Matt Liguori rates the houseguests each week with his own guest in RHAP Big Brother Power Rankings. This week Matt is joined by Mike Bloom.
Notes:
- Power Rankings will contain information from the live feeds. If you are only watching Big Brother 19 episodes and consider information from the feeds to be spoilers, come back after watching the episode on Wednesday night (or Thursday night, if you want to play it extra safe).
- If reading on a cell phone, rotate your device horizontally to read the rankings side-by-side. However, this may not work for some devices with smaller screens.
RHAP Big Brother Power Rankings: Week 3
Things in the Big Brother house have slowed down a little after the insanity of last week. Joining me this week is a legendary podcaster in the world of Rob Has a Podcast, the great Mike Bloom! You can find Mike over on Parade doing exit interviews for Big Brother 19 (and Survivor, coming this fall), as well as his recent coverage of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9 and the season finale of Survivor New Zealand over on Reality TV RHAPups. Follow or tweet to Mike (@AMikeBloomType) and myself (@mattliguori) to let us know what you think and leave a comment down below!
Before getting into the players this week, let’s briefly come back to last week’s evictee.
Jillian: It seems guaranteed that in a few years, when we look back on the early evictees from BB19, nine out of ten people will forget Jillian’s name (including members of her own cast, who have already started to forget Cameron’s). Jillian provided so little to Big Brother that she was given zero content in her eviction episode. As one of the weakest players in the house, Jillian couldn’t manage to stay while on the block next to an intelligent, strong (Well, she was?) competitor in Christmas. If not for that exit interview with Julie, we would have absolutely nothing to remember about Jillian.
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Matt
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Mike
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Not much has changed since last week for Raven. Her alliance is driving the game forward and Raven is remaining under-the-radar. I caught some of the Dominique talk show the other night (whatever that’s called), and Dominique interviewed Raven for almost an hour on her disease and how Big Brother viewers can help out. I certainly don’t think Raven is using her disease at all as a way to gain sympathy, but it’s not hurting her in the slightest to have the whole house rooting her on as a person and as a player in the game. Paul wanted to use Raven as a pawn this week because she is so well liked and felt the house would never vote her out. While pawns go home, I don’t think there’s a shot in hell Raven would’ve gone anywhere this week, or will go anywhere in the coming weeks.
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1) Raven
Despite all the strategy and power plays that may be going on this week, one thing seems to be clear to me at this point: nobody wants to vote Raven out. In fact, after revealing some more details about her disease this week (which is different than the diseases she may be exposing houseguests to with her cooking), it seems like some of her competitors are even rooting for her to win the game! It feels like I’m watching the endgame of Survivor New Zealand all over again! Now, a lot can change in the next 10+ weeks, especially if showmances will be targeted soon. And I know the viewing audience is not happy with the idea of people abdicating the game to her based on her life outside of the house. But I’m ranking this on who I think will go far, and I see no reason at this point why Raven would not make at least mid-jury.
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I’ve been impressed lately with what Mark has going on. I’m not sure how much of it is him playing the game well rather than his natural charisma being enticing enough to draw people in and make them want to work with him. He’s got friends on both sides, two #1 allies, and not many people eyeing him as a potential nominee in the near future. It’ll be interesting to see how the Dominique and Elena situation plays out, as both women vie to be Mark’s true #1.
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2) Paul
He has proven in the past week that he can win competitions, is popular with the viewers (or I should say “was,” considering how much the fanbase is starting to turn on him), leads alliances, can pull off complicated plans, and get rid of major players in the house. But that is a hard bell to unring; it’s borderline impossible for him to slip below the radar now. I think he’s in a great position in the next few weeks, especially considering he’s still safe. But once people start seeing the endgame and double evictions are abound, he could run into some trouble. Also notable is the fact that he and his closest ally are now unable to receive any temptations for the rest of the season in a time when he could really need one moving forward.
(Also, special criticism is reserved for him and Da’Vonne coming in dead last on the Candy Crush special, and for his appearance alone leaving people questioning the fabric of the space-time continuum).
