So the first week of Big Brother is out of the way and alliances are starting to form, even ones outside of the teams that were picked during the opening night. It didn’t take long for Glenn, the eldest member of the season, to be sent packing, though the Freakazoids member held his own and lost to fellow Freakazoid Corey in a photo finish during the first elimination competition.
Pretty soon, a newbie alliance began to form with the goal of eliminating the four returning players, but as we’ve seen in the past, nothing goes as planned. Several of the newcomers didn’t take well to Jozea‘s proclamation of being the Messiah of the newcomers, and his flat out declaration that he was coming after Nicole made him an easy target. Jozea and Paulie, who was being used as a pawn by the veteran-led team, went on the block and a new competition called Road Kill resulted in a third nominee being chosen to join them. Frank won the initial Road Kill competition, a physical challenge, and had the power to anonymously choose a third person for the block. He initially picked Paul, but after Paul won the Power of Veto,  Bridgette started freaking out Paul’s crew and Frank became suspicious of her as well, so she became the third nominee.
Throughout the week Jozea felt he had the votes to stay, but little did he know that part of his alleged alliance, dubbed “The Revolution,” was voting against him as part of a true alliance known as “The 8 Pack.” For those keeping track, another alliance formed called “The Spy Girls,” consisting of Bronte, Natalie and Bridgette, but they formed the alliance in front of Tiffany, who is on to their collusion. “The Spy Girls” have a loose alliance with Paul, Jozea and Victor, but unbeknownst to them, they are on the short side of the house.
By the time Thursday rolls around, it was a foregone conclusion to everyone but Jozea, Paul, Victor and perhaps Bronte that Jozea was the one going home, as Frank became the first to spill of the alliance to get him out to non-alliance members Natalie and Bridgette. While that didn’t sit well with some of Frank’s alliance and tipped Natalie to Frank’s future game, it didn’t affect the final outcome with Jozea going home by a tally of 7-4. But as we later learned, we may not have seen the last of Jozea … or Glenn, for that matter … as there will be a competition series where one ousted player will return at some point. So beware if “the Messiah” rises.
So with two weeks done and two house guests out, where do we stand with the rankings.
1. Frank – The returning vet appears to be playing the best social and physical game after two weeks. He won the Road Kill competition and kept it mostly a secret. He’s solid with each of the other vets as they attempt to turn their overwhelming disadvantage into a killer alliance. Meanwhile, his actual “team” all seems to like him, with Bridgette being the lone outsider and still unaware that he put her on the block after the Road Kill. Frank also took the first risky game move, attempting to build some good will with players on the other side of the house. While somewhat laying low, quietly he’s also started playing certain house members against others. Look for Frank to go far, especially as long as his side of the house is running things.
2. Paulie – He played the pawn last week and masked it enough that the delusional Jozea never figured out what was coming. He’s cozied up to Zakiyah and Bridgette so far and appears to be a favorite of the ladies. And he was in pretty good shape in the HoH competition as Thursday came to an end. Should his side of the house stay in control, he should be standing pretty. And being that he was on the block in the first week, the other side of the house is likely not counting him in the suspected alliance. Suspicion is off Paulie for the time being and his likable nature should keep him around for some time.
3. Nicole – The returning vet was Jozea’s biggest target and Paul is not a fan either. Victor is on the opposite side of the house, but has started flirting with Nicole, so it appears as though Nicole has mostly survived the “get the vets out” plan and the vets alliance has swung a majority of the house. Corey is on her “team,” and appears to be loyal. Ditto for Tiffany. And it looks like Da’Vonne may be a long term ally. Along with Frank, she may be the vet that’s done the best of taking a target off her back.
4. Corey – The baseball coach has ingratiated himself with the Eight Pack and is tight with Nicole, who views him as a friend. Though we’ve yet to see it result in a victory, look for Corey to continue to be strong in physical competitions, though he may not be the best strategist. At present, he appears to be the type of player that will serve someone else well in advancing them to the finals while he settles outside of the money.
5. Da’Vonne – Last season, Da’Vonne was drama with a fuse ready to go off at any time and it cost her. After a meltdown early on, Mama Day got to work and forged some real alliances with solid game play. She forged an alliance with the vets, one that has only gotten stronger as the game has proceeded. She figured out Tiffany’s secret and brought her into the fold. She brought Michelle into the fold and also won over Zakiyah on her own team while determining that her other team members — Jozea and Paul — would be poison to her game. So far, so good. Da’Vonne’s had a stellar opening couple of weeks in setting herself up down the road.
