But First Fridays: Your Weekly Big Brother Power Rankings - Week 9

SPOILER ALERT: Last night’s live HOH competition again carried on after the close of the episode, and the conclusion will be shown on Sunday’s episode. But, as with the past few weeks, we know who won, so we’ll be factoring in the results of the competition into the rankings this week.

Last Week’s HOH: Liz

Last Week’s Original Nominees: Becky and Johnny Mac

Last Week’s Veto Winner: Liz

Did she use the Veto?: No, though CBS’s editing made it seem like she was going to backdoor Vanessa

Votes for Eviction: 6-0 to evict Becky

New Head of Household: Bring out the pitchforks, folks, because Austin won

Any New Twists?: After next week’s live eviction, the evicted houseguests and the three jury members (Shelli, Jackie, and Becky) will compete to see which of them will be returning to the game. But you already knew that.

OUR THOUGHTS:

GARRETT: I’ve been watching this show for a long time, and right about now is where I start getting frustrated. Usually it’s because a player I don’t like is dominating the game, or because the majority of houseguests aren’t acting logically and start making wrong decisions. Both of those situations have started happening this season.

It started last week, when Liz took Head of Household. At the beginning of the week, it looked like there was a split between sides of the house. Liz put up John and Becky, and with Vanessa in her ear, it looked like John would be the target for the week. After the nomination ceremony, however, John took the target off his own back with a brilliant display, finally opening up to the Austwins about how he’s wanted Vanessa out since the second week of the game. Believing John wouldn’t target them, Austwins shifted their target to Becky, and told John that even though he was on the block, he’d be safe for the week. Inexplicably, Johnny then decided that the best way to earn the trust of the Austwins was to throw the Veto competition.

The Veto competition was a rock music rendition of the fan-favorite OTEV competition, and Johnny threw the competition in the first round. Becky gave it her all and badly hurt her toe in the process, but Liz took the competition, and held all the power for the week. CBS’s edit made it seem like she would backdoor Vanessa, but, wanting to keep the big target in the game, Liz kept her nominations the same.

The rest of the week unfolded without much drama, and while Becky gave it her best shot to stay, she was evicted in a unanimous vote. The HOH competition was an interesting track meet kind of thing, where the houseguests needed to run to their button when prompted. As expected Meg was eliminated first before the episode ended, and then, an hour later, Austin managed to win the competition, keeping the power within his triad and enraging the internet community.

Now, the Austwins have power for the second week in a row, and they have an alliance with everybody. Nobody seems to realize that they are a three vote block, and the contentedness of the rest of the house of keeping them in the game is maddening. Now, we have to deal with a lot of Austin airtime this week, so we hope you understand our crankiness in this week’s rankings:

8. Meg

JAIME: In true Meg style, she was the first person eliminated from the HOH competition and then proceeded to laugh about it.  Listen, Meg.  I get it.  I’m not good at sports or doing things either.  But we’re up to the final eight and she hasn’t won a single competition.  She’s done absolutely nothing to justify her place in the final eight, and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.  And the worst part is that I’m sure she’s going to make it much farther in the game.  No one would ever vote for her to win the game, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes it to the final three or even two.  But at least her continued presence in the game gives me a reason to drink.

GARRETT: Meg isn’t a mean person. She’s extremely nice, in fact. When there’s no gameplay going on, I really enjoy her presence. But week after week, one of her allies goes. And week after week, she keeps telling James that they need to keep working with the Austwins. She’s definitely getting dragged to the final four by somebody. I just hope James is right there with her in the end.

Great faceplant highlight in the OTEV competition, though. Glad she’s not concussed.

7. Vanessa

JAIME: Thanks to Becky and John, by now, everyone in the house is onto Vanessa and her hyper-aggressive style of gameplay.  Liz was in the perfect spot to get her out, but didn’t want to get blood on her hands (which, can someone please explain to Liz what it means to get blood on your hands?  If you set up the eviction of someone literally everyone in the house wants evicted, there is zero blood on your hands).  Now with Austin, it’s hard to predict what he might do - I think he’d be more willing than Liz, but it wouldn’t be hard for Vanessa to convince him how vital she is to his game.  She’s good at playing people, and if she can adapt to being uncovered and find a way to turn that and use it to her advantage, she’ll be golden.  There’s a chance she might get put up this week, but I don’t know, I have a feeling she’ll skate by yet again.