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Paul is the player I’m having the hardest time ranking this week. Fool is playing HARD. What I’m trying to figure out is if this will all backfire on him, or if he’ll be able to continue controlling the house Derrick-like all the way to the end. This cast certainly seems more capable than BB16‘s, right? It’s all a guessing game right now of determining who from his alliance will be the first to put Paul’s name out there and lead the charge to get him out when the time comes. My money is on Matt, but at least three of Ramses/Jason/Jessica/Alex will still be in the house when Paul’s immunity is up. As for now, Paul has the most control out of anybody in there, with many of these people wrapped around his finger.
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3) Mark
He looks to be the target of manipulation for Elena, Dominique, and Christmas, making him a Pinocchio who may have imbibed in one too many wood growth hormones. He seems like an affable enough person, and he was one of those who flipped his vote at the eviction and did not incur the wrath of the other side. But I fear that his emotions, both sad (a conversation with Christmas getting him back on her side) and anger (his occasional annoyance with Elena) could lead to the stuffing coming out of this teddy bear sooner rather than later.
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I don’t know how this girl does it. For the second week in a row, Alex has gone up on the block and come away with nothing but respect and admiration from the HoH. Not only is HoH Paul in her corner, a majority of the house is coming around on her. They’re starting to realize “she’s not that bad” which basically means “she sat on the block this week so none of us have to, so I guess we can tolerate her a little longer.” It almost seems like she’s got a spot locked up on the jury, given that one side of the house is gunning for Ramses, Jason, and Jessica, while the other side is obviously gunning for Paul’s alliance. Alex is comfortably in the middle and doesn’t seem like she has any plans of changing that. The worst thing she could do is win HoH this week and have to show her cards. Despite the good spot she’s in, she’s on the block for the second week in a row. The last thing you want is to be the person going on the block each week; all it takes is one week with one strong player as a block-buddy, and Alex could find herself evicted.
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4) Kevin
He’s essentially at the right hand of the BB King at the moment, with Paul promising to take him far. On top of that, his alliance is willing to protect one of his many lies (in this case his vote against Jillian). A week ago, I wondered who would want to use an HoH to take out Kevin. But if people start comparing notes about his seven-course meal of fibs, and others’ trust in him begins to disintegrate, he could find his position expressed through a series of bad “mojos.”
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Elena is still in a somewhat cozy spot. As I said last week, she has big targets for allies and they’re all around her. Nobody strongly dislikes her and nobody is coming after her. A lot of fans seem worried for Elena because of Dominique and Mark’s conversation about cutting her once jury starts, but I don’t have much faith in that plan actually being executed. When it comes down to it, I don’t see anybody truly having Elena as their first, second, or even third choice to target in the coming weeks.
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He was one cockamamie plan from getting nominated and possibly leaving if Paul’s initial backdoor plot had backfired. But it’s hard to think he’s in any immediate danger, especially with so many other loud voices in the room. Showmances may be looked at as the next victims, but he and Raven have by far the smallest targets on their backs of the three pairs, so I think there will be salt and pepper on the Big Brother table for at least a little while longer.
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Since the game began, Matt has lain incredibly low while still staying involved in the decision making of his group. He avoided the block despite the idea of him being nominated being originally suggested. If he hadn’t spoken up, Paul’s idiotic plan could’ve easily blown up in Matt’s face. The downside to Matt’s game is that he still has little to no relationship with the few outsiders remaining. If Jessica, Alex, Ramses, or Jason wins HoH next week, Matt/Raven or Matt/Mark nominations could be their plan. Nobody will think twice about putting him in danger.
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6) Christmas
Her biggest threat in the game right now is probably a doctor in Studio City who decides not to approve her continuing in the house. Her conversations with people like Mark and Ramses this past week show the power of her social game, and she just won a temptation that can be used either offensively or defensively. But she and Paul are seen as yet another tight pair in the house, and if the remnants of Cody’s alliance can’t go after Paul in the next couple of weeks, they could go after the next best thing: his closest ally.
