Big Brother Power Rankings: Week 5

We're up to week five for the Big Brother Power Rankings, and this was probably the calmest week of gameplay we've had in the House until pretty much right before eviction, and the new HOH is both unexpected and ultimately doesn't matter given the situation in the House. If anything, this season is showing how unpredictable this game can be. Onward!

* So the Reign of Judd ended with Kaitlin surprisingly being evicted after the rest of the house realized that having an unlikable racist in the house is actually better for their games than keeping someone who's won a veto and come close on two HOHs. It's almost as if they're learning how to play the game!

* The MVP twist shifted this week to an American vote. As Aaryn was on the block, she couldn't be nominated by America even though she got the most votes. Elissa got put up instead (either due to most of America hating her, people voting for her thinking they were making her MVP, or a combination of the two), got the veto, came down, saw GinaMarie go up in her place, and then proceeded to blow up all her alliances and all her goodwill in the course of a day. She set the stage by comparing Amanda's "dominatrix outfit birthday present" to a Vegas stripper, but when you've got Helen after you, you know you're screwed. To further add insult to injury, Elissa won the veto this week in part by forfeiting her opportunity to play in the veto next week. Way to go, Elissa!

* Aaryn pledged her HOH choices to Helen in exchange for her to stay put if she won. Aaryn won, and this means that Helen has a lot in front of her assuming Aaryn keeps her end of the deal. It would be crazy for Aaryn to go back on the deal right now, so one assumes a combination of Howard, Elissa, and Spencer to be on the block at some point. With Elissa unable to pull herself off, and with no obvious friends in the House...

So here we go with the power rankings...

The sign of a strong player in this game is when they can run the House even when they have zero power. Helen effectively dictated the entire proceedings this week, got a unanimous vote to oust Kaitlin, and was able to work out a deal with Aaryn to control nominations again this week? Plus, she's finally shedding Elissa? Helen is in a great place.

Judd escaped this week with a successful HOH reign, the removal of a strong player, and a very limited-to-nonexistent target on his back. Everyone likes Judd, and with so many other people on his side and with bigger targets on his back, he's sitting in a great spot.

I have McCrae ranked third right now, but the gap between 3 and 2 is massive right now. People are very tired of the McCrae/Amanda showmance, and he's basically done nothing except make out with Amanda since the first week. No matter what happens, there are a lot of people, Amanda especially, who would be a target before him.

I hate ranking people highly based solely on their social game, but it's clear that Andy is killing it socially right now. He has the ear of all the important players, the trust of Helen and her group, is not considered a threat by anyone. He really needs to win something at some point, but for now?

Jessie has gone from being on the block in the first week to being a pretty ineffective, yet very safe, houseguest. Might be a pawn at some point if they need someone to fill a slot on the block, but she's currently in a good position.

Aaryn has risen like a phoenix in this game, and it's absolutely stunning what she's done in the last week to rehabilitate her image in the House. Outside the House, she'll always be that racist mean girl, but inside the House, everyone sees her as someone who can advance their game and she's game to be that person for them. She both holds no power and holds tremendous power, which makes no sense in context, but could get her to the final two with nearly anyone. I can't stand her at all, but she's become a very fascinating case study in how this game can work.

Candace isn't necessarily in trouble at this point, but she's really doing nothing to help her game except stay around a bigger target in Howard. She's not quite on the outs with Team Helen, but that could shift very quickly if the House turns, because she'll have nowhere to go.

Amanda has been playing the game super hard, and people in the House seem to be getting fed up with it. Unless she makes a shift, she's going to be the next target once the Aaryn/Spencer/Howard/GinaMarie group get dealt with.

Spencer is considered untrustworthy in the House and he can't win anything. He goes once Howard goes.

America's third choice for eviction, GinaMarie is harmless competitively, annoying socially, and useless overall. The only interesting thing left with GinaMarie is whether she leaves the House before Aaryn or after.

Howard's game collapsed last week, and I'm not seeing any evidence of recovery. He moves up a slot for one reason, and one reason only:

Elissa. I can't recall the last time, in my limited watching of the show, a player's game fell apart so spectacularly without the use of violence. If you've lost the House, in the top 3 people to be nominated by America, and cannot play in the veto, you're probably going home this week. At the end of the day, it will depend on whether the House chooses Howard or Elissa, but I believe the chances are high that it will end up being Elissa.


I'm looking forward to this week. Should be extremely interesting how things pan out.