GARRETT: Vanessa’s been pretty off kilter emotionally for a couple weeks now. She seems to know she’s being ostracized in the house. And I don’t blame her for getting upset when people are calling her the second Audrey. The Big Brother house is really brutal sometimes, and I’ll give her credit for sticking through it. But I just can’t bring myself to be a fan of her when she keeps steadfastly believing her own lies. It’s those lies that have gotten her in trouble. But, as Jaime said, there seems to be a reluctance from Liz and Austin to get her out of the game. So we’ll see what happens with her this week.

6. John

GARRETT: I think it’s important to keep our opinions of the houseguests’ personalities and their gameplay separate, because oftentimes, the most likable person in the game can be one of the worst players. Donny wasn’t a great strategist last season, but he lit up the house with his charm and was a really enjoyable player to watch. It’s starting to appear that our dear John is in that category, because he’s made some of the most abysmal decisions I’ve seen in the game so far. Deciding to throw a competition when you’re on the block is a cardinal sin, no matter who you are. It’s inexcusable with $500,000 on the line. And deciding to join an alliance with the Austwins is an absurd notion when they’re a three vote block in an eight person household. John is still a delight in the diary room and is one of the best Big Brother personalities in a long, long time. But he lost all game sense when Clay got evicted, and if he stays any longer, it’ll be through no effort of his own.

JAIME: I’m in a pickle here.  I love Johnny Mac.  I have waited the entire game for Johnny Mac to start stepping up, so I could finally say that my love for him as a player was justified.  But what is he doing?  Sure, okay, he was on the block this week, so he needed to work with Austwins since they controlled a third of the vote.  So I can understand his decision to work with them, and I think in his unedited conversation with Steve about choosing an alliance to work with, he was pretty unwilling.  To be charitable, and because I’m not yet willing to give up on my dream of my hilarious children with beautiful teeth and a house bought by a reality show, I’m going to hope for the best and say that Johnny is doing whatever he needs to survive right now.  But he needs to figure out a better plan, one that doesn’t see him struggling for survival every single week.  Hopefully if he survives this week and someone on the other side of the house wins HOH (and by that I mean James, since we all know Meg can’t), John can finally team up with them and start bringing down Austwins.  

5. Steve

JAIME: I’m starting to think that Steve may have us all fooled.  His archnemesis Becky named him one of the best players in the house, and I think there’s something to be said for his lowkey approach.  His brief reign as HOH proved that he doesn’t necessarily make the best decisions under fire, but then again, he knows that people think he’s weak and not really doing too great when it comes to handling himself in the game.  I think he still trusts Austwins a lot more than he should, but if he stays good with them, I think he’ll skate through this week.  I’m still waiting for a clear, unmistakable sign that he’s got some larger plan going on, but I don’t know.  Either everyone’s giving him way too much credit or Steve might turn out to be some kind of criminal mastermind.

GARRETT: I think he definitely happened to fall into his current situation. Vanessa has guided him along in this game, and set him up in a good position when it was her controlling things in those early weeks. But I’ll give him credit for playing both sides in the double eviction and shifting the blame completely off of him. That Meg doesn’t blame him for Jackie’s eviction may turn out to be a major blessing and keep him in the house, because the Austwins don’t seem to want him out either. He wins competitions when he has to and has become more and more well liked as the game is progressing. He’s no Ian Terry, but this season, it seems like he might not need to be.