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While Dominique hasn’t done much this week to hurt her game, it doesn’t seem like she’s done much to improve it. Dominique has done well at keeping her few bonds strong, but her gameplay hasn’t gone unnoticed. If someone like Ramses or Jason wins HoH, they’re just looking to get out any strong players from the majority alliance and Dominique could find herself nominated. If Dominique is up against someone like Matt or Mark, would she have the votes to stay? I don’t know if I can say yes to that.
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7) Elena
Well, if there’s one person living up to Rob Cesternino’s thesis of sleeping for the first half of the game, it’s quite literally Elena. I think she’s nestled in a good position within her alliance, but her stock is starting to fall in front of Mark, and he’s already resolved to get rid of her come jury.
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Must be nice having your number one ally as the HoH while you spend half of the week outside the Big Brother house! Just kidding. I do feel for her and wish her the best for this surgery. I know there’s been a lot of outcry for Christmas’ Big Brother life to be put out of its misery, but I’m pro-keeping Christmas in the game if the doctors allow her to stay. She’s in a decent spot. As her foot situation becomes more serious, it seems very likely that Christmas will be able to skate by for a while (then again, who could skate while having a broken foot!? hahahahaha, sorry). She’s still closely associated with Paul, who is safe for one more week, but as I said last time, it’s hard to see someone wasting an HoH on the girl with the crutches who won’t be able to participate in most competitions. Her #1 ally is the HoH this week and the guy who tried to send her packing last week is heading out the door this Thursday… not bad.
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8) Dominique
The idea of a talk show in the house is fantastic since it dually allows you to mine for information while simultaneously entertaining the houseguests. I feel the latter is an extremely underrated skill in Big Brother, by the way; I remember it being one big reason why everyone fell in step with Tim early in BBCAN4. But now her big problems are: 1) People are now catching on to those benefits I just mentioned & 2) Her playing Bizarro Cyrano de Bergerac with Mark and Elena is putting her on people’s radars.
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Kevin has been making me really nervous. With his vote from last week still causing controversy, there’s an uncomfortable level of uncertainty between him and some others. Alex and Jason really want to believe that Ramses voted Jillian out, but since there’s no way of being sure, they’re still left questioning it. I do think this path Kevin is on won’t end well for him. Once Ramses and Jessica are gone, it’ll be really easy to turn the tables on Kevin and label him as sneaky and a liar or whatever brush they want to paint him with. He’s fine for now because there’s plenty of big targets around and everyone still wants his vote. Bumpy roads ahead, though…
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9) Alex
Alex has this almost Evil Knievel appeal (Maybe a reference only Kevin would get out of this group of houseguests). She consistently puts her Big Brother life in danger, this week with agreeing to Paul’s plan to put her up. But somehow her willingness to skirt with risk endears herself to people, and though she’ll be facing the vote on Thursday, Paul has expressed how he wants the majority to work with her moving forward. She is by far the best positioned out of all those who voted to evict Christmas last week.
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Jessica and Josh have been in a few screaming matches this week. During the post-POV ceremony blow-up, Jessica told Josh that he’s basically just a pawn for both sides, and she’s not wrong. Paul is using the hell out of Josh and Josh is happy to be along for the ride, thinking Paul and Christmas have his back no matter what. Josh is going to be one of the easiest people to take out whenever his turn comes around, but if Paul has his way, that won’t be anytime soon. His new role does seem to be the pawn, now that it’s happened once already and he was more than willing to accept it.
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When Josh started week 2 with yet another verbal scuffle, I was afraid his double dealing would draw him out as another target (as well as drawing out some more tears from him). But it seems like he is living up to his word and trying to clean up the behavioral messes he made early on. He did acquiesce to Paul and volunteer to be nominated, but Paul took him down and now he has trust from the most connected person in the house. I still am not putting him high, though, because I trust he’s going to find some way to screw up this piece of social leverage.
