Here we are Day 97 in the Big Brother House – and just over 36 hours until the winner of Big Brother 17 is crowned. It’s been quite the ride this summer, since Day 1 – these HG’s have been playing hard.
We’ve seen showmances, bromances, nerdmances, and lots of tears & laughs along the way. The cold winter months will come quickly, and then we will start getting psyched up for Big Brother 18 (calling it now, it will be All-Stars), BUT FIRST – let me give out the final Bacon/Tofu Rankings.
I will post my preseason impressions of the first 9 players eliminated, followed by my final analysis. For your reading pleasure – I give you the BB17 Tofu recipients.
Jace Agolli – Preseason ranking: 1 strip of Tofu – if you mix Hayden (BB16) with a frat boy, you get Jace. I am not sure which side will take over in the house… the chill California guy, or the cocky dbag that will for sure get on everyone’s nerves. I see him finishing somewhere in the middle, first or second juror.
Well, my initial assessment was pretty spot on, but unfortunately for Jace, we got the cocky dbag who indeed did get on everyone’s nerves early with his Bromance with Austin and this lead him to be the first boot. Sadly he will be most remembered for his verbal beatdown of Steve while campaigning for his vote. Final Ranking – 5 strips of Tofu
Da’Vonne Rogers – Preseason ranking: 2 strips of Tofu – She is coming into the house with all the confidence in the world, not nervous about anything. Signs that she will probably be the quiet one that stumbles her way into jury. Although Da’Vonne could get lucky and recognize Vanessa. If so she can rope Vanessa in, and hitch onto her wagon to get her much further.
Ok, I was off a little bit here, Da’Vonne was anything but quiet as she was never shy to tell people how she felt. She made 1 close ally, but in that house early on, you need to make more friends than enemies. She did win the Last Laugh power to nullify 3 votes, but that was not enough to prevent her from going home 2nd. Final Ranking – 4 strips of Tofu
Jeff Weldon – no preseason ranking. As part of the first “BB Takeover” twist – Jeff came into the game after appearing on The Amazing Race where he finished in the middle of the pack. His pre-existing friendship with Jackie & his constant chattering made him an early target. When Vanessa was looking for an excuse not to nominate Audrey despite the rest of the house wanting her gone, Jeff was the easy replacement & almost rallied the troops and made the closest vote of the season going home 7-4. If only he knew Big Brother better going into the house, he may have been able to chill a little more early. Final Ranking – 4 strips of Tofu.
Audrey Middleton – Preseason ranking: 3 strips of Bacon – Ok everyone knows by now Audrey’s backstory – and the timing of the transformation of Bruce to Caitlyn will help reel in some new viewers, which is OK by me. Anything to help keep this show’s ratings up is fine by me. But all of that aside, she is a fan, who knows the game, and does not seem shy so she will be able to bond with everyone. I do not see her winning, but final 6 for sure.
Audrey came in with the most pre-season chatter & after the initial shock wore off, we were then able to witness a strong personality who loved to stir the pot. Like clockwork, the first few weeks after the Veto meetings, with herself safe, she would then go and start trouble in the house. This would put the target on her going into the following week. It’s just a shame when she finally tried to expose everyone – her word was no longer good. So many of her fellow HGs that went home after her were thinking “Audrey was right!” Her hiding in the DR enraged the rest of the HGs (as well as live feeders) before the week 4 Veto meeting. Audrey was a brave woman to put herself out there, but when it came to her game, she shot herself in the foot one too many times. Final ranking – 3 strips of Tofu
Jason Roy – Preseason ranking: 1 strip Tofu – Jason will have to figure out how to stay out of his own way to get far. He wants to get rid of the strong guys early which will put a big target on himself. I like that he is willing to go after people, but you have to do it the smart way. If he can keep his emotions in check, and align with the strong female players he’ll be in jury. That’s too many ifs for me however. I see him out right before jury
By far the cattiest HG of BB17. Jason was constantly talking smack in front of & behind everyone’s back. While he seemed to get along with everyone on a social level, he just could not get any game going with anyone except Da’Vonne. After she left, he still sat outside judging (hysterically) the rest of them, but that does not win you Big Brother. Final Ranking – 3 strips of Tofu.