4. James

GARRETT: James is making a run at America’s Favorite Player, and has gotten a perfect edit on CBS. He’s lively, fun, and refuses to let the house get boring, which is good for the houseguests’ morale and keeps things interesting on the feeds. He’s on a clear side, but because of his personality, he doesn’t seem to be a target at the moment. He has a chance to sneak by until a late stage and can get on a competition winning streak if he has to. Hopefully, after a jury member comes back, James can grab power again and break up the triad, but I wouldn’t quite count on it with Meg in his ear.

JAIME: The only thing working against James right now is that he doesn’t have a stronger partner.  He’s only going to be able to do so much when the person supporting his every move is Meg, and I don’t think it’s really occurred to him how much he needs John and Steve to eventually break up the Austwins block.  Based on numbers alone, James isn’t exactly in a great spot, but if he’s smart enough to realize that he’s in the minority of the house and can do something to turn things in his favor, then he’ll be around for a while.

3. Julia

JAIME: Once again, Julia and Liz are going to be totally safe for another week.  There are so many reasons why I want Liz and/or Austin evicted, but one of them is because I feel like Julia would absolutely work with the other side of the house.  It would force her to actually play the game, which isn’t something her alliance has really had to do so far.  She also might be in the best position out of the three of them, because I think breaking up Austin/Liz might be the bigger priority than breaking up the twins.  She’s going to be here for a while, and I’m just waiting for her to do something soon to justify her safety in the game.

GARRETT: Julia has still never played in a Veto competition. That has to be some kind of record. I think our only hope for her this week is her getting mad at Austin for giving Liz a hickey, and making the move to the other side of the house next week.

But that won’t happen. (Sigh)

2. Liz

GARRETT: She got through a week in power without pissing anyone off, and now that Austin’s in control, she won’t be blamed when the next houseguest gets evicted. She might be in the best position in the house, because she’s got two votes to keep her no matter what. But I don’t like her one bit, and her cattiness is beyond on my nerves. She’s never been in a position of danger yet, and I hope somebody wakes up and puts her there at some point. But it won’t happen this week.

JAIME: I still don’t understand how Austwins aren’t the biggest targets to everyone in the house.  When you look at it logically, Liz is the center.  She needs to be the second target on everyone’s list, behind Vanessa.  And yet for some reason, she’s totally escaped notice.  If the other houseguests don’t wake up, she, her sister, and Austin are going to make it to the final four, if not the final three, and they haven’t even really done anything to justify their place there.  It’ll entirely be the other houseguests’ fault for not breaking up the most solid block in the house.

1. Austin

JAIME: Throughout the week, I’m sure many of you often heard a strange noise, something like a cat dying or dishes being thrown against walls.  Those noises were me crying out for help every time they showed Austin kissing Liz.  His winning HOH means it’s going to continue to happen, and there’s nothing I can do about it.  Unfortunately, he’s solid in the game right now: with Becky gone and Steve and John still more or less working with both sides, Austin’s got the most powerful alliance in the house.  He, Julia, and Liz are going to continue to work as one unit until someone finally has the sense to break them up, but the other houseguests are running out of time.  I don’t think Austin’s going anywhere for a while, which means we’re going to see more of what he and Liz get up to in the HOH bed, which means I’ll probably be drinking a lot this week to forget.

GARRETT: It’s absolutely crazy that Austin has still never been nominated for eviction. Not one time. He’s actually well liked by a lot of them in there, even though he’s a cocky asshole. Another week of him in the HOH room calling the shots is going to be unbearable, so my feeds watching this week will be minimal. I want him gone, but I have to give the guy credit for his gameplay. He really just might win the whole thing, and if he does, he’ll be one of the least liked winners in the history of the show. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that and the rest of the houseguests come to their senses. You never know. Maybe someone will finally see that he doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom.

But First Fridays: Your Weekly Big Brother Power Rankings - Week 6

SPOILER ALERT: For this week, we’re including our knowledge of the HOH winner, even though the competition had yet to complete in Thursday’s live episode. The winner will be revealed on Sunday, but, to keep consistent with our previous posts, are including the HOH status for the rankings.

Last Week’s HOH: Vanessa and Jackie

Last Week’s Original Nominees: Clay and Becky

Last Week’s Veto Winner: Clay, in his first comp win of the season

Did they use the veto?: Of course he did.

