After the first, of what will likely be two “Double Eviction” episodes of the season, we are left with only 9 remaining houseguests. With two ladies taking the fall this week, the gender lines in the house are almost back to even, not that that seems to matter this season. BB17 is one of the only seasons in recent memory where there has not been at least a solid attempt to create an “all-girls” or an “all-guys” alliance, and it doesn’t look like there will be one forming any time soon.

Winning HoH last week was one of the worst things that could have happened for Becky. It forced her to show her cards, and threw her directly into the spotlight. If Becky can not remove herself from the block with a POV win this week, she will very likely be talking with Julie about her train-wreck attempt at playing Big Brother.

Depending on what the competition is to get back in the house from jury, she could have a very solid chance at getting back into the house, before she is inevitably evicted again just a week or two later.

8. Vanessa

Despite somehow surviving the double eviction, Vanessa has no clue how badly her houseguests want her out of the game. Just about everyone, including her alliance is sick of her, but, because she is so emotionally unstable in the house, they are all hoping that someone else will be the one to take her out. Becky’s only shot at surviving this week is to convince the others that she will be gunning for Vanessa next week with the wrath of a woman scorned.

If you bought Vanessa for the value of how well she is playing the game, and sold Vanessa for the value of how well she THINKS she is playing the game, you would be a very wealthy individual.

7. John

As painful as it is to say: if Johnny Mac does not form some more solid alliances soon (Steven aside) he may be in some hot water sooner than later. He will likely lose his friend Becky this week, and will be left with Steve, who has a much tighter bond with the twins and Austin, as his only friend. Johnny Mac needs to win HoH this week, form a solid final 4 with James and Meg, and pray to God that Shelli comes back into the house. If these things can happen, it could be a very happy ending for Johnny Mac, and his legion of fans.

6. Austin

Austin is sitting in a great spot this week, and has secured himself safety with just about everyone next week. He should be able to throw HoH and still be alright for the next few weeks. Austin’s problem, however, is the fact that he likely would not be able to beat anyone in the final 2. If he gets there with Liz, he will insist that the jury votes for her to win, and if he gets there with someone else, the jury will not forget the fact that just a few weeks ago he cried that he did not care about winning, and only wanted to go to jury to be with Liz. If anyone in the jury rewards him for that, they are all dumber than originally thought.

5.  Liz

Liz should be considered the biggest target left in the game, but miraculously, she is not. Between her sister and Austin, they will both do everything in their power to protect her.  Essentially one-third of the house is playing for Liz to make the final 2. Her biggest hurdle, however, will be the potential for Becky to come back in the house. Even worse for Liz, if Becky survives this week and wins HoH, she will be very satisfied with seeing Liz walk out the door during her reign.

4. James

It is nothing short of miraculous that James has not been considered more of a target this season. He is great at physical challenges, and decent at the mental ones. He is a strategic player, and not afraid to go after the power players and make big moves. If James is anywhere near a final 2, he should have this game on lock. It is likely, however, that once a few more power players are gone, James will be seen by the house as the huge threat that he is.

3. Steve

Believe it or not, Steve is in a very similar position to Austin. He has surprisingly found some allies in most of the house. Also, he has recently become close with the twins and Austin, and his closest allies throughout the entire game have been John and Vanessa. If Becky is evicted this week, his only concern will be Meg or James winning HoH, and they will probably have bigger fish to fry than Steve. He is in a great spot to position himself for the final 2, but he will have to make a few more big game moves if he wants to have a chance at getting enough jury votes to win the game.

2. Julia

(Julia Nolan: photo credit: cbs.com)

Julia is in a much better spot than her sister. In fact, if is wasn’t for her sister, I think Julia would be the favorite to win. The only reason she would be evicted before her twin, is if Liz is saved with the POV and Austin is not on the block with her. But, if she could somehow get to a final 2 with Liz or Austin, Julia is more likable than both of them and could easily garner enough jury votes to beat either in the final 2. If she doesn’t take a bullet for her sister, Julia should not be going anywhere, anytime soon.

1. Meg

Meg is the more likable, less annoying, and a bit more useful version of Big Brother 16’s Victoria. The difference between Meg and Victoria, however, is that Meg has been part of alliances that hav

e made big moves and changed the game. Even though she has never made these moves herself, she can take partial responsibility for all of them, if she is not sitting next to one of her allies in the end. If she is sitting next to James, she is screwed; but if she can get to the end with another houseguest, she has a good chance at winning, simply by being likable.

