further, but unfortunately she is playing against Amanda, who is playing an amazing game so far.
Finally, Helen wasn't afraid to make a big move when she won HOH. She took out the big gun Jeremy. You could have said that anyone would have done the same. Really? In this season of people afraid to get blood on their hands (ugh)? Helen was like "Fuck it. He's out of here." Not only was she not afraid to do it, she bragged about it. Blowback? Blood on her hands? Who gives a fuck? Big players are the ones who make big moves.
Her undoing was going against Amanda, and not making the big move to get her out earlier in the game when Amanda was on the block. She just got beat to the punch. And I loved watching those two go up against each other. They really were two sides of the same coin.
I think she had so many viewers on her side after that week. But just as quickly viewers jumped ship in droves. Why? Was it her hubris? Was it the fact she teamed up with Elissa? Was it her over-positive attitude towards the other house guests? Was it that it was obvious to the viewers that she was trolling for jury votes before the season was even halfway over? For me it was all of those things, along with the annoying "America wants us good guys to win". Assuming what America was wanting or who we were considering good guys drove me insane. She has gotten so annoying that a popular meme and hash tag is #stfuhelen.
But wait. What am I doing? Stay positive. Hooray Helen! America loves you!
So that is my first "In Defense Of", and the funny thing is she may well be right back in the house tomorrow night. She may be so pissed and fired up that she competes like a beast. It is yet to be seen if she will be safe for the week if she does re-enter, though. But even if she doesn't make it back into the house tomorrow night, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see her pop up on All Stars.
In conclusion......
Pros:
Overcame early underdog status.
Made a big HOH move.
Pulled followers in with her personality.
House guests loved her.
Cons:
Overconfidence.
Believed she was one of the "good guys".
Teamed up with the unpredictable Elissa.
Hesitated in taking out Amanda