Replacement Nominee: Jason

Votes for Eviction: 7-2, with only James and Meg voting to keep Jason

New Head of Household: SPOILER ALERT - James won this week’s endurance comp, making him the first solo HOH of the season

Any new twists?: Let’s see.  For, what, the third week in a row, there’s no takeover, so that’s probably over.  Maybe.  Battle of the Block is also officially over, which means we’re back to only one head of household for the rest of the season.  Oh, and after surviving five evictions, Julia has officially joined the house.

Our Thoughts:

GARRETT: Paranoia and Nomination Roulette was the main theme of last week, as the houseguests spun themselves into a frenzy thinking about what to do. We left off last week with Austin squarely on the chopping block with his poor thinking skills leaving him vulnerable, after he spilled the twins’ secret to Jason and left himself as an untrustworthy member of the dominant Sixth Sense alliance. At the beginning of the week, Vanessa and Jackie won Head of Household, and Vanessa made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with keeping it. So she persuaded her close ally Clay and willing participant Becky into going on the block as volunteers, hoping they would win the Battle of the Block Competition. The two Heads of Household, along with Clay, Shelli, Becky, Meg, Jason, and James, made an eight person alliance they called “Dark Moon”, enlisting James to throw the competition with Liz as his fellow nominee, which would ensure that Jackie could stay in power and Austin would be put up as the replacement.

Unfortunately, the Dark Moon never rose (I’ve wanted to use that pun all week) and through sheer determination and an inability to spell on Clay and Becky’s side, Liz dragged James to victory in the Battle of the Block, keeping Vanessa in power as the Head of Household. Vanessa was distraught, and quickly exploded into a fit of raging paranoia. First, she told Liz what her plan was in order to keep her from being surprised, and Liz began persuading her not to make the move. Austin then caught wind of the plan and began his own pleading for safety. Eventually, Clay won the Veto competition, and Austin was able to convince Clelli and Vanessa that he was a loyal ally who simply made a poor, emotional decision in telling Jason about Julia.

So began the next rounds of Nomination Roulette. Clelli and Vanessa went through every single houseguest, and for fifteen minutes at a time, seemed sure that they had made up their minds. But they kept changing what they wanted to do, and unfortunately for one of our fan favorites, landed on Jason as the backdoor choice.

Jason was completely blindsided by the move, as were his allies Meg, Jackie and James. He made a few last-gasp efforts to save himself, and while he was unsuccessful in doing so, he managed to expose Shelli and Clay in playing both sides of the house. They took the brunt of the blame when Jason was evicted, even though it was Vanessa who put the knife into his back.

After the eviction, Julia came into the house as expected, and Julie Chen let them know that the Battle of the Block would be coming to an end. The subsequent HOH competition was an endurance challenge, and after over two hours standing on a tilted ledge, James emerged victorious. Shelli made a deal with him to save herself and Clay, but it seems as though James may be willing to break that deal to split up the power couple. Nominations will be set later today (Friday the 31st), but we’re going to rank the houseguests before knowing who will be on the block for sure.

As more houseguests leave the game, it became necessary for us to change how we do our power rankings every week.  So rather than having a top and bottom 5, starting this week, we’re going to rank all of the houseguests.  So here’s how we think everyone stacked up this week:

12. Meg

JAIME: Oh, Meg.  Once Jason was put on the block, it started looking like maybe this could be a big week for Meg: her friend’s nomination finally gave her the fire to start playing the game and putting pieces together, and she realized that there’s a powerful group in the house who’s been controlling everything the last few weeks.  She even called Clay out for lying to her about where his and Shelli’s loyalties truly lie.  And then….nothing.  Actually, she forgave Clelli, and now she’s tight with them again.  She spent a few days realizing that she, James, Jackie, and Jason were just extra numbers alongside the Sixth Sense and then promptly forgot all about it and eagerly signed up to become a number again.  Good job, Meg.