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The more I watch Ramses on the feeds, the more I remember my concerns for him from the pre-season. Ramses is significantly younger than the rest of the cast. He’s 21. There are five houseguests on BB19 under the age of 24, two of whom have already been evicted. I can’t imagine he’s had an easy time finding things to bond with these people over. This week was rough for Ramses and it’s still not over. Paul is pushing him out in front as one of the next big targets, especially after Ramses’ decision to not completely throw the veto competition. He’s running on fumes, having very few friends and being a scapegoat for a majority of the house. Keep an eye on Ramses and Elena going into next week. They seem to have grown to really like one another, which could help him tremendously next week if that group comes into power again.
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11) Ramses
On the plus side, he picked the best week to use his curse, with a clear and present danger in the forefront of everyone’s minds. But everyone has used this week to perceive Ramses to be as shady as an ent. Cody’s side believes he betrayed them and voted against Jillian, while Paul’s side is unnerved at how close he came to winning Veto after being told to throw it. I would not be surprised if the guy known for dressing up as fantasy characters outside of the house becomes a curse magnet moving forward inside the house.
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Jason had a moment on Monday where he said aloud that he sucks at this game; I will not disagree with him. Jason is relatively well-liked and yet remains one of the house’s biggest targets. He has a hard time understanding where he fits in and adapting to the current mold of the house. He’s talking too much and creating distrust between himself and the very few people he’s working with. Nothing is looking up for this guy. I almost wish I could rank him last, but his fellow frogs are keeping that from being possible with their ATOADCIOUS gameplay.
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12) Jason
His Ve-Toad designation makes it clear that people remember he’s a friend of Cody, and he still may have the physical threat moniker hanging over his head from last week’s renomination Russian roulette. What puts him above the others who ended up in the minority is his relationship with Alex. She’s been able to inform him about his actions that have come off as “sketch” and is encouraging him to try to disavow them and play both sides. His subtlety is about as good as a bull in a china shop, but we’ll see if he can do what he does best and coax that bull outside.
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Having spent the entire week either cuddled up with Cody on a lilypad or screaming back and forth with Josh, Jessica has done nothing to improve her status in the game. She hasn’t made any new friends or genuinely worked on the relationships she once had with her old friends/allies, which leaves her with absolutely nobody once Cody walks out the front door on Thursday. The conversation with Christmas seemed like a start, but ultimately neither of them walked away feeling any different about one another. I’ve heard a day in the Big Brother house can seem like a year, which means that Jessica hasn’t talked to some of her former allies in almost 7-10 years. That’s a long time apart!
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13) Jessica
She’s only above Cody by the grace of having at least seven more days in the house than he has, and we all know how much can change in this house in a week. But she’s not helping her case when her other allies are trying to make other inroads, while she’s undergoing self-administered sequester with the newest model of Vicky from Small Wonder. There’s a chance people may think she’ll be defanged now that Cody is gone, but unless she wins safety, she won’t be able to do squat (though she’s been doing a lot of that this week as a frog) without reconnecting with the others.
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As we all know, Cody took a shot and it blew up in his face in a way that will not soon be forgotten. Even if the shot worked and Paul wound up on the block, there’s a good chance the alliance would’ve kept him. Since that moment, Cody’s Big Brother game has essentially turned into a waiting game (or a waiting to be evicted game). Cody hasn’t done a single thing to regain any of his former allies in an attempt to gain a few votes. The writing is on the walls and Cody sees it… looks around, and he doesn’t care. It’s unfortunate because he’s sitting on the block next to Ramses, who has almost as many friends as Jillian (who?) had last week. I do hope Cody wins his way back into the house, which, given his competition, doesn’t seem like the more outrageous idea.
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14) Cody
Dead frog hopping. There’s absolutely nothing he can do in two days to find the rainbow connection to make up for the swamp he put himself in last week. On the bright side, if there is a Battle Back, he’d eat a boysenberry pie without even flinching, but he may stumble if he has to gather the dolls of other houseguests à la the Otev competition in season 7. Though to be fair, he’d definitely consider James Rhine’s “harm” a victim noise.
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Matt’s Power Rankings by Week