6. Zakiyah – Along with Da’Vonne, she played double agent in the quest to get out Jozea. She’s cozied up to Paulie, though her potential showmance has made allies Da’Vonne and Frank a little concerned. She appears to have figured out the game fairly quick and kept a low profile while needed. How she navigates within her own alliance will have a lot to do with how far she goes in this game, but she appears to be someone who could pull a big move at some point down the road.
7. Michelle – The newbie aligned herself with the right side of the house, but earned a few enemies in Paul, Jozea and members of that alliance who erroneously assumed she won the Road Kill competition and was responsible for Paul’s nomination. There’s also the sense that while she’s part of the 8 Pack alliance, she’s the one that most of the members feel less secure about. Though expressing her loyalty, we’re not sure how close her bonds are with other house members and she feels more like a floater.
8. James – The house prankster is one of the more polarizing players in the house. There’s hatred of James by Paul and Bronte and Victor, the victim of some of James’ pranks, is losing his patience quickly. He has a good relationship with the vets, but Frank and Da’Vonne are a little nervous of his flirting with the girls on his team. He claims its going undercover, but they fear he could flip. Right now, James is safe, but should the Paul, Victor or Bronte ever become head of household, James is likely the first vet to go on the block.
9. Natalie – Initially downplaying her intelligence and her job, Natalie formed an alliance with Bronte and Bridgette that was immediately sussed out by Tiffany who watched it happen. They aligned with the wrong side of the house and found out too late what was happening. However, Frank may have overplayed his hand with Natalie, leaving his future goals and current alliances pretty easy to figure out. Smartly, Natalie agreed to vote with her week one alliance even knowing the numbers so as not to tip her knowledge of what Frank had told her, but she’s now in the perfect place to play both sides of the house until she has to declare for one.
10. Bridgette – The only member of Frank’s team not in his initial 8 pack alliance, Bridgette is in an odd place. The Spy Girls did her no favors by having her infiltrate the HoH room while Jozea had his meeting with the other side of the house and she was outed as a spy. That got her a seat on the block, though Frank has discussed the idea of bringing her into the fold. Bridgette appears to be smart, but unfortunately she’s on the wrong side of the house. If she’s able to flip alliances, she could go farther, but right now she appears in danger of being picked off early.
11. Tiffany – Vanessa’s sister isn’t fooling anyone. She looks like Vanessa, dresses like Vanessa, sounds like Vanessa and by the time she reveals her sibling to most people, they already know. Add to that a propensity for crying and getting emotional like Vanessa and she’s already got her alliance members fearing how she’ll stand up to their secret bond. Of the 8 Pack, she’s the most likely to get blindsided and voted out early by her own team as they see her as a liability. For now, there are bigger targets, but she could go fairly early.
12. Paul – He’s loud, he doesn’t shut up, he doesn’t do a very good job of hiding his emotions and which way he’s leaning. But he does offer some comic relief in how ineptly he’s played so far. Only Jozea was more delusional during the first week. He did win the Power of Veto, which helped out. But he could stay in the game for a few more weeks if only because he’s been so inept and loud so far that he’s not viewed as having any power or ability to make a move that will affect the game.
13. Bronte – She playing hard and fast and it will catch up to her soon. She’s almost been caught in lies, has trashed talked certain members of the house with Paul, and her “Spy Girls” alliance was one of the show’s worst kept secrets. While she seems to have a good grasp on manipulation and is anxious to make moves, doing so this early in the game will put a target on her back pretty quickly once she’s found out.
14. Victor – He’s the one who initially told Nicole about Jozea’s plan, giving her a nominee on a silver platter. He’s been on the wrong side of the house and by winning the first physical competition of the season he’s already viewed as a potential competition beast. Plus, he’s not exactly warmed to all of the other house guests and some feel he’ll likely blow a gasket with James’ continued pranking. He’s also been caught flirting with both Natalie and Nicole, which could backfire on him. Short of he, Paul or Bronte winning HoH, he’s definitely on the block and more than likely the next competitor to exit.
So there it is … another week down. Will Victor, Bronte or Paul save themselves or be the targets this week? Have the vets sufficiently laid waste to the “old heads out first” plan? Will Paulie be invited officially into the 8 Pack now that he’s off the block? How long before the rather large alliance starts suffering casualties? See how Week 3 of Big Brother 18 goes and come back next week to see where the players rank.