GARRETT: She’s safe for the week with James in power, but really hasn’t been a figure of any importance in the game. She discarded Audrey’s warning of a six-person alliance by saying she didn’t care, because she and Jason would be better off regardless. She’s just as much to blame for Jason leaving as Jason is, having done nothing but sit on the patio talking crap for the majority of the time she’s been in the game. She’s lucky her minority alliance is in control this week, and may just be brought to the end on virtue of her inability to pose any kind of a threat. But she brings very little to the table.

11. Becky

JAIME: Becky’s still a weird presence in the house.  She gets along with everyone, so the only reason she’s a target in any way is because of her gameplay.  They’re all threatened by her success at competitions, except, as she points out, she’s been losing comps pretty consistently.  Losing the veto this week shook up her confidence and made her question what gives her a leg up in the game.  And then, like Meg, she spent part of the week railing against the Sixth Sense and then wound up joining them.  Without hearing her in the diary room (which, when was the last time we saw Becky in the diary room?), it’s hard to say if she’s truly changed her loyalties or if this is just a plan to win them over and then break up the alliance, but for now, it looks like she’s pretty loyal to Clelli.

GARRETT: Earlier this morning, Becky supposedly ratted on James’s plans to take out a Sixth Sense member to Clelli. So her loyalties to them have been confirmed. She’s trying to play the role of the rat that Andy Herren rode to victory in Season 15, and seems to have a decent perception of what’s going on gamewise. But she doesn’t seem to know that she’s firmly on the outside looking in on the Sixth Sense, and isn’t fully trusted by Shelli and Clay. She’s a sitting duck for them, and should be pretty shocked when her turn comes for eviction.

10. Steve

JAIME: Okay, can we talk about Steve’s weird ass comments about Becky during the veto comp?  Apparently Steve hates Becky.  Who knew.  He’s still not in a great place: he’s working with the Sixth Sense but none of them really have his back, or at least have him as a priority.  He’s still a pretty big target for a lot of the houseguests, even though I don’t think his gameplay is really anywhere close to being a threat.  Still, he’s made deals with Vanessa and John that hopefully will let him stick around for a few more weeks, and hopefully in that time he’ll finally get it in gear and find a way to actually gain some control of the house.

GARRETT: Steve and James had an interesting discussion last night around four in the morning. Steve wanted to know if he was a potential nominee, and James told him no, because he wanted to get “a big player” out first. That’s good news for Steve in the short term, but looking down the road, his inability to win competitions will come back to haunt him. He’s put a world of pressure on himself to perform, and just can’t do it. His final two with Vanessa is dependent upon him picking up some of the slack, and if he can’t, she’ll probably dump him as the game moves forward.

9. Shelli

GARRETT: Shelli was unable to do what Vanessa did this week, and took almost all the blame for Jason’s eviction, even though she wasn’t the one who actually blindsided him. She’d played a phenomenal social game up to this point, but when the evidence was finally presented to James, Meg and Jackie that she was the leader of the Sixth Sense, she wasn’t able to take the blame off herself. Her attempts to assuage Jason were laughable, and now, with James in power, Shelli is seen as the number one target. For someone who’s won two HOHs, that’s a tough situation, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles in Big Brother.

JAIME: Shelli had been playing a pretty great game so far.  If she wasn’t directly in control, she was at least a huge part of the decision making process, but her social game has been strong enough that no one put any of the pieces together.  And even if they did, no one figured out just how much power Shelli has had this entire game.  Clelli may have won Becky and Meg over again, but the house is finally aware just how strong Clelli’s hold over the other houseguests has become.  Thankfully James won HOH this week, because of that side of the house, he might be the only one in a position to do something about breaking up the Sixth Sense.

8. Clay

GARRETT: Clay is ranked above Shelli because he’s done a slightly better job of lying than she has. He’s not seen as the number one threat in the game, and while James wants to split up the showmance, his target is Shelli because she’s seen as the brains. Clay may be able to skate through the week, but not before taking some serious damage. He was able to win over Meg, though, so we’ll see where he stands after (presumably) losing an ally this week.