I suppose she is playing a similar game to Jordan (BB11) and all Jordan needed to do was win a few challenges near the end, and she was a half million dollars richer. If anyone can pull off that same type of victory, it is Meg.

 

After potentially the most intense first week in the history of US Big Brother, it is time to update the Power Rankings for the remaining fifteen houseguests.

The Power Rankings for the rest of the season will be based on 6 criteria.

• Likability
• Game Play / Alliances
• Under the Radar Potential
• Mental Competition
• Physical Competition
• The ability to not be annoying

 

The houseguests will be ranked 1-15 for each of the categories (1 being the best, 15 being the worst.) The houseguest with the lowest score will have the best power ranking.

Here are the Week 2 Power Rankings… (Spoiler Free, and as of Sunday nights episode)

 

15. Liz/Julia
    

    (photo credit: thebbinsider.com)

 

• Likability 11/15
• Game Play / Alliances 11/15
• Under the Radar Potential 13/15
• Mental Competition 12/15
• Physical Competition 15/15
• The ability to not be annoying 10/15

Total Points – 72

Liz has landed in last place in this week’s power rankings mainly because of the twin twist. If the houseguests catch on to her being a twin, she will be a HUGE target, and may be evicted before Julia even gets to play on her own. 5 weeks seems like a remarkably long time for two people to pretend to be the same person. I know it was done in season 5 with Natalie and Adria, but that was 11 years ago, and reality contestants were not as aware of such twists. If Liz could have played the game on her own, her ability to fly under the radar would be exceptional, but look for all eyes to be on her and her sister in the next couple weeks.

 

14. Da’Vonne
    

    (photo credit: thebbinsider.com)

 

• Likability 14/15
• Game Play / Alliances 6/15
• Under the Radar Potential 15/15
• Mental Competition 8/15
• Physical Competition 10/15
• The ability to not be annoying 14/15

Total – 67 Points

Da’Vonne promised in preseason interviews that she was there to play the game, and was she not kidding. After forming potentially the worst alliance in recent history with Audrey and Shelli, they became two of her biggest targets within days. Da’Vonne (and I) correctly predicted that her inability to not blow up on her fellow houseguests would be her downfall, and after only 2 weeks, she has found herself in some boiling hot water. If she can somehow survive Thursday’s eviction, it will not be long before she finds herself right back on the block the next time Clay, Shelli, or any of their buddies win HoH. And next time, she will be flat out back doored.

 

13. Audrey
    

    (photo credit: thebbinsider.com)

 

• Likability 15/15
• Game Play / Alliances 5/15
• Under the Radar Potential 14/15
• Mental Competition 9/15
• Physical Competition 8/15
• The ability to not be annoying 15/15

Total – 66 Points

Much like her one time ally, Audrey has come out swinging, and things could not have turned out much worse for her. She is beyond lucky that she has the support of Clay, because he is in control of one side of the house, and without him, she would likely have been going home this week. How amazing would it have been though, to see Audrey and Da’Vonne forced to work together in the BoB to try and save themselves. Seeing the two of them running around in the same oversized sweatpants would have been the moment of the season.

The only reason Audrey is ranked so high in the Game Play / Alliances category is because even though they don’t trust a word she says, she is tight with Clay and Shelli, and they are the king and queen of the house. Audrey will be considered a target every week, but should be able to last a few more weeks because the house will consider her an “easy week” in future weeks, and won’t want to “waste” their HoH on getting rid of her.

 

12. Jackie
    

    (Photo Credit: bigbrother.wikia.com)

• Likability 12/15
• Game Play / Alliances 12/15
• Under the Radar Potential 1/15
• Mental Competition 15/15
• Physical Competition 13/15
• The ability to not be annoying 7/15

Total – 59 Points

Jackie is playing the game much better than I thought she would. I thought that her tie with Jeff, coupled with her loud/abrasive personality that we saw on The Amazing Race, would put a huge target on her back. Jackie, however, has kept her cool, laid low, and separated herself as much as possible from Jeff. I predict that Jackie will be nominated many times, but will go very far in the game. Does she have a chance of winning it all? No. Not a shot in hell. Jace has a better shot at winning the game than Jackie does.