Clay Honeycutt – Preseason ranking: 4 strips of Tofu – Calling it now – he is the Devin/Jeremy of BB17. He has crammed a bunch of seasons into a short period of time. This is bad because he has no idea how long the season actually is. I have power watched seasons before, and you get can get through 21 days in one night. Inside the Big Brother house one night feels like 21 days. Most likely to overplay and be voted out way early! Watch, he will end up winning it all!
Not in the preseason rankings, but in the comments, I did call Clay would have a showmance. (3 months ago – I just think he will get into a showmance early – and that will cost him the game) Who knew it would be with Shelli who is 10 years older than him? This made him part of the first power couple in the house and the first few weeks Clelli along with Vanessa, Austin, and the twins were running the show. This just put a huge target on his back – and as we see almost every year, the guy in the showmance couple goes home early. He did win a Veto early after the plan to backdoor Austin went completely wrong. But he found himself broken up from Shelli the following week when they were on the block next to each other. Final ranking – 2 strips of Tofu
Shelli Poole – Preseason ranking: 2 strips of Tofu – I am truly sad that at 33 Shelli is the oldest member of this cast – but that is not why I am giving her tofu. The fact that she had such a hard time answering questions and I predict will be a horrible liar will not make her a power player. Dare I call her a floater who will make jury & someone will have to waste an HoH on getting her out later.
Boy was I wrong about Shelli. She was a power player from the start of the game. She teamed up with some of the other power players early and won 2 of the first 4 HoH’s eliminating Da’Vonne & Audrey, two of her former allies. She got way over confident & cocky because the game was going so smooth for her. But then as soon as the power shifted, she found herself public enemy number one with the other side of the house. She was devastated that she could not make jury with her boy toy Clay. Final ranking – 2 strips of Tofu.
Jackie Ibarra – along with Jeff, I did not do a preseason forecast on Jackie because of the late addition to the cast. Early on in the game, she slept, or kept to herself which helped keep her safe while the target was growing on Jeff’s back. She finally came to life after he left and teamed up with the Outsides / Goblins / whatever they were called. If her HoH with Vanessa had worked out the way they planned it, and she was able to pull off the backdoor of Austin, this game would have been completely different. Instead she fell victim to Steve during the first Double Eviction & then lost her chance to come back into the house. So much potential for drama lost as well! Final ranking – 1 strip of Tofu.
Becky Burgess – Preseason ranking: 3 strips of Tofu – I swear, I try to keep these recaps positive even when people are not playing well, but I could not get through her interview. I kept falling asleep. If she makes friends, she could make jury, but I see her as an early out.
Becky came into the house with the 2nd most dramatic backstory with her getting hit by a train less than a year before – and while she was a little shy at first, she quickly warmed up and was quite lively as the weeks played on. She won 2 HoH’s but during her 2nd one (only solo one) – she decided to take a shot at the biggest threat in the house Vanessa. Becky caught on to Vanessa’s game and called her out on it. The only thing she forgot to do ahead of time, was confirm with the rest of the HGs that they would support her decision and get Vanessa out. This turned Basic Becky into Target #1 for Vanessa & her minions. Just like Jackie, it was sad when she did not win the chance to come back as she would have tried to shake things up. Final ranking – 1 strip of Tofu.
I was going to give production the Tofurkey of the Year award for yet another failed Twist – the “BB Takeover” that was promised a new twist in the house every week. But I will say THANK YOU to them instead for seeing early on these HG’s did not need any twist to get them worked up into a game playing frenzy. So instead I will give the Tofurkey of the Year award to Rob Gronkowski. Cmon Gronk, you could not get on a plane and visit the house in person to give your takeover? That’s weak!!!
My question of the week is – of these 9 players, which ONE would you want to see back for All-Stars the most? For entertainment value alone, I would love to see Jason back. He was the first one to talk to the live feeders as he was usually sitting outside on the couch smoking and being catty. Since Mean Girls is one one of my all time favorite movies, he gets the Regina George award!
So there you have it – the Tofu awards for BB17. I will be back tomorrow with the Final 8 – and my bacon rankings. From outside the Big Brother House, I’m Adam Poch – have a great day!
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