JAIME: His charm is definitely what’s carrying him through this game, and probably a big part of the reason that it took so long for anyone to figure out his and Shelli’s game.  He’s carrying out Shelli and Vanessa’s plans but isn’t really creating any moves himself, so if James is successful in getting Shelli evicted this week, that’s going to be a huge blow for Clay.  He’s got enough friends left that he’d still be in a comfortable spot, but without Shelli, his long-term chances definitely shrink.  Also, he’s won exactly one competition the entire season.  He’s a physical threat, sure, but so far he hasn’t been very threatening.

7. Julia

JAIME: I’m so excited that Julia has finally joined the game, because while she comes in with a natural partner, she and Liz are at odds about one pretty huge thing: Austin.  Julia doesn’t trust him at all, no matter how much Liz does, so is she going to want to work with him at all?  She’s also closer with people on the other side of the house than Liz is, which creates the chance that she might choose to work with them instead.  She’ll probably stay loyal to her sister, but if she’s wavering on the Sixth Sense, then we might start to see the end of the alliance that’s ruled the game so far.

GARRETT: She’s ranked below Liz for me simply because she doesn’t have the first-hand information as to what went down this week. She wears her emotions on her sleeve a bit more than her sister as well. A blowup with Austin would be worlds of fun for us at home, but could come back to haunt her as well. It’s clear that Austin doesn’t value her as strongly as Liz, so later in the game, her fate may be decided by the large man’s heart.

6. Liz

JAIME: Overall, Liz is pretty comfortable in the game.  Her alliance is in control, and even now that they’ve more or less been exposed to the entire house, Vanessa and Clelli are the real targets.  She got to avoid the blowup after Jason’s nomination, and with Vanessa and Clelli as bigger targets, she might go unnoticed for a little while longer.  Of course, now that she’s spending all her time with Austin, she’s gotten back on people’s radars.  People were angry that Austin wasn’t put on the block when that was the plan; their anger at him might carry over to Liz, so while she’s still probably protected behind the bigger threats of Vanessa, Clelli, and Austin, she’s probably not too far behind in people’s minds.

GARRETT: Liz is in a fine spot if she can avoid the block this week. She could definitely become a target later on as the center of two solid alliances (Liz/Austin and Liz/Julia), but seems in the clear for now. Her best bet is to lay low while the bloodbath ensues this week and hope for a shift in power moving forward. The numbers are still on her side, and she’s smart enough to play them correctly.

5. John

JAIME: John’s in a pretty good spot.  Much to his joy, he wasn’t put on the block this week, finally breaking his streak that started the first week.  And he got close to winning the HOH competition, something that’s probably not going to escape the other houseguests’ attention.  They’re starting to realize how good he is at comps, and now that he’s finally broken his nominations streak, I don’t think he has any desire to go back on the block.  He’s definitely not going to agree to be a pawn again, and he’ll be safe this week.  Our favorite rock star dentist has got some life left in him, and personally, I could not be more thrilled.

GARRETT: I’m not worried about him this week, but he may crop up in people’s minds come double eviction night. Hopefully, there’s some larger twosomes to split up by the time that rolls around and Johnny will continue to slide right along. He’s the most widely liked person in the house by a large margin and knows exactly when and when not to open his mouth. I still don’t think he’s going to win, but he’s got a great chance of putting himself in prime position as the numbers start to dwindle down.

4. James

GARRETT: James needed to pull out an HOH victory, and did so this week, coming up clutch for his minority alliance. James has always been unafraid to break his deals and take out major players in the game, so I’m excited to see the bloodbath when he takes his swing at Clelli. He has the tendency to be won over by Clay’s charm, but with Jackie in his ear this week, should move forward and make the right decision. He’s still not in the best spot moving forward, as next week should include a Double Eviction. But if he can work some deals this week and perhaps swing the balance of power back to his side, he should greatly improve his standing in the house. He’s also the first guaranteed jury member!