 

11. Meg
    

    (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

 

• Likability 6/15
• Game Play / Alliances 7/15
• Under the Radar Potential 3/15
• Mental Competition 11/15
• Physical Competition 14/15
• The ability to not be annoying 11/15

Total – 52 Points

Meg was my preseason favorite, and while I still like her, I am a bit disappointed with her so far. She is just kind of “there.” I know that her strategy was to lay low, and not be annoying, but she is doing too good of a job with that, and is coming off as being incredibly boring. I want to see the girl that was in the preseason interview with Jeff play the game, not somebody that is trying super hard to not be as annoying as they really are. Like Jackie, I think that Meg will find herself on the block many times as a pawn, and she should be able to survive each of the votes unless, for some crazy reason, the house decides that they need to get rid of her. But, if she does not make some big game moves, as she promised in her preseason interviews, she will not have any chance of winning the game. Unless she is sitting next to Jackie, of course.

 

10. Austin

• Likability 9/15
• Game Play / Alliances 10/15
• Under the Radar Potential 6/15
• Mental Competition 13/15
• Physical Competition 2/15
• The ability to not be annoying 6/15

Total – 50 Points

The best thing that could have happened to Austin is Jace being evicted in week 1. Now that Jace is gone, Austin will be much less annoying and will find more stable allies. Also, now that his bro is gone, he will be able to focus more on the game, and less on his bromance. He has been doing a great job at going under the radar, and could do quite well if he aligns with the right side of the house and downplays his physical abilities. Like Meg though, he has been a bit of a disappointment as far as entertainment value is concerned. But, I suppose that flying under the radar is a much better strategy than being entertaining, so good on him.

 

9. Jason
   

   (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

• Likability 8/15
• Game Play / Alliances 3/15
• Under the Radar Potential 12/15
• Mental Competition 4/15
• Physical Competition 9/15
• The ability to not be annoying 13/15

Total – 49 Points

Jason winning the first HoH may not have been the best thing for his game. It threw him directly into the spotlight, and forced him to show his cards from the get-go. As long as he is in the house he will likely have half the house coming after him, and he doesn’t seem to be worried about it, which is quite admirable. If he loses his closest ally, Da’Vonne this week, he is in some big trouble. But, if she can somehow manage to stay, the two of them could wreck havoc on the house in the coming weeks. Either way, Jason has been entertaining, and proven himself to be a strong player, which I did not see coming.

 

8. James
   

   (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

• Likability 13/15
• Game Play / Alliances 8/15
• Under the Radar Potential 10/15
• Mental Competition 7/15
• Physical Competition 3/15
• The ability to not be annoying 5/15

Total – 46 points

James has been one of the most surprising players to me so far this season. I am very impressed by the way he was not scared to stab Jace right in the front. This guy has got some balls, and does not seem to be intimidated by anyone. With that being said, every time he is HoH he is going to want to make big moves rather than just take the easy road. This is admirable, but it will make his target bigger and bigger each week. He is a good player, but will play too hard, and will not make many friends in the process. He has a very long road ahead of him if he is going to win the game; especially if the Clay/Shelli side of the house has the power.

 

7. Steve
   

   (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

• Likability 7/15
• Game Play / Alliances 15/15
• Under the Radar Potential 2/15
• Mental Competition 1/15
• Physical Competition 11/15
• The ability to not be annoying 9/15

Total – 45 Points

Steve has some work to do if he wants to go much further in the game. He needs to form some tight alliances, not just friendships. His best bet right now would be to form a tight alliance with Vanessa, Austin, John and Becky, then form a side alliance with Clay and Shelli. He would have almost all of his bases covered, with the exception of Jason/James, which he would still have the numbers to stay in most scenarios in which he found himself on the block.

As of now, I do not think he is anyone’s main target, but on the other hand, he is also not anyone’s main ally either, and that is less than ideal for Steve.

 

6. Jeff
   

   (Photo Credit: bigbrother.wikia.com)

• Likability 10/15
• Game Play / Alliances 4/15
• Under the Radar Potential 8/15
• Mental Competition 10/15
• Physical Competition 4/15
• The ability to not be annoying 8/15

Total – 44 Points

Jeff has been playing a surprisingly good game recently. I feel as though he has formed some tight bonds, and some close alliances with the powers that be. He has separated himself from his Amazing Race partner, Jackie, and he has been actually playing the game, rather than just being a waste of space in the house, like she has become. I think Jeff could do very well in the game, but he has to win an HoH soon so he can gain the trust of some of the houseguests that may be teetering on whether or not they can fully trust him.

