Is It Too Late for Amber to Get Rid of Caleb?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Caleb Reynolds' obsession with Amber Borzotra is creepy and needs to stop. It's elevated to the level that there's now a serious concern that Caleb's mercurial feelings toward Amber could actually affect her ability to survive in this competition, but, thankfully, Amber seems to recognize that fact. On the live feed Tuesday night, Amber had some hammock time with Cody and told him all about how isolated she felt because Caleb wouldn't let her get close with anyone and how Caleb's inability to take a hint was seriously worrying her. Even better, Amber began to talk strategies for getting Caleb off her back.

Did I mention that Caleb was sitting in the yard looking depressed the whole time Cody and Amber were in the hammock? Because that was going on. Caleb had been hoping to be the one to get a hammock date with Amber that night, but she must have turned him down because it was Cody in that coveted spot instead. To be fair to Amber, she said she doesn't want to hurt anyone, but there is no way out of this situation without hurting anyone. As she herself said, "[Caleb] is taking so much and over thinking."

At this point, Caleb is claiming that Amber "doesn't appreciate what [he's] done [for her]" and even Cody is getting annoyed at the way he can't even glance at Amber without Caleb sitting in the yard like a grumpy cat. Of course, Cody is also, apparently, suspicious of anything that Amber tells him because he believes she's just eager to distance herself from Caleb. It's a lose/lose situation no matter what Amber does and there's only one person to blame.

Is there anything Amber can do to shake Caleb loose? Currently, her plan is to make some kind of side alliance to keep herself safe just in case. Since "just in case" can range from Caleb deciding she's ungrateful and trying to get her evicted to Caleb deciding she's playing hard to get and making a grander and more romantic gesture than throwing a competition for her, a side alliance wouldn't be such a bad idea. However, the trouble with that at this point is that the other house guests might find Amber a dangerous person to ally themselves with against Caleb.

For the first few weeks, Caleb (along with Devin and Frankie) were running the Bomb Squad and thus the house. Many of the other house guests are trying to remain neutral floaters until the competition really gets fierce and Amber might be a bet they're not willing to take because it's too risky. Anyone who stands up against Caleb for Amber is risking his wrath and he is an incredibly strong competitor. Anyone who stands up against Amber when Caleb's still on her side is still risking his wrath because he'd do anything to protect his "queen". Thanks to Caleb, Amber is basically all risk and no gain for anyone else in the house.

Another option is for Amber to try talking Caleb down again before, or while, she makes her side alliances. Reaffirming for the thousandth time that she is Just Not Into Him might be the thousandth definitive answer he needs to stop trying already... or it might lead to him accusing her of leading him on and make him step up his game against her while the other house guests stand back and watch. Amber could always try pulling one of those let him down easy moves, such as thanking him for being such a good friend (underline, bold, italicize, three exclamation points) to her in the house, but it's clear that subtlety is not the way to go with a guy like Caleb anymore.

Finally, Amber could try sneakily getting the other house guests to backdoor Caleb like they did with Devin. Once Devin is gone, Caleb is the most dangerous competitor in the house. Frankie is a tough competitor because of his social game, but Caleb has a "beastmode" that makes competing against him sort of a joke when he's actually trying. The only way they're going to get him out of the house is by backdooring him and agreeing as a majority to vote him out. That seems like the wisest move for Amber if she can somehow manage to pull it off without having anyone alert Caleb to what she's doing.

No matter what her game plan is, I'm glad that Amber is finally taking back some control of her game even though Caleb has backed her into a corner. In the conflict between Caleb and Amber, there is no team but Team Amber.

Image: camcam1279/Tumblr; camcam1279/Tumblr