JAIME: James definitely can be swayed but he’s ultimately loyal to the people he knows have his back.  I loved how during the HOH competition, when Shelli tried to make a deal with him, he immediately ensured that Johnny Mac, the only other person left in the game, would be included.  He’s looking out for his people and doing what he can to keep them safe.  A huge move this week definitely would make his chances of surviving the double eviction smaller, but hopefully this week he’s able to set things up for his people so they’re in a much better position moving forward.

3. Austin

GARRETT: Austin is definitely my least favorite character still left in the game. He’s a bumbling fool that thinks with the wrong part of his body, making decisions that hinder both him and his majority alliance. But dammit if I won’t commend him for the efforts he made last week to save himself from what was once a certain backdoor. Austin pulled a Dr. Will Veto Speech, practically bowing down to Vanessa, Clay and Shelli, and guaranteeing his loyalty and his willingness to be used as a pawn moving forward. He saved himself, and scooted right by the blame for Jason’s eviction in the process. He’s still despised by Julia, as well as James, Jackie and Meg, but has set himself up to stay in the house as the de facto “big target”.

JAIME: First of all, they did not need to show the clip of Austin kissing Liz so much.  Seriously, they showed it like three times in two minutes.  We get it, it was gross enough the first time, please make it stop.  It was a pretty smart move to appeal to Vanessa by promising to essentially become nothing more than a pawn or a number for their alliance - in his full speech, as shown on the feeds, he also said he knows he’s not going to win now, but he just wants to make jury.  Of course, he probably only wants to make jury so that he can be in sequester with Liz which, ew, but if he’s willing to throw his chance at half a million dollars just to get a girl who doesn’t even like him to sleep with him, that’s his decision.  If the other side of the house plays it right, I can see a few different ways they could play the rest of the Sixth Sense to get them to turn on Austin, but for now, he’s pretty solid.  Which is annoying.

2. Jackie

JAIME: Jackie was absolutely out for blood this week.  She had zero problem directly questioning Shelli’s loyalties, and unlike some other people, she didn’t let go of her anger after Jason was nominated.  She’s playing Vanessa hard, and if anyone’s in a good position to blow up the Sixth Sense, it’s her.  Jackie winning HOH again this week probably would have resulted in a more cutthroat game, but she might have the most influence over James than anyone.  She’s become ruthless and I love it.  After spending the first few weeks more or less in the background, she’s emerged as one of my favorite players to watch because she’s so unapologetic about her moves.

GARRETT: She was the first to see through the Sixth Sense last week, and, as Jaime said, has really come on strong as a formidable player. We had her ranked at or near the bottom for a large portion of the rankings, but once Jeff left, she came on strong and started to figure the game out. She’s in no trouble this week with a James HOH, so I’m looking forward to how she maneuvers the bloodbath that should ensue this week.

1.Vanessa

GARRETT: Vanessa was able to make a big move last week, evicting Jason, while also shielding most of the blame away from her and onto Shelli and Clay. I’m not a fan of her inability to make a decision, and her paranoia is something that may be her undoing in the future. But I think she makes a much better player with the ball out of her hands. I don’t think HOH is something she’s going to want or hold in the upcoming weeks, but she’s still extremely skilled at deflecting blame away from her while keeping a core of allies. I think Shelli and Clay may blow up at her this week if they become the targets (and it’s likely that’s what happens), but Vanessa has played a solid social game outside of their alliance and remains a decently trusted person. With the amount of blood she has on her hands, that’s not a small achievement.

JAIME: Considering that she and Clelli have been in control of the house since week three, it’s a huge testament to Vanessa’s game that it took this long to have her decisions questioned.  She made the decision to draw a line in the sand by putting up Jason, and she’s a very rational player.  She gets that putting up Jason will probably result in her being nominated.  But when someone does something that’s not directly rational or causal, she gets frazzled.  Vanessa could understand being put up this week, but if Shelli or Clay is put up instead?  That’d be a much bigger blow to her game.  She’s still got numbers on her side but she needs to be more careful from now on now that the rest of the house is on to her.