5. John
   

   (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

• Likability 2/15
• Game Play / Alliances 13/15
• Under the Radar Potential 5/15
• Mental Competition 6/15
• Physical Competition 5/15
• The ability to not be annoying 12/15

Total – 42 Points

John is one of the most bizarre houseguests that has ever played the game, but I love him. He is such a space shot that I think it is going to work out in his favor. Shelli and Clay have already used him to not only go on the block as a pawn, but to also throw the BoB challenge so Da’Vonne would remain on the block. That is someone that you will do anything in your power to keep in the house. If John can form another side alliance, and stay firm with his alliance with Clay and Shelli, this guy could be paying off his medical school loans by the end of the summer.

4. Vanessa
   

   (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

• Likability 3/15
• Game Play / Alliances 9/15
• Under the Radar Potential 4/15
• Mental Competition 5/15
• Physical Competition 12/15
• The ability to not be annoying 4/15

Total – 37 Points

Vanessa is playing a terrific game so far. She is not anyone’s target, she has found a few close allies, and she is responsible for the Audrey/Da’Vonne collapse that made them both huge targets. If Vanessa can stay emotionally stable, she can get to the end with little effort. However, it will be important for her to do poorly in challenges, and not become a mental challenge threat. She should be prepared to be a pawn a few times before reaching the jury, but as long as she keeps her cool, she should be able to survive the block for quite a while. Her alliance with Austin could play a huge role in what happens the next few weeks, and if they are co-HoH’s they will be forced to choose a side of the house, which will either kill their game, or catapult them both to the end. The key is going to be to keep their alliance under wraps, so they will not be targeted together.

 

3. Becky
   

   (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

• Likability 4/15
• Game Play / Alliances 14/15
• Under the Radar Potential 7/15
• Mental Competition 3/ 15
• Physical Competition 7/15
• The ability to not be annoying 2/15

Total – 37 Points

I think Becky is sitting very pretty right now. She is not on anyone’s hit list, and does not have any super close allies, with the possible exception of Jackie, which is basically the same thing as not having any close allies. She can win challenges, and is extremely likable. Her biggest issue may not be getting to the end of the game, it will likely be winning the game. At this point she could sail to the end of the game, but she would have a nearly impossible task of getting the jury to vote for her to win. Her best bet would be to approach Clay and Shelli and ask to be in an alliance with them (and Jackie and Jeff.) This way she could hopefully get to the end game with the four of them, and be the swing vote, which would secure her a spot in the final 3. If she turns on Clay/Shelli and ends up in the final with Jeff and Jackie, she would be one HoH win away from a million dollars, and a unanimous vote against Jackie in the final 2.

Whatever Becky decides to do, she needs to be sure that Jackie is right by her side, as she may be her only chance of winning.

 

2. Shelli
   

   (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

• Likability 5/15
• Game Play / Alliances 2/15
• Under the Radar Potential 11/15
• Mental Competition 2/15
• Physical Competition 6/15
• The ability to not be annoying 3/15

Total – 29 Points

Shelli has become the queen of the house. And not just because she is the current HoH, but more importantly because her and Clay have control of the majority of the house. They are aligned with most of the house guests and anyone that goes after Shelli right now, will have Clay (and Audrey) coming after them with a vengeance. After just 2 weeks Shelli has shown she is a physical competitor, and a great game player. She is likable, entertaining, and not afraid to make big moves. She could easily beat any girl in the house right now in a final 2 vote, and as of now, can beat any of the guys as well.

 

1. Clay
   

   (Photo Credit: thebbinsider.com)

• Likability 1/15
• Game Play / Alliances 1/15
• Under the Radar Potential 9/15
• Mental Competition 14/15
• Physical Competition 1/15
• The ability to not be annoying 1/15

Total – 27 Points

Of all the houseguests, I am most surprised and impressed by Clay. I thought he was simply going to be the “eye-candy” for the ladies of the house. I also thought he was going to be clueless as to how to play the game, make alliances, and make big moves, and I could not have been any more wrong.

Sure, Clay is going to be a huge target moving forward, and I foresee him having to win multiple POV’s in order to stay in the game, but I feel as though he has made enough alliances to help him survive until at least jury. At that point he may need to solidify a few more alliances if he wants to get to the end game. It may sound crazy, but his best bet may be for Shelli to get evicted in early jury, so he will not be seen as a couple, and help reduce the size of the target on his back.

If he keeps tight with Audrey and Jeff/Jackie, and maybe makes some sort of alliance with Austin/Vanessa, Clay could have this game in the palm of his hand.