So the final contestants were narrowed down to four when Keith voted off Scott and Holly, after they gave him the power. This left the Barbie Troop (Charla, Dave, Tara, and Keith) in a perfect position. Back came the ex-hotel guests and Amanda Byram gave them the power to vote on whom they wanted to win. They were given the opportunity to question and make statements toward the final four and the sorry losers continued to bash. This time the majority of the hate was towards Dave. Later, the Barbies are given a final plea and they speak from their hearts. Then, before they can vote, Amanda makes the partners switch and Tara is paired with Dave, Keith with Charla. Keith and Charla are declared the winners of $250,000 each, but before they can open the envelopes containing the checks, they are given an opportunity to share the money with their partners, which would make all four the actual winners of Paradise Hotel. After contemplation, Keith agrees to share his with Tara and Charla, under some duress from Toni, keeps her entire amount.
So now that you are caught up, the real question is should Charla have shared her half of the money with Dave? I say no. Why, you ask? Well let me tell you. First of all, Dave has played a good game, he brought Charla along with him, but he needed her just as much as she needed him. No one will convince me that he would be there in the final four without her. Amy and Holly, Dave’s #2s would have dumped him for an original or Tom anytime they had the chance. Tara and Keith wouldn’t have purposefully booted Dave, but they couldn’t have protected him and he would have been ejected. If that was my only statement, I would be saying he needed half. But wait, there’s more.
Let me say, I don’t think that the Incredible Bulk, a.k.a. Toni, changed Charla’s mind. She was wavering way before Toni came in the room. What Toni did do, was to give Charla the ultimate question to present to Dave. Toni said that if Dave were a real friend, he wouldn’t accept the money. When Charla asked Dave the question, he didn’t give the right answer. He gave a good answer, but not the correct one. His answer was a confusing mishmash that just made Charla more determined not to give him the money. The waffling on Dave’s pare lost him the money. On the other hand, Tara did give the right answer, so it could be done. She refused the money, at least twice, before Keith brought in the fact that her mother needs back surgery. She broke down crying and he filled in the check. That endeared me to her, and probably helped the exes in their opinion with her. That is just one of the reasons I don’t think that Dave deserves the money.
Dave made so many promises in the game (Beau, Scott, Holly, Amy, Tom, not to mention Keith, Charla, and Tara, who he was ready to sell down the river right along with the first group) that he, in fact, stabbed himself in the back. Going into the vote, Charla and Dave were going down the river because of Dave’s personal twists. Charla was put at risk and it was all Dave’s fault. She lost the game, but then the Hotel twisted again, and she was moved into the winner’s bracket. She and Keith won, fair and square. Paradise tried to play with them, but Charla, the young one, the person who was seemingly timid and shy, took in everything that she’d heard not only from the originals, but from Amanda, Kavita, Matt, Desiree, Tom, Scott and Holly, who were not directly allied with the Os. Dave himself painted himself in a corner when he wouldn’t admit to playing both sides during the confrontation with Keith and Tara and Scott and Holly right before the final vote. If Keith hadn’t kept his word, then Charla would have been gone and Scott and Tara would be the winners. If anything, Charla should buy both Dave and Keith a nice gift, and then use the rest of the money to get on with her life. She is a beautiful person and to all those people who are calling her a traitor and an idiot: think about what you would do if you were in her place. Do I think that her decision was perfect? No. What I do know is that she had to make a decision and I think that she made the right one, based on the facts that she had, at the time.
Oh and by the way, the twists aren’t over, but we have to wait to see what they are, as Ms. Byram teases us into a “To Be Continued…,” cliffhanger ending. See you next year.
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