After a long, dramatic, teary, and all-over-the-place summer, we are finally down to the Final 3 houseguests of Big Brother 17.
We’ve got Vanessa, the millionaire poker player who has cried her way to the end; Liz, the other half of a twin sisterhood and showmance that had her path to the end literally cleared for her; and Steve, the token nerd superfan who managed to get all the way there without his mom or his trombone.
So which of those three played the best game? And which of those three deserve to win Big Brother 17? Are those two people the same? Let’s pick apart the Big Brother 17 final three one by one and see if we can answer those questions. Let’s do this alphabetically:
Liz Nolan
Liz came into the game with her sister Julia as part of the twin twist. While she and Julia weren’t identical enough to pull off the twist for long (that pesky tooth), they did manage to stay for most of the game. Was it game prowess that helped keep such huge targets in the game? Well, that’s up for debate. But I’m going to go ahead and say no.
I believe Liz made it to the end because she aligned with the right people and she got lucky that more people didn’t see her and her twin sister as a threat. These kinds of things tend to happen when recruits outnumber fans of the show.
Aligning with the most powerful people in the house and faking that showmance with Austin (that later turned into the real deal) were some of Liz’s best moves in the game. But Liz’s best quality was her loyalty. She never betrayed a member of her alliance, and every time she had to nominate someone for eviction, she stayed true to her allies. That deserves some respect.
Liz’s competition record (3 HOHs and 1 veto) are also pretty impressive for a contestant not many people expected to do well in the game. Liz’s strategy wasn’t the greatest as she turned to Vanessa and Austin a lot on what to do, but her social game is outstanding compared to the other two people in the final three.
Does Liz deserve to win Big Brother 17? Yes. I think the fact that Liz outlasted so many people despite playing with a twin and being in a showmance is reason enough to consider voting for her in the end.
Can Liz win Big Brother 17? This I’m not sure of. I think Liz could beat Steve, but not Vanessa. But it’s always so hard to tell what a jury will do. But I do think there’s a chance with James, Meg, Jackie, Austin and Julia sitting on that jury.
Steve Moses
Steve is the last superfan standing, and after he was compared to Big Brother 14 winner Ian Terry by fellow houseguests, I’m surprised that he is in the final three. But like Liz, what would make Steve a threat was overlooked for the majority of the game (not to mention he’s really nothing like Ian). And also like Liz, Steve aligned with the right people despite often finding himself torn between two alliances.
Laying low and keeping his targets to himself were Steve’s best moves in the game. Unfortunately for Steve, he let a lot of other people (Vanessa mostly) control his moves and he made a few really big blunders along the way (evicting Jackie for example). Of course he’s at the end of the game, so I can’t fault him too much for those blunders. Except for the one during the final veto competition that could cost him the game in the end.
Steve also has a pretty solid competition record (3 HOHs and 2 veto wins) and he won them at very crucial times. According to Steve, however, he didn’t mean to win two of the competitions and another was thrown to him. I think Steve selling himself short to Vanessa is part of his strategy to make sure he sits next to her in the final two, but regardless, I’d never call him a competition beast.
In my opinion, Steve doesn’t really dominate any of the areas of a truly good Big Brother game. As you can see from his graphic above, he’s kind of middle-of-the-road all around. And I just can’t get past the fact that he has basically been Vanessa’s puppet the entire season. This could all hurt him in the end. Unless he wins the final HOH and cuts those puppet strings.
Does Steve deserve to win Big Brother 17? Not so much. I won’t say no, because he is in the final three and he wasn’t exactly carried there, but of the three, I think he is the least deserving. That being said, if he has the guts to cut Vanessa at the end, then I’ll reconsider my opinion here.
Can Steve win Big Brother 17? I’m starting to think maybe he can’t. I’m going out on a limb here, but I could actually see him losing to Liz. I’m just getting a feeling the jury won’t count Liz out like a lot of fans are projecting. And I don’t think he could ever beat Vanessa.
Vanessa Rousso
As of now, Vanessa, the self-proclaimed strategist with loads of integrity, is the clear front-runner to win Big Brother 17, despite over-playing the game. Without a doubt, she played too hard too fast and has never stopped. That means she has also bathed in the blood of nearly every houseguest to exit the game. But there’s something about her that just makes everyone do what she says.
Vanessa has used her emotions as a pretty unique strategy. She’s not the first houseguest to play with this much emotion, and not the first to be called crazy by fans. But she might be the first to successfully use this strategy to get what she wants. She literally exhausted player after player by talking them in circles and crying in their faces when THEY were the ones who should’ve been crying. By the time Vanessa is finished with a person they’re just so ready for her to calm down that they’ll do what she says just to move on.
As for why Vanessa was allowed to stay in the game for so long has little to do with her or her strategy, however. Some of the other players just made some bad moves that allowed her to remain in the game and here she is at the end.
Vanessa does hold the record for comp wins this season (4 HOHs and 3 veto wins), so that’s an impressive roster. And that’s good because she needs something to make up for her poor social game. Vanessa has wronged so many people in the jury that right now it’s leaning toward bitter. But I think they’ll change their minds before they have to pick a winner.
Does Vanessa deserve to win Big Brother 17? Yes. Of the three, Vanessa probably deserves to win the most. I’m personally not a fan of her style of play (I can’t stand when a player doesn’t own up to their actions) and I’m one of those guys who hates to see an already-millioniare win more money (sorry), but these people let her get to the end so now they should let her win the game.
Can Vanessa win Big Brother 17? Yes. I think Vanessa beats either Steve or Liz — unless the jury stays bitter. But I think Vanessa picking Liz over Johnny Mac (and if she picks Liz over Steve) might help her buy back some of the loyalty she gave up at various times in the game.
So all personal feelings aside, I feel like Vanessa is the most deserving winner, followed by Liz. Personally, however, that’